Submitted by telespy 
(Jun 06, 2008)This is the first book I've read by David Weber. I found it to be pretty good.
The plot is basically "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". The "Yankee" is an android with the downloaded personality of a now dead female spaceship officer, who wakes up on a world at medieval technology level with gunpowder having just been invented etc.
However this world is the artificial creation of the last remnants of humanity fleeing a genocidal alien race who wipe out any other race that manages to reach a high technology level. So humanity has been deliberately regressed to a medieval level to prevent detection of radiowaves etc. A religion has been set up that bans all technology above a certain level with a now corrupt priestly hierarchy. There are various nations with Kings and Queens, and armies and navies, all vying for wealth and power.
The android decides to help out one particular nation with a more forward looking royal family, by introducing gradual improvements in technology. So you get somewhat detailed descriptions of sea battles where one side has a technological edge on the other.
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(17 ratings)