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Off Armageddon Reef
Off Armageddon Reef | David Weber
3 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 6 to read
Humanity pushed its way to the stars - and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out. Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures: with mind control and hidden high technology, they've built a religion in which every Safeholdian believes, a religion designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever. 800 years pass. In a hidden chamber on Safehold, an android from the far human past awakens. This "rebirth" was set in motion centuries before, by a faction that opposed shackling humanity with a concocted religion. Via automated recordings, "Nimue" - or, rather, the android with the memories of Lieutenant Commander Nimue Alban - is told her fate: she will emerge into Safeholdian society, suitably disguised, and begin the process of provoking the technological progress which the Church of God Awaiting has worked for centuries to prevent. Nothing about this will be easy. To better deal with a medieval society, "Nimue" takes a new gender and a new name, "Merlin." His formidable powers and access to caches of hidden high technology will need to be carefully concealed. And he'll need to find a base of operations, a Safeholdian country that's just a little more freewheeling, a little less orthodox, a little more open to the new. And thus Merlin comes to Charis, a mid-sized kingdom with a talent for naval warfare. He plans to make the acquaintance of King Haarahld and Crown Prince Cayleb, and maybe, just maybe, kick off a new era of invention. Which is bound to draw the attention of the Church...and, inevitably, lead to war. It's going to be a long, long process. And David Weber's epic Off Armageddon Reef is can't-miss Sci-Fi, At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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humouress
Off Armageddon Reef | David Weber

978-1-4299-2057-5

My library ebook is due back in 4 days so I‘m trying to read it quickly. People‘s names are slowing me down; they‘re normal names but with ys and hs swapped in eg Dynnys, Myllyr, Haarahld. I'm not sure where dragons and wyverns have come from in this terraformed world based on Earth. 1/6 in; losing track of characters & taking a while to work out who the good guys are.

humouress Could use fewer italics. Banter is amusing. There‘s a fair bit of padding/ explaining to wade through.
So much padding (did I say that?) Lots of explaining which 1) either I know already so is redundant (esp when repeated 2 or 3 times) or 2) I have no clue even with all the explanation (eg baseball - in a medieval setting?! or ship rigging) so is wasted and italics don't explain it better. Why baseball? Why not cricket or something traditional?
(edited) 2w
humouress I assumed that, having kicked off innovation & invention (and reinventing the wheel) in the medieval society, Merlin would disappear into his cave and reappear at a later date to steer mankind in the right direction. But, as of book 10, it looks like they‘re still with the same characters. One wonders how they‘re going to get to space flight let alone work out how to defeat an alien enemy that C 31st humans couldn‘t overcome. 2w
humouress 😅 Phew - made it. But maybe the time pressure made it especially obvious that it could have been edited down. And just about everyone who's reviewed it on LibraryThing had issues with the names. 2w
humouress Quote:
Her square-rigged spritsail had been replaced with three of Sir Dustyn Olyvyr‘s new “jibs”—triangular staysails set “fore-and-aft” on the forward-leading stays supporting the foremast, and the mizzenmast‘s lateen sail had been replaced by a “spanker,” a gaff-rigged fore-and-aft sail, with its foot spread by a heavy boom. They looked decidedly…odd to Gray Harbor‘s eye, but he had no intention of complaining. ⬇️
(edited) 2w
humouress ⬆️ Nothing was likely to change the fact that square-rigged vessels always had been (and would remain) clumsy and awkward to maneuver. The improvement the new headsails and spanker made possible, however, had to be seen to be believed.

(I just glossed over things like that.)
2w
3 likes5 comments
review
Twainy
Off Armageddon Reef | David Weber
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Surprised me!

Future aliens trash Earth & what‘s left of humanity escapes into space. They give up TECH to remain hidden. Reset the clock & 800 years later an AI awakens to help humanity without being dismantled as a demon, welcome to 5th century England.

Church & royalty & an Android presented as Merlin.

The book gets better and better until I couldn‘t put the last 25% down. On a ship & not a space ship. Bring on the poop deck!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Twainy I have joined the #31by31 Readathon hosted by @Catsandbooks 2y
Catsandbooks Wow! 🙌🏼💚 2y
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