A Rising Thunder is the latest installment in David Weber’s Honorverse stories, and the thirteenth in the main sequence. Fans of the series will welcome an increase in pace from 2010’s sprawling Mission of Honor. For less-committed readers like me, however, the continuing essential lack of focus fails to charm.
There are times when it seems Weber has traded his ability to tell a good rollicking story (examples: For the Honor of the Queen, Flag in Exile, Path of the Fury, Oath of Swords) for an obstinate determination to tell all the story across his grand interstellar canvas — yes, all of it, giving point of view to every mover and shaker and indeed candlestick maker with an axe to grind, point to make, or grand scheme to exposit. I’m not sure why Weber thinks this is best way to proceed: for me, none of his books since Ashes of Victory have had any real heart. The earlier volumes, whatever their flaws, possessed an enthusiasm and vibrancy that recent installments have shown only in flashes.
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