Rebel

Ascent to Empire, Book 2

By: Richard Fox, David Weber

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

He never wanted to be a rebel.

The Five Hundred, the elite families who rule the Terran Federation and control its political power and its wealth, have grown steadily wealthier and more powerful, thanks to the war against the Terran League. War may be hard on the people who get caught in its path, but it's very good for business in the short term, and the Five Hundred own the shipyards that build the Navy's ships. They own virtually all the industry that produces the weapons and material the war consumes so voraciously... and they've made damn sure someone else does the dying.

True, there are a few flies in the Five Hundred's ointment.

There's the growing hatred and resentment of the Fringe Worlds, whose children do eighty percent of the dying in the Five Hundred's war. But the Five Hundred have made sure the Fringe knows what will happen to any system that goes "out of compliance."

There are the lunatic conspiracy nuts who insist that the alien Rishathan Sphere is secretly aiding the League's military, but the Five Hundred have forced them to keep their mouths shut where it matters.

Then there's Terrence Murphy, a man of honor who loves the Federation, who springs from the Five Hundred, yet knows it for what it is and is determined to speak for its victims. But the Five Hundred have dispatched ample force to deal with him and his handful of lunatic followers.

Unfortunately, the Fringe has paid enough of its children's lives, and it no longer cares what may happen if it dares to defy the Five Hundred.

Worse, the lunatic conspiracy nuts were right, and the Rish have planned carefully for the Federation's destruction.

And, worst of all, the Five Hundred have fatally underestimated Terrence Murphy.

Rebel is book two in David Weber and Richard Fox's Ascent to Empire series.

©2024 Words of Weber, Inc. and Richard Fox (P)2024 Podium Audio

A QC note made it through chapter 24 @43min 20sec.

Overall good story, world building is very well done characters are interesting. My only complaint is that characters repeat themselves especially Murphy.

Solid building block

I felt the book was a solid building block in the series and in the building of the universe.

Great!

Love this series so far. There are parts that can be a little slow but for the most part it has been great. Interesting characters and story. Fantastic narration. Worth it.

If you are a Weber Fan you will be right at home

The authors build great characters which continue in this book from the first. If you’re a weber fan this is nothing new, however, like all his stories they can take a long time to reach completion so expect a few more in the series, which is fine by me.

Fantastic 2nd Entry

Absolutely loved this book. Narrator made several embarrassing gaffes, though, so I took a star off from performance (it's "Delta V", not "Delta Five", and it's "O-N-I", not "oni" like the Japanese demon. this is basic mil-sf stuff the narrator shouldn't have screwed up).

Besides that minor quibble, loved the reading and the story. This is looking to be a typically Baen "trilogy" (oops, too much to pack into 3 books, guess we better have more 😛), which is great for us readers.

Can't wait to read more!

Great structure, buildup, and action.

There are times where conversation goes a little long, but it serves a purpose. Character development and exploration. We see evil and what is evil. We are WHY it is evil. But one of the best lessons is that a bunch of shady evil characters behind the scenes pulling the puppet strings doesn’t work. It leads to evil.

Loved this series.

Excellent characterization. Given the existence of ftl, great job describing how space battle might really be. Now I have to wait for the next episode.