Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 13:39:35 -0400
From: Ted White <tedwhite at compusnet.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Whacking Weber With A 2 x 4
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

Michael Walsh wrote:

> http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/books/05/07/review.excalibur/index.html
> (You may have to cut & paste the URL; looks fine at this end.)
>
> A review of "The Excalibur Alternative" By David Weber
>
> Juicy bits:
>
> " Writers who can weld a good idea to a good story are hailed as "grand
> masters" of the genre.
>
> That is not a distinction David Weber is likely to claim for his novel
> "The Excalibur Alternative." He got the "good idea" half of the equation
> right, but he failed to attach it to a good story. Indeed, calling the
> plot of the book a "story" at all stretches the definition of the term."
>
> "Those who attempt to gain respectability for the genre would be horrified
> if this
> book became a success. Weber sets science fiction back 50 years, to the
> days of ray guns and bug-eyed monsters."
>
>  . . . oh well . . .

I liked the summary best:

"As an adventure story, "The Excalibur Alternative" is woefully
short on action. As a military chronicle, it is woefully short on
strategy and tactics. As science fiction, it is merely woeful."

Bad book (a Baen Book), but good review.

--Ted White