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We Few (March Upcountry)
by David Weber, John Ringo
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Baen (2005-04-05)
ISBN: 074349881X
EAN: 9780743498814
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Hardcover: 400 pages
SKU: H4951
Condition: Good
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Prince Roger MacClintock was an heir to the galaxy's Throne of Man-and a self-obsessed spoiled young brat . . . until he and the Royal Marines sent to protect him were stranded on Marduk with only their feet to get them half way around the entire planet. So far, they've crossed a continent, crossed a sea full of ship-eating monsters, taken over an enemy spaceport, and hijacked a starship. But they're not home-free yet, because home is no longer free. In Roger's absence, a palace coup by enemies of the MacClintock family has seized control of the Empire. His mother the Empress is a captive in the palace and even in her own body, drugged so that her will is not her own. Roger's brother, the heir to the throne, is dead. And Roger himself has been branded an outlaw and traitor. Roger and his faithful band of human marines and native alien warriors have beaten the barbarian planet Marduk, and now they must re-conquer an interstellar empire. But they aren't about to give up, and with the help of those on the throne planet who are still loyal to the Empress they will infiltrate (under cover of a restaurant specializing in exotic Mardukan dishes, no less), they will make anyone who gets in their way (such as local mobsters who make the mistake of kidnapping Roger's fianc‚) very sorry that they did, and they will not rest until the rightful ruler has been restored. Once again, a lot of power-hungry people are going to learn a hard lesson: You do not, ever, mess with a MacClintock!
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Customer Reviews
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Great Military SF!!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-07-08
Great conclusion to a great series. I loved the reality of the characters as well as the development of the story. Highly recommended to anybody who loves SF and military stories
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Good, Not Great
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-05-18
The fourth novel in the series, it has several of the positive features from the rest of the series, and unfortunately a couple of the bad ones.
The characters by now are fully fleshed out and feel very three dimensional. The writer has clearly become comfortable with them and writes them very well. The interplay between Roger and Desperaux becomes a little boring, as both come off more as whinny rather then troubled. The new characters added in this novel, the ex-Empress' Own, are really well thought out, and a welcome addition, especially with Pharmer missing.
The story itself is fairly well written, although it does suffer from some pacing issues. The story gets off to a slow start and must quickly come to a head. Also, some of the side plots, including the kidnapping side plot, detract from the story more then add to it.
The one major problem with this book is its' fan boyishness. There are to many popular culture quotes, pulling the reader out of the story by how out of place they are. Also, to many characters have one liners at incredibly inappropriate times. These detract from the character, making them seem less real and way less expert as Weber claims they are. This is ultimately embodied in one of the urban combat guys, whos' one liners become increasingly annoying.
All that being said, this is a satisfying read and worth picking up. If you have been following this series, you wont be terribly disappointed.
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Saving the Empire
Rating (3)
Date: 2008-04-16
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
We Few is the last installment in a tetralogy. Prince Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang MacClintock is now the principle heir to the throne held by his mother the Empress. He must now prove himself as capable a leader as he is a fighter because no one who wasn't with him on Marduk believes he's changed from the spoiled bratty kid he was went he left. There we are - Roger framed for a coup attempt and no one rushing to his side to rescue his mother, the Empress.
[the following text is the same for my reviews of all 4 books in the series.]
First the good points - It's a fast-paced and exciting military science fiction story which takes the reader from danger to danger quickly. The plot moves along and these two writers know how to spin an interesting story. I give kudos to them for hooking me and making me read to the end and want to pick up the final book in the series.
Now the bad. This book is set hundreds of years in the future, yet all the sayings, quotes, poems, and songs come from our recent military history. Everything out of the mouths of the troops was a cliche that I've heard hundreds of times. Can't these two writers create a new lexicon for a future military? Can't they replace the worn metaphors with something creative and cool for a future society? Wouldn't there have been another poet that Marines love to replace Rudyard Kipling?
Speaking of Cliches, every character was one - the tried and true marine sergeant, gruff and tough, but with a heart of gold - The commander who spouts philosophy while ordering a slaughter - the spoiled kid, born with a silver spoon who becomes an honorable man under combat duress. It's all here and it's all predictable. Don't Ringo and Weber's readers want to experience something new or are they all Corps veterans reliving a collective past rosier and more ideal than the reality?
Also, the authors' politics are front and center. I disagree with their assertions and it was starky annoying.
Still, decent reading if you can get past the negatives.
- CV Rick, April 2008
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Good, but just kinda.. ends
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-03-09
I throughly enjoyed all the books in this series, both authors make very memorable characters, my favorite being Sergeant Julian and Seargent Major Kosutic. The pace and drama in this book doesn't' disappoint either, but then... it just ends. I turn the page, thinking there will be another chapter, but thats it. I can't complain too much since the majority of the series is about getting Roger to grow a set and become a man, but it would have been more satisfied to see how everyone ends up. I hope they do another in this series!
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Starting with #4, I loved it.
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-01-11
I had not read any of the previous three books, though I was aware of their existence from ads in the back of Weber's The Shiva Option. I fell into this fourth book, so I review it as a stand-alone.
Prince Roger, a young and relatively unformed guy at first, has become a made guy in months and months of nonstop combat operations. He's got a scorching case of PTSD and has gotten in the habit of killing people. His companions now have to transition this newly forged combat leader into someone capable of saving the Empire from itself without turning it into a pile of corpses. Having seen what readjustment from a couple combat tours does to people, I understand where his head is. Coming out of a high-speed zone where you pretty much have an unlimited license to kill your problems, there's not much worse than coming to an environment where that is no longer acceptable. When your new problems can no longer be solved with bullet or blade, that frustration at unsolved problems makes the killing seem even more tempting. I fully understand how he considers Niemashet his "prosthetic conscience". That's exactly what my wife is to me after my tours in several foreign countries, so much so I'm making my wife read it.
As for the notion that a group of high-ranking retirees wouldn't be the keepers of such secrets, it is in fact the perfect system. Those without access to the power are responsible for its protection. If Miranda MacClintock was half as paranoid as she was written, it's a hell of a plan. I've dealt with a lot of SpecOps retirees whose brains did not dull after retirement and who'd be perfect to aid in planning something despite having taken the uniform off. CSM Catrone even had to put the uniform back on for a specific purpose. Again, rational solution to the problem presented. Ringo, a vet of the 82nd, knows as many dangerous old men as I do and knows the resource they would provide.
While Weber loves his space combat sequences, they did distract a bit from the ground action, but they were at least well done.
Overall a first-class read for the military SF fan.
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