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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9781416555087
ISBN number: 1416555080
Label: Baen
Manufacturer: Baen
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 432
Printing Date: November 06, 2007
Publishing house: Baen
Sale Popularity Level: 273854
Studio: Baen
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Celadon, a poor nation on a poor planet, engaged in civil war and a haven for every type of villainy in space, is ripe for cleanup. The military could pacify it handily, but it would take a statesman to fix it.
But some statesmen have ethics, which politicians and megacorps find inconvenient. President Bishwanath compounded the sin by being astute, ambitious and capable. Something had to be done, because a working nation isn't much use for pork and graft.
When the word comes down that he is dead, the politicians move on with a new plan, re-allocating resources, and finding a new, more pliable president to put in place.
There are three problems with this solution. Bishwanath is not dead. His mercenary bodyguards are more loyal than the politicians. And if they're not on contract, there are no rules.
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Rated by buyers 
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The author's got great talent to write good stuff, but this one was not as well crafted or as coherent as before. When he selects a couple of characters on paper he works them well. It is a better product than a roving and not fully explicated tale such as this. This review is not meant to be discouragement at all, but please correct and take the necessary time before putting out the subsequent adventure. Do not be pushed or pressured by publishers. That will be to your own best and enduring advantage.
Rated by buyers 
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The author is obviously trying very hard to imitate Jerry Pournelle, but he doesn't manage to pull it off. This book has all of the trappings, but none of the substance, depth, or feel for the flow of history that you would find in the Pournelle books it is so obviously based on.
Rated by buyers 
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Better To Beg Forgiveness (2007) is the third SF novel in the Freehold universe, following The Weapon. It is set several centuries in the future in an era of interstellar colonization. It appears to take place before the timeframe of the two previous novels.
The Colonial Alliance includes many interstellar colonies and the UN controls others. One colony -- Celadon on Salin -- has been a haven for terrorists and pirates. Now the colony is occupied by the UN Peace Forces, but is not yet pacified. Balaji Bishwanath has been appointed as temporary president of the Celadon Colony by the UN and the Colonial Alliance.
In this novel, former Captain Alex Marlow, USMC, is Agent in Charge of an Executive Protection Detail from Ripple Creek Security. This trip to Salin is his very first time offplanet and he finds the situation in Celadon to be very different from his past experiences. Naturally, the UN Peace Forces are much the same, but the colony natives -- skinnies -- are quite unusual.
Aramis Anderson, former Lieutenant, USA, is second in command of the EPD team. He did well at the Academy, had some Earthside combat experiences, and is very bright. Unfortunately, he still hasn't recovered from his Infantry indoctrination.
Jason Vaughn is another EPD team member. A former UNPF trooper from Grainne Colony, Vaughn took up bodyguarding after retiring from the military. He has a wife and kids back on Grainne Colony.
Eleonora Sykora is also a team member. A Czech demolition specialist, Elke has experience with many kinds of conventional explosives and some familiarization with nuclear devices. She also is quite handy with various firearms.
Bart Weil is another EPD team member. A German wet-navy vet turned bodyguard, he probably has more actual security experience than anyone else in the team. Unhappily, much of it has been with typically self-centered music stars and other entertainers.
Another team member is Horace "Shaman" Mbuto, the team medic. He had extensive experience in combat medicine during the Third (or Eighth) Liberian Civil War. He is also familiar with using rigger tape, rags and a pocket knife to perform surgery. Any patient operated on by Shaman is likely to survive, but the scars may require reconstructive biosculp.
Major Lee Weilhung is commander of the UNPF Long Range Reconnaissance troops assigned to the Presidential Palace. He has four platoons under his command and a political colonel as his superior. He is rather cynical about the whole situation.
Aerospace Force Tech 1 White is liaison between the EPD team and the AF intelligence detachment in the palace. She provides sitreps and contact with the supporting aerial and space units. Snow White has bugged every room in the palace and is often guarded by an AF Security NCO with Buckley on his nametag.
In this story, the RC team is contracted for protection of the incoming president of the colony. They are responsible for immediate security of the president and the Recon company is providing external and area security.
Their very first encounter with the colonists is on the convoy from the landing field. The skinnies take pot shots at the convoy and at each other. One of them aims an antiarmour racket at the convoy, but Elke "borrows" a grenade launcher from a UNPF trooper to take out the skinnie.
Upon reaching the palace, they find UNPF marines guarding the gate and native troops lounging in the courtyard. They take their personal gear to the assigned quarters while their weapons and other team gear are delivered by another route. Then Tech White leads them to a meeting with Major Weilhung. Later their principal comes to the quarters to meet them. They find him cooperative and personable.
After settling in, they begin to compare the layout with the building plans. Elke plants explosives in the main stairway and other key locations within the palace. Major Weilhung gets rather upset when the EPD team fails to inform him of the emplacements ahead of time.
After their arrival, Weilhung is an observer at a meeting between his boss -- Colonel Weygandt -- and Colonel Kieso of the local command staff. Weygandt is upset by the very presence of the RC team, but Kieso points out that contractors are performing many specialized tasks in the theater. Weygandt is also rather perturbed by the grenade launcher incident, but reluctantly concedes that the alternative would probably have resulted in worst publicity.
This story provides more insight into the UNPF as well as the frontier culture on Grainne. The UNPF is hampered by the attitude of the Bureau of State; BuState would really prefer to pacify the colony without any adverse publicity. For example, the UNPF is limited to thin-skinned land transports since they are less threatening than armored ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
I dig the action and military and the infighting between the various groups. I enjoyed all of the characters, and appreciated that some of the characters are good at their jobs and yet still at odds with the protagonists.
What I didn't enjoy were the thinly-veiled digs at any kind of politics that skews to the left, or the traditional institutions that are seen by the right as "tools" of the left-- the media in particular.
It doesn't make me laugh to see euphemistically-named mannequins of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and other tabloid celebrities pop up to be mocked and maligned. That sort of editorial commentary intrudes on the narrative time and time again and it's just so freaking BORING I found myself skipping through parts to avoid that junk.
There are good and bad members of every profession, and of every political persuasion. Obvious mockery and dehumanization of swaths of the human race is probably what the typical reader of military science fiction is looking for. But for me, I'd like more rounded characters in the world AROUND our protagonists. I think Mr. Williamson should try to avoid listening to talk radio before sitting down to write.
Rated by buyers -
This is the very first book by this author I have read and I was impressed by the level of characters and compelling story. Its also nice to see an author with an appreciation of the UN's attitude towards LDCs.
Its about an EP (Executive Protection) team of contractors brought in to protect the new president of Celadon on the planet Salin. The country has suffered a bad case or moral, economic and political dysfunction. The UN has a peace keeping force in place (usual screw up) with rivalries between the State, Military and Commerce functions. The presence of the EP team puts their noises out of joint as the team makes it difficult to pressure the president (Bishwanath) into being a puppet. Well written combat and a very good plot. Some humour as when Aramis meats the ginmar (genetically moded ostrich: dumber, more vicious, more territorial, stinks worse and when upset or angry tends to spin and spray feces--was supposed to be an improved source of meat). Aramis is a well drawn character and one of the EP team. Another piece of humour is why Salin's sun is called BOB.
Now to the two problems:
1. UN/Earth is in the muddle of things but there are: UN Nations, UN Protectorates, Affiliates, and Colonies (who have gone their own way and don't particularly care about Earth). The others are mysteries.
2. While the motivation of the various tribes and warlords is clear there is no convincing motivation for sudden off planet interest given their lack of resources and that they have been ignored for years.
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