The Gordian Protocol (Gordian Division Book 1)

The authors should've spent less time on ham-handedly proclaiming their slavish and unquestioning allegiance to currently-prevailing elite socio-political prejudices, and more time on more fully developing the plot and improving their twee dialogue.I'm only giving this 2 stars because of the wasted potential of the original premise of the novel, and the fact that the rules of grammar and spelling are observed. Avoid.

I have been a staunch fan and admirer of David Weber's works including Honor Harrington, Safehold, Fury and Apocalypse Troll (to name a few). Others have written that Weber is given too much freedom by his publisher, and that his writing is suffering because of it. I rationalized the latest Safehold installments, but now I now have to agree, this book should not have been released in its current form. Normally, I devour a book in a single evening because I can't put it down.... this one is such a chore to read, I'm a week in and only halfway through! I'm writing this review because I need a break from the book. Disappointing to say the least!

I’m not sure why David Weber put his name on this. I gave up.

The only reason I bought this book was familiarity with David Weber's style on combat and sci-fi. That was a mistake; and I read it to the end hoping their was redemption at the end. Alas, the end only confirmed the bad science and poor character development shown throughout the preceding chapters. Time travel requires a flexible interpretation of science but this book contradicts the interpretation it offers. I've read magic based fantasy novels that were more consistent. Throw in the deus ex machina plot style and it is a waste of time. I hope the used book store will get some of my $$ back, but almost nothing can replace the time.

I have absolutely loved every thing else David Weber has done, but this book goes here there and every where and could not keep my interest. I always buy David's books before they are released, but this one was a disappointment. I hope he will continue with the safehold and Harrington books

Lots of action, a cast of unforgettable characters, time loops and paradoxes, and did I mention, lots of action, 30th century tech, and lots of history. The action is almost unrelenting, except for some relatively long history lessons (very well researched and vital). The plot is literally twisted, in more ways than the title. About halfway through, the authors telegraph what has to happen. It's a tough call. But, the spoiler is well finessed, and really hard to put the book down. Lots of Big Guns! Now for the complaints. Time travel here depends on a quantum of time existing. Yet its consequences are not explored. So, a little hard to suspend belief. Other little errors - they get the consequences of reactionless gravity control wrong. The Equivalence Principal asserts the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass. NASA uses that equivalence in parabolic flights to simulate microgravity using downward acceleration. Equivalence should allow generated gravity equivalently to modify accelerated motion-caused "gravity" effects. There are a few typos and slip-ups, and the suggestion that this is a standalone novel doesn't seem likely, either. Back to pluses, 30th century tech is Awesome. Weber and his new co-author have a real winner

I couldn't get more than four chapters in before I gave up, totally bored to death. The thread in the academic setting was particularly painful.

Ever since I read “A Wrinkle in Time when it came out in 1963, I have been a sucker for a good time travel storyline. The tension in this story comes from one of the dilemmas that we run into in reading, and writing about Time travel. Namely the question of exactly how susceptible to change would a timeline be, if we did manage to touch another era. One group in this novel maintains that time is a rushing river that is not at all effected by any change a time traveler might make. The other viewpoint is presented in horror. Each change made in a past era splits off a parallel universe, or forever changes the history of subsequent time.This story is right up there with Heinlein’s “Doorway to Summer” or even Stephen King’s 11/22/63. The plot holes built in to Time Travel plots are minimal and non obtrusive. The characters are 3 dimensional and empathetic. You easily suspend disbelief and begin to sit on the edge of your seat. You care about them, and therefore get pulled into the events of the plot. How could it be otherwise with David Weber on board.My current taste in Science Fiction is for the Military variety. How much better to have the new to me genre of military time travel. There is also a winsome love story involved in this novel, even better than the love story in the movie “Deja’ Vu“Even better than one Military Time Travel novel is the dangled possibility of a sequel, or a series. Go for it fellows it would be a winner. I love Time Travel Stories. I loved this novel.

I'm a big David Weber fan (HH, Safehold and the standalones) so was really looking forward to this book - sadly however it was a huge let down. I suspect mostly that's down to the co-author in this case.I don't mind too much when an authors politics make their way in to a book if it is done well but in this case it really wasn't. In the early chapters in particular they get dropped in with all the subtly of an anvil. It is done so crudely it approaches John Ringo levels of cringe-worthiness. There's a huge irrelevant screed that's basically just there as a right wing polemic about their hatred of "liberal academia" and "political correctness". It makes absolutely zero contribution to the plot.I pushed on to give the book a fair chance. There are some sections around the middle that actually improve a bit - I suspect those may have been the parts contributed by Weber - but it never really gets going. Politics aside it's just not anywhere close to the quality I'd normally expect from Weber. Then towards the end it declines again - and it heavily pushes the clean Wehrmacht myth which is particularly uncomfortable coming from the obviously very right wing co-author.I'm still happy to give Weber another chance but I can't pretend I'm not heavily disappointed that he put his name to this one.

"The Gordian protocol" by David Weber is a novel which is vast in scope but moves at hurricane pace, and which many of his original fans who have been less keen on much of his recent work will love.It is an all-action novel which ranges from a few years before the Current Era to the 30th century, through multiple timelines and universes, and in which several of the key characters spend time in both real and virtual realities.There is now a sequel, "The Valkrie Protocol."Lots of bodies in the Great Library:The book has an explosive start as a team of time travellers from the 30th century, armed to the teeth with modern weaponry from that era arrive in the Great Library of Alexandria to "rescue" and preserve its contents for the future - and gunning down most of the people who had built, maintained or protected the library in the process. They think that what they are doing can then be erased from the timeline with no negative consequences for themselves or anyone else. Unfortunately for the people of sixteen different universities, they are very, very wrong ...I can recommend this book.

I've been buying David Weber since he was first published - more than a shelf to himself. The problem is that the standard approach over the last few years is the inordinate length at which both sides are shown to be right in their own sight - that before any real plot development. This was particularly so with the Multiverse series, but the Honorverse collaborations with Eric Flint are another example.The Baen policy of teaming a new author with an established winner has turned up some good books, but I believe that as the winners succeed, they get more lightly edited - hence the many thumb-busters. The successful collaborations have been his first, with Steve White, the early Manticorean books with Timothy Zahn and, best, the Empire of Man with John Ringo. That last series has been in limbo for 12 years - why not settle the unfinished business?I seldom fail to finish a book - maybe every three or four years. I couldn't finish this one.

The result would be a mess like this. Cardboard characters, a complete failure to even formulate a consistent set of "laws of time travel" and a deus ex machina ending. Well, I say "ending" but it's more of a stop given that it's effectively an introduction to book 2 of the series.I was a David Weber fan, but don't intend to read this again, or to read book 2 of the series.

This is an entertaining time travel sci fi novel. It has good plots and good pace. Some of the 'science' I couldn't get my head around but that didn't spoil the read.