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[Jack R.]

This, and it's sequel "By Schism Rent Asunder" are the best Sci Fi books that I've read recently.

Off Armageddon Reef starts with humanity on the losing end of a galactic war.  Facing defeat and genocide, Earth comes up with a desparate scheme to hide a single colony.  In order to escape detection, the colony is designed to be preindustrial, and its designers intend to keep it that way by instilling a religion and culture designed to prevent technological advances.

Centuries later, an AI wakens, and finds the colony stagnating.  It then sets out on a multi-generational quest to bring humanity back to the stars and eventual victory, overturning a planetary church to do so...

These novels move between space travel, and battles among sailing fleets.  The plots are complex, the characters are compelling, and the dialog is first rate.  I don't have a single complaint. 

[Jack R.]

Bump -  the 3rd book in the series that began with Off Armageddon Reef, titled By Heresies Distressed, is now released in paperback. 

The story has now progressed to an all-out war between an alliance of progressive kingdoms, and the corrupt, repressive world church. Woo-hoo!

[Grimner]

Nice. Finally understood why Weber cannot seem to put a decent, battle ready starship togehter: he loves sail ships

So even something like The Writ manages to cram in a good deal of useful stuff, like avoiding scurvy, getting good crops and wash your hands in certain situations? Well, beats a couple of other 'words of God' I've heard of.

By why, oh, why does the same guy who gives us nannies have to chuckle so much?

By the way, that wasn't an AI - it's a PICA. Whole different concept. I hear Tarantino is looking at the script