With the Lightnings

by David Drake

Book Overview

In a few hours' time, diplomacy is going to fail the wealthy planet of Kostroma. Daniel Leary, Adele Mundy, and the scratch crew that they have gathered, are just possibly enough to stand in the way... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671578189
• ISBN13: 9780671578183
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Nicely done light space-opera. 4.5 stars

_________________________________________A more descriptive title might be "The Lieutenant & the Librarian". Lt. Daniel Leary, estranged from his powerful father, is a supernumerary on a diplomatic mission from Cinnabar to Kostroma, a wealthy trading planet squeezed between two expanding empires, Cinnabar and the Alliance.Adele Mundy survived the political massacre of her family on Cinnabar. She's the newly-appointed Electoral Librarian in Kostroma's capitol. Drake sets the scene in a leisurely fashion, but once an Alliance-sponsored coup unfolds, the action is fast and furious -- and clever and fun.The Lieutenant is an interesting fellow -- a promising astrogator, he's also an amateur naturalist and a bit of a lady's man. He dreams of command, and is plunged into it to rescue a detachment of Cinnabar sailors cut off in the coup. He proves to be competent and infectiously optimistic: given lemons, he makes lemonade, lemon cream pie or lemon-drop cookies, as the situation requires. He befriends the Librarian, rescues her when the coup turns ugly, and learns that besides being a computer whiz, she's a a crack shot and a cool head. They become an amazingly effective team. No, there's no romance between them -- at least, not yet.Comparisons to Nick Seafort and Honor Harrington are inevitable; fans of either won't be disappointed. Drake's "Hornblower" [note 1] is more to my taste - it's not quite so compulsively readable as the Seafort Saga, but more plausible and with *much* more likeable characters. There's never much doubt of the (general) outcome, but getting there is all the fun. Drake writes in a clean, transparent style that's a joy to read. We haven't seen the last of Daniel and Adele. I'm ready for the next. _____________Note 1) -- more accurately, his trubute to Patrick O'Brian's "Master & Commander" series, itself a Hornblower knockoff.review copyright 1998 by Peter D. Tillman

Pity Their Enemies

With the Lightnings is the first novel in the Leary, RCN, series. Lieutenant Daniel Leary is an officer on the Republic of Cinnabar Navy ship Aglaia with no money and no prospects. Adele Mundy is a scholar and librarian with no money and no prospects. In this novel, they meet on Kostroma in the Elector's Library, which is under Adele's supervision. They recognize each other as fellow bibliophiles. She is trying to get the palace carpenters to put up some simple shelves for the stored books and other items, but having little luck in getting across her needs, so Daniel offers to provide her with assistance from his ship's crew. They begin to strike up a friendship ... until Adele discovers that Daniel's father is Speaker Corder Leary. She then snubs Daniel and he leaves fluming with anger. Later, Daniel learns that she is a Mundy of Chatsworth, whose family was all shot as conspirators by order of Daniel's father. He rounds up a work party from the ship and takes them to the Elector's library to assist Adele in putting up the shelves. He provides his card in case that she would want to have a friend call on him to arrange the details of their duel, but she realizes that Daniel had nothing to do with the death of her family, he being only seven years old at the time, and releases her anger. The petty officer over the detail takes crew, carpenters, and library assistants in charge and starts them building shelves with no more nonsense. This novel features some interesting characterization, particularly of Adele, who is a strong-willed woman much like Honor Harrington, even to her expertise with a dueling pistol. However, she is not a leader of men (or women), but rather is an expert and advisor. Daniel is the leader in this story, fitted for this role by both training and talent. The plot is fairly obvious (the shooting begins a little later in the tale), but is fast, furious and fun. What Adele can do with a data terminal is just short of miracleous and, after the onset of the invasion, she applies this expertise for the RCN Aglaia.Recommended for Drake fans and anyone else who enjoys spatial combat tales with likeable characters.

Sci-Fi's Answer to Aubrey & Maturin

Whenever a sci-fi author writes of naval adventures in space, the comparison is inevitably made to the great "Horatio Hornblower" series by C. S. Forrester. However, the past decade has brought focus on a new series of naval adventures, the late Patrick O'Brian's New York Times best-selling "Aubrey-Maturin" series, which looks to remain, at 20 novels, one of the most comprehensive stories of naval and scientific adventure ever to be set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812.In that vein, author David Drake has created his own version of British Royal Navy officer Jack Aubrey, with the introduction of Lt. Daniel Leary, a young officer in the Republic of Cinnabar's Navy. Young Lt. Leary is a ladies man, although he could be in better shape. Still, Leary is a highly skilled and promising young officer, who thrills in his love of scientific knowledge, but who feels that his naval career might not amount to much, given his estrangement with his politically powerful father.Drake finds his Dr. Steven Maturin, a man who is physician, scientist, scholar and spy, in the form of Adele Mundy, a librarian and information specialist, who has been given the job of setting up a library for the newest ruler of Kostroma, an erstwhile ally of Cinnabar. Adele is an expatriate of Cinnabar, formerly having been one of the aristocracy, like Leary. Lt. Leary is on Kostroma as part of a diplomatic mission, and stumbles onto Adele as he goes to the new library in pursuit of his scientific hobbies. Adele is not well disposed towards Daniel, as his father was resposible for her exile from Cinnabar, as well as the death of her parents and 10 year old sister, all the result of political machinations.This novel is rich in political intrigue, derring-do, swashbuckling, the exploration of the natural world, and the importance of information. Adele and Daniel are thrown together as they combat a plot by the Alliance of Stars to drive Kostroma out of the arms of Cinnabar, and into the clutches of that ruthless interstellar empire.This is a truly enjoyable book, with enjoyable characters, and what looks to be the start of a beautiful friendship between Mundy and Leary. I highly recommend this book.

The best work David Drake has done alone, so far

David Drake wrote a novel with Janet Morris, "Arc Riders," which is one of the finest novels about time travel in Science Fiction. He has always written good stories with good technology, but I have found it hard to identify with his main characters. And though not in the same league as S.M. Stirling, I have found his graphic descriptions of mayhem unsettling. This novel is as enjoyable as a David Weber novel, with leading characters you can identify with and like. It is not really a future war novel, more of an adventure novel with war in it. "Starliner" and "The Forlorn Hope" were good novels in this genre, but this is the best work David Drake has done alone, so far. It would make an excellent beginning for a series.

Drake's best to date!

This is, in my opinion, Drake's best to date. I even likedit better than "Forlorn Hope" - which was my previous favorite. I'd give it a ten on a scale of one to ten. I think most of you who like Drake will love this one. For those of you who aren't fans of Drake, I will say that this novel doesn't have the "dark" emotional overlay that some of his works have, in particular many of the "Hammer's Slammers" series. It is a rousing adventure with well drawn and likeable characacters.The main characters are a naval lieutenant and an unusual librarian. One of my favorite quotes:{Lamsoe is a Navy rating that has just been assigned to a mission with our librarian}Lamsoe murmured, "Proud to be chosen, Mistress. There's always something happening where you are.""It's an occupational hazard for librarians," Adele said.I'm just hoping this will become a series!