What do you think?
Rate this book
Safehold #10
Through Fiery Trials: A Novel in the Safehold Series
With new alliances forged and old regimes fractured, Merlin―the cybernetic avatar of Earth's last survivor and immortal beacon to humanity―and the colonies of Safehold have many adventures ahead in Through Fiery Trials , the continuation of David Weber's New York Times bestselling military science fiction series
Those on the side of progressing humanity through advanced technology have finally triumphed over their oppressors. The unholy war between the small but mighty island realm of Charis and the radical, luddite Church of God's Awaiting has come to an end.
However, even though a provisional veil of peace has fallen over human colonies, the quiet will not last. For Safehold is a broken world, and as international alliances shift and Charis charges on with its precarious mission of global industrialization, the shifting plates of the new world order are bound to clash.
Yet, an uncertain future isn't the only danger Safehold faces. Long-thought buried secrets and prophetic promises come to light, proving time is a merciless warden who never forgets.
“Vast, complex, intricate, subtle, and unlaydownable....The biggest thing in science fiction since Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.”―Dave Duncan on the Safehold series
Safehold Series
1. Off Armageddon Reef
2. By Schism Rent Asunder
3. By Heresies Distressed
4. A Mighty Fortress
5. How Firm A Foundation
6. Midst Toil and Tribulation
7. Like A Mighty Army
8. Hell's Foundations Quiver
9. At the Sign of Triumph
10. Through Fiery Trials
Those on the side of progressing humanity through advanced technology have finally triumphed over their oppressors. The unholy war between the small but mighty island realm of Charis and the radical, luddite Church of God's Awaiting has come to an end.
However, even though a provisional veil of peace has fallen over human colonies, the quiet will not last. For Safehold is a broken world, and as international alliances shift and Charis charges on with its precarious mission of global industrialization, the shifting plates of the new world order are bound to clash.
Yet, an uncertain future isn't the only danger Safehold faces. Long-thought buried secrets and prophetic promises come to light, proving time is a merciless warden who never forgets.
“Vast, complex, intricate, subtle, and unlaydownable....The biggest thing in science fiction since Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.”―Dave Duncan on the Safehold series
Safehold Series
1. Off Armageddon Reef
2. By Schism Rent Asunder
3. By Heresies Distressed
4. A Mighty Fortress
5. How Firm A Foundation
6. Midst Toil and Tribulation
7. Like A Mighty Army
8. Hell's Foundations Quiver
9. At the Sign of Triumph
10. Through Fiery Trials
976 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 8, 2019
820 people are currently reading
1225 people want to read
About the author
David Weber
322 books4,548 followersDavid Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews
January 11, 2019
OMG, I’m giving Weber 2-stars
Nothing. Happens.
Seriously, you could just skip to the last chapter and be ready for the next book. There were several weddings, a few funerals, some political machinations and upheavals, but in the end nothing happened. The final chapter in the book is the only one that couldn’t have been glossed over in a preface to the next tome.
See, there needed to be some big enemy or evil plot that was fighting the good guys, but there wasn’t. It was just...people being people.
Another criticism is that I got a bit tired of having noblewomen explain how they aren’t shocked by coarse language. It got boring. Or the overused metaphor that is an understatement that has to be thoroughly explained to be an understatement. It got repetitive.
There was no plot. No driving force, except waiting for something to maybe happen that might not actually happen for another 80yrs if someone counted wrong.
David Weber writes some great scenes. The emotions he can evoke with his words are deep. Some parts of this book have those moments.
But it shouldn’t have been published like this. This was boring and pointless. The stories may have needed to be written, but they shouldn’t have been presented to us the way they were.
If you are a long time fan, read it. The voice is there.
If you like your reading to have a point? Your time is better spent elsewhere.
Nothing. Happens.
Seriously, you could just skip to the last chapter and be ready for the next book. There were several weddings, a few funerals, some political machinations and upheavals, but in the end nothing happened. The final chapter in the book is the only one that couldn’t have been glossed over in a preface to the next tome.
See, there needed to be some big enemy or evil plot that was fighting the good guys, but there wasn’t. It was just...people being people.
Another criticism is that I got a bit tired of having noblewomen explain how they aren’t shocked by coarse language. It got boring. Or the overused metaphor that is an understatement that has to be thoroughly explained to be an understatement. It got repetitive.
There was no plot. No driving force, except waiting for something to maybe happen that might not actually happen for another 80yrs if someone counted wrong.
David Weber writes some great scenes. The emotions he can evoke with his words are deep. Some parts of this book have those moments.
But it shouldn’t have been published like this. This was boring and pointless. The stories may have needed to be written, but they shouldn’t have been presented to us the way they were.
If you are a long time fan, read it. The voice is there.
If you like your reading to have a point? Your time is better spent elsewhere.
January 28, 2019
This is classic David Weber. The early books are awesome. The middle books get a bit weighty and ponderous, though in a necessary fashion as the world expands. The later books become endless, slogging, back-breaking tomes filled with nothing but meetings. The latest Safehold sadly falls into this last category.
Now I should point out that one of the reasons I love Weber's books early on in a series is their attention to detail as they move along. But I'm a historian by trade, and a teacher. It's literally my job to take a wide swath of history and condense it in a way that will be accessible and entertaining for my students. By the time I got to the end of this book I wanted to shoot myself. It was an object lesson in how to fail at my job.
There is value in doing a book that looks at the reconstruction after a war. But it is admittedly harder to make a rip-roaring swashbuckling adventure out of the economic intricacies of the Marshall plan, than it is to make one out of storming Sword Beach at Normandy on D-Day. There is a way to make an exciting economic thriller. This simply wasn't it. Much like the more recent Harrington series entries Weber has simply gummed up the works. Much like the Siddarmark Central Bank in this novel, he has become too big to fail. So he just keeps trying to fix the mess by adding more and more stuff from more and more perspectives.
Trim it back Mr. Weber. Re-focus. This one was a stinker.
Now I should point out that one of the reasons I love Weber's books early on in a series is their attention to detail as they move along. But I'm a historian by trade, and a teacher. It's literally my job to take a wide swath of history and condense it in a way that will be accessible and entertaining for my students. By the time I got to the end of this book I wanted to shoot myself. It was an object lesson in how to fail at my job.
There is value in doing a book that looks at the reconstruction after a war. But it is admittedly harder to make a rip-roaring swashbuckling adventure out of the economic intricacies of the Marshall plan, than it is to make one out of storming Sword Beach at Normandy on D-Day. There is a way to make an exciting economic thriller. This simply wasn't it. Much like the more recent Harrington series entries Weber has simply gummed up the works. Much like the Siddarmark Central Bank in this novel, he has become too big to fail. So he just keeps trying to fix the mess by adding more and more stuff from more and more perspectives.
Trim it back Mr. Weber. Re-focus. This one was a stinker.
January 14, 2019
This was not a story. It was a timeline 15-16 years. The author picked points on the timeline and then told a little vignette. It does not add to the overall story arc at all and had no story of its own. I listened to the audiobook. He took 30 hours to say, "Time passed. People died; people got married; children were born; the economy fell, rose, and fell again."
I kept listening, afraid that I would miss something that would be pertinent to the overall plot, but there was nothing, until the last ten minutes.
The ending was an author's cheap trick, but I won't spoil it.
That entire thirty hours could have been condensed into a one-two page introduction to the next book or even woven into the story as we needed to know who had died, etc. And now, we have to wait how many more years to find out how he actually plans to wind up the plot.
I always thought this was an ingenious idea and even though I'm not into all the military and technical explanations, I know many people like that sort of thing and I was willing to have it because the overall story was so novel. But this most recent installment was worthless, uninteresting, and sleep-inducing. I certainly hope the next one makes up for it.
I kept listening, afraid that I would miss something that would be pertinent to the overall plot, but there was nothing, until the last ten minutes.
The ending was an author's cheap trick, but I won't spoil it.
That entire thirty hours could have been condensed into a one-two page introduction to the next book or even woven into the story as we needed to know who had died, etc. And now, we have to wait how many more years to find out how he actually plans to wind up the plot.
I always thought this was an ingenious idea and even though I'm not into all the military and technical explanations, I know many people like that sort of thing and I was willing to have it because the overall story was so novel. But this most recent installment was worthless, uninteresting, and sleep-inducing. I certainly hope the next one makes up for it.
October 25, 2018
Finally, the first Safehold novel after the end of the war in At The Sign of triumph is here and it makes for an excellent read - covering some 15 years (March 901 to March 916 after a prelude between Merlin and Nahrmahn's avatar which is probably set in November 900) in shorter or longer snippets at various times and in various places, it starts with a recap (ostensibly from The Life of Merlin Athrawes, Zhakleen Wylsynn,Tellesberg, Royal University Press, 4217) and ends with a bang (almost literally) at a great stopping point, while showing the clear way forward in the storyline.
In the meantime, lots of things happen and there is war, intrigue, romance (the kids have been growing fast after all and there are quite a few weddings to boot), the legend of the Athrawes family is continued by Merlin's (adopted) daughter doing some heroic things too (the son has to do the more boring midshipman duty first I guess), but there are also some wrenching deaths (mostly natural though not always), economic and political turmoil, revolution and dissolution of empires with the tragedies that ensue; new (and old) heroes, new villains, new technologies, old enemies turning friends and vice-versa and generally all one expects in a Safehold novel!
And as a small tidbit, a little text from when Merlin finally gets into the Temple (fairly early on in the story btw) - in disguise of course but still part of visiting Archbishop Staynair guard:
""If I thought Owl could hack the Temple, break into the system and reprogram all this . . . pageantry and turn it around on them..."
He put the temptation behind him and focused on the ceremony unfolding all around him."
Highly recommended and a clear early favorite for my top novel of 2019.
Below is probably my favorite passage from the book and one of my favorites from the series with a few names removed just to avoid major spoilers (it takes place in late 911 which should be obvious for anyone doing the math):
"“Because we may be running out of time,” she said very, very softly. “If the ‘Archangels’ are coming back a thousand years after the Creation, and if they don’t react the way we all hope and pray they will, I’ll never see my twenty-second birthday.” His arms tightened around her again, but her eyes never flinched. “If there’s one family on the face of Safehold which will have to be destroyed if they try to reestablish the Proscriptions, shut down industrialization, it’s mine. They can’t leave us alive, if that’s the way they react. I realized that the minute Mom and Dad and Merlin explained it to us. In that respect, I’m Nimue Alban and they’re the Gbaba all over again, *****.
“But you don’t have to be.
*************
But if you go home, if we arrange to grow ‘estranged’ from your family—and I’m sure Mom and Dad would do that for your parents, your aunts and uncles, even if we could never explain to them why they’re doing it—then you and the other people you love may not have to be on the ‘Archangels’’ list.
“So you can go home,” tears glittered on her lashes, “and a part of me wants you to do that, so badly. Wants you to get as far away from me, from my family, as you can. But the selfish part of me wants you to stay, and if we have only four years, then . . . I . . . want . . . those . . . years, *****.” She looked up at him. “I can’t announce our betrothal, not marry you the way I want. Not right now, and I may never have time to do that, to give us and your family that, but I want that time with you. I want to share it with you, to know you and I are husband and wife, whatever the rest of the world knows or doesn’t know. And the question I needed to ask you standing here, with you, is whether or not that’s what you want.”
The moon rode high and silver in a heaven of cobalt blue velvet, and the stars of Safehold were a magnificent diadem, draped across the night. It was cool, for Charis in November, and the private chapel’s open windows admitted the gentle night breeze that fluttered the candle flames.
It wasn’t an enormous chamber, although archbishops, as a rule, had larger chapels than mere bishops, and at the moment it was crowded. Indeed, it was far more crowded than the casual beholder might have guessed.
Maikel Staynair stood there, smiling as the young man standing at the sanctuary rail turned to watch an even younger woman enter the chapel. She wasn’t on her father’s arm, because her father already stood at the groom’s elbow as his best man. She was on the arm of a very tall man whose sapphire eyes glittered in the candlelight. That had been her parents’ choice, not her escort’s, although Alahnah had agreed with tears in her eyes that if any living being deserved to stand sponsor to this marriage, it was Merlin Athrawes."
In the meantime, lots of things happen and there is war, intrigue, romance (the kids have been growing fast after all and there are quite a few weddings to boot), the legend of the Athrawes family is continued by Merlin's (adopted) daughter doing some heroic things too (the son has to do the more boring midshipman duty first I guess), but there are also some wrenching deaths (mostly natural though not always), economic and political turmoil, revolution and dissolution of empires with the tragedies that ensue; new (and old) heroes, new villains, new technologies, old enemies turning friends and vice-versa and generally all one expects in a Safehold novel!
And as a small tidbit, a little text from when Merlin finally gets into the Temple (fairly early on in the story btw) - in disguise of course but still part of visiting Archbishop Staynair guard:
""If I thought Owl could hack the Temple, break into the system and reprogram all this . . . pageantry and turn it around on them..."
He put the temptation behind him and focused on the ceremony unfolding all around him."
Highly recommended and a clear early favorite for my top novel of 2019.
Below is probably my favorite passage from the book and one of my favorites from the series with a few names removed just to avoid major spoilers (it takes place in late 911 which should be obvious for anyone doing the math):
"“Because we may be running out of time,” she said very, very softly. “If the ‘Archangels’ are coming back a thousand years after the Creation, and if they don’t react the way we all hope and pray they will, I’ll never see my twenty-second birthday.” His arms tightened around her again, but her eyes never flinched. “If there’s one family on the face of Safehold which will have to be destroyed if they try to reestablish the Proscriptions, shut down industrialization, it’s mine. They can’t leave us alive, if that’s the way they react. I realized that the minute Mom and Dad and Merlin explained it to us. In that respect, I’m Nimue Alban and they’re the Gbaba all over again, *****.
“But you don’t have to be.
*************
But if you go home, if we arrange to grow ‘estranged’ from your family—and I’m sure Mom and Dad would do that for your parents, your aunts and uncles, even if we could never explain to them why they’re doing it—then you and the other people you love may not have to be on the ‘Archangels’’ list.
“So you can go home,” tears glittered on her lashes, “and a part of me wants you to do that, so badly. Wants you to get as far away from me, from my family, as you can. But the selfish part of me wants you to stay, and if we have only four years, then . . . I . . . want . . . those . . . years, *****.” She looked up at him. “I can’t announce our betrothal, not marry you the way I want. Not right now, and I may never have time to do that, to give us and your family that, but I want that time with you. I want to share it with you, to know you and I are husband and wife, whatever the rest of the world knows or doesn’t know. And the question I needed to ask you standing here, with you, is whether or not that’s what you want.”
The moon rode high and silver in a heaven of cobalt blue velvet, and the stars of Safehold were a magnificent diadem, draped across the night. It was cool, for Charis in November, and the private chapel’s open windows admitted the gentle night breeze that fluttered the candle flames.
It wasn’t an enormous chamber, although archbishops, as a rule, had larger chapels than mere bishops, and at the moment it was crowded. Indeed, it was far more crowded than the casual beholder might have guessed.
Maikel Staynair stood there, smiling as the young man standing at the sanctuary rail turned to watch an even younger woman enter the chapel. She wasn’t on her father’s arm, because her father already stood at the groom’s elbow as his best man. She was on the arm of a very tall man whose sapphire eyes glittered in the candlelight. That had been her parents’ choice, not her escort’s, although Alahnah had agreed with tears in her eyes that if any living being deserved to stand sponsor to this marriage, it was Merlin Athrawes."
January 11, 2019
This novel should be one, perhaps two, chapters worth of material in the next novel in the series.
1. Some people die peacefully of old age
2. Some younger characters grow up and marry
3. Mainland realms face challenges; some successfully, some not so much, with and without help from Charis as is politically possible
4. The expected denouement of the major plot item for this novel is a couple of pages of cliff hanger at the finish.
I regret spending money on this; the publisher should have rejected it and I have no idea what the author thought he was doing. David Weber, while verbose, generally plots his novels much better than this one. Given spoilers to #3 and #4 a reader of the series should be able to skip this novel and read the next (if published) without missing anything of importance.
1. Some people die peacefully of old age
2. Some younger characters grow up and marry
3. Mainland realms face challenges; some successfully, some not so much, with and without help from Charis as is politically possible
4. The expected denouement of the major plot item for this novel is a couple of pages of cliff hanger at the finish.
I regret spending money on this; the publisher should have rejected it and I have no idea what the author thought he was doing. David Weber, while verbose, generally plots his novels much better than this one. Given spoilers to #3 and #4 a reader of the series should be able to skip this novel and read the next (if published) without missing anything of importance.
January 11, 2019
It's so weird to be giving weber 2 stars, but after 15 years of fandom, I'm growing tired of him ruining series with boring character point of views and unessescery plot developments.
This book could be sumurized as
All the old people die
All the young couples have babies
All the young teenagers fall in love
Siddermark and NotChina fuck themselves
Trains are awesome
Airships are better
It didn't take an entire freaking book to tell those stories. I wouldn't even mind if you told only those stories well, but instead it's just dry detail after detail that I just don't care about. I thought the later Honor Harrington books were bad, but this is even worse. Get an editor or a cowriter, please!
This book could be sumurized as
All the old people die
All the young couples have babies
All the young teenagers fall in love
Siddermark and NotChina fuck themselves
Trains are awesome
Airships are better
It didn't take an entire freaking book to tell those stories. I wouldn't even mind if you told only those stories well, but instead it's just dry detail after detail that I just don't care about. I thought the later Honor Harrington books were bad, but this is even worse. Get an editor or a cowriter, please!
February 19, 2019
Until now I enjoyed Weber booiks but this is, by far, the worst one. As other people said it: NOTHING HAPPEN.
We see the same problem again and again
- Too many characters introduced. Who needs the story of Priest N°524
- Too many meetings where nothing happen
- A useless PICA: so they are supposed to influence the world and they basically do nothing
- Too many useless pages. Who really want to know about the 2nd child of the 1st daughter?
- Too many unused characters (because of the 1st problem)
- Not a reall story. The whole book is useless. You could have jumped in time with 30-50 pages to summarize and then begin the book...
We see the same problem again and again
- Too many characters introduced. Who needs the story of Priest N°524
- Too many meetings where nothing happen
- A useless PICA: so they are supposed to influence the world and they basically do nothing
- Too many useless pages. Who really want to know about the 2nd child of the 1st daughter?
- Too many unused characters (because of the 1st problem)
- Not a reall story. The whole book is useless. You could have jumped in time with 30-50 pages to summarize and then begin the book...
February 15, 2019
I wish i had read the reviews
It was just so full of filler. It's like he is trying to see how long he can stretch out a series before everyone stops buying. Not going to buy another in this series.
It was just so full of filler. It's like he is trying to see how long he can stretch out a series before everyone stops buying. Not going to buy another in this series.
February 20, 2019
The worst of the Safehold series. Took forever because it just was not "must read" to finish. There are a few bright spots but mostly just marriages, babies, and economic failures. Disappointed as this "was" one of my favorite series.
January 18, 2019
Weber flogs a dead horse one more time. The novel is a direct follow on from #9, the supposed final novel, it's not a new story arc and consists mostly of the main series characters nattering about the economy and current affairs. What little action does take place is some bit character getting injured or killed, they should be wearing red shirts.
A horrible novel, I couldn't finish it and will not read future novels in this series.
A horrible novel, I couldn't finish it and will not read future novels in this series.
January 20, 2019
Safehold secrets!
Safehold continues to be a complex, multifaceted world that pits technological development against the righteousness of the Church of God's Awaiting. Think back to the Spanish Inquisition and you're coming close to the nub of heresy and beliefs that stymie cultures unable or unwilling to look to move forward. Of course cobble this together with the story of Safehold's beginnings and the age old story of treachery, of political shifts, of narrow focuses, and the current situation becomes at least understandable.
Supposedly peace has come, at a huge price, to the Island of Charis, but holding this peace together in a world of shifting alliances is not easy.
And then there are deeply hidden secrets that will metaphorically 'throw a spanner in the works.' Merlin, the 'cybernetic avatar' is in the thick of things and it seems little may have changed. Things for me moved rather slowly in this tenth in the series, but as always Weber leads us into new vistas.
A Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC via NetGalley
Safehold continues to be a complex, multifaceted world that pits technological development against the righteousness of the Church of God's Awaiting. Think back to the Spanish Inquisition and you're coming close to the nub of heresy and beliefs that stymie cultures unable or unwilling to look to move forward. Of course cobble this together with the story of Safehold's beginnings and the age old story of treachery, of political shifts, of narrow focuses, and the current situation becomes at least understandable.
Supposedly peace has come, at a huge price, to the Island of Charis, but holding this peace together in a world of shifting alliances is not easy.
And then there are deeply hidden secrets that will metaphorically 'throw a spanner in the works.' Merlin, the 'cybernetic avatar' is in the thick of things and it seems little may have changed. Things for me moved rather slowly in this tenth in the series, but as always Weber leads us into new vistas.
A Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC via NetGalley
Read
January 13, 2019David Weber's fantastic Safehold series roars on like a mighty river, continuing to tell the story of a planet's medieval society contending with not only a massively-powerful central Church and the emergence of advancing technology. All immensely entertaining, although I had my usual distraction ... My full review:
https://openlettersreview.com/open-le...
https://openlettersreview.com/open-le...
January 14, 2019
"Through Fiery Trials" is effectively a book-length epilogue. The storyline that covered the world war between the corrupt church and its supporters and its would-be victims ended in book 9. TFT covers the next decade-and-change: We get to see who marries whom, we get to see the protagonists having kids, we get to see the next generation of technological change.
There isn't much story or, rather, the story that is told is a red herring. Most of Safehold is riding a wave of technological and economic expansion. In order to have a story to tell, the author makes things go to hell-in-a-hand-basket in two nations. So we get hundreds of pages of bad things (and a few good things) happening to new characters we don't much care about.
It is telling that I can't tell, after finishing book 10, whether it is intended to be the end of the series or whether it is meant to be continued.
There isn't much story or, rather, the story that is told is a red herring. Most of Safehold is riding a wave of technological and economic expansion. In order to have a story to tell, the author makes things go to hell-in-a-hand-basket in two nations. So we get hundreds of pages of bad things (and a few good things) happening to new characters we don't much care about.
It is telling that I can't tell, after finishing book 10, whether it is intended to be the end of the series or whether it is meant to be continued.
January 14, 2019
A slow and plodding book. The main characters spend too much time in gooey, emotional scenes that do little for the story line. LOTS of peripheral characters killed off. It seems to have been written solely to set up the next book with younger characters, in large enough numbers to be killed off later. The author culminates the story in the last five pages. I won't ruin the end but you can go to the book store and read the last chapter and save yourself a lot of tedious reading. This is by far the worst book of the author's that I have read. Very disappointing.
January 24, 2019
This is the tenth book in the Safehold series by David Weber. In this one the war between Charis, it's allies, and the Church Of God Awaiting is over. Now is the time for Merlin, Cayleb, Sharleyan and their friends and allies to push for as much technological advancement as possible without violating the proscriptions and bringing an orbital bombardment down on the planet. There is also the problem of the foretold return of the Archangels in or about the Safehold year 915, to judge how Safehold is progressing. This book has a lot of filler and the storyline relates how many of the countries of Safehold are dealing with the after-effects of the Jihad and to the new technologies introduced by Charis. Fifteen plus years are covered up until the estimated time of the Archangels predicted return.
Also, everyone gets married! You will understand that when you read the book. :)
Also, everyone gets married! You will understand that when you read the book. :)
April 24, 2019
Tenth in the Safehold space opera science fiction series and revolving around warring factions: that upstart Charis with its technological innovations and its nerve to form a breakaway church and those countries who cannot accept that Charis has won. It's a whole new war that's more about culture than religion.
My Take
As much as I've [mostly] loved Weber's Safehold series, this one annoyed me more than a few of the others. Those flippin' contorted names are the worst, oy. And it seems as though there are hundreds of 'em!
One that Weber should tidy up is claiming that Cherayth is in North Harchong. That had me going for a while. I do wish he'd also paid more attention to connecting the names. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who was who and who went where. More so than usual. It did take me weeks to get this read.
The underlying series arc has been two-fold: expose the corruption behind the original schism among the Archangels and protect Safeholdians from the genocidal Gbaba.
Through Fiery Trials is a journal of Safehold's progression from the end of their holy war with its politics and economics, and the story stretches over some thirteen years. Some countries are picking up the pieces while others are falling apart. Harchong is losing its hold on its serf-like culture while Siddermark is so corrupt, shortsighted, and filled with hate for Charisians that they are sliding into a major depression.
The Nahrman Plan is similar to our own Marshall Plan after World War II, and such a contradiction to the norm of industrial competition. Some of it will make you laugh out loud. There is a good amount of humor in here as well, primarily between those in the inner circle who know the truth about Merlin and Owl. It does take some of the pain out of the heavy lifting Weber writes.
Weber uses a third person global subjective point-of-view — there are simply too many locations and characters for it to be anything else. While a number of countries are mentioned, others are prominent within the story, including Siddarmark and Harchong. Tellesberg and Zion are fairly minor.
I LOVE that Rhobair has informed the Harchong emperor that the emperor will allow the families of officers in the Mighty Host to leave Harchong and settle in with Rainbow Waters' people. And that the Church paid the salaries of the Mighty Host and settled them on their own lands. Lands these peasant soldiers could own. Rhobair would have loved to insist on all their families, but he knew the emperor would balk and force the Church to go to war with Harchong. Rhobair has also insisted on the same safety codes for employees and the education of children as Charis has adopted.
There is plenty of violent action with some horrible reprisals in the form of beatings, riots, and government acts against those who had tried to protect their families. Most of it being organized purposefully.
The election campaigns in Siddarmark sound like our own. Full of lies, provocation, and lots of violence. The situation there does provide an opportunity for Weber to note how consumers view an economy. And it does make sense. Lord knows there is plenty of that fear going around the US.
As for Harchong, it's a conundrum. The Harchongian nobility realize why the rebellion is happening and why those atrocities are being visited upon their families, but they have no intention of righting the wrongs. I mean, duh... It certainly doesn't help that the newly ennobled are even worse in their behaviors. What's sadly funny is that their subordinates are terrified of reprisals, so they make so many wrong decisions out of fear, losing battles and men.
Naturally, families are growing, there are marriages, and there are deaths. Life goes on as does this tale of corruption and war.
The Story
Charis may have won the war and its push for the spread of technology, but the deadline for the return of the Archangels is looming. The fate of Charis and its allies is in doubt, for that same technology may trigger the automatic weapons system the Archangels originally set up. The threat of kinetic bombardment.
The prophecy, no, the threat, of the return of those Archangels looms over all that the Charisian Empire has achieved.
The Characters
As usual, the character list is incredibly long, so if you're interested, you can read my review on my website, KD Did It, after it publishes 29 April 2019.
Safehold is...
...a planet that was humanity's last hope to escape the Gbaba. Its world was set up to be low-tech to avoid the enemy's notice, but its original charter — and its religion — was perverted by a select few.
The Empire of Charis won and is implementing its Nahrman Plan. Its allies include Emerald, Corisande, Dohlar, Chisholm, Thesmar, Tarot, Zebediah, and to an odd extent, Siddarmark, the Mighty Army, and Mother Church(!). Her enemies are Desnair and Harchong. I have no idea where Delferahk stands.
The Archangels were...
...the original humans who reached Safehold and the winners of their rebellion — Eric Langhorne was their leader, Androcles Schueler was into justice, Adorée Bedard was all about education, Hastings was the patron of geology and geography; Pasquale was into health; Chihiro; and, others are among the true evil ones who chose to keep the people at a medieval level using mind control and the books they incorporated into the Holy Writ , the Safeholdian holy bible that has been rewritten time and time again, beginning with "Archangel" Langhorne. The Book of Schueler and the Book of Chihiro were some of the later additions.
The Key of Schueler, a memory module containing the contents of every book written on Safehold, is a recorded hologram of Schueler as well as a weapon system. The Temple in Zion is itself a planetary-defense bunker.
The Archangels who wanted to adhere to the original plan included Shan-wei, now castigated as the Evil One. She is an imprecation, the Mother of Lies, and demon to the people of Safehold. She was also Dr Pei Shan-wei who was demonized by fellow crewmen who betrayed the mission's original purpose
The Cover and Title
The cover is divided horizontally into a black band at the top forming the background for the author's name, embossed in a muted metallic red. The center band is a graphic with Merlin in armor and cloak, a sword at his side, standing at the top of a mountain looking out over a landscape of airships floating in the pastel sunset. Merlin's own futuristic ship hovers below him. The bottom band is a bright metallic red as background for the embossed silver title. Two green-gold borders separate the bands, both containing an info blurb.
The title is about Safehold, which has been Through Fiery Trials that only continue in a different form.
My Take
As much as I've [mostly] loved Weber's Safehold series, this one annoyed me more than a few of the others. Those flippin' contorted names are the worst, oy. And it seems as though there are hundreds of 'em!
One that Weber should tidy up is claiming that Cherayth is in North Harchong. That had me going for a while. I do wish he'd also paid more attention to connecting the names. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who was who and who went where. More so than usual. It did take me weeks to get this read.
The underlying series arc has been two-fold: expose the corruption behind the original schism among the Archangels and protect Safeholdians from the genocidal Gbaba.
Through Fiery Trials is a journal of Safehold's progression from the end of their holy war with its politics and economics, and the story stretches over some thirteen years. Some countries are picking up the pieces while others are falling apart. Harchong is losing its hold on its serf-like culture while Siddermark is so corrupt, shortsighted, and filled with hate for Charisians that they are sliding into a major depression.
The Nahrman Plan is similar to our own Marshall Plan after World War II, and such a contradiction to the norm of industrial competition. Some of it will make you laugh out loud. There is a good amount of humor in here as well, primarily between those in the inner circle who know the truth about Merlin and Owl. It does take some of the pain out of the heavy lifting Weber writes.
Weber uses a third person global subjective point-of-view — there are simply too many locations and characters for it to be anything else. While a number of countries are mentioned, others are prominent within the story, including Siddarmark and Harchong. Tellesberg and Zion are fairly minor.
I LOVE that Rhobair has informed the Harchong emperor that the emperor will allow the families of officers in the Mighty Host to leave Harchong and settle in with Rainbow Waters' people. And that the Church paid the salaries of the Mighty Host and settled them on their own lands. Lands these peasant soldiers could own. Rhobair would have loved to insist on all their families, but he knew the emperor would balk and force the Church to go to war with Harchong. Rhobair has also insisted on the same safety codes for employees and the education of children as Charis has adopted.
There is plenty of violent action with some horrible reprisals in the form of beatings, riots, and government acts against those who had tried to protect their families. Most of it being organized purposefully.
The election campaigns in Siddarmark sound like our own. Full of lies, provocation, and lots of violence. The situation there does provide an opportunity for Weber to note how consumers view an economy. And it does make sense. Lord knows there is plenty of that fear going around the US.
As for Harchong, it's a conundrum. The Harchongian nobility realize why the rebellion is happening and why those atrocities are being visited upon their families, but they have no intention of righting the wrongs. I mean, duh... It certainly doesn't help that the newly ennobled are even worse in their behaviors. What's sadly funny is that their subordinates are terrified of reprisals, so they make so many wrong decisions out of fear, losing battles and men.
Naturally, families are growing, there are marriages, and there are deaths. Life goes on as does this tale of corruption and war.
The Story
Charis may have won the war and its push for the spread of technology, but the deadline for the return of the Archangels is looming. The fate of Charis and its allies is in doubt, for that same technology may trigger the automatic weapons system the Archangels originally set up. The threat of kinetic bombardment.
The prophecy, no, the threat, of the return of those Archangels looms over all that the Charisian Empire has achieved.
The Characters
As usual, the character list is incredibly long, so if you're interested, you can read my review on my website, KD Did It, after it publishes 29 April 2019.
Safehold is...
...a planet that was humanity's last hope to escape the Gbaba. Its world was set up to be low-tech to avoid the enemy's notice, but its original charter — and its religion — was perverted by a select few.
The Empire of Charis won and is implementing its Nahrman Plan. Its allies include Emerald, Corisande, Dohlar, Chisholm, Thesmar, Tarot, Zebediah, and to an odd extent, Siddarmark, the Mighty Army, and Mother Church(!). Her enemies are Desnair and Harchong. I have no idea where Delferahk stands.
The Archangels were...
...the original humans who reached Safehold and the winners of their rebellion — Eric Langhorne was their leader, Androcles Schueler was into justice, Adorée Bedard was all about education, Hastings was the patron of geology and geography; Pasquale was into health; Chihiro; and, others are among the true evil ones who chose to keep the people at a medieval level using mind control and the books they incorporated into the Holy Writ , the Safeholdian holy bible that has been rewritten time and time again, beginning with "Archangel" Langhorne. The Book of Schueler and the Book of Chihiro were some of the later additions.
The Key of Schueler, a memory module containing the contents of every book written on Safehold, is a recorded hologram of Schueler as well as a weapon system. The Temple in Zion is itself a planetary-defense bunker.
The Archangels who wanted to adhere to the original plan included Shan-wei, now castigated as the Evil One. She is an imprecation, the Mother of Lies, and demon to the people of Safehold. She was also Dr Pei Shan-wei who was demonized by fellow crewmen who betrayed the mission's original purpose
The Cover and Title
The cover is divided horizontally into a black band at the top forming the background for the author's name, embossed in a muted metallic red. The center band is a graphic with Merlin in armor and cloak, a sword at his side, standing at the top of a mountain looking out over a landscape of airships floating in the pastel sunset. Merlin's own futuristic ship hovers below him. The bottom band is a bright metallic red as background for the embossed silver title. Two green-gold borders separate the bands, both containing an info blurb.
The title is about Safehold, which has been Through Fiery Trials that only continue in a different form.
January 12, 2019
dnf @ 50%
Nažalost, Veber je do kraja otišao u skribomaniju ovaplođenu u načelu "da vam prepričam šta se desilo" ispresecanom ne toliko zanimljivim dijalozima.
Čitanje ove knjige pretvorilo se u naporno prosejavanje rečenica u potrazi za retkim biserima onog starog Dejvida Vebera, a piščevi povremeni izleti u promovisanje brakova između mladih žena i "zrelih" muškaraca samo su mi dodatno išli na živce.
Iako sam pročitao sve prethodne knjige iz ovog serijala, kao i skoro sve što je Veber objavio u formi romana, došlo je vreme da ovaj serijal batalim. Možda će se u nekom novom jedan od meni veoma dragih pisaca s početka ovog milenijuma malo prenuti iz skribomanske kome u koju je upao.
Nažalost, Veber je do kraja otišao u skribomaniju ovaplođenu u načelu "da vam prepričam šta se desilo" ispresecanom ne toliko zanimljivim dijalozima.
Čitanje ove knjige pretvorilo se u naporno prosejavanje rečenica u potrazi za retkim biserima onog starog Dejvida Vebera, a piščevi povremeni izleti u promovisanje brakova između mladih žena i "zrelih" muškaraca samo su mi dodatno išli na živce.
Iako sam pročitao sve prethodne knjige iz ovog serijala, kao i skoro sve što je Veber objavio u formi romana, došlo je vreme da ovaj serijal batalim. Možda će se u nekom novom jedan od meni veoma dragih pisaca s početka ovog milenijuma malo prenuti iz skribomanske kome u koju je upao.
August 19, 2024
DNF
Maybe I will come back to this if another book in the series ever comes out. For now, I am uninterested in a book that is detailing what happened in the previous 9 books.
Maybe I will come back to this if another book in the series ever comes out. For now, I am uninterested in a book that is detailing what happened in the previous 9 books.
November 5, 2024
I liked this book. I didn't love it.
I'm sorry. I am a David Weber fan and I understand why this book was written. This is a transitional novel acting as a bridge between one major story arc and the next.
The story: After winning the war, the major characters are preparing for the prophetic return of the Archangels, and the danger that implies. While they are waiting, Harchong is coming apart, and it looks like a possible war is building there. Then years pass, people die, others are born, grow up, and marry. Friends become enemies. Enemies become friends. And the ending acts as a major stepping stone to the next book.
So... what are the problems with this book? The major problem is that decades pass, and a lot of major events happen, but there is no real build up to them. Suddenly, little kids are old enough to marry. Great warhorses are now too old to get out of bed. It happens so fast it is difficult to understand where the story is heading other than the author must get all this stuff out of the way to get to the meat of the next story arc. (I really think this is what is happening. I have no special knowledge.)
I bought the audiobook. I didn't like the narrator at first, but he got better later in the book. That only emphasized how long it took for the narrator to get a feeling for the story.
The story has a few highlights, and they are good ones. I cannot tell you about the good ones without spoilers, but there were definitely not enough of them.
Any modesty problems? The F-word is used, but no more than in the previous books in the series. Rape occurs and is described in more detail than I would have expected, but nothing that sent me screaming into the dark.
I will probably read this book again before the next book in the series comes out, and it will not be a chore. I simply wish it could have been better.
I'm sorry. I am a David Weber fan and I understand why this book was written. This is a transitional novel acting as a bridge between one major story arc and the next.
The story: After winning the war, the major characters are preparing for the prophetic return of the Archangels, and the danger that implies. While they are waiting, Harchong is coming apart, and it looks like a possible war is building there. Then years pass, people die, others are born, grow up, and marry. Friends become enemies. Enemies become friends. And the ending acts as a major stepping stone to the next book.
So... what are the problems with this book? The major problem is that decades pass, and a lot of major events happen, but there is no real build up to them. Suddenly, little kids are old enough to marry. Great warhorses are now too old to get out of bed. It happens so fast it is difficult to understand where the story is heading other than the author must get all this stuff out of the way to get to the meat of the next story arc. (I really think this is what is happening. I have no special knowledge.)
I bought the audiobook. I didn't like the narrator at first, but he got better later in the book. That only emphasized how long it took for the narrator to get a feeling for the story.
The story has a few highlights, and they are good ones. I cannot tell you about the good ones without spoilers, but there were definitely not enough of them.
Any modesty problems? The F-word is used, but no more than in the previous books in the series. Rape occurs and is described in more detail than I would have expected, but nothing that sent me screaming into the dark.
I will probably read this book again before the next book in the series comes out, and it will not be a chore. I simply wish it could have been better.
February 13, 2019
This is the tenth book of this series. I read the last two books preceding this one and thought that there was way too much material that meandered. I read this one, thinking that the author was going to say something to justify the 700 plus pages. I have read perhaps two dozen of Weber's books. He is a smart man and he write smart books. The problem is that all of his characters, and there are a lot of them, sound the same. He character names are strange. The characters are cardboard cutouts, either wonderful or wicked or stupid. Then there are the recurring info dumps. I finished it, but it was a struggle at best. The story seems to have lost its way.
I assume that there will be an eleventh book in the series. I am not at all sure that I have the desire or the strength to read it.
I assume that there will be an eleventh book in the series. I am not at all sure that I have the desire or the strength to read it.
January 25, 2019
Downhill
This book spans 26 years and should probably have been summarized as the opening chapter of the next book. It's nothing but filler until the very last chapter. Very disappointing.
This book spans 26 years and should probably have been summarized as the opening chapter of the next book. It's nothing but filler until the very last chapter. Very disappointing.
April 22, 2019
A few months ago I learned losing something makes you feel 2-3x worse than a gain. For example, losing a $100 causes much more pain than the joy of gaining $1,000. So I started this book and had to finish it for that reason. And shouldn't have. Nothing happens. Literally, nothing. What a waste.
May 4, 2019
On the one hand, it's a between-arc book, and as such does suffer somewhat from middle-book syndrome.
On the other hand, it's a very good middle book.
On the other hand, it's a very good middle book.
January 21, 2019
What I found most interesting in this latest of Weber's Safehold series is that he actually tackled all of the problems of re-building a world after a calamitous war. He obviously drew on the post WWII recovery efforts as a starting point; picking and tweaking 20th C history to suit his story's needs.
I loved all that! I thought Weber did a good job of covering so many aspects of the post-war chaos: the despots trying to maintain their pre-war stature, the down-trodden erupting in riotous rebellion. the few stable nations working to help rebuild faltering political-economic systems. Just call me a history nerd!
There are a few exciting battle scenes and several other dire riots for those who want some action. But that sort of drama is not the focus of this book. The story is very episodic, spread over 16 years or so. There are deaths of characters we've come to know over the previous books, marriages (all for love, doncha know) and babies everywhere. (Plus all of the politics and economics mentioned previously).
There are undoubtedly more books to follow. And I will be right there. I can't possibly be the only one who wants to know where that stunner of an ending leads to...
I loved all that! I thought Weber did a good job of covering so many aspects of the post-war chaos: the despots trying to maintain their pre-war stature, the down-trodden erupting in riotous rebellion. the few stable nations working to help rebuild faltering political-economic systems. Just call me a history nerd!
There are a few exciting battle scenes and several other dire riots for those who want some action. But that sort of drama is not the focus of this book. The story is very episodic, spread over 16 years or so. There are deaths of characters we've come to know over the previous books, marriages (all for love, doncha know) and babies everywhere. (Plus all of the politics and economics mentioned previously).
There are undoubtedly more books to follow. And I will be right there. I can't possibly be the only one who wants to know where that stunner of an ending leads to...
January 16, 2019
Weaker than others
Sorry, David. This is the least of the series of Safehold books. Where the others had action and suspense, this one seemed to be focussed on Charis trying to turn Safehold into a form of economic Utopia. We go from meeting to meeting and hardly a shot is fired. In a word. . . . BORING! I don't care whether the bank of Siddarmark fails!
Nice to meet some old friends, but there so many funerals that one wonders if this book were written to say goodbye to them. Charisian innovations pop out like baby rabbits -- so what else is new. And why don't the bad guys figure out a way punch holes in the gas bags?
The only suspense is what may happen when the Archangels return. THAT was a fizzle.
I'm a Weber fan, but this was not one of his best efforts.
Sorry, David. This is the least of the series of Safehold books. Where the others had action and suspense, this one seemed to be focussed on Charis trying to turn Safehold into a form of economic Utopia. We go from meeting to meeting and hardly a shot is fired. In a word. . . . BORING! I don't care whether the bank of Siddarmark fails!
Nice to meet some old friends, but there so many funerals that one wonders if this book were written to say goodbye to them. Charisian innovations pop out like baby rabbits -- so what else is new. And why don't the bad guys figure out a way punch holes in the gas bags?
The only suspense is what may happen when the Archangels return. THAT was a fizzle.
I'm a Weber fan, but this was not one of his best efforts.
January 27, 2019
Over 700 pages to wade through, and enough content that could have been covered in a short novel.
The Safehold series is a very exciting concept. But, after 10 books, it seems to me it is time to bring it to a close. I was hoping this one would do it. No. Without giving anything away, it ends in a cliff-hanger, waiting for the next 700 page novel.
I love David Weber books. This one is just so...disappointing!
The Safehold series is a very exciting concept. But, after 10 books, it seems to me it is time to bring it to a close. I was hoping this one would do it. No. Without giving anything away, it ends in a cliff-hanger, waiting for the next 700 page novel.
I love David Weber books. This one is just so...disappointing!
September 20, 2020
As with all of the books in this series, it is rather large, and I always find it necessary to skip vast sections of descriptions that don't seem to serve to move the story along. That said this series remains one of my favorites. And I really enjoyed the book, especially the last third of it.
August 16, 2021
Notes:
The whole book was a gigantic epilogue. It tied up most loose ends. Overall, the series was okay, but I thought the way a lot of events were manipulated from behind the scenes were repetitive and relied too much on the idea it was done for the good of all.
The whole book was a gigantic epilogue. It tied up most loose ends. Overall, the series was okay, but I thought the way a lot of events were manipulated from behind the scenes were repetitive and relied too much on the idea it was done for the good of all.
February 26, 2020
Feels like a very extended epilogue.
July 25, 2021
Let me start by saying the Safehold has been one of my favorite series for many years as has been the Honorverse. As such, I consider David Weber to be one of my favorite authors (Heinlein still taking top spot).
It is with great sorrow that I have to give this book 1 star. Sure author have books we do care for, but never did I think that I would give one of my favorite authors such a low rating. However, David Weber broke the sacred trust between authors and readers, he wasted our time with no real point!
Anyone that has read almost any of David Weber's books will know that he takes great pains to have the players discuss in great detail a situation. Many complain about this although I have enjoyed the detail in most of his books. But the big difference between most of his books and this one is that there was an actual goal or direction. Not so in this book.
In many of his books, David Weber would introduce a character, tell us about their life, loves and challenges, then kill them, or someone they love in a tragic event. This might be just the one person or a whole city/ship/space station. Then the powers that be would discuss and make plans or learn lessons. In this book however, the powers that be would discuss what happened, then nothing. That's right NOTHING. The whole event was nothing more than a random event that didn't drive a plot or move the story. In fact, you would be hard pressed to say there was a plot. I suppose you could say the plot was "stuff happened and they talked about it."
Seriously! Why would you write a 1000 pages of random events and have the main characters talk about it? If you were to abridge this novel, you would actually come up with a few pages of timeline an maybe a small chapter on what moved the story of Safehold forward.
David Weber I feel betrayed. I gave you my time and you gave me a verbose timeline of events.
It is with great sorrow that I have to give this book 1 star. Sure author have books we do care for, but never did I think that I would give one of my favorite authors such a low rating. However, David Weber broke the sacred trust between authors and readers, he wasted our time with no real point!
Anyone that has read almost any of David Weber's books will know that he takes great pains to have the players discuss in great detail a situation. Many complain about this although I have enjoyed the detail in most of his books. But the big difference between most of his books and this one is that there was an actual goal or direction. Not so in this book.
In many of his books, David Weber would introduce a character, tell us about their life, loves and challenges, then kill them, or someone they love in a tragic event. This might be just the one person or a whole city/ship/space station. Then the powers that be would discuss and make plans or learn lessons. In this book however, the powers that be would discuss what happened, then nothing. That's right NOTHING. The whole event was nothing more than a random event that didn't drive a plot or move the story. In fact, you would be hard pressed to say there was a plot. I suppose you could say the plot was "stuff happened and they talked about it."
Seriously! Why would you write a 1000 pages of random events and have the main characters talk about it? If you were to abridge this novel, you would actually come up with a few pages of timeline an maybe a small chapter on what moved the story of Safehold forward.
David Weber I feel betrayed. I gave you my time and you gave me a verbose timeline of events.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews