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Dahak #1-3
Empire From the Ashes
For Colin MacIntyre, it began with a routine training flight over the moon. For Dahak, a self-aware Imperial battleship, it began millennia ago, standing guard against an unknown enemy which once devastated the galaxy-and now has returned. So Dahak grabbed MacIntyre's ship and informed him that he was drafted to be its new captain and lead the fight against the ancient enemy.
MacIntyre had doubts that he could handle the job, but Dahak had definitely picked the right man. Before it was all over, MacIntyre would:
" Defeat a cadre of mutineers, formerly part of Dahak's crew, kept alive through untold generations by alien technology, who have been secretly manipulating life on earth for thousands of years . . .
" Mobilize the planet into a fighting force that might have a slender chance of stopping the ancient alien menace from eradicating all intelligent life in its path . . .
" And resurrect the ancient galactic empire, which had fallen into chaos and barbarism, with himself as Emperor-which meant that he immediately became the target of a plot to assassinate him, and strand his son and daughter on a planet where their chances of surviving in a superstitious pre-tech society would be zero for the average human . . .
Fortunately for the galaxy, Colin MacIntyre and his heirs have never even heard of average, and anyone, human or alien, who got in their way was going to be very, very sorry.
MacIntyre had doubts that he could handle the job, but Dahak had definitely picked the right man. Before it was all over, MacIntyre would:
" Defeat a cadre of mutineers, formerly part of Dahak's crew, kept alive through untold generations by alien technology, who have been secretly manipulating life on earth for thousands of years . . .
" Mobilize the planet into a fighting force that might have a slender chance of stopping the ancient alien menace from eradicating all intelligent life in its path . . .
" And resurrect the ancient galactic empire, which had fallen into chaos and barbarism, with himself as Emperor-which meant that he immediately became the target of a plot to assassinate him, and strand his son and daughter on a planet where their chances of surviving in a superstitious pre-tech society would be zero for the average human . . .
Fortunately for the galaxy, Colin MacIntyre and his heirs have never even heard of average, and anyone, human or alien, who got in their way was going to be very, very sorry.
784 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
348 people are currently reading
870 people want to read
About the author
David Weber
322 books4,549 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...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
June 23, 2010
4.5 stars. The Dahak trilogy, which includes Mutineers' Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance and Heirs of Empire is superb military space opera. I believe it belongs on the "must read" list of all fans of the genre. One thing I found that set this apart from typical "military" based science fiction is the development of the main characters and the focus on their relationships and how much they respect and care for each other. I especially liked the growth of the relationship between Colin McIntyre (the main character) and Dahak (the sentient spaceship he commands). Therefore, don't let the military tag turn you off if you don't typically read that sub-genre as this is high quality science fiction. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
April 14, 2019
David Weber is the James Patterson of SF. I remember when he was great. I remember when he was good. But when he wrote that a satellite “floated in geosynchronous orbit near Tierra Del Fuego,” I stopped reading the already boring plot and cardboard characters. Someone such as Weber should know it is impossible to place a satellite in geosynchronous orbit except around the equator. Serving the southern tip of South America would take either a highly inclined orbit or a network of multiple low orbit satellites.
This stuff is basic physics. And, with recent announcements by Amazon, it’s even in all the papers. Whoever’s ghostwriting this does’t know that, and Weber cares so little about his reputation he never bothered to check.
This stuff is basic physics. And, with recent announcements by Amazon, it’s even in all the papers. Whoever’s ghostwriting this does’t know that, and Weber cares so little about his reputation he never bothered to check.
December 31, 2018
Some folks think of epic space opera and say, why? Others day, "Hey, maybe the Moon is actually a massive abandoned space battleship and the human race was founded by its mutinous crew tens of thousands of years ago" and say, why not?
An omnibus of Weber's earliest solo series (Mutineer's Moon in 1991, followed by The Armageddon Inheritance in 1994 and Heirs of Empire in 1996), the tale is a bit more roughly-hewn than his later works. MM, the earliest, is the most straightforward, establishing the universe and its key players. TAI is a direct follow-up, though Weber makes the decision to humanize his overarching foe, which is one of his standard tactics but also seems to complicate and weaken the narrative. HOE blends two tales, the primary of which comes across as both a sidebar tale of the the particular universe and as a presaging of pre-tech themes Weber will visit in works (including Off Armageddon Reef).
The overarching story doesn't quite hold up (the first two books make a good duology; the third is primarily in the same setting), but the individual tales are rollicking good adventures, with little depth but plenty of massive star battles and flashing swords. I've read it multiple times, and will likely do so again in the future.
An omnibus of Weber's earliest solo series (Mutineer's Moon in 1991, followed by The Armageddon Inheritance in 1994 and Heirs of Empire in 1996), the tale is a bit more roughly-hewn than his later works. MM, the earliest, is the most straightforward, establishing the universe and its key players. TAI is a direct follow-up, though Weber makes the decision to humanize his overarching foe, which is one of his standard tactics but also seems to complicate and weaken the narrative. HOE blends two tales, the primary of which comes across as both a sidebar tale of the the particular universe and as a presaging of pre-tech themes Weber will visit in works (including Off Armageddon Reef).
The overarching story doesn't quite hold up (the first two books make a good duology; the third is primarily in the same setting), but the individual tales are rollicking good adventures, with little depth but plenty of massive star battles and flashing swords. I've read it multiple times, and will likely do so again in the future.
November 7, 2023
Empire From the Ashes
What can I say about this besides magnificent!
Yes this is one an older story, and I originally read it in print, as electronic media was not main stream yet, but the complexities of the story, and the twists and turns? Magnificent!
I highly recommend this to everyone, to get a good feel for the authors works, and not just Honor Harrington.
Started reading it and could not put it down!
What can I say about this besides magnificent!
Yes this is one an older story, and I originally read it in print, as electronic media was not main stream yet, but the complexities of the story, and the twists and turns? Magnificent!
I highly recommend this to everyone, to get a good feel for the authors works, and not just Honor Harrington.
Started reading it and could not put it down!
February 7, 2015
Empire from the Ashes is an omnibus containing all three books in the Dahak series.
The first book in the series quickly introduces us to the rather preposterous premise that Earth’s moon is actually a gigantic spaceship, disguised like a moon. This spaceship is controlled by a sentient and likeable computer, Dahak, but he no longer has a crew for reasons explained at the beginning of the book. One of the main characters, Colin, is a normal 21st century human with no idea that there’s intelligent life beyond Earth. While surveying the moon with newly developed surveying equipment, he stumbles upon the fact that there’s more to the moon than meets the eye. Before he can share his findings, he’s captured by Dahak who convinces him to become the ship’s captain so he can help Dahak deal with some pressing issues that affect the safety of Earth.
I definitely had some quibbles with the premise, but the story started off in an interesting way that quickly caught my imagination and I was able to overlook (mostly) some of the crazier aspects of the premise. The first book had a lot of enjoyable parts, but it also had some pretty slow parts, with long and drawn-out battle scenes that weren’t always easy to follow.
The second book, on the other hand, started out quite slow with lots of detailed preparations for facing a looming threat. It took me a long time to get through the first half of the second book. However, I really enjoyed the second half. The second half had a lot of long and drawn-out battle scenes but, unlike the battle scenes in the first book, I thought they were well-written and much easier to follow so that I could picture them in my head. I also enjoyed the antagonists of this book which were much more interesting and multi-dimensional than those in the first book.
The first two books made up the first half of the omnibus and, after the slow parts in the first two books, I was worried I would get bogged down in the longer third book forever. However, the third book was really good. In fact, I wished it were longer. I made time to read it when I really should have been doing more important things. The first part spanned several years in which the offspring of some of the main characters from the first two books grew up and became young adults. At that point, the story split off into two directions. One part of the story focused on the older generation and had a lot of political intrigue. The other part of the story focused on the younger generation. The younger generation found themselves caught up in a major crisis that they had to deal with on their own. Without spoiling anything, I wasn’t too happy with the way they handled the crisis, but I could understand why they made the choices they did. In any case, their story was still very entertaining to read about.
I liked the main characters quite a bit. I’ve definitely read better character building, but the main characters were reasonably well fleshed-out and likeable and I enjoyed the camaraderie between them. I also really liked the sentient computer, Dahak. Some of the main antagonists, on the other hand, were very one-dimensional, full of evil ambition with no moral concerns whatsoever, wanting little more out of life than ultimate power at any cost. Those characters got tiresome. But there were some antagonists with more depth to them, and I enjoyed those. The first book was mostly the former, the second book was mostly the latter, and the third book had both types.
All of the main threads were tied up reasonably well by the end of the omnibus. There were some hanging threads from the second book, but mainly because the resolution was likely a few centuries in the future which was outside the time frame of the series. I therefore wasn’t much bothered by it because the main events were wrapped up and I didn’t really want to jump that far into the future to find out what happened next in that storyline. But I did wish the third book’s ending had been fleshed out better. We were given a resolution for all of the main events, but things were wrapped up extremely fast. When I saw I was at the 98% mark in the book, I remember thinking there was no way there was going to be a proper resolution within the remaining pages and I was afraid that it would end in an outright cliffhanger. We saw what happened up to the point where the tide started to turn in favor of our main characters, but then we jumped immediately to a point after the final resolution. We didn’t actually get to see the final successes happen or really spend much time with the characters after the problems were resolved. This was why I mentioned earlier that I wished the third book had been longer – I wanted a longer and more detailed ending.
I had trouble deciding on the star rating since my enjoyment varied quite a bit throughout the omnibus. If I rated the first two books by themselves, I would probably want to give 3.5 stars. But the third book, which represented half of the omnibus by itself, was definitely 4 stars. So I’m going to go with 4 for the whole omnibus.
The first book in the series quickly introduces us to the rather preposterous premise that Earth’s moon is actually a gigantic spaceship, disguised like a moon. This spaceship is controlled by a sentient and likeable computer, Dahak, but he no longer has a crew for reasons explained at the beginning of the book. One of the main characters, Colin, is a normal 21st century human with no idea that there’s intelligent life beyond Earth. While surveying the moon with newly developed surveying equipment, he stumbles upon the fact that there’s more to the moon than meets the eye. Before he can share his findings, he’s captured by Dahak who convinces him to become the ship’s captain so he can help Dahak deal with some pressing issues that affect the safety of Earth.
I definitely had some quibbles with the premise, but the story started off in an interesting way that quickly caught my imagination and I was able to overlook (mostly) some of the crazier aspects of the premise. The first book had a lot of enjoyable parts, but it also had some pretty slow parts, with long and drawn-out battle scenes that weren’t always easy to follow.
The second book, on the other hand, started out quite slow with lots of detailed preparations for facing a looming threat. It took me a long time to get through the first half of the second book. However, I really enjoyed the second half. The second half had a lot of long and drawn-out battle scenes but, unlike the battle scenes in the first book, I thought they were well-written and much easier to follow so that I could picture them in my head. I also enjoyed the antagonists of this book which were much more interesting and multi-dimensional than those in the first book.
The first two books made up the first half of the omnibus and, after the slow parts in the first two books, I was worried I would get bogged down in the longer third book forever. However, the third book was really good. In fact, I wished it were longer. I made time to read it when I really should have been doing more important things. The first part spanned several years in which the offspring of some of the main characters from the first two books grew up and became young adults. At that point, the story split off into two directions. One part of the story focused on the older generation and had a lot of political intrigue. The other part of the story focused on the younger generation. The younger generation found themselves caught up in a major crisis that they had to deal with on their own. Without spoiling anything, I wasn’t too happy with the way they handled the crisis, but I could understand why they made the choices they did. In any case, their story was still very entertaining to read about.
I liked the main characters quite a bit. I’ve definitely read better character building, but the main characters were reasonably well fleshed-out and likeable and I enjoyed the camaraderie between them. I also really liked the sentient computer, Dahak. Some of the main antagonists, on the other hand, were very one-dimensional, full of evil ambition with no moral concerns whatsoever, wanting little more out of life than ultimate power at any cost. Those characters got tiresome. But there were some antagonists with more depth to them, and I enjoyed those. The first book was mostly the former, the second book was mostly the latter, and the third book had both types.
All of the main threads were tied up reasonably well by the end of the omnibus. There were some hanging threads from the second book, but mainly because the resolution was likely a few centuries in the future which was outside the time frame of the series. I therefore wasn’t much bothered by it because the main events were wrapped up and I didn’t really want to jump that far into the future to find out what happened next in that storyline. But I did wish the third book’s ending had been fleshed out better. We were given a resolution for all of the main events, but things were wrapped up extremely fast. When I saw I was at the 98% mark in the book, I remember thinking there was no way there was going to be a proper resolution within the remaining pages and I was afraid that it would end in an outright cliffhanger. We saw what happened up to the point where the tide started to turn in favor of our main characters, but then we jumped immediately to a point after the final resolution. We didn’t actually get to see the final successes happen or really spend much time with the characters after the problems were resolved. This was why I mentioned earlier that I wished the third book had been longer – I wanted a longer and more detailed ending.
I had trouble deciding on the star rating since my enjoyment varied quite a bit throughout the omnibus. If I rated the first two books by themselves, I would probably want to give 3.5 stars. But the third book, which represented half of the omnibus by itself, was definitely 4 stars. So I’m going to go with 4 for the whole omnibus.
May 13, 2022
I have read this a second time. like a lot of Weber's books.
September 2, 2017
Little lazy here so I'll just say what others probably haven't, my pet peeves about this trilogy.
First, the protagonist is an military idiot as can be seen early on when he is abducted by a spaceship and instead of listening to the explanation being given he decides not to be passive listener so he interupts with stupid questions and proclamations like I don't believe this, impossible!... while facing the impossible.
The action is great, romance lacking as expected from a sci-fi author and unfortunately the politics are skipped so in the conclusion of say wars we don't get people's reactions or different perspectives.
No press conference to declare the existence of aliens or the real history of humanity or hearing biggoted greedy politicians arguing, which is a letdown for me as those things are left behind in timeskips after the big conflicts were over.
The purpose of side story protagonists kids have unfortunately serves only to make a happy and barely satisfying ending. The worst of all is the thriller part of the novel, which proves Webber is as good thriller writter as he is a romance writter, meaning not very good. The 2nd antagonist is supposed to be mysterious and unkown even to us readers, however not only is his identity easily guessed by anyone with a brain, he is even disclosed to the readers only a few dozen pages after introducing the mysterious vilain. Borderline horror movie stupidity of the characters is what allowed this vilain even to exist, as you see he is in one of the top 10 power/government positions and they have a fullproof lie detector, why they haven't even suspected him or used lie detector on anyone with a high position to confirm he/she doesn't have any bad intentions as is beyond me.
First, the protagonist is an military idiot as can be seen early on when he is abducted by a spaceship and instead of listening to the explanation being given he decides not to be passive listener so he interupts with stupid questions and proclamations like I don't believe this, impossible!... while facing the impossible.
The action is great, romance lacking as expected from a sci-fi author and unfortunately the politics are skipped so in the conclusion of say wars we don't get people's reactions or different perspectives.
No press conference to declare the existence of aliens or the real history of humanity or hearing biggoted greedy politicians arguing, which is a letdown for me as those things are left behind in timeskips after the big conflicts were over.
The purpose of side story protagonists kids have unfortunately serves only to make a happy and barely satisfying ending. The worst of all is the thriller part of the novel, which proves Webber is as good thriller writter as he is a romance writter, meaning not very good. The 2nd antagonist is supposed to be mysterious and unkown even to us readers, however not only is his identity easily guessed by anyone with a brain, he is even disclosed to the readers only a few dozen pages after introducing the mysterious vilain. Borderline horror movie stupidity of the characters is what allowed this vilain even to exist, as you see he is in one of the top 10 power/government positions and they have a fullproof lie detector, why they haven't even suspected him or used lie detector on anyone with a high position to confirm he/she doesn't have any bad intentions as is beyond me.
February 20, 2012
This is actually three books: Mutineer's Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance, and Heirs of Empire.
If you take a pinch of "space", add a teaspoon of "opera", then throw in a dash of heroic humans, and another dash of vile villains (don't forget the long dead empire with super technology), put in the fusion reactor at 30 million degrees for 30 minutes, you end up with Space Opera on a grand scale.
You know the routine - massive alien armada is sweeping through the galaxy, destroying any species that even blinks, and their next target is... Earth! Our intrepid hero Colin MacIntyre discovers that the whole freaking moon is an ancient battle ship that was created by the 4th Imperium to fight an alien menace that sweeps through the galaxy more often than the Beatles get together for reunion albums, and it's up to MacIntyre to defeat the mutineers who tried to rebel against the 4th Imperium 45,000 years earlier, pull all Earth's countries together to prepare for the alien menace, and win the heart of the beautiful but dangerous Jiltanith, who initially hates him, but finds herself strangely attracted to.
David Weber is a very competent writer - I couldn't stop myself from continuing to turn the pages of this book. However, I think he does a better job with these same themes in his books March Upcountry, March to the Sea, March to the Stars and We Few.
If you take a pinch of "space", add a teaspoon of "opera", then throw in a dash of heroic humans, and another dash of vile villains (don't forget the long dead empire with super technology), put in the fusion reactor at 30 million degrees for 30 minutes, you end up with Space Opera on a grand scale.
You know the routine - massive alien armada is sweeping through the galaxy, destroying any species that even blinks, and their next target is... Earth! Our intrepid hero Colin MacIntyre discovers that the whole freaking moon is an ancient battle ship that was created by the 4th Imperium to fight an alien menace that sweeps through the galaxy more often than the Beatles get together for reunion albums, and it's up to MacIntyre to defeat the mutineers who tried to rebel against the 4th Imperium 45,000 years earlier, pull all Earth's countries together to prepare for the alien menace, and win the heart of the beautiful but dangerous Jiltanith, who initially hates him, but finds herself strangely attracted to.
David Weber is a very competent writer - I couldn't stop myself from continuing to turn the pages of this book. However, I think he does a better job with these same themes in his books March Upcountry, March to the Sea, March to the Stars and We Few.
February 16, 2015
I really enjoyed this monster of a book (almost 17000 Kindle locations!) The only thing that stopped me from giving it 5* was Weber's love of political intrigue (one of the reasons why I stopped reading his Honor series). While politics cannot be ignored in the greater scheme of the book, it did get a bit much.
As always, Weber's battle scenarios are well written - whether the fighting is in high tech space ships or in medieval swordfights. I really loved Dahak.
Apart from the politics, the only thing that bugged me was the lack of finish to the battle for control of Pardal - most of the last book centres around that and we don't get to hear how the final battle was completed.
The first book in the series was written in 1991 and the last in 1996, and it's quite sad that the ending suggests a sequel, but that has not happened.
As always, Weber's battle scenarios are well written - whether the fighting is in high tech space ships or in medieval swordfights. I really loved Dahak.
Apart from the politics, the only thing that bugged me was the lack of finish to the battle for control of Pardal - most of the last book centres around that and we don't get to hear how the final battle was completed.
The first book in the series was written in 1991 and the last in 1996, and it's quite sad that the ending suggests a sequel, but that has not happened.
February 4, 2017
Should have been a duology.
First two books in the trilogy were solid 4 stars, but the third brings it down.
First two books are solid sci-fi adventure, following an over-arcing plot of rediscovery and alien menace. Third book is patch on, mix of political spy-stuff and alternate universe black-powder warfare, connected by characters to the first two books but not related to the original plot. Basic premise of the black-powder plot section broke my suspension of disbelief and I never got past that or a number of other problems.
First two books in the trilogy were solid 4 stars, but the third brings it down.
First two books are solid sci-fi adventure, following an over-arcing plot of rediscovery and alien menace. Third book is patch on, mix of political spy-stuff and alternate universe black-powder warfare, connected by characters to the first two books but not related to the original plot. Basic premise of the black-powder plot section broke my suspension of disbelief and I never got past that or a number of other problems.
January 8, 2024
This series of novels is one that I can pick up, open at random, and start reading at any time. This was perhaps the third or fourth time I've read them straight through, and they remain space opera in the grand tradition.
May 3, 2013
Oh my this book seems so much longer than it actually is, wow. It's still good though :).
January 2, 2014
similar bits to some of his other series show up here. good action story.
November 10, 2021
Imensa punte de comandă era la fel de calmă, la fel de liniştită, ca întotdeauna, tăcută, dar pentru micile sunete de fundal ale înregistrărilor de mediu. Pereţii etanşi erau invizibili dincolo de proiecţia spaţiului cu pete de stea şi de forma alb-albastră a unei lumi purtătoare de viaţă. Era exact aşa cum ar fi trebuit să fie, exact aşa cum fusese dintotdeauna ― liniştit, bine ordonat, la fel de divorţat de haos pe cât ar putea fi orice cadru.
Însă chipul căpitanului Druaga era sumbru în timp ce stătea lângă scaunul de comandă şi datele îi curgeau prin fluxurile neuronale. A simţit fulgerul scânteietor al armelor energetice precum fierele de călcat încălzite, Engineering nu a mai răspuns ― deloc surprinzător ― şi a pierdut atât Bio-Control One, cât şi Three. Punţile hangarului nu aparţineau nimănui; le sigilase împotriva răzvrătitorilor, dar măcelarii lui Anu blocaseră arborii de tranzit cu câmpuri de prindere acoperite de arme grele. El deţinea în continuare Controlul focului şi majoritatea sistemelor externe, dar Comunicaţiile fuseseră ţinta principală a răzvrătitorilor. Prima explozie a scos-o şi chiar o navă din clasa Utu a montat doar un singur hipercom. Nu putea nici să mute nava, nici să raporteze ceea ce se întâmplase, iar loialiştii săi pierdeau.
Druaga şi-a relaxat în mod deliberat maxilarul înainte ca dinţii să-i poată scrâşni împreună. În cei şapte mii de ani de când Imperiul al IV-lea s-a târât înapoi în spaţiu din ultima lume supravieţuitoare a celui de-al treilea, nu a existat niciodată o revoltă la bordul unei nave capitale a Flotei de luptă. În cel mai bun caz, el va intra în istorie ca căpitan al cărui echipaj se întorsese împotriva lui şi fusese suprimat sălbatic. În cel mai rău caz, el nu va intra deloc în istorie.
Raportul de stare s-a încheiat, iar el a oftat şi s-a scuturat.
Revoltătorii erau enorm depăşiţi în număr, dar aveau avantajul nepreţuit al surprizei, iar Anu plănuise cu grijă. Druaga pufni; fără îndoială, profesorii Academiei ar fi fost mândri de tactica sa. Dar cel puţin ― şi mulţumesc Creatorului pentru asta! ― era doar inginerul şef, nu un ofiţer de pod. Erau coduri de comandă despre care nu avea cunoştinţă.
― Dahak, spuse Druaga.
― Da, căpitane? Vocea calmă şi moale a venit de pretutindeni şi de nicăieri, umplând puntea de comandă.
― Cu cât timp mutinarii ajung la Comanda Unu?
― Trei ore standard, căpitane, plus sau minus cincisprezece la sută.
― Nu pot fi opriţi?
„Negativ, căpitane. Ei controlează toate abordările către Comandamentul Unu şi împing înapoi personalul loial în aproape toate punctele de contact.”
Bineînţeles că erau, se gândi amarnic Druaga. Aveau armuri de luptă şi arme grele; marea majoritate a loialiştilor săi nu.
Se mai uită o dată în jurul punţii de comandă pustie. Gunnery era fără pilot, iar complot, inginerie, Battle Comp, astrogation…. Când s-au declanşat alarmele, doar el reuşise să ajungă la postul său înainte ca mutinarii să întrerupă puterea arborilor de tranzit. Doar el. Şi pentru a ajunge aici, a trebuit să ucidă doi membri ai personalului său subversaţi, când s-au aruncat asupra lui ca nişte asasini.
Însă chipul căpitanului Druaga era sumbru în timp ce stătea lângă scaunul de comandă şi datele îi curgeau prin fluxurile neuronale. A simţit fulgerul scânteietor al armelor energetice precum fierele de călcat încălzite, Engineering nu a mai răspuns ― deloc surprinzător ― şi a pierdut atât Bio-Control One, cât şi Three. Punţile hangarului nu aparţineau nimănui; le sigilase împotriva răzvrătitorilor, dar măcelarii lui Anu blocaseră arborii de tranzit cu câmpuri de prindere acoperite de arme grele. El deţinea în continuare Controlul focului şi majoritatea sistemelor externe, dar Comunicaţiile fuseseră ţinta principală a răzvrătitorilor. Prima explozie a scos-o şi chiar o navă din clasa Utu a montat doar un singur hipercom. Nu putea nici să mute nava, nici să raporteze ceea ce se întâmplase, iar loialiştii săi pierdeau.
Druaga şi-a relaxat în mod deliberat maxilarul înainte ca dinţii să-i poată scrâşni împreună. În cei şapte mii de ani de când Imperiul al IV-lea s-a târât înapoi în spaţiu din ultima lume supravieţuitoare a celui de-al treilea, nu a existat niciodată o revoltă la bordul unei nave capitale a Flotei de luptă. În cel mai bun caz, el va intra în istorie ca căpitan al cărui echipaj se întorsese împotriva lui şi fusese suprimat sălbatic. În cel mai rău caz, el nu va intra deloc în istorie.
Raportul de stare s-a încheiat, iar el a oftat şi s-a scuturat.
Revoltătorii erau enorm depăşiţi în număr, dar aveau avantajul nepreţuit al surprizei, iar Anu plănuise cu grijă. Druaga pufni; fără îndoială, profesorii Academiei ar fi fost mândri de tactica sa. Dar cel puţin ― şi mulţumesc Creatorului pentru asta! ― era doar inginerul şef, nu un ofiţer de pod. Erau coduri de comandă despre care nu avea cunoştinţă.
― Dahak, spuse Druaga.
― Da, căpitane? Vocea calmă şi moale a venit de pretutindeni şi de nicăieri, umplând puntea de comandă.
― Cu cât timp mutinarii ajung la Comanda Unu?
― Trei ore standard, căpitane, plus sau minus cincisprezece la sută.
― Nu pot fi opriţi?
„Negativ, căpitane. Ei controlează toate abordările către Comandamentul Unu şi împing înapoi personalul loial în aproape toate punctele de contact.”
Bineînţeles că erau, se gândi amarnic Druaga. Aveau armuri de luptă şi arme grele; marea majoritate a loialiştilor săi nu.
Se mai uită o dată în jurul punţii de comandă pustie. Gunnery era fără pilot, iar complot, inginerie, Battle Comp, astrogation…. Când s-au declanşat alarmele, doar el reuşise să ajungă la postul său înainte ca mutinarii să întrerupă puterea arborilor de tranzit. Doar el. Şi pentru a ajunge aici, a trebuit să ucidă doi membri ai personalului său subversaţi, când s-au aruncat asupra lui ca nişte asasini.
April 14, 2018
for those who are frequent readers of Weber's other books, you might notice a few things here. The three books comprise certain storylines that recure later on. Book 2 has lots of the large spaceship battles that were to become a trademark of later honorverse novels, while book 3 could be considered 'the first draft of the entire Safehold series, without the funny names or the useless padding of thousands of characters that exist for 5 pages and no more.
but let's start with the first book. What if I told you that the moon is not the moon, it's not even a space station, it is, in fact, a ship. And humans didn't evolve here, they're descendants of that ship's crew that crash landed 51 thousand years ago... and the captain's name was Xeno - no, I'm kidding with that last part.
But that's where the book starts, with the moon, Dahak, undergoing a mutiny, and he captain, in attempting to scuttle the ship, releases everyone evacuated, which the ships chief engineer - leading the mutiny - rigs the ships defences to fail, which they mostly do. But some of the mutineers have re9or de-?) mutinied, and have fought things to a standstill all this time, popping in and out of status and helping 'the humans' with their advanced tech. Meanwhile, Dahak in orbit is unaware of the factions, and can't kill the mutineers as programmed without killing everyone on earth. Meanwhile, both sides are intertwined in world politics, fighting battles by proxy through military 'police' actions, or 'terrorist strikes'.
Dahak needs a captain to help, especially as the whole reason he was sent out thousands of years ago was to patrol against an infrequent 'cleansing' sweep by an alien race, and the sensor arrays are starting to report that attack is starting. Luckily there's this unrelated astronaut just testing a brand new (mutineer-assisted) scanner on the far side of the moon. Why not grab him and make him captain.
Thus begins the series. Book 1 deals with sorting out the problem of the mutineers. Book 2 deals with fighting off the alien invaders. While book 3 has the kids of the main characters stuck on a planet that walled itself off from history, hid behind a planetary defence system, then set up a religion to keep them in the dark ages, and do so without using advanced weaponry (as I said, see also the 9 books and 4,500 PAGES of safehold).
It's probably one of his better works and book 3 is better than the safehold series, which yes, I have read)
but let's start with the first book. What if I told you that the moon is not the moon, it's not even a space station, it is, in fact, a ship. And humans didn't evolve here, they're descendants of that ship's crew that crash landed 51 thousand years ago... and the captain's name was Xeno - no, I'm kidding with that last part.
But that's where the book starts, with the moon, Dahak, undergoing a mutiny, and he captain, in attempting to scuttle the ship, releases everyone evacuated, which the ships chief engineer - leading the mutiny - rigs the ships defences to fail, which they mostly do. But some of the mutineers have re9or de-?) mutinied, and have fought things to a standstill all this time, popping in and out of status and helping 'the humans' with their advanced tech. Meanwhile, Dahak in orbit is unaware of the factions, and can't kill the mutineers as programmed without killing everyone on earth. Meanwhile, both sides are intertwined in world politics, fighting battles by proxy through military 'police' actions, or 'terrorist strikes'.
Dahak needs a captain to help, especially as the whole reason he was sent out thousands of years ago was to patrol against an infrequent 'cleansing' sweep by an alien race, and the sensor arrays are starting to report that attack is starting. Luckily there's this unrelated astronaut just testing a brand new (mutineer-assisted) scanner on the far side of the moon. Why not grab him and make him captain.
Thus begins the series. Book 1 deals with sorting out the problem of the mutineers. Book 2 deals with fighting off the alien invaders. While book 3 has the kids of the main characters stuck on a planet that walled itself off from history, hid behind a planetary defence system, then set up a religion to keep them in the dark ages, and do so without using advanced weaponry (as I said, see also the 9 books and 4,500 PAGES of safehold).
It's probably one of his better works and book 3 is better than the safehold series, which yes, I have read)
November 6, 2021
I can see many of Weber's later stories within this Trilogy.
A significant portion is an early form of his Safehold series, with some important names and story beats even reoccurring, though at a much faster and less detailed pace here than later. In the space combat you can see the roots of the Honorverse's detailed and believable weapons systems. And as Earth prepares for its greatest battle, the buildup is very reminiscent of his latest book, Into The Light. There's even a small nod to his Hell's Gate series.
This story is much faster, and hand waves more of the politics, science, physics, and character development than his later series. But it is still a great read, and it might be the best way to introduce new people to Weber, without them getting overwhelmed.
A significant portion is an early form of his Safehold series, with some important names and story beats even reoccurring, though at a much faster and less detailed pace here than later. In the space combat you can see the roots of the Honorverse's detailed and believable weapons systems. And as Earth prepares for its greatest battle, the buildup is very reminiscent of his latest book, Into The Light. There's even a small nod to his Hell's Gate series.
This story is much faster, and hand waves more of the politics, science, physics, and character development than his later series. But it is still a great read, and it might be the best way to introduce new people to Weber, without them getting overwhelmed.
September 7, 2022
I've just finished my fifth read and I still find the plot compelling and the characters excellently developed. Weber weaves the complexity of human emotions throughout the three books that make up this edition. The struggles and deamons that each face draw the reader inexorably into the story. The surprise revelation about the implacable Achultanni was a curve that I hadn't expected.
After finishing my first read, I felt compelled to read other titles by David Weber. To date, none have disappointed. Each brings a breadth and depth that is most refreshing.
Mr. Weber is an excellent author and his books are superbly written.
After finishing my first read, I felt compelled to read other titles by David Weber. To date, none have disappointed. Each brings a breadth and depth that is most refreshing.
Mr. Weber is an excellent author and his books are superbly written.
February 6, 2023
Actually a 4 1/2 Star rating.
I've read a lot of this author's works and if I really stopped to think about it I could probably predict what the general ending will be like in any of his books. But that just doesn't matter; It's all about the journey the reader is taken upon. Getting caught up in the life of the characters and the action taking place is what this stuff is all about.
I consider this book to be in a sub-category I think of as Military Sci-Fi. Probably falls into the popular "Space Opera" designation, but I just do not like that label so there you are, stuck with mine.
Happy Reading!
I've read a lot of this author's works and if I really stopped to think about it I could probably predict what the general ending will be like in any of his books. But that just doesn't matter; It's all about the journey the reader is taken upon. Getting caught up in the life of the characters and the action taking place is what this stuff is all about.
I consider this book to be in a sub-category I think of as Military Sci-Fi. Probably falls into the popular "Space Opera" designation, but I just do not like that label so there you are, stuck with mine.
Happy Reading!
February 1, 2017
One of my top picks in Sci-fi.
I have just had the pleasure of re-reading this great sci-fi trilogy for the fourth time. As you can see that this is my top favorite sci-fi pick and I get this urge every few years to renew my acquaintance with these distinctive friends of mine. This is the perfect blend of ancient aliens, hollow moon, conspiracy theories all rolled into a absolutely great story. There's danger, military maneuvers, spacecraft, some romance, terrible sacrifices and people you will care about. As I say a perfect balance that has something for everyone.
I have just had the pleasure of re-reading this great sci-fi trilogy for the fourth time. As you can see that this is my top favorite sci-fi pick and I get this urge every few years to renew my acquaintance with these distinctive friends of mine. This is the perfect blend of ancient aliens, hollow moon, conspiracy theories all rolled into a absolutely great story. There's danger, military maneuvers, spacecraft, some romance, terrible sacrifices and people you will care about. As I say a perfect balance that has something for everyone.
June 19, 2017
Very good space opera trilogy by one of my favorite sci-fi authors. The writing is technically good, with one glaring exception. The many POV switches and jumps in time are jarring, because there is nothing to indicate the switch. This definitely interrupts the flow of reading, at least for me.
Some Christians may be offended by the premise that human presence on earth started 51,000 years ago when a starship crew mutinied and were forced into exile on our planet. Evolution on another planet is assumed. I can only repeat my wife's advice: don't get your theology from entertainment media.
Some Christians may be offended by the premise that human presence on earth started 51,000 years ago when a starship crew mutinied and were forced into exile on our planet. Evolution on another planet is assumed. I can only repeat my wife's advice: don't get your theology from entertainment media.
June 14, 2025
So Good!
Lieutenant Commander Colin Maclntyre, USN thought he was only testing new equipment instead he was dragged into a war that had been on for over 50,000 years between Anu and his mutineers and the members of the crew that realized that Anu was wrong. Colin thought he would be a side note to the war but to get the help of Dahak he would become the new leader of the Fifth Imperium and the Emperor.
Empire From the Ashes by David Weber is the omnibus of Mutineers’ Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance and Heirs of Empire.
Lieutenant Commander Colin Maclntyre, USN thought he was only testing new equipment instead he was dragged into a war that had been on for over 50,000 years between Anu and his mutineers and the members of the crew that realized that Anu was wrong. Colin thought he would be a side note to the war but to get the help of Dahak he would become the new leader of the Fifth Imperium and the Emperor.
Empire From the Ashes by David Weber is the omnibus of Mutineers’ Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance and Heirs of Empire.
August 2, 2019
Wow.....just wow
I cant tell you how many times I have re-read this story and each and every time I do I try to turn the page one more time.
From the feeling of the sheer amount of time that this story encompasses, to the battles that had me scrolling faster and faster (in this electronic version) to the sheer amount of emotions you go through in the book as you turn (or scroll) the pages.
This is the type of story I aspire to someday write myself.
I cant tell you how many times I have re-read this story and each and every time I do I try to turn the page one more time.
From the feeling of the sheer amount of time that this story encompasses, to the battles that had me scrolling faster and faster (in this electronic version) to the sheer amount of emotions you go through in the book as you turn (or scroll) the pages.
This is the type of story I aspire to someday write myself.
March 1, 2021
Excellent series
I had not heard of this series before receiving it as a birthday gift. The three novel combo kindle edition takes you through the whole story arc from start to finish. All three novels are quite good and I recommend this series for fans of classic works by Murray Leinster and H. Beam Piper as they capture the same spirit of adventure without being to predictable.
I had not heard of this series before receiving it as a birthday gift. The three novel combo kindle edition takes you through the whole story arc from start to finish. All three novels are quite good and I recommend this series for fans of classic works by Murray Leinster and H. Beam Piper as they capture the same spirit of adventure without being to predictable.
December 13, 2022
Bamb !!!!!
I read this book when it first came out years ago. Just like I read the three books that make it up. When they came out years before. I keep hoping that Weber will come back to this series. And write another book finishing the series. But I haven't read anything that mentions the possibility. But here's to hoping he does before he dies !!!
If your a fan of Weber, you've probably already bread these books. But if not, get them and start reading !!!!
I read this book when it first came out years ago. Just like I read the three books that make it up. When they came out years before. I keep hoping that Weber will come back to this series. And write another book finishing the series. But I haven't read anything that mentions the possibility. But here's to hoping he does before he dies !!!
If your a fan of Weber, you've probably already bread these books. But if not, get them and start reading !!!!
August 3, 2025
excellent continuation, I wish there were more books
I love the Dahak series. It’s as much alternate history as science fiction and it’s an alternative that I wish were real, there’s so much hope in the stories. I’ve probably the last book most often and really enjoy how Weber included both far future and a mix of past military action. I do really wish Weber had followed up with more about the children’s lives.
I love the Dahak series. It’s as much alternate history as science fiction and it’s an alternative that I wish were real, there’s so much hope in the stories. I’ve probably the last book most often and really enjoy how Weber included both far future and a mix of past military action. I do really wish Weber had followed up with more about the children’s lives.
October 3, 2019
Book one and two are great. Book three feels like an unnecessary epilogue, THE WHOLE BOOK. I recommend skipping it.
The science feels a bit off. Maybe leaning more to magic the clarketech. Not a criticism just something I noted. I have read books with more fantastical and powerful science so I am not sure of my own sentiment.
The science feels a bit off. Maybe leaning more to magic the clarketech. Not a criticism just something I noted. I have read books with more fantastical and powerful science so I am not sure of my own sentiment.
March 21, 2021
Love this story!
David Weber has written so many amazing novels but this trilogy is my favorite. Many, if not all,of his stories show man at his best (or worst). This trilogy is one I wish were expanded, showing us of mankind resulting across the old Imperium. And I would live a novel of the rescue of Brashiel's people from their computer overlords!
David Weber has written so many amazing novels but this trilogy is my favorite. Many, if not all,of his stories show man at his best (or worst). This trilogy is one I wish were expanded, showing us of mankind resulting across the old Imperium. And I would live a novel of the rescue of Brashiel's people from their computer overlords!
June 29, 2017
One of Weber's best!! Great characters and the moon is a sentient starship! Long live the Empire!
Weber as usual created characters, even sentient computer ones, that you want to know and wraps them in a wonderment.
Weber as usual created characters, even sentient computer ones, that you want to know and wraps them in a wonderment.
February 17, 2018
The only book I have read more than once
A great tale with cool science. I reread this collection about every 5 years. It has great action, well developed characters, and great plot. All you can ask for. I think it would be a great movie.
A great tale with cool science. I reread this collection about every 5 years. It has great action, well developed characters, and great plot. All you can ask for. I think it would be a great movie.
October 19, 2018
Absolutely riveting read
Space opera at its best! Well filled out characters with a sound plots and plenty of excitement. This is the fourth of fifth time I have bought and read the series.
Space opera at its best! Well filled out characters with a sound plots and plenty of excitement. This is the fourth of fifth time I have bought and read the series.
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