Path of the Fury: Volume 1

by David Weber

Path Of The Fury This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067172147X
• ISBN13: 9780671721473
• Release Date: December 1992
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

five stars for sheer writerly gall

it takes a brave and extremely good writer to actually produce a book with a plot that involves a bronze age mythical demon, a cyber-enhanced female warrior, an AI-controlled combat vessel, over-the-top escapes, two distinct alien races, and believable politics (well, you accepted the fury, you're not going to object to the politics, are you?). now, include humor and some really good writing, and you have any reader's idea of a fabulous book.as other readers, i love the honor harrington series and was a bit reluctant to try this in case it was too much like HH or not to the same standard. however, since mr weber is taking so unconscionably long to produce the next HH, i bought this book. i am glad i did. the characters are absobing, multi-dimensional, real in their responses to situations. not all the villains are dyed-in-the-wool nutters, but the heroes are definitely heroic. mr weber obviously knows his military history, but he's pretty darn good at political history, too. and his grasp of psychology puts to shame a lot of other writers praised for perception. and the humor ranges from chuckles to guffaws. and, on a minor note, i really enjoy the names he creates for his characters. the combinations subtly suggest the effects of centuries of social changes.

My Favourite By My Brother So Far

"Path of the Fury" is one of David's few stand-alone books (in fact, the only other so far is "Apocalypse Troll").It looks like standard space opera -- albeit of the very highest quality -- as we introduce a planet-raping pirate fleet on the order of "Doc" Smith's Boskonians; a fleet that apparently is *intentionally* maximising casualties in its raids on colony worlds. It appears as if they are carrying "dead ment tall no tales" to its logical extreme -- but even early on there are indications it may be even more than that.One shuttle-load of such heavily armed and murderous raiders is just unlucky enough that, on a backwater planet their fleet is raiding, they happen to hit the farm that is the home of Alicia de Vries, retired Imperial Marine Drop Commando. And said lady, who had been out hunting a Very Large native predator on the far range, returns in time to find her entire family wiped out and the Bad Guys still on the ground.With nothing to live for, the heavily-augmented Alicia proceeds to become the sort of berserk that is the worst nightmare of any fighting man -- beyond pain, able to shrug off even normally-fatal wounds, totally unconcerned about herself, and determined to have revenge before she dies herself.And, it is as she lies dying herself, having taken revenge on all of the killers of her family, that David introduces the twist that makes this book unlike virtually any other military SF novel you have read or will ever read, in the person of a character who, in consort with Alicia and one other, will raise them all to higher and higher levels of prowess, to the point where Alicia is not only possibly the greatest individual warrior who has ever lived, but even more -- an implacable, unswerving personification of vengeance who terrifies even herself.In the person(s) of Alicia and her two partners, who collectively may be said to be the Fury of the title, David has introduced a rather daring twist on military SF that, at the least, challenges the underlying assumptions of a mechanistic Universe that are basic to so much of the genre; has bent if not broken the rules and succeeded brilliantly in producing an original and Very Satisfying adventure.Powerful as they are, Alicia & Co still face many difficult if not deadly challenges -- both from the Bad Guys and from well-meaning but non-comprehending Good Guys -- that the book is hardly a boring walkover, even for them, and the action is hot and heavy enough for even the most jaded military SF fan's taste.His best so far.

The best of Weber, right here!

"Path of the Fury" is probably the best book David Weber has written. This is the book that started it all for me. I picked it up in a library years ago back in 1994, and I've been an avid fan of David Weber ever since. I can't hold back recommending this book to any reader who might see this review. Now if we can convince him to write a sequal..."Path of the Fury" follows retired Imperial Commando Alicia DeVries and her search for vengence against the pirates who murdered her family and gutted the planet she had made her home. She is helped, by the mystical and self-serving Tisiphone, one of the long lost Furies of Greek legend. Their quest leads them to steal an artificially intelligent ship and... well, why spoil it.Weber has a unique way of creating universes that have extrodinary depth and complexity, while at the same time intertwining character development and action flawlessly. It is the depth that makes David Weber such a good author. This book shows all of his best qualities, and could easily be called the best of what he's written. He's an ever more popular author. This book shows why.I can't recommend it enough to those who haven't read it. Give it a read, you won't regret it.

Wow!

I had read the Honor Harrington series, and loved it, but I still had some misgivings about this book. From the reviews I had seen, I was afraid the story would be too unbelievable (well, aside the very existance of a Fury :), and, perhaps even more problematic, that it would have pages and pages of schizophrenic dialogs.Boy, was I wrong... the story has none of the sort. The main (human) character is a commando. A *very* elite commando, with the best cybernetic implants money can buy and research can produce. The Fury is a megalomaniac divine being with a very ironic sense of humor, and proud of it. The AI is... is like a treecat, in some ways. All three share some basic personality traits, which sometimes place them at odd with each other (or more often, two against one). Unlike the impression I got from other reviews, these entities are clearly distinct, and the main character is quite rational.The story is very fast paced, the action scenes are great and the fine humor kept me grinning (when I wasn't chuckling or outright laughing) throughout most of the book.I can't say you will like this book if you like Honor Harrington books because, unlike in HH series, there is no detail or depth in the combat scenes. But it is a very fine book.

Very nearly as good as it gets

I LIKE David Weber's writing. After I found my first Honor Harrington, I couldn't rest till I had the whole series. And I've read 3 or 4 of his other books. But this book is really special. Weber brings three distinctive personalities: Alicia, a very special warrior; Tisiphane, one of the three furies; and a very advanced AI. All three inhabit the same body although the AI also inhabits their star ship.There is breathtaking suspense as our protaginist(s) track down some particularly evil pirates, solving the mystery of who they are, where they come from and what their ultimate purpose is. Aided and impeded by her own military, she uses the arcane talents of all her selves to accomplish her goals.But more important than the space opera aspects (and Weber sets up some of the best tactics and strategy in space warfare you'll find), the development of the conjoined leading character is fascinating. For both adventure and character development,this is a don't miss book.