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Seafort Saga #6
Patriarch's Hope
THE SEAFORT SAGA
David Feintuch, winner of the prestigious John W. Campbell Award, presents a tense, thrilling new chapter in the bestselling Seafort saga -- as global environmental devastation and a spaceborne coup d'etat threaten all humanity.
U.N. SecGen Nicholas Seafort is the most powerful person on Earth, but his merciless sense of honor and faith is about to be tested. The ecology of the planet is on the point of collapse -- a crisis Seafort himself helped cause. And from a hijacked orbital platform, political renegades hold millions hostage. Now, unarmed, with only civilians and children at his side, Nick Seafort must go to war against the most dangerous of enemies -- those from within. And the cost may be more than even Seafort's iron will can bear...
David Feintuch, winner of the prestigious John W. Campbell Award, presents a tense, thrilling new chapter in the bestselling Seafort saga -- as global environmental devastation and a spaceborne coup d'etat threaten all humanity.
U.N. SecGen Nicholas Seafort is the most powerful person on Earth, but his merciless sense of honor and faith is about to be tested. The ecology of the planet is on the point of collapse -- a crisis Seafort himself helped cause. And from a hijacked orbital platform, political renegades hold millions hostage. Now, unarmed, with only civilians and children at his side, Nick Seafort must go to war against the most dangerous of enemies -- those from within. And the cost may be more than even Seafort's iron will can bear...
528 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
35 people are currently reading
301 people want to read
About the author
David Feintuch
19 books120 followersDavid Feintuch (1944–2006) was the author of the award-winning military science fiction Seafort Saga series, which spans Midshipman’s Hope, Challenger’s Hope, Prisoner’s Hope, Fisherman’s Hope, Voices of Hope, Patriarch’s Hope, and Children of Hope. Feintuch came to writing late, previously having worked as a lawyer and antiques dealer. In 1996, at the age of fifty, he won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer from the World Science Fiction Society. He later expanded into the fantasy genre with his Rodrigo of Caledon series, including The Still and The King.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 5, 2012
A lot of people die.
Nick saves the day.
Nick whines.
Pretty much that is how every book goes in the Seafort Saga. I expect the last book will be no different.
Nick saves the day.
Nick whines.
Pretty much that is how every book goes in the Seafort Saga. I expect the last book will be no different.
June 20, 2019
Three stars, okay 2.5. More or less a summation of why earth is importing food from the colonies and relying on the Navy (how did the Navy get from the sea to the stars, anyway?) to transport civilians and food stuffs to earth. Environmental disasters caused by manufacturing, and refusal to try to correct them. Are humans that naive?
Same old story Nick to the rescue. I enjoyed it but felt it was drawn out. If earth's environment in the story was as bad as described, very little manufacturing would have been able to occur not to mention the life enjoyed by people in the book.
Feintuch does introduce the earth's desire to have the colonies pay for the protection from the fish and other protection from the Navy, sounds similar to England taxing the colonies in America to pay for the wars fought in America protecting the colonies.
Enjoyable read if you get past the religious rantings and self pity.
Same old story Nick to the rescue. I enjoyed it but felt it was drawn out. If earth's environment in the story was as bad as described, very little manufacturing would have been able to occur not to mention the life enjoyed by people in the book.
Feintuch does introduce the earth's desire to have the colonies pay for the protection from the fish and other protection from the Navy, sounds similar to England taxing the colonies in America to pay for the wars fought in America protecting the colonies.
Enjoyable read if you get past the religious rantings and self pity.
September 27, 2023
Another one where Seafort spends most of the time on a planet and there is a big focus on politics and the book isn't quite as good. One of Seafort's evil actions near the end was particularly distasteful for me, though it was far from the worst thing he's ever done. I wonder if Feintuch realized he was gathering entirely too many characters, particularly way too many people who love and support Nick, and whom he actually acknowledges he loves and needs. In any case
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October 23, 2025THE SEAFORT SAGADavid Feintuch, winner of the prestigious John W. Campbell Award, presents a tense, thrilling new chapter in the bestselling Seafort saga -- as global environmental devastation and a spaceborne coup d'etat threaten all humanity.U.N. SecGen Nicholas Seafort is the most powerful person on Earth, but his merciless sense of honor and faith is about to be tested. The ecology of the planet is on the point of collapse -- a crisis Seafort himself helped cause. And from a hijacked orbital platform, political renegades hold millions hostage. Now, unarmed, with only civilians and children at his side, Nick Seafort must go to war against the most dangerous of enemies -- those from within. And the cost may be more than even Seafort's iron will can bear...
June 26, 2018
This is one of the best is the Seafort books. Unlike the previous book, this one is back to writing in first person from Nick Seafort‘s view, for the entire book. It’s a lot easier to read that way to me, and makes for a great story.
While the last book was about class warfare, the haves versus the have nots, and social justice, this book’s theme is environmentalism. But it’s done in a really good, believable way. I believe the earth is really headed toward the kind of future depicted here, and it will take an equal amount of resolve to reverse the damage. But beyond that, it’s just a great action-packed story!
I enjoyed this book a lot. Highly recommended.
While the last book was about class warfare, the haves versus the have nots, and social justice, this book’s theme is environmentalism. But it’s done in a really good, believable way. I believe the earth is really headed toward the kind of future depicted here, and it will take an equal amount of resolve to reverse the damage. But beyond that, it’s just a great action-packed story!
I enjoyed this book a lot. Highly recommended.
November 3, 2023
After finally getting growth and breakthrough in the previous book in the series, the main character reverts back to being as bad as he's ever been, both to himself and the people around him. Plus, the story reduces itself to domestic politics, no grand adventures. The series is fizzling out, not building. :(
February 7, 2022
Six-word Review: A slog to a disappointing ending.
I started it, so I finished it. I've read all but one of the others in the series. This was the worst. Plot, characters, motivation are all mixed up. No more Seafort for me.
Longer review later.
I started it, so I finished it. I've read all but one of the others in the series. This was the worst. Plot, characters, motivation are all mixed up. No more Seafort for me.
Longer review later.
September 24, 2017
The story picks up again with this add on to the original series. I probably only read it for completion
June 18, 2019
The Seafort saga continues, with ongoing moral dilemmas, conflict, and loss.
November 15, 2019
The action scenes are excellent, the politics and moralising less so. And the 19th century parenting tips are just stupid and annoying. Nevertheless, a page-turner!
February 11, 2022
Feintuch took more time to publish this work, and reversed the series trend from a 2-star in the last entry, up to, well, a 3-star. But the content is far from what turned so many on to it originally—that is the author's vision of the early colonization era and and the equally up-and-coming space navy. A few simple ships held together by rigid discipline, plying the great distances between Earth and a handful of colonies, and encountering the very alien “fish.”
This entry does not revive that spirit, but does get closer than book 5, which felt like, Seafort Saga: The Next Generation. Patriarch's Hope thankfully gets back to Seafort and his contemporaries. Mankind needs to be saved from the fools they have put in charge over themselves. Let's face it, like our own modern era, it is not the best and brightest that occupy the seats of government. But their shortsightedness does get Seafort up into space, where he, and the series, are at their best.
Although many sections of this book are not necessarily fun, I give Feintuch props for fleshing out his factions and the complexity of his universe. I know how much time I spend on this very thing in my series. It takes a lot of bandwidth to keep it all straight. In the end, the sacrifices necessary for Seafort to save the day make this climax memorable. After that the ending offers more hope than any of the books that came before. A lighter spirit that makes me think this was the original end to the series. It certainly moved the arc forward for Seafort.
This series is still not high literature, but can be fun and has its moments. If you made it through book 5 and still care about the series, this entry may give you some closure.
This entry does not revive that spirit, but does get closer than book 5, which felt like, Seafort Saga: The Next Generation. Patriarch's Hope thankfully gets back to Seafort and his contemporaries. Mankind needs to be saved from the fools they have put in charge over themselves. Let's face it, like our own modern era, it is not the best and brightest that occupy the seats of government. But their shortsightedness does get Seafort up into space, where he, and the series, are at their best.
Although many sections of this book are not necessarily fun, I give Feintuch props for fleshing out his factions and the complexity of his universe. I know how much time I spend on this very thing in my series. It takes a lot of bandwidth to keep it all straight. In the end, the sacrifices necessary for Seafort to save the day make this climax memorable. After that the ending offers more hope than any of the books that came before. A lighter spirit that makes me think this was the original end to the series. It certainly moved the arc forward for Seafort.
This series is still not high literature, but can be fun and has its moments. If you made it through book 5 and still care about the series, this entry may give you some closure.
January 15, 2016
I have read all of the Seafort Saga, and have found, regrettably, that each book fails to live up to the book before it. Patriarch's Hope is a good extension to the saga, but it seems to lack the same tension and dramatic power of the earlier books. For one, the supposed life and death situation that Seafort faces, namely an impending environmental catastrophe, seems to lack the threat that the mysterious aliens brought to the earlier books. For another, Naval revolt depicted seems contrived and entirely out of character for the heroic and noble Navy that Feintuch has created in his earlier books.
There are moments of emotional power, and moments of excitement, as well as genuine humor. It is refreshing to see that Seafort, so inflexible and, yes, at times dictatorial, in the earlier books, has mellowed and has begun to develop, if not a sense of humor, at least an appreciation for irony and wit.
All that aside, as much as I have enjoyed much of the saga, one wonders if it would have been better to end the saga after book 4, as Feintuch initially intended.
There are moments of emotional power, and moments of excitement, as well as genuine humor. It is refreshing to see that Seafort, so inflexible and, yes, at times dictatorial, in the earlier books, has mellowed and has begun to develop, if not a sense of humor, at least an appreciation for irony and wit.
All that aside, as much as I have enjoyed much of the saga, one wonders if it would have been better to end the saga after book 4, as Feintuch initially intended.
February 8, 2011
Number 6 in the series. It's been awhile since I read the others, but Nicholas Seafort is still the SecGen of the world. He has an unbending sense of honor and he feels that he is breaking his honor even though he is doing the only thing he can do in each particular crisis. Others have said that this sense of honor wears on the reader. I do wish that he could find some peace within himself.
Lots of action, some places have unbelievable saves in them. Overall, a great read.
Lots of action, some places have unbelievable saves in them. Overall, a great read.
March 2, 2025
while not my absolute favorite book in the series, rereading this one is a treat (seafort style, so it hurts a lot, but still a treat). feintuch does a lovely job of building the atmosphere of seafort's washington compound and his ever growing family, and then does what he always does to seafort.
in the end, it's a book about prayer. maybe most of this series is about that, but this book focuses on it the most. i'll think about it for a while yet.
in the end, it's a book about prayer. maybe most of this series is about that, but this book focuses on it the most. i'll think about it for a while yet.
August 23, 2012
In this volume, things are back to normal after the aberration of the previous book with it's different storylines and POVs. In this one, Seafort is back to being SecGen, but the same old chaos is still happening, and he's up to his same old mixture of feeling sorry for himself while at the same time being awesome.
October 24, 2008
Very good stuff. Again, Seafort is put through incredible amounts of suffering. It does wear on the reader a bit.
September 3, 2015
Sixth in the series
January 22, 2016
Seafort SAga, swashbuckling, space opera and a great read.
June 23, 2014
One of my all time favorite authors and one of my Top 5 Book Series!
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May 8, 2018Awful. Made it half way through; all eco-politics, no futuristic navy.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews