Source
r/Safehold•
BugOutBob

On book 3. Please tell me this series didn't peak on book one?

I really enjoyed book one. The premise, the characters, the strategy, etc. I made it through book two. I'm now about 1/3 through book three and starting to doubt continuing. This is partially my fault, I think. I kind of expected a leap in time between books to some pivotal points in safehold's history where Nimu nudged things, culminating in a scifi battle with the big bads... but it appears the series is going slog through every minor skirmish, diplomatic exchange, dinner party, and wedding. I'm not sure I can tough it out.

Posted Apr 21, 2019, 9:49 PM UTC

27
TheKraahkan•

Honestly liked book 4 for me, as they introduce the exploding cannon shells for the first time, but the war on the mainland takes up either books 5-9 or 6-9,and can be a bit of a slog. There's some great parts in it as it mirrors WWI and WWII, but some of the troop movements make it feel slow. I would say try and stick with it, but if it gets too difficult you can skip to book 10 and read summaries if what happened in between. The tenth book covers I think a fifteen year time span as the world becomes more industrialized, leading into the next phase of Merlin's plan to bring humanity back to where it was.

5
kuldan5853•

Caution: Minor spoilers ahead.

​

The Scifi stuff you are expecting is still planned - but Books 1-9 deal with Safehold and the War against the Church (and see that to completion, that part of the story is done).

The end of that period is roughly equivalent to 1880s technology on Earth.

Book 10 does a time jump of 20 or so years and builds up another story arc where no-one knows where we're headed right now..

4
Gigletes•

Have you read Honor Harrington? I think that's just Weber's style, and people seem to enjoy it. I certainly do! The details create a very interesting world. Sometimes it feels somewhat like reading history more than a novel.

3
JakePPetersen•

Honestly, if you're not "in" by the third book this series probably isn't for you. The entire series is very much a blow-by-blow account of Charis' wars, politics, and diplomacy. I agree with your criticisms about getting way too bogged down in detail, and the only reason I finished was because I wanted to see if it got back to Human v. Gbaba. I hope Weber finishes that plotline at some point.

3
ralphyisaboss1234•

I feel like it's kinda like game of thrones in the world building and politics

1
ArgostheCorgi•

Some books are definitely better than others. 6 was, for me, the low point. 5 is better than 4. 7 was my favorite. 8 is good but not great 9 feels rushed.

IDK the series was worth it for me but I can it see it not being worth it for everyone

1
BubblyBullinidae•

I actually love the series exactly as it is. The naval battles I find most interesting. I don't think I would like it as much if it was just all about the space-faring wars. I'm just getting into sci-fi as I'm more of a fantasy reader so I assume (likely incorrectly) most sci-fi books out there are strict Sci-fi, whereas this one seems to be a bit different than most with the inclusion of the 19th century era stuff.

I also find it interesting how our society has come full circle and this time there is a technological advancement (Merlin) that will be guiding the growth of humanity.

1
DavidDPerlmutter•

Don’t you feel he cuts off battles too early? I find that maddening.

1
BubblyBullinidae•

I didn't think so, but after thinking about it I think he used to play them out in the first few books, but the later ones I think he's done it a few times.

1
DavidDPerlmutter•

Did not—yes, very uneven but many great moments to come.

1
mowermachine•

Book one had a tighter plot, a smaller set of characters, and much more focused goals than any of the other books.

The rest of the books are basically each 20 short stories mashed together, but instead of telling each short story in sequence, he takes a page from each short story and lets you read it before jumping to the next one.

It’s a lot more like reading a newspaper about the life and times of Safehold than reading an actual plot. There are goo moments in each book, rather like there are good newspaper articles in a newspaper. But taken all together, the whole thing is pretty boring.

1