As opposed to the last two books (two stars for being very slow and not really getting anywhere), this one is slightly more worthwhile, because some plot lines actually complete. If you have read the other books, that is not a spoiler, since they have been dragging up to this point quite predictably.

I was hoping that 9 books would be enough to get humanity back to the stars, and start telling the story of the war vs the Gbaba, or whatever the relevant aliens are called. Tighter writing could have finished this series comfortably in 6 books. But if you enjoyed the first 4-5 books of the series before getting frustrated, this one at least finishes the story you were drawn into at the beginning. ( )

A fitting conclusion/start. I'm fascinated to see if this gets run in a new direction now that the initial line of storytelling has played through. Seriously enjoyable series, and well concluded if this does turn out to be the last book. ( )

Well, the war is over

So there's that.

What I like about David Weber's writing is the detail and how real he makes battle scenes feel. What I don't like is that the scope of the world(s) grows so large that you no longer can truly conceptualize the battle. Half the time I couldn't figure out who was on what side until I was several paragraphs into a given section. There were five or six different battle fronts!! Each with two sides!! Then there is the fact that half the time a neat little scene ended with everybody in the scene dead. It ^is^ war; people die. But set against such a massive backdrop...this was basically WW II being fought with WW I equipment, and a religious war to boot.

If you have been reading this series, well...too late to stop now. The good news is they finally end the war.

If you are not familiar with the series, this is a terrible place to start. ( )

Well, the war is over

So there's that.

What I like about David Weber's writing is the detail and how real he makes battle scenes feel. What I don't like is that the scope of the world(s) grows so large that you no longer can truly conceptualize the battle. Half the time I couldn't figure out who was on what side until I was several paragraphs into a given section. There were five or six different battle fronts!! Each with two sides!! Then there is the fact that half the time a neat little scene ended with everybody in the scene dead. It ^is^ war; people die. But set against such a massive backdrop...this was basically WW II being fought with WW I equipment, and a religious war to boot.

If you have been reading this series, well...too late to stop now. The good news is they finally end the war.

If you are not familiar with the series, this is a terrible place to start. ( )

I'm glad this part of the story is over. The ending was satisfying. The road to it at times was interesting, and dramatic. The story and the series none the less still suffers from being bloated with details on inventions and battle strategy. I wish this series would include maps and illustrations. Without them the series becomes confusing and tempts the reader to gloss over large parts of the each book In this book Weber dealt a lot with the issues of disclosure. There was a lot phrases like " the orbital SNARCS provided far more detailed information than he’d ever be able to include in his official report ' The Empire of Charis finally got its nose bloodied as the Army of God began to learn how to adapt. There are even failures in Charis's spy network when the Inquisition finally captures and tortures two spies. The effect of the capture would have been an interesting storyline to explore. Unfortunately it is cut off by the use of a deus ex machina piece of techno babble. It's use did introduce a useful plot device. The Chislom rebellion was a wasted opportunity. Yes it was sweet that boy learned a lesson after being seduced by dark forces. I wish the whole rebellion had been allowed to flourish and explored further. The problem with the series is that at no time did I feel the Empire of Charis was ever really in danger. They aways have the upper hand. There is nothing that the Church of God Awaiting can do to surprise The Empire. After awhile this makes the series boring.Weber does try to introduce an element of mystery and tension in this story. The story is at its best when it explores the element of rebellion in the Church go Awaiting. These passages are some of the most compelling in the book. Another bright spot is when Sharley asks how far are we prepared to go to accomplish the objectives we can’t tell anyone else about?
This promises to be the next major theme in Safehold #10. Notwithstanding the problems I have with series and this story, I found it fun read. Taken as whole the series is interesting. I want to know what happens to the characters. I would because of the complexity of the individual works and the series recommend getting Ebook versions of the books from your library. Ebooks allow a degree of cross referencing and getting the back stories on events and people that are nearly impossible with a paper volume. One can hope future Ebooks have links to maps and illustrations. I also hope that Weber and I live long enough to get to the Gaba and the real end of the series. At the rate of one book a year the whole series might take another 10 years to complete. As of 2016 Weber was 64. In another 10 years he will be pushing 75 in 2026. ( )