Storm from the Shadows [Spoilers]

[Fyrwulf]

So, anybody else read the unedited oopsie version? For those that haven't and can deal with spoilers, I'll post some plot points.

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1) 10th Fleet is reconstituted with Henke in command, but no real wall of battle. That said, it's easily the most modern fleet the Alliance has with a squadron (eight ships in this case) of Nikes, a squadron of Saganami-Cs (with Commodore Terekhov in command), and a flotilla of the new Rolands. They're scheduled to be reinforced with the same number (with Oversteegan in command of that group) but the Battle of Manticore-A puts a crimp in that and the book ends in a cliffhanger.

2) We find out that the Mesan Alignment (more on that later) has the kind of manipulatory skills that would make Machiavelli weep in envy. They had their hooks so deep into Haven, back in its nascent days as a single-system federal republic, that they basically manipulated popular opinion so that the RoH turned into the PRH and thus was crippled as a threat to the Alignment.

3) We also learn that they have their hooks similarly deep into the SL (although that's no real secret) and manage to convince the SLN to turn a Battle Fleet, with somewhere between 50 and 100 wallers and a huge fleet train, loose in the Talbot Quadrant for "exercises". We never see it in action, although that's coming in the next mainline book.

4) They also manage to get a Battle Fleet admiral assigned to a Frontier Fleet (which, I'm sure some of you know, never happens) because he has one outstanding quality; he hates Manticore. It has to do with an episode when he was a relatively young officer, but needless to say his hatred leads him to get into a shooting incident with the RMN that doesn't end all that well for him.

5) The Mesa Alignment uses those ex-State Security pirates as an ad hoc assault fleet to attack Torch. It fails miserably, with Admiral Roszak intercepting the fleet and defeating it despite suffering heavy losses. It's not clear how the Admiral manages to learn of the attack and intercept it in time, since it's only mentioned in passing, but it's quite clear that Manpower receives the blame for the incident.

6) Nobody can complain any longer that the Manticore Alliance has the only bag of tricks. The Mesa Alignment pulls a couple out that make anything Manticore has done look like child's play. I won't spoils the surprise, but it's a doozy that'll make the next several books very enjoyable for those of you who gripe that Manticore wins wars too easily.

7) By the way, it becomes entirely apparent that Detweiler (you know, the CEO of Manpower?) overplayed his hand and Manticore has cottoned on that he's acting more like a head of state than a corporate executive. Something to do with not acting in his company's best interests (which Manpower has a reputation for ruthlessly doing.)


So, basically, if anybody puts all of that together and uses the brains God issued them, one comes out with the plotline for the next several books. The Manticore Alliance (along with Haven, once they figure out who was to blame for the PRH and the attack on Torch, and once they rebuild their demolished navy) is going to have to deal with the Solarian League initially and then the Mesan Alignment once they come out fully into the open. Should be a wild ride.

[fgalkin]

So, basically, if anybody puts all of that together and uses the brains God issued them, one comes out with the plotline for the next several books. The Manticore Alliance (along with Haven, once they figure out who was to blame for the PRH and the attack on Torch, and once they rebuild their demolished navy) is going to have to deal with the Solarian League initially and then the Mesan Alignment once they come out fully into the open. Should be a wild ride.

*Gasp*

*GASP!*

I am shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you, by this diabolical plot twist. Who, in his right mind could have possibly imagined where Weber was going with the whole Mesa/Sollie storyline. I mean, it certainly wasn't clear to us since at least "Crown of Slaves," and definitely not since the "At All Costs."

I mean, Manties uniting with Haven and the Andies, joining up with the Good Sollies, and the Massive Revolution of the Oppressed Underclass and the Unfortunate Natives exploited by Cartoonishly Evil Colonials (do I see Flint's influence here? Nah!) to crush the Evil Slavers and their Corrupt Flunkies. No one could have seen that coming, especially not with the new cast, oh no.

Anyways, I've been wondering what took the grots so long to get the the point. And also, whether the book is 1) good enough to buy and 2) has Honor in it (1 and 2 are basically incompatible, although I was able to stomach her appearance in Crown of Slaves because it was, thankfully, brief).

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[consequences]

Honor's appearances are brief, in the first part being limited to an expansion and reprise of certain bits of AAC. However they are somewhat plot-critical in the last portion of the book. I recommend coping.

For an additional spoiler, the whole genetic slavery thing is a distraction, designed to keep anyone from noticing the shit Mesa is really working towards achieving. So do yourself a favor and check your assumptions at the door.

[fgalkin]

How does the fact that they seem to want to take over the universe change the fact that they're evil slavers?

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Netko]

Just read it. It was not very satisfying.

The main problem is that, while it is a necessary read for fans of the series do to the structural changes introduced, it's all buildup and no payoff. As a standalone book, for someone not already familiar with the series, it would be horrible.

Surprisingly, even with dozens of pages of dialogue and reflection per each of the main characters none of them seem to have any character growth in this book (unless you count promotions).

None of the plot threads brought up in previous books are resolved, as are none created by the book itself, except a minor one in the grand scheme of things.

AAC was pretty bland in some places, but at least there was the humongous battle at the end to make up for it, while this book seems to be actively trying to not show a significant battle or otherwise a impressive payoff moment - all the buildup about the Solly wallers is there, but instead of showing the battle we get a "Tune in next time, sometime in 2009-2010 folks!", and the Mesa plot is also all buildup.

The worst of it is that probably a good half of the book is spent in the "past", recounting the events of AAC/SoS from another viewpoint - and while there are a few nice moments in that, its mostly simply no character growth, no new situations filler. The overlap time's part of the book could have been easily shortened by at least half, and opened up space to give us a payoff in the end of the book in the form of a battle with the SLN wallers at the terminus.

Probably the worst book in the series and the first clear filler book.