Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by sjlee
Shadow of Victory by David Weber
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I think it's fair to say that anyone reading Shadow of Victory is already quite invested in the series and the greater Honorverse. You know already if you like or dislike this book at the base level.
I like the Honorverse and Shadow series, but I have some issues with this book in particular.
I have probably stated this in other reviews, but Shadow of Saganami is one of my favourite books in the entire franchise. It was a breath of fresh air when I was starting to feel a bit tired of Honor herself in the main series. One thing I liked in particular was the introduction of midshipmen and very junior officers. Seeing life above the naval vessels from the role of the minor officers, seeing their very human struggles and how they fit in the narrative was great. Sadly, the Shadow series moved away from them over time. Now, like the main series, the focus is on admirals, sovereign leaders and masterminds. It loses something, something important. The story of the discussions and decisions of the most powerful definitely can be interesting, but it feels quite abstract from real people.
A great deal of this book is spent setting up the political situations on various planets on the frontier of Solarian League space. The enormous corporations and Frontier Security have created personal fiefdoms at the expense of the humans who live there, often with the complicity and collaboration of repressive governments. Unfortunately, I think Weber does not do enough to distinguish the multiple planets in this part of the story and they sort of blur together at a point. Perhaps that's unfair, but following the thread becomes a challenge at times with so many new characters and planets.
The novel has A LOT going on. There's a spy/clandestine story, the ongoing war, the planning of the war and contingencies, and connecting the events of other novels into the setting of these characters.
Much of this novel felt like setup, which was a bit disappointing. Weber has constructed a universe (or galaxy) with a tremendous amount of moving pieces, and similar to George R. R. Martin, I think he may be struggling to cover the critical points in a timely manner and tell the story.
That all said, I'm not stepping off the Weber train yet.
I like the Honorverse and Shadow series, but I have some issues with this book in particular.
I have probably stated this in other reviews, but Shadow of Saganami is one of my favourite books in the entire franchise. It was a breath of fresh air when I was starting to feel a bit tired of Honor herself in the main series. One thing I liked in particular was the introduction of midshipmen and very junior officers. Seeing life above the naval vessels from the role of the minor officers, seeing their very human struggles and how they fit in the narrative was great. Sadly, the Shadow series moved away from them over time. Now, like the main series, the focus is on admirals, sovereign leaders and masterminds. It loses something, something important. The story of the discussions and decisions of the most powerful definitely can be interesting, but it feels quite abstract from real people.
A great deal of this book is spent setting up the political situations on various planets on the frontier of Solarian League space. The enormous corporations and Frontier Security have created personal fiefdoms at the expense of the humans who live there, often with the complicity and collaboration of repressive governments. Unfortunately, I think Weber does not do enough to distinguish the multiple planets in this part of the story and they sort of blur together at a point. Perhaps that's unfair, but following the thread becomes a challenge at times with so many new characters and planets.
The novel has A LOT going on. There's a spy/clandestine story, the ongoing war, the planning of the war and contingencies, and connecting the events of other novels into the setting of these characters.
Much of this novel felt like setup, which was a bit disappointing. Weber has constructed a universe (or galaxy) with a tremendous amount of moving pieces, and similar to George R. R. Martin, I think he may be struggling to cover the critical points in a timely manner and tell the story.
That all said, I'm not stepping off the Weber train yet.