What do you do with a man who's too good a fighter? How do you lead a troopie who's so good at killing, he can't follow orders? And what happens when the man who follows orders is almost as good, gets all the promotions and is the killer's prime rival? A fascinating look at a soldier that's so good at killing, he's too dangerous for Hammer and Stuben to have in the Slammers. One of Drake's most detailed character studies of the ones you pray the other side doesn't have.

Very readable, as always with Drake, but less brutally descriptive of battle injuries than his early work. Action without angst if you will. Less obsessed with convincing us of the horror of war than was the younger Drake.

Without spoiling the plot, Lt Leary's success in the first episode of this series ("With The Lightnings") brings attention that makes him the intended pawn in a political scheme. Action is the essence of the book rather than debate about the issues. (If you care about the issues, they are sketched from actual historical conflicts, so pick up any non-fiction book about the period from 1500 to 1900 and meditate away. Drake assumes you took a history class or two and know where to find such discussions. This book entertains you with the people, not the issues.)

The characters are easy to enjoy, but not to understand, unless you read the first book in the series where their relationships are formed. Having done that makes evident the development in the characters. The earlier comparison to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin is apt. A good many references in POB novels are obscure if you haven't read the early books, and the interaction between the POB characters occasionally startles you, if you don't know their shared background.

The books of this Drake series offer a light meal from the same ingredients POB uses to create a banguet. I'd give POB five stars for most of his novels and I'm only rating this one four. I've read the POB books several times and still found more each time. I'm not sure that's a recommendation for POB if you just want a "cracking good yarn" to fill an evening. Drake provides that. Worth buying.

David Drake's 2nd book following the adventures of Republic of Cinnabar Naval Lt. Daniel Leary, a scientifically inclined, politically connected, slightly overweight skirt chaser, and Signal Officer Adele Mundy, a former librarian, deadly shot, information expert and spy, takes the reader to new levels of emjoyment and entertainment.

This series is a sci-fi descendant of Patrick O'Brian's New York Times best-selling "Aubrey-Maturin" series, which is high praise indeed.

This book is sheer fun, as Leary and Mundy are caught up in high intrigue as Daniel's first command, the corvette, "Princess Cecile", sets out on its first mission.

Drake does a nice job of establishing the worlds upon which his characters live and visit, painting an intriguing portrait of Cinnabar and other environs.

Leary and Mundy find themselves in high adventure, as they must deal with plots by exiled royalty, the dangers of being marooned, a prig of a commanding officer who just doesn't take a liking for young Lt. Leary, the dangers of interstellar travel, the unexpected appearance of powerful enemies, deal with pirates and have a face-off in a desperate showdown.

Drake truly expands the Leary-Mundy universe in this book, and there is a lively sense of humor throughout this adventure. Plus, there's a great supporting cast of characters, starting off with Leary's man-servant Hogg, and Mundy's equally deadly servant, Tovera.

This book is intelligent, humourous, and swashbuckling space opera at its finest, ranking right with David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series.

Cross O'Bryan's Aubrey-Maturin novels with Weber's Honor Harrington series and you've got a pretty good idea of where Lt.Leary Commanding is going to take you. Drake delivers all the action and adventure we've come to expect, but it is a perhaps less expected pleasure to discover that the true strength of this tale is in the depth and development of his characters. Drake has really found the zone and hit his stride and in that respect does Weber one better, spreading before us, like the varied and delectable delights of a dessert cart: the cool and ever precise Adele Mundy; the sociopath, Tovera; Leary, hisownself, a cheerful and sunny soul, but all business and absolutely fearless in a crisis... I could go on, but you get the picture. Actually, the interaction between Mundy and Leary is intriguing in part because Drake has taken the platonic affection of the Aubrey-Maturin bond and given it a male-female gender twist. Few authors attempt to portray a deep, compelling, yet non-sexual, friendship between a man and a woman, and even fewer do so convincingly, or manage to keep it interesting. In this regard, the relationship, if not the distribution of emotional qualities, is reminiscent of the Willie Garvin - Modest Blaise relationship (for those of you willing to forgive the genre skipping and passage of 30 years ). Drake has delivered an entertaining and rewarding yarn. Good stuff.

What is it about the covers of the Drake/Flint books? After the absolutely stupid and misleading cover of the latest installment of the Bellisarius-series the people at Baen Books have done it again: putting a Xena-style (lightly clad) female warrior on front. So what about the content?

Eric Flint has achieved an almost complete break with the storyline of "The Reformer", but has it improved the book? But compared with S.M. Stirling's handling of the same scenario Eric Flint's novel just bombs!

The theme developed in The General-series by Drake/Stirling was the salvation of the remaining civilization on an isolated world by a computer and its chosen man.

In the original series this was on a world with a situation like the Mediterranean in 500AD, so the main hero was the Byzantine general Belliasrius a.k.a. Raj Whitehall. In the first follow-on novel "The Chosen" it was a new world with an early 20th century setting and in the second it was first century BC Rome. The computer's chosen man was a (Greek) philosopher and his mission the prevention of imperial decline.

Apparently Eric Flint had other ideas about what kind of story he wanted to tell: his main character is now a Roman who wants to seize absolute power to destroy the existing corrupt order. The "Reformer" from the latest book is just one of his instruments (with the voices of the computer and Whitehall in his brain), like all other members of his family.

The real problem with the book is that it apparently wants to achieve so much - explain Rome's decline and offer an alternative like jump-starting to the middle ages and industrial revolution at the same time - but looses sight of a readable story. Sometimes it seems as if the characters are reduced to their sex life ... . So it may well be that the artist creating the cover was not so far of ...

It is a sad ending for a great series. I must admit that after "1632" I had some high expectations of this novel. Well I guess after it I'll skip the hardcover and wait for the pocket edition of "1633".

Finishing the story of the Gellert brothers begun in "The Reformer", the book develops the character of Verice Demansk, the father of Adrian Gellert's lover and commander of the opposing Vanbert army. Gellert is guided by "Center", a computer, and the disembodied Raj Whitehall, a general from another time and planet. The introduction of technology by Adrian brings victories, but the end results depend on man's strengths and weaknesses. Eric Flint and David Drake succeed in closing a story begun by Drake and S. M. Stirling, and the transition is very well done. Another fine novel of military SF by this pair.

Eric Flint, in the last few years, appeared suddenly on my list of "Must Buy and Read" authors, and it appears likely that he will never leave it. This latest book certainly adds weight to that impression.

This is the second in a pair of books plotted by David Drake involving the battle computer, Center, its guide to things human, Raj Whitehall, and their chosen instrument to save a planet which otherwise has no future, Adrian Gellert. The first book was "The Reformer", and it was fairly readable, but S. M. Stirling is only a fair writer.

*THIS* book, on the other hand, blazes with drama, comedy, political intrigue, hatred and revenge, love and laughter. Just about everything, in fact, that makes being alive so intriguing. I came to care deeply about all of the characters, and all of them brought perspective on what it might be like to live in a time when the old must die that the new may be born, and each player must decide for him- or herself whether to attempt midwifery or murder, or both. I found in this book two paragraphs filled with such insight that I deem the cost of this book, in both money and time reading, amply repaid by them. (I'll let you find them rather than spoil the beautiful surprises.) The rest of the book is a bonus from a master storyteller.

Thank you, Eric.

About 1/3 of the way through this book, the authors depart from the historical model they have so carfully followed, and stert skipping though time much more quickly, as if anxious to be doenm with the series. Also, perhaps a quarter to the text is flashbacks that are taken word-for-wod from previous vols in the series. This is really a bit much. The final solution is obvious, and if it is possible at this poitn, why wasn't it possibe 2-3 books ago? This is a poor conclusion to the series, IMO.

Mediocre ending to outstanding series. Every other book in this series I would give 5 stars to. This one was not too bad as a story, but as the climax of a 5 part series it was flat. It had essentially the same basic plot as the others (go to enemy, overcome obstacles, make brilliant tactical move, gain victory). The overcoming of the major problems and enemies the reader has been following for the entire series (untrusting ruler, corrupt and evil chancellor) are summed up with a few sentences at the end. What made this series outstanding is its combination of realistic warfare, politics, character development, history, and fantasy. The Sword essentially leaves out the politics and character development. As a next to last book in a series, The Sword would be fine, but it fails to wrap up the overall story in a satisfactory manner. Overall, however, The General is a must-read series for any military or SF fiction fan, and enjoyable for nearly everyone else.

This is the standard by which I judge all military fiction. I have never found another that was it's equal. Even when the same authors got together again for books 6 and 7 (which I have reviewed separately) they couldn't recreate the magic of this series.

THE GENERAL series is about a fallen interstellar society which has climbed it's way back up to the technological level of the American Civil War. The hero, Raj Whitehall, has to reunite the planet in order to reach the stars again some day. This involves a lot of fighting and empire building. What gives Raj his edge is the pre-fall computer he has linked with that can see through his eyes.

This series has outstanding character development, a solid and well thought out overall plot line, and good story resolution in each book. The two things that really make the series the top of its genre are the interaction between the computer and the hero, and the realism of the situation. The interaction is a delicate balance that the authors perform magically. If the computer (Center) contributes too much, then the hero has too much of an edge, he doesn't have to try, and the story becomes boring. Without the computer, the hero is just this god like superhuman character that can do no wrong. The computer assistance makes Raj identifiable to the reader, even after he overcomes overwhelming odds to defeat the enemy. The realism comes from the fact that Raj is based on the life of a real person. The whole story is very similar to the story of Byzantine General Belisarius who conquered most of the Mediterranean world for his Emperor after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. That makes it very believable. The characters are very real. Their actions really happened a millenium and a half ago.

This is a must read for any fan of military fiction or empire building.

King David figures out a way to solve two problems: reward his champion and marry off the heiress of a seaside keep. The problem is neither one is excited about the idea. The champion, Lord Lion, has a mistress he wants to marry but the thought of the land that comes with the heiress helps sway him. The heiress (Mellyora) however, has always had her way, and wants no part of Lord Lion. Lion realizes early on that he REALLY likes Mellyora but it takes her most of the book to realize that she REALLY likes Lion too. I'd take Lion any time and I wanted to shake Mellyora to bring her to her senses. Maturity is not one of her virtures. You can always rely on Ms Drake's books being colorful, making you feel like you're right there in the middle of the story.

Pseudonymous Drake's first hardcover novel, a fictional account of the life of the first Graham, Waryk de Graham, Laird Lion, hits close to home, since Drake is actually Heather Graham/Heather Graham Pozzessere. It all begins when a dazed young Waryk is knighted for his courage on a blood-soaked battlefield in the Borderlands of Scotland while mourning the loss of all his kin. King David declares him his champion and eventually offers him prosperous Blue Isle. But there's a catch: David must marry heiress Mellyora MacAdin, a Viking's daughter. Mellyora is outraged that she will not have control of her own destiny, but Waryk is ruthlessly determined to have her home with or without her. Amid a tangle of lies, treachery, and obvious villainy, these two strong-willed people must come to terms so that there can be peace throughout the land. Fans of Johanna Lindsey's medieval and Viking novels will relish this tale, the first novel in a series about the Graham clan.

WISE Writers and Readers Book of the Month March 2000

Pseudonymous Drake's first hardcover novel, a fictional account of the life of the first Graham, Waryk de Graham, Laird Lion, hits close to home, since Drake is actually Heather Graham/Heather Graham Pozzessere. It all begins when a dazed young Waryk is knighted for his courage on a blood-soaked battlefield in the Borderlands of Scotland while mourning the loss of all his kin. King David declares him his champion and eventually offers him prosperous Blue Isle. But there's a catch: David must marry heiress Mellyora MacAdin, a Viking's daughter. Mellyora is outraged that she will not have control of her own destiny, but Waryk is ruthlessly determined to have her home with or without her. Amid a tangle of lies, treachery, and obvious villainy, these two strong-willed people must come to terms so that there can be peace throughout the land. Fans of Johanna Lindsey's medieval and Viking novels will relish this tale, the first novel in a series about the Graham clan.

WISE Writers and Readers Book of the Month March 2000

Northworld is the story of Nils Hanson, a police officer of sorts in a vast space empire. He is dragooned by the Consensus, the leaders of the empire, into investigating the disappearances of a colony called Northworld. Hanson goes as he is forced to, and gets caught up in a bizarre series of worlds where technology and magic are combined, created by the gods, the original survey team that found Northworld in the first place.

Northworld is an ambitious book, attempting to weave sci-fi and fantasy into one unit, following Hanson in a somewhat militaristic story. It's an interesting read, but it lacks cohesiveness and at times is confusing and hard to follow as the main character bounces from one world to the next with no apparent cause or reason. Meanwhile, the book halfheartedly follows from the point of view of the gods as they manipulate the worlds they rule and each other. What exactly was going on got lost in the shuffle.

Northworld isn't that great a book. Maybe with the other books in the series it would make a bit more sense, but standing alone, I was left scratching my head and wishing for my reading time back. I'm not going to be investigating the other books in the series as a result.

Certainly Drake has written far better books than this. Check out "With the Lightnings," another Drake book instead. It's far more cohesive and entertaining than this book.

Commissioner Nils Hansen, policeman of the 'Consensus' is drafted from his normal job as head of an elite futuristic swat team to track down a mysteriously missing planet--the Northworld of the series title. Hansen finds himself dropped into a series of worlds, some peaceful, some futuristically militaristic, and one a sort of medieval teutonic/Icelandic fantasy with artifically intelligent armor and weapon systems. Hansen has the military skills to stay alive under virtually any circumstances, but when these circumstances include literal gods, the equation is definitely changed.

Author David Drake uses Icelandic myth has the basis for this story and it works. Hansen is a little too perfect, but the Icelandic elements provide some plot twists that probably wouldn't occur to the average writer (and certainly not to the average reader). The ambiguous ending develops a bit of a zip.

Drake is at his best in action scenes, and there are plenty in NORTHWORLD. Hansen's futuristic SWAT action at the beginning and his military restructuring of the wild norse-style warriors form the highlights of the story. Cut-aways to the gods are occasionally confusing (the doings of the gods are always confusing though, so we can blame this on Drake's source material), and don't add as much to the story as they could. The final action scene is a bit of a let-down given the superior battles that had occured earlier, but Drake's conclusion left me feeling satisfied--but wanting more.

Northworld is the first novel in the Northworld series. Northworld is the gateway to eight other universes. The Concensus rules twelve hundred worlds, yet wants Northworld too. They tried to take it before, sending ships and fleets, men and androids and machines, but have always failed. Now they will try again.

In this novel, Commissioner Nils Hansen is a man who gets things done, regardless of the consequences. His special units are trained and equipped to handle almost anything and Hansen clears the way for their use whenever necessary. Now they are working on a siege of the Solbarth gang's fortified headquarters. A Civic Patrolman responding to a domestic dispute was given the wrong address and knocked on the gang's front door. Just bad luck for everybody involved. Now the Civic Patrol has a minor war going on with a gang almost as well equipped as they are. The Civic Patrol is limited in its use of heavy weapons, for anything powerful enough to breach the forcefield would also take out most of that part of the city, and a frontal assault would be sheer murder ... of the cops.

Hansen has a SpyFly inserted in the ventilation ducts for recon and then goes to talk to Solbarth. Someone in the building tries to fire at him with a plama rifle, but Hansen shoots the gunner before he can fire. He then gains Solbarth's attention and tries to negotiate a surrender, pinking another gunman in the process as well as holding down his own troops. He offers the gang their lives ... in prison. Solbarth points out that the gang is well-supplied, but Hansen promises to undercut their forcefield and drop the whole building into the sub-basement. Solbarth points out that there are civilians in the building, but Hansen says he doesn't care; they can relieve him after he drops them into the hole. Solbarth then points out that he is an android and the Consensus won't allow him to live, but Hansen responds that, right here and right now, he IS the Consensus and either the Consensus will ratify everything he agrees to or they will have to deal with him. Solbarth agrees to surrender.

At that point, two black spindle-shaped objects come for Commissioner Hansen. They don't care what is happening on Annunciation. The Consensus has need of him on a planet called Northworld. He is sent through a portal to the Consensus itself, briefed on Northworld, and sent to infiltrate its defenses.

However, Northworld knows he is coming and North himself decides to send him to Diamond. When Hansen arrives, his intrusion capsule starts to come apart and all his weapons disintegrate. It seems weapons cannot exist in Diamond. Hansen himself is expelled from Diamond, for he is a living weapon, and he then finds himself in the Open Lands, where men fight in battlesuits in primitive melees for dominance.

Meanwhile, North and the other gods of Northworld are pursuing their own almost nonsensical activities. One of their joint undertakings was the construction of the twin universes of Ruby and Diamond. While Diamond is extremely pacifistic, Ruby is the ultimate militaristic society. Fortin, the son of North and an android woman, plots with the inhabitants of Ruby to destroy their sister universe, Diamond.

This novel is, according to the author, loosely based on the Eddas and other literature of the Norse culture. There are a number of Norse saga elements, including North's single eye, the Loki-like Fortin, and the Searchers who bring back the souls of dying heros, but most other Nordic aspects are beyond my slight knowledge of that culture. Much of the story, however, has a fairly standard heroic quest motif. Hansen himself could have come out of any number of heroic traditions that allows a fair amount of cynicism in their heroes; Hansen and Odysseus, for example, would make a fine pair.

Recommended for Drake fans and anyone who enjoys heroic epics in a SF setting.

I usually love David Drake. His writing is great, his tactics fun and imaginative. This book is no different. However, he has written over 2000 pages in this series, and he needs a new direction (not a new world - characters bounce between them about every 15 minutes - which gets kind of annoying). The characters started out interesting, but they have yet to change or really DO anything. Ilna is whiny, Cashel sort of hits everything, etc. My biggest problem is the romance. Romance in fantasy is fine. Lack of romance in fantasy is fine. However, Drake made it (to me at least) very clear that certain people liked certain other people by the end of the first 100 pages in Lord of the Isles. And, despite those people switching worlds about as often as we turn the pages and even going to Hell for each other, nothing has happened. Given the sheer number of pages involved in all this, I have to give Drake the all-time Character Interaction Rut award. The series can be salvaged, but if he doesn't change people's behavior and relationships in the next one, I'm back to rereading my Belisarius books.

To start, I have to say that the Lord of the Isles series has kept me company on many otherwise boring and lonely nights. I enjoy the characters and their abilities, and I have to admit Tenoctris' constant modesty over her abilities and lack of power gets a chuckle out of me, particularly as she always seems to have just enough ability to do what is needed. None of the main characters ever fail in Drakes world. Well, it is fantasy. However, the series' attempt to be just that, a series, while also trying make each book a standalone, simply isn't working. Halfway through Servant of the Dragon, the constant backfill and reminders of a character's particulars became very annoying as I found myself saying out loud "Yes, I know, I know!" And the structure of the plot is also repetitive, as many have indicated. The reader can use more insight into the characters' darker side, as we have with Ilna, easily my favorite character. Everyone else is just a little too perfect. I would love to see Ilna lose out to the dark side of her persona, perhaps due to her jealousy of Liane, or have the others wonder that Garric is talking to himself maybe just a little too much. Garric needs to stop being so accommodating to his ancestral spirit Carus, and Tenoctris' spells need to fail significantly and at the wrong time. Maybe Cashel needs to realize what a powerful wizard he really is, perhaps too powerful. The possibilities for storylines and conflict are great given the character's current development. I hope in the future Drake may stray from his formula.

That said, I read fantasy to be entertained, and I like the characters the author has created. Overall it works for me, especially on those boring rainy snowy nights and long subway rides.

I was reading these series because I thought the only interesting character is Ilna the Weaver, and I was curious about what happened to her. I was very surprised when I read this book and found it to be by far the best one in the series. The plot was much better than the first two books. Prince Garric and Tenoctris are trying to close the bridge that opens Valles to the cosmos, letting in dangerous creatures. Same old same old there, nothing new and exciting. Sharina is taken through the bridge by a creature that serves the Dragon, turning Sharina herself into a servant of the dragon. However, the Dragon is not evil, he needs her help to recover his mummy that is being used to destroy the world. He sends Sharina through many worlds with her new friend, the birdman Dalar. Cashel goes in search of Sharina and ends up in the Underworld after killing the wizard he was supposed to ask for help. He is accompanied by the wizard's ring, which has a demon trapped in it. The demon Krias is a refreshing addition to the stories with his witty sense of humor. He reminds me strongly of the faerie Mellie that Cashel befriended in Lord of the Isles. Lastly, my favourite character Ilna has her best adventures yet, which make the book a good and interesting read. She is taking the child Merota, niece of Lord Tadia, with her on a ship to Erdin. On the way they are shipwrecked on Yole, risen from the sea again with an army of dead things. Ilna meets the best character Drake has yet introduced into the story yet, the sailor/pirate Chalcus. He actually loves Ilna, and he let's us see her softer side. His witty humour and dialogue add a lot to the story. I found myself breathlessly waiting to find out what would happen to him and Ilna next. It seems that Drake has finally figured out how to write romance. He did a very poor job with Mellie and Halphemos. I was sad about Halphemos' death, but Chalcus is much better than he ever was.

When i read the previous volume in the "Isles" series (Serant of the Dragon, q.v.), i greatly enjoyed it, but something about it bothered me.

Now, having read this volume, and considering the matter, i have finally put my finger on it, i think -- these books read like using a "walkthru" cheatsheet to go through one of the old InfoCom computer text games -- "Zork", possibly, or the brilliant InfoCom version of "Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

Which is to say that each character goes through a series of adventures which contain numerous decision-points and always choose the right way to go when they have a choice; secondary characters, though interesting and sympathetic (or not), are introduced, hang around until they fulfill their sole programmed function, and then exit, usually fatally.

What suspense there is comes primarily from narrative technique; rotating among four story threads that SEEM divergent but will come together by the end, cutting away from a given thread -- just as it looks as if Things Might Be Bad For Our Hero(ine) -- to resolve the cliffhanger left in another thread in the last chapter.

That said, it's really the characters i read these for -- Garric (and his ancestor, King Carus, who shares his head) and Cashel, Ilna and Sharina and so on, all of whom are interesting in their own right, and eminently suited for the sorts of challenges that Drake's plots throw at them.

Mechanical as the storyline might be, i enjoyed the ride, and i intend to be there for the next volume, also.

I mean, a roller coaster is locked to a track, mechanical and predictable and repetitious -- but we still ride the same coasters over and over and get the same thrills. Same for Drake and this series.

David Drake spins a good story and MISTRESS OF THE CATACOMBS is an enjoyable and action-filled read. Garric is trying to rebuild an empire shattered a thousand years earlier, but things keep getting in the way--like rebel leaders who think that no central government would be just fine and some alien spider creatures who want to be loosed on a world just full of delicious humans.

As is common in large fantasy novels, Drake uses the episodic technique of having multiple characters working on different but related adventures. Garic, torn out of his body and cast a thousand years ahead of his own present labors under the knowledge that in history, his reign was a failure (although he never seemed bothered by this bit of information).

I know it is hard to have a lot of character development in a series like this, but I would have liked to see a little more. Although he didn't change much, I found Cashel an especially enjoyable and human participant.

This isn't the book that will change your life but it is an enjoyable read.

BooksForABuck.

I must say that when I started to read some of the other reviews of this book, I was confused. People say that the books are falling into the Jordon trap, or they say he is getting too repetitive. I find this odd because I don't get that feeling at all. Firstly, the first 2 books tie up almost all loose ends and explain everything you need to know to enjoy further stories. If you read book 4 before you read book 3, you should not have any problem following along. This is most definitely not the way Jordon works...if you skip a book in the series, you are just lost. Also the one thing I really like about Drake, is his ability to have a small amount of characters and make you care about all of them. Books 3 and 4 are capsulated so they are almost independent stories. All loose ends are tied up in 3. All loose ends are tied up in 4. It's very satisfying to have endings. That again is unlike Jordon, who bases his fan base and sales on the fact that he ends his books in huge plot altering cliff hangers. I'm not saying that's bad, but it makes me want to pick up a new drake book knowing it's going to end with everything wrapped up, then a Jordon book that I know some stuff will be solved, and then open up twice as many threads. As for the repetitive aspect, it's really not. It's formulaic which is different. Basically Garric has to do some stuff for the kingdom, and Iina and Cashel go on their related adventures...it's just a fun yarn. Highly recommended.

I found this trilogy to be an easy read, although I disliked the authors tendency to do the infamous 'jump around' between chapters (building up a scene and then having the next chapter deal with a another character). I also found the description of the Matrix Worlds in the first book of the trilogy confusing and hard to follow. I never felt I was 'seeing' the worlds, and had trouble understanding what Hansen was seeing at times. Overall, not one of Drake's best books, but still, if you're a fan, not that bad.

Northworld is one of my favorite books. I've owned my copy of it for about two years, and am now reading it for the fourth time. This book is complex at times, so you have to put some effort into keeping up with it. David Drake did a good job combining sci fi and nordic mythology. The combinations of futuristic technology with a feudal society in the Peace Rock sections is especially interesting. And in response to those who say the ending is predictable, yes it is. And I would have been disappointed with any other ending.

The book was great. The gods, the wars, the best mix of sci-fi fantasies I have ever read. I will admit that I do not read many of david drakes books and like them, but this book has changed my whole opinion on the works of David Drake. If you want a good book with a lot of action in it, read this book.

It is the most shallow coverage of Notes that I've ever seen. I still don't understand how they managed to pack so little information into so many pages.

For example, a new feature of 4.5 is Multidatabase indexing through a site search database. Here is the unabridged exerpt from this "reference" on site search:

"The Multi Databse Indexing feature enables you to create many indices at once. After these indices exist, it is possible to search more than one database at a time for data (such as a client's name or company name). This feature can be extremely helpfull when designing a Web page. As shown in figure 8.21, you must be a manager of the file to enable this option."

That's it. That pathetic, inane, useless, and technically incaccurate blurb is all the info this book provides on site search. They don't even know what a site search database is (its the tool used to actually build a multidatabase index). And the worst part is that the whole book is like this. Uhh... I don't know exactly what this is but uhh.... here's the property box for it and uhh... you can click boxes and stuff on it. And uhh.. oh, yeah, you have to have sufficient access to do that.

Avoid this one like the plague. New Riders Publishing should really be ashamed of themselves.

This book is less than useless, I had more questions than answars after reading it. The book is terribly shallow and never goes into any depth.

Read some reviews here.

Some folks feel it is not a good book, so I went to a local bookstore and spent an hour leafing ... for the 2nd time. For my project [ where there were some challenges, this book came closest to giving me script pointers, though not solutions]

I beleive this book is by far the best I have seen for Notes/Domino 4.x and would be happy if they released one for R 5.0 - same manner....

Great book in my personal opinion..and stands out in the Notes/Domino arena.