• Off Armageddon Reef

  • Safehold Series, Book 1
  • By: David Weber
  • Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
  • Length: 29 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (4,177 ratings)

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Off Armageddon Reef  By  cover art

Off Armageddon Reef

By: David Weber
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
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Publisher's summary

Humanity pushed its way to the stars—and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out. Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures: with mind control and hidden high technology, they've built a religion in which every Safeholdian believes, a religion designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever.

800 years pass. In a hidden chamber on Safehold, an android from the far human past awakens. This android, Merlin, emerges into Safeholdian society to begin the process of provoking technological progress, which the Church of God Awaiting has worked for centuries to prevent. To conceal his formidable powers he finds a base of operations in Charis, a mid-sized kingdom with a talent for naval warfare, where he plans to make the acquaintance of King Haarahld and Crown Prince Cayleb, and maybe, just maybe, kick off a new era of invention. Which is bound to draw the attention of the Church…and, inevitably, lead to war.

It's going to be a long, long process. And David Weber's Off Armageddon Reef is going to be the can't-miss Sci-Fi epic of the decade.

Listen to more in the Safehold series.
©2007 David Weber (P)2006 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

“Wyman rises nicely to the near Herculean challenge of performing this 30-hour epic. His clear, expressive reading never falters while he skillfully navigates his way through a labyrinth of plot twists and multiple characters. Whether describing high-tech space battles or the covert activities of courtiers and spies, Wyman brings Weber's intricate world of Safehold to life.” —Publishers Weekly

What listeners say about Off Armageddon Reef

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,476
  • 4 Stars
    1,071
  • 3 Stars
    387
  • 2 Stars
    136
  • 1 Stars
    107
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    2,280
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    831
  • 3 Stars
    217
  • 2 Stars
    40
  • 1 Stars
    35
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,103
  • 4 Stars
    810
  • 3 Stars
    296
  • 2 Stars
    105
  • 1 Stars
    93

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

An Entertaining Listen

An Entertaining Listen. I found this book to be very entertaining while not be extraordinary. As far as science fiction is concerned it is one of the better ones I have read recently. I would suggest it for a light read that you go into without expecting the next best novel.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very different take on Si-Fi!

I needed this! "Game of Thrones" meets "Altered Carbon". Bolts form a crossbow vs a Sword made with Battle Steel?? I'm about 1/4 way but I am hooked. Hope you like it as much as me!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ummmm Yes Please

If I had read this book, I think my brain would have melted trying to remember characters (that's 100% on me), but with Oliver Wyman at the helm, giving each and every character their own distinct voice and diction, I had no problem leaning back and enjoying the HELL out of this epic adventure.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Won't Continue Series

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I bought this as one of the introductions to new series, I also was interested in the fact it was 30 hours. I discovered 30 hours of fighting was 29 hours too much. Also the religious overtones with an attempt to cover them up was just a little too much.

What could David Weber have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Make the beginning a little more connected it's very disjointed. Come on don't think you are fooling anyone with a modicum of knowledge of the Bible and Religious history by changing the names. It becomes a farce and distracting after awhile.

Which scene was your favorite?

It's so disjointed I'm not sure I can

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

I will not be continuing this series.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good story, tedious dialog

Entertaining story that promises an interesting series to come, the sci-fi/late-medieval setting is unusual and offers Weber plenty of possible directions for his storytelling. The narrator does a fine job. I assume if you normally enjoy Weber's writing, this one is a solid choice (I haven't read any other books by this author yet).


The flaw in this book is the dialog, which is too verbose and could have done with some editing. Even a simple "Yes/no" dialog examines all possible options and has the characters grimace or raise their eyebrows. It does get tedious after a while, and distracts from the actual storytelling.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Slow and Wordy

Story is not bad, but maybe ½ could have been deleted. Don't yet know if I'll move on to book two....maybe read some reviews 1st.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating characters in an epic storyline

This story is well worth five stars. The story contains the usual consistency of plot, character development and novel thinking (Pardon the pun) of David Weber. The narrator is far and away the best I've had the pleasure to listen to. He has clearly read the book and understands the characters.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Hey, I don't review often ...

... but I cannot stand by and read the trash reviews of this book. Okay, it is slow but I'm sorry it is not a comic book - literature actually takes development. It is certainly not great literature but it is well written, explores some moral and ethical issues, and has a good action plot. If you want your resolutions at the bottom of each page don't read this book. If you want action, thought, character development and at least a moderately challenging paradigm - enjoy!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Good story but like watching paint dry

I stuck through this book through a miserable commute. With little else to do in the car I have a high tolerance for slow stories. This pushed the limit. I'd buy the abridged version or skip it.

I did like the story that developed but they're going for a 7 book series that may take the rest of your life to listen to if you can stick with it. I wont be buying the sequels.



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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Prince Roger returns, sort of

The parallels to the March Upcountry series are gratuitous. Despite that, it's a great story and I look forward to the rest of the series.

To predict whether you will enjoy this story, imagine the uncontested power of the Dark-Ages Catholic Church devoted to the goals of Greenpeace. If that idea intrigues you, then you will hate this story. If it makes you shudder, then give Armageddon a listen.

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3 people found this helpful