Product Description

The world has changed. The mercantile kingdom of Charis has prevailed over the alliance designed to exterminate it. Armed with better sailing vessels, better guns, and better devices of all sorts Charis faced the combined navies of the rest of the world at Darcos Sound and Armageddon Reef and broke them. Despite the implacable hostility of the Church of God Awaiting, Charis still stands, an island of innovation in a world where the Church has worked for centuries to keep humanity locked at a medieval level of existence. But the powerful men who run the Church aren t going to take their defeat lying down. Charis may control the world s seas, but it barely has an army worthy of the name. As King Cayleb knows, far too much of the kingdom s recent good fortune is due to the secret manipulations of the being that calls himself Merlin a being who is more than human and on whose shoulders rests the last chance for humanity s freedom. Now, as Charis and its archbishop make the rift with the Church explicit, the storm gathers. Schism has come to the world of Safehold, and nothing will be the same.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15064 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 736 pages

Review
A superb cast of characters and plenty of action.... This fine book gives new luster to Weber's reputation BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW ON BY SCHISM RENT ASUNDER --Booklist,

Along with its predecessor, this second installment of an important SF saga belongs in all libraries. Highly recommended. Library Journal, starred review --Library Journal

Customer Reviews

Slower pace, greater depth...not a bad effort by any means
Now if you're new to Weber's books and you're reading Schism after finishing the first one, you'll find this second book to be an excellent piece of work. Well written, amazing depth and enough intrigue to chew on for at least a week.

For a long-term Weber fan, however, this book MIGHT leave you a tad underwhelmed.

Do not get me wrong, this book is an excellent read, no question.

But Weber's book have always had an nigh perfect balance between large scale action and human interaction on a personal/political/religious level that has always been exquisite, in my eyes at least.

In Schism, he has 'unbalanced' this equation to a rather large extent and whilst there are any number of action sequences, they are not the sort of battles i have come to expect.

Especially as, in all his works, these battles are never just for the sake of having a fight but to push the conflicts in certain directions, hinging the course of the war on the outcome of these battles.

In this book, Weber appears to utilise political manuevering on a grand scale to set the course of the Safehold War instead.

Whilst a fairly big proponent of the 'if it ain't broke...' modus operandii, i'm all for experimentation and growth and this was a bravua effort from Weber.

My problem was, all his past works have 'educated' me to expect a large battle and reaching the end of the book with only a few skirmishes to whet my appetite only left me hungry for more. So whilst this book was an excellent read, for me, it never really rose to the levels of some of his other works.

If you're a Weber 'fleet warfare' junkie like myself, it's not one to avoid exactly, just start reading with your eyes open about the fact that you're not likely to get your fix with this particular book.

Roll on Spring 2009 and 'Heresies Distressed'!!!!!

Another good'in!
If you've read David Weber before you know how good he is. This is a slightly different take on the usual science fiction, more reminicent of the Pern type series, where the story is based in a almost medieval setting. In this series religion plays an important part of the story, although with out it being over the top. The characters are engaging if maybe at times a little too much like previous characters. But even saying that, it's a great read which I've really enjoyed, infact I now have to catch up on all the work (and sleep) that has been allowed to slide because I haven't been able to put it down. If you've enjoyed any of David Weber's other books, you'll enjoy this one and it's slightly different take on the usual space saga. So Mr Weber, where's the next one????????

New to WEBER
Having never read any books by David Weber I wasn't sure what to expect with Off Armageddon Reef, I found myself drawn into the book and found that I coundn't put it down. The characters have been wonderfully created with a great deal of depth and even minor characters in the book have been well done.

With this I was looking forward to sequel and I have found the sequel to be even better. The books emphasis has shifted away from the action sequences in the first book to a more political feel. But the intense drama is still there and makes you feel that you are interacting with the characters.

Greatly looking forward to the next in line and I am hoping that Mr Weber keeps to the high standard he set in these books.