Conventions of War: Dread Empire's Fall

One of the hallmarks of well written fiction, for me at least, is that I get so caught up in the characters that I find myself saying "Why did they do that?" instead of "Why did the author write them that way?" This book definitely falls into the former category - well written, with real characters and a story that kept my attention and interest. Read the entire trilogy - having the full context makes it so much richer.

So often Science Fiction, and the sub-genre of Space Opera in particular, is set amidst a completely unbelievable background, either an unlikely extrapolation of current society and science or worse still, our current society set in a thinly veiled future that lacks any cohesion. The Dread Empire series defies this trend by setting the books in very believable, cohesive, and reasonable setting. What a wonderful change from the likes of David Weber's Honorverse. "Conventions of War" is a solid ending to the "Dread Empires Fall" series that leaves the reader wanting more, and happily, there seems to be plenty of room for additional books in the series. Mr. Williams gives us rich character development and compelling action amidst the stars. Hallelujah! I give it 5 stars.

I am a great fan of military science fiction, despite the fact that most of it is - to be blunt - simplistic mind candy. In this series, Williams has managed to combine an interesting read on space war and interplanetary politics in the far future with a real rarity in military sci-fi: characters who might actually pass for human beings. Having just finished several volumes of a puzzlingly popular military sci-fi series by another author I found the transition to Williams' trilogy to be the literary equivalent of diving into a big juicy steak after spending a week living on salsa and chips.

This series has been different. It is space opera and follows all the normal conventions but it has just seemed "different" in some indescribable way. This third book has the same feel and is, in my mind, the best of the lot. It also leaves open the possibility of opening up the trilogy into a wider ranging series. Humanity and its allied races are involved in a civil war. After the death of the last of the Shaa conquerors, one race, the Naxids, seek to replace the Shaa as overlords. Needless to say, the other races do not agree. The allies have had to evacuate the capital planet. All of the government functionaries have fled leaving behind only the mass of citizens and the invaders. Also left behind is a small group of naval officers commissioned to lead an armed insurrection. Most of them are hopeless and good at nothing but being the aristocracy. One exception is Lady Sula. After all of the others are captured, she manages to lead a resistance movement that actually takes over the planet. Meanwhile, Capt. Martinez and the fleet are trying to rebuild and prepare for a final action. The good captain is a naval innovator and a good leader and that leads him into conflict with the high brass where your bloodline made more difference than your abilities. While a big part of the story takes part with Capt. Martinez and some critical things happen, it is not the main thrust of the story. It is present for character development and as an opportunity to throw in a murder mystery. The book reads well and keeps the attention. It is entertaining and different in tone and style from most space opera. Its lots of fun. I hope there will be further sequels.

I really enjoyed this series from the get go, and the final book in the series does not disappoint. Williams has created 2 great characters that follow parallel but mostly separate trajectories though the events of the rich universe he created. Each is a protagonist in their own tale, and a supporting character in the others. It may be a bit much to say that this is SF for people who like Jane Austin, but the strength of this series is in the same vein. The problem with the vast majority of most hard SF is that it shows astonishing ideas acted out by cardboard cutout characters. And there is nothing wrong with that, since authors have to pick what they want to devote their energy to- and SF is by and large about the ideas. Books that get shelved in the literature section tend to be more about interesting characters and how their actions and their relationships play out. Williams seems to have been able to accomplish both with his deft writing. So basically, if you like your SF character driven, (For instance, if you liked the show Firefly) then check out this series- you will not be disappointed.