The Honour Of The Knights (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
The basic ideas are interesting. The writing is not. I wouldn't recommend the book. I gave 2 stars because the plot had some interest, despite the substandard execution and writing. There are several mysteries here. Who is Chaz, really? What are the Pandorans? "A mistake by the Senate" for sure, but it's a good mystery. Where did the tech for the ATAF's really come from? And the big one, is there gonna be anything left when the locusts have gone? What really happened to the Yellow Dogs, and This is good stuff, I want to stay with the story to find these things out. BUT ...Geez, there are some plot elements that just make me nuts. Sure, it's the writer's world to create, and isn't required to conform to my expectations. But some things just don't make sense. I'll limit my rant to a few examples:A science station popped out of space in the wrong place. And not 20 minutes later, they were hit by pirates. How did the pirates know to be there? The must have left for the system before the science station got there. Did their operation include rigging their navigation computers beforehand? If you can do that, just steal the data and skip the navigation computer rigging and the boarding operation.The rescuers found survivors at the science station, bound and gagged, who were alive. But later, the thief claimed to have killed everyone. And why wouldn't the rescuers be looking for a booby trap? When the lives of the survivors and rescuers are at stake, do you really just cowboy into the laser beams? Um, is this your first day on the rescue squad?Operation Menelaus - wow, that was bad. How long does it take to create a jump point and bug out? And if you think you're going to be getting hammered, wouldn't you have the jump engines warmed up or something? It seemed like it only took a few seconds, when the bad guys did it, and "too long" when the good guys tried it. The Griffin was hit by a kamikaze attack. What? There is only one tube to launch fighters on the whole flight deck? And the ATAF's are conveniently in the rear cargo hold? I'm certain that there would be more than one launch tube on a carrier - a single point of failure like that would be a fatal design flaw and no one would build it or fly it.When the White Knights went to Arlos, they had no way to find their invisible ships when they came out? Not even a remote door unlocker? I can find where I parked my car using my cell phone. 600 years in the future, you can't find your cloaked ship? Are we writing drama or slapstick here?When the Knights find the spy on the space station, and begin to suspect that she has ingested the important item, they immediately get into a mini-game over who is not squeamish enough to open her up with a scapel. Why? If she was alive, you'd put her into one of your invisible ships, right? So ... why not carry her body back to your base? Let the medics get it out?It's not like they even came into the situation with handguns, after all. Why not?And who was watching Commodore Hawke? When a soldier comes back from a theater, they don't get sent back. Admiral Turner explains that they needed every guy, but would you have SOMEONE watch the man? And why is he the only one on his bridge with a sidearm? Every single bad guy is armed to the teeth, and the good guys have a comb and some car keys. Hawke's unexplained nosebleeds were a huge signal that something was going wrong with him, yet he enjoyed complete autonomy in his activities. Early in the book, Lt Dean said to stay away from Sudarberg. But ... we never ran into Sudarberg again. One presumes that there is a trilogy that this teases for, along with the other unanswered mysteries. Why leave that loose thread for the whole book?And really? In the year 2600 a sixty year old man is considered old? Old enoug that his judgment is questioned? It reminds me of one of the goofy things about Star Trek TNG. They are in the 24th century, and they can take out your borg implants with no problem. But if you're bald, it's hopeless. And they don't have an instant cure for a hangover? Let's see ... you might be summoned to a major military action with zero notice, and you can't take something to make the hangover disappear instantly? Let's think about this. Is there ANY preparation or logistical planning that has to precede Operation Menelaus? Because if they don't have to stock up on ammo or fuel or spare parts or extra meals, they can just wake up in the morning and plan a new operation with no constraints - except that half the crew was hung over because you didn't tell the bar not to serve them after dinner time. I told the wife that I was tempted to quit halfway through, but I wanted to know the answers to the mysteries. When I made it to the end and didn't find them, I felt like I had be unrewarded for my effort.I'm unlikely to read the rest of the trilogy, but I might. I don't recommend the book to people looking for space opera. As for the author, I understand that this is a first novel, and self-published. I'm reminded of the Michael Jordan quote. I can live with failure, but I can't live with not trying again. Keep swinging away at it, one dud doesn't mean you can't make winners if you keep trying. Not bad sci-fi...but not groundbreaking either. It will get you a quick fix of sci-fi when you need it. The story's been done, but the author's ability to communication action is solid. The characters are on the weak side and the author hopes you don't notice they're not as bright as we are; but at least he can keep a decent narrative flow. So, not great sci-fi by any means; but ok when your reading list is low and you want a simple, action sci-fi fix.
What do You think about The Honour Of The Knights (2009)?
Meh. Had its good points. A few. Not terrible enough to stop, but parts were a slog.
—kalyan
Good story. Some bad language and more violent than I usually like.
—Teddysn
