Review of THE WAY TO GLORY by David Drake

Review of THE WAY TO GLORY by David Drake (see his website)

LIEUTENANT LEARY #4

Baen, May 2005

The war between Cinnabar and the Alliance continues, exacerbating friction between the classes in Cinnabar. When a Cinnabar captain orders three sailors executed for mutiny, tensions explode into violence. Daniel Leary, a popular hero, is assigned to serve under that captain--although it's a posting neither would have asked for. The needs of the nation have to go before the wants of the individual. Unfortunately for Daniel, though, Captain Slidell isn't the only RCN officer with no use for a young hero. The admiral he serves under likes him even less--especially when he proves her lover is an Alliance spy. Which results in Daniel and his sidekick, librarian and uber-geek Adele Mundy being assigned an impossible job on a planet nobody cares about.

Except when they arrive at Yang, Mundy realizes that the civil war brewing on that planet is not an internal affair but an Alliance attempt to build a secret base right in the middle of Cinnabar-controlled space--and that a large Alliance fleet is on its way to fortify it. Daniel's tactical mind comes with one approach that might work--but that is a certain suicide mission. Still, Daniel has never planned on living forever.

Author David Drake (see more BooksForABuck.comr reviews of novels by Drake) continues his Lieutenant Leary/RCN series with another space-going version of the Napoleonic era naval adventure. Leary and Mundy complement one another, with Leary's tactical skills being perfectly aided by Mundy's ability to penetrate any enemy computer network, encryption scheme, or friend/foe tactical system.

THE WAY TO GLORY is pure space opera. Although we get hints of character from Mundy, in particular, Drake never loses sight of his goal--to deliver fast-paced military action. If you're a fan of space action stories and looking for a pleasant diversion, you'll definitely find it here.

Three Stars

Reviewed 1/13/08

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