Though Hell Should Bar the Way
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
FROM WEALTH AND POWER, TO POVERTY AND INSULTS!
Roy Olfetrie planned to be an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, but when his father was unmasked as a white-collar criminal he had to take whatever he was offered.
What is offered turns out to be a chance to accompany Captain Daniel Leary and Lady Adele Mundy as they go off to start a war that will put Roy at the sharp end.
Duty snatches Roy from the harem of a pirate chief to a world of monsters, from interstellar reaches in a half-wrecked starship to assassination attempts at posh houses. Roy has the choice of making friends or dying friendless; of meeting betrayal and responding to it; of breaking his faith or keeping it at the risk of his life.
Pirates, politics, and spies--and waiting for Roy if he survives all the rest, a powerful warship.
The action doesn't slow--nor can Roy, for if he does the only question is which of the many threats will be the one to catch and kill him. But Captain Leary himself has given Roy a chance, and Roy is determined make the most of it—THOUGH HELL SHOULD BAR THE WAY.
At the publisher’s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drake's 12th RCN military space adventure (after Death's Bright Day) is disappointingly slow-moving, as newly recruited officer Roy Olfetrie spends an inordinate amount of time attending to ship maintenance before the action begins. Roy has left the naval academy on Cinnabar after his father's disgrace, so he jumps at the chance to join the hero Capt. Daniel Leary on a diplomatic mission to the planet of Saguntum. At the outset, Roy spends much of his time in space conducting various minor or major repairs, delaying the excitement for the reader, but when the action does arrive, it rises to Drake's usual high standards. Once reaching Saguntum, Roy is impressed onto another ship, captured by pirates, and then sold into slavery on the planet of ben Yusuf, where another dull stretch is mostly concerned with Roy's ability to use the local computer to order supplies. All that remains is for Roy to effect his own escape while rescuing captive Monica Smith from the local admiral's harem (a pulp throwback plot that pits the white heroes against stereotypical Arab-analogue antagonists) and return them both to Saguntum aboard a stolen vessel in time for the promised brouhaha to kick off there. This is a mixed bag at best, and even series fans may skim the long sections between exciting action scenes.
