Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Baen
Manufacturer: Baen
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 512
Printing Date: March 06, 2007
Publishing house: Baen
Sale Popularity Level: 535347
Studio: Baen
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Rated by buyers 
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As he did in the final 2-3 books of the Honor Harrington series, Weber gets so wrapped up in geopolitical maneuvering that the book bogs down in places. The characters that I became interested in in the very first book are absent or minimalized and little actually happens for all of the battle scenes that appear. I found Off Armageddon Reef a much better read, and I'm hoping that its sequel does not fall into this same pattern of talk, talk, talk with the subsequent loss of interest in the characters and a paralyzed plot.
Rated by buyers 
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Picked up these books on a whim - I've been a David Weber reader for close to two decades not including an old game system that he and Steve White wrote. What I found was a bit disappointing.
First, I didn't really appreciate the cliffhanger endings - yes they're formula, but this seems to be more the influence of Linda than David. Not exactly a glowing display of writing style although I'm not really talking about that they wish to leave plot elements unfulfilled. My issue is, it just seems incredibly obvious where (for example) the end of the second book is going.
Such as - the marriage - it's obvious that we'll be introduced to some facet of Uromathian/Ternathian custom/law with emphasis on some portion of the Unification documents that defeats the intent of the Uromathian Emperor (although it's probably as simple as - the girl rules, the guy is merely a consort/present)
Second, it also seems rather obvious that the enventual end of the series will be some sort of stalemate. The why's are already advertised - blatant and re-washed plot elements involving multiple universes...that somehow the physics/laws of any given universe dictate or allow certain abilities to exist - it seems likely that Arcanan magic will falter or fail the closer they get to Sharona and vice versa...psionics & chemistry (gunpowder) will fail near Arcana. Not to mention the vastly different logistics capabilities suggest that Sharona will likely only be able to push back to the universe with all the gates.
Expected twists would include things like the introduction of a third race/group/nation that drives them to coordinate.
I guess you can say I just feel like I've read this entire story before - in snippets here and there, some from Weber, some from many others, and it's all just a matter of how it's going to be re-washed and re-combined. Will I continue to read the series...perhaps. If it extends in length like Robert Jordan's...I'll probably lose interest. Dave really has himself overcommitted to too many projects that has put him in a situation where he wants to please everyone but can't produce new books without all but suspending multiple other long running series. Personally, I'd prefer to see him put this one down, hand it off 100% to Linda and some other party if necessary - back out and go back to his core competencies.
Rated by buyers 
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Hell Hath No Fury is an excellent read; even better than Hell's Gate. I am really looking forward to the subsequent one, if it ever comes out.
Rated by buyers -
Hell Hath No Fury (2007) is the second SF novel in the Multiverse series, following Hell's Gate. In the previous volume, Commander of One Hundred Hadrign Thalmayr finally arrived to relieve Hundred Jasak Oldenhan. When Thalmayr tried to take the prisoners -- Shaylar Nargra-Koymayr and her husband Jathmar Nargra -- Jasak declared them to be shardonai, under his personal protection. Jasak took them back to his homeworld when he left the command.
Two Thousand Nith mul Gurthak quickly sent forward Masters Rithmar Skirvon and Uthik Dastiri of the Union Arbitration Commission to conduct a parley to gain time. Under the orders of his secret masters -- the Mythalan Council of Twelve -- mul Gurthak carefully prepared a counterstrike. Arcanan troops and dragons assembled on islands near the portal.
In this novel, Dorzon chan Saskey commands the group of soldier functioning as diplomats in the parley with the Arcanans. His Talents are beginning to distrust the motives of the Arcanans. Saskey sends a Flicker message to his backup team and passes the word within his group.
Half the Arcanan honor guard at the parley are Special Operations troops, who have been briefed on the operation. When the time comes, Tharian Narshu uses a hidden dagger stone to take out the Voice. The dragons are due shortly afterward.
Unfortunately, Hulmok Arthag is ready for any aggressive move by the Arcanans. When Natshu draws his hidden weapon, Arthag draws his pistol and his men are close behind him. Unluckily, Natshu's single shot takes out the Sharonan Voice as well their Flicker Talent.
The Sharonans win that small fight, but have no means of warning their backup forces without the Voice and Flicker. They quickly interrogate their prisoners for immediate intelligence and learn about the dragons. Then they take the prisoners and head toward a side gate within the portal cluster.
In this story, the Arcanans move through the portals one by one, taking out the Voice network as they go. They attack the portal forts with dragons -- about which the Sharonans know nothing -- and push down the multiverse chain for four thousand miles. Then they reach Fort Salby.
Nith mul Gurthak regularly sends reports on the attack back to his secret masters. The Council has provided him with a spell to encrypt and compress these reports and embed them within ordinary mail to his brother-in-law. Only two others have the spellware to retrieve these messages.
Voice Darcel Kinlafia heads back to Sharona. After forty-eight thousand miles of travel, Kinlafia is escorted into the presence of Zindel chan Calirath, the Emperor of Ternathia and the designated Emperor of Sharona. He finds the Emperor to be very easy to relate to, although Zindel is somewhat terrifying if only for his heritage.
Kinlafia shares a Glimpse with the Emperor and learns about his future relationship with the Secondary Heir, Imperial Princess Andrin. He also meets Privy Voice Alazon Yanamar, who is to coach him on political affairs. As Voices sometimes do, both Kinlafia and Alazon suddenly recognize each other as the love of their life.
Meanwhile, Shaylar and Jathmar have traveled over halfway to the Arcanan home universe, with only forty thousand miles to go. Shaylar has discovered that the marriage bond between Jathmar and herself is wakening. When Jathmar tries his Mapping Talent, he also discovers that it is weaker. They carefully don't tell the Arcanans about their failling Talents.
This story concludes with the end of Arcanan secrecy. The Sharonans at Fort Salby have discovered the Arcanan aerial transport and combat capabilities and have finally gotten word back to Sharona. Moreover, the Sharonan relief division has arrived at Fort Salby.
The military story resembles the Japanese drive through the Pacific islands during World War II. However, the story includes at least two factors that differed from that operation: the communications blackout and the bottleneck at the portals. Submarines and airplanes provided the Allies with intelligence and caused havoc among the supply ships during the island campaign. Yet the Sharonans did not even know that they were under attack until the dragons flamed their forts.
This tale combines military combat with political intrigue in Weber's successful style. The storyline has mostly concentrated on Sharonan politics in the very first two volumes, but the Arcanan side probably will dominant the subsequent volume. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Weber & Evans fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of military conflict, political intrigue, and a touch of romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Rated by buyers -
A good follow up though a little weak in maintaining interest at some points. It is still a good read for Weber fans.
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