Insurrection (1) (Starfire)

"Insurrection" is a collaboration between two masters of military science fiction, David Weber and Steve White. The book explores the causes and progress of a civil war between parts of a Terran Federation originating from Earth and then bound together in the crucible of war against a merciless alien race. The story of the Fourth Interstellar War against the Arachnids is told in other books of the series. "Insurrection", while written first, is chronologically at the end of the series. It highlights that democratic legitimacy is ultimately grounded upon the consent of the governed. Weber and White succeed by incorporating insights with clear parallels in Earth's military, diplomatic and political history. The rebels of the Fringe most nearly approximate the American rebels who split from Great Britain within a generation of winning the French and Indian Wars. United in conflict against an external enemy, they are divided by economics and mutual disdain. "Insurrection" follows key rules of the space opera and military science fiction genres, so will be familiar to the typical reader. Yet, it succeeds in executing the formula very well. It takes a good historian to tell this type of story in a believable way. It requires imagination to teach similar lessons in the new circumstances of space combat. Weber and White deliver both. Heroic sacrifice in the course of combat by rebel and loyalist alike echoes the graduates of West Point split apart by America's Civil War. Each of these authors have other books that I like as well or even better, yet it was "Insurrection" that hooked me and so it holds a special place in my collection.

I recently reread this book, and was even more impressed than the first time I read it. Realizing that this book has a copyright of 1990 means it's the first book in the series that includes Crusade, In Death Ground, and The Shiva Option; it sets the stage for the other books which, though having later copyrights, occur chronologically earlier in time. What I hadn't noticed when I first read the book is that it is the last in chronological time. This adds even more impact to the book, realizing that it follows the crusade against the bugs, detailed in In Death Ground and The Shiva Option. That means that Weber and White set the stage for the other 3 novels in this one, and fleshed out the details later. It's great space opera, and shows signs of Weber's political awareness, that come out with even greater impact in the last Honor Harrington adventure, War of Honor. The machinations of the Corporate Worlds in the Federation Assembly as they attempt to squeeze more and more profit out of "the Fringe" with total disregard for the consequences should be a warning to ALL politicians. In this book, the battles are classic Weber/White, the strategies planned by both sides are fascinating. While some of the characters may seem a little "flat" (which is typical of space opera), others (notably Admiral Han Li and Oskar Dieter) are not. And the influence of weapons development on the struggle is well-done. If you're a Weber/White fan, buy this book; I believe you'll enjoy it. But be sure to read it in the proper order in the series. I also enjoyed the "trivia" Weber and White bring to their books. How many readers are aware that Admiral Analiese Ashigara is named for a Japanese heavy cruiser from the World War II era?

Insurrection (1990) is the first published novel in the Starfire series. However, it is the last in internal chronological sequence and should be read after The Shiva Option. It begins several generations after the Fourth Interstellar War against the Bugs. The Legislative Assembly of the Terran Federation has long been dominated by the Corporate Worlds at the expense of the Fringe Worlds. Now the Corporate Worlds have devised a plan to reapportion the Assembly by merging with the Orion Khanate, thereby reducing the Fringe World power base. They are frustrated at the last moment by bad publicity generated when Oskar Dieter, a Corporate World leader, personally insults Fionna MacTaggart, leader of the Fringe Worlders. However, the leader of the Corporate World delegation, Simon Taliaferro, plots to assassinate Fionna in order to throw the Fringe Worlders into a fury so that they will resign from the Assembly. His plot works as planned, but the consequences are more that he reckoned with. Terran Federation Navy Task Force 17 moves against Beaufort, Fionna's home planet, as a show of force, but it moves too slowly and the insurrection has started before it arrives. Admiral Forsythe is advised to go slowly and negotiate with the rebels, but refuses and plans on firing on opposed ships if necessary. This triggers a mutiny, with the Fringe Worlders taking or destroying all TF17 ships. As the word is spread, other ships mutiny and flee to the Fringe Worlds. Tenth Cruiser Squadron is too far within the Federation to flee, so takes the desperate gamble of raiding Galloway's World to destroy the largest Federation shipyards. Overall, the Federation loses approximately half of Battle Fleet, about 80 percent of the Frontier Fleet, and most of their shipbuilding capability for at least 6 months. This bad news forces the fall of the current government and brings Oskar Dieter to power as prime minister. Dieter has been greatly changed by these events and feels much guilt over the assignation of Fionna. He takes the position of prime minister only to alleviate the damage done by the extremists. He continues to rearm while undermining the political power of the Corporate Worlds. He establishes clandestine communications with the rebels to keep them informed of the political situation. Admiral Ian Trevayne is cut off from the Inner Worlds by the mutineers and forced to flee through Khanate territory to the Zephrain system. With the resources of the Gehenna R & D base on Zephrain A-III, Trevayne has new ships and weapons built for his fleet. An initial attempt by the rebels to take Zephrain is repulsed. Trevayne gains a very tentative channel with the Inner Worlds through the Khanate, but cannot send the new weapons data through that conduit. The Federation consists of the Rump -- the Inner Worlds -- and the Rim under Governor-general Trevayne. The Federation has lost all the choke points between themselves and the Rump; only Admiral Treva

I have read all of Weber's sci-fi works, and thoroughly enjoyed each. The writing in Insurrection is very good. The tempo of events keeps one on the edge of your seat waiting, or dreading, what comes next. The characters are normal people caught up in the most exciting and terrible events of their lives, and trying to do the best they can according to their sense of honor. The reader doesn't have the "god view" big picture knowledge of events, merely the same one the characters have similarly to Harold Coyle's military fiction books. The battles are believable, the technology consistant throughout. I highly recomend this book to readers of science fiction, and the militery genre both.

If you like David Webers other works then you will like this book