In Fury Born

By: David Weber

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

Length: 31 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Imperial Intelligence couldn't find them, the Imperial Fleet couldn't catch them, and local defenses couldn't stop them. It seemed the planet-wrecking pirates were invincible. But they made a big mistake when they raided ex-commando leader Alicia DeVries' quiet home/work, tortured and murdered her family, and then left her for dead. 

Alicia decided to turn "pirate" herself, and stole a cutting-edge AI ship from the empire to start her vendetta. Her fellow veterans think she's gone crazy, the Imperial Fleet has shoot-on-sight orders. And, of course, the pirates want her dead, too. But Alicia DeVries has two allies nobody knows about, allies as implacable as she is: a self-aware computer and a creature from the mists of Old Earth's most ancient legends. And this trio of furies won't rest until vengeance is served. 

In Fury Born is a greatly expanded new version of David Weber's popular novel Path of the Fury, which has gone through six large printings in its original mass market edition. David Weber has added considerable new material, revealing the earlier life of Alicia DeVries before she embarked on her mission of vengeance, and illuminating the universe of the original story. The result is a novel with almost twice the wordage of the original, and a must-buy for all David Weber fans.

©2006 David Weber (P)2021 Recorded Books Inc.

Just as Good as I Remembered

For nearly a decade I've been waiting for an audio version of In Fury Born. Well, a sequel, too, but that's not happening. And now it's finally here!

First off, let's get one thing out of the way: Parts of the book are dated. Considering well over half was written thirty years ago, that's easy enough to forgive. It also doesn't get in the way of the story.

If you're a fan of Weber's style, you know what you're in for. It takes a lot of exposition to build up a satisfying action sequence. Actually, if you're used to something like Safehold or the later Honor Harrington books, this one might actually seem action heavy. Some people might take issue with the build up. I don't. The perspective shifts and chapters spent on exposition help build up background so Weber doesn't need to stop and explain those details in the middle of a battle or an emotional gut punch.

Whoever picked Vivienne Leheny for the narrator here knew what they were doing. She's stellar in the role of Alicia DeVries as well as the supporting cast. I'd never heard her before, and a quick check showed her usual fare is romances, with some notable exceptions. Fair enough. I hope to hear her more in main line scifi, because any author with a female lead should count themselves lucky to pick her up.

I can't say much more without spoiling the plot. If you're a fan of David Weber or MilScifi in general, In Fury Born is the perfect way to spend a credit.

Outstanding in every way

I have to admit I may be somewhat biased as this was one of my first Weber reads twenty plus years ago and got me into him. That said, it is a solid story in the military SF sphere that Weber shines best in. The concept is an intriguing one, that the Furies of Greek myth were real beings and one (Tisiphone) has still managed to survive to the time set in the story. There she merges with Alicia Devries in her quest for vengeance for the murder of her entire family. Devries herself is a formidable character, a former Terran Cadre drop commando (think of the elite special forces branches of today, add cybernetic enhancements and power armor) and the first portion of the book predates the main story as it follows her path leading up to the main story where she meets Tisiphone (and how she ended up a former drop commando).

The original story was packaged as Path of the Fury and In Fury Born was a later rerelease that featured the additional background of preceding events alluded to in the original primary story. The prequel events are a worthy addition as they flesh things out better and enrich the later story, making Alicia a much more relatable character. The primary story sees her quest for revenge finding a much deeper, further reaching conspiracy that threatens the very foundation of the Terran Empire.

Beyond the basics of an excellent Weber tale told well, what makes this shine as an audio book is Vivienne Leheny's narration. She manages to do different character accents and inflections well enough, but where she is outstanding is in the raw emotion she brings to the narration in the appropriate places. There are parts of the story that have always tugged somewhat at me emotionally and that is amplified in the audio form with her narration, to the point I needed to stop for a bit in a couple of places. She clearly put her heart into this production and it shows.

I'll bet this was a great story, but .....

I never could get past chapter one where a female Marine was being inspected by a male superior. The dialogue as follows: "He doubted she would ever be a full breasted woman." "...she had a lot of filling out to do..." AND THEN TO FIND OUT THAT WAS HER GRANDFATHER'S INNER DIALOGUE?!

Mr. Weber, you are very likely a decent author, but DIZZAM! You're not only objectifying women in your story, you're normalizing to your readers the very behavior that women endure every day - especially servicewomen who are defending our country. And the grandfather?!.. it's just creepy!

David has never disappointed, and Vivienne Lehaney

Offers the characterizations 'spot-on.' Endless potential for another Honor Harrington like series, if Mr. Weber is up for it. Seriously though, you won't regret this investment.

Highly Recommended

A friend i. a book group told me to check out the oroginal, and jist after this modified book was released. The new version added some additonal prelude chapters to the story. The book was a fantastic read, well written, and voice actress did an excellent job. Very highly recommend you read/listen.

The best book Weber has ever written.

This is my favorite book by Weber. It will keep you enthralled to the end. And I hope he continues this series.

Love this story

I've worn-out 5 paper copies of this novel since I first discovered it. Finding it in audio was a huge bonus.
I truly wish more adventures were written for Tis, Alecia, and Megera.

every now and then you want to give a book of six

great story with an intricate plot All the heroes villains and space offer one could hope for.
with all the work it took to create this universe, where's the sequel?

Excellent book with great character development

A long but interesting story with interesting characters and storyline. This is one of David Weber's best efforts.

Too long?

After she meets up with the ship and fury it’s very good. Before that it was OK, drags on in parts. Very much worth a listen.

Very good

Been waiting for this book for a very long time after enjoying reading it many years ago, now I listen instead of reading, and it is as I remembered a very good book, David Weber as usual gives a very good story, and Vivienne Leheny gave a very good performance, I shall listen to this book many times as I do with all of David Weber books, I think the audience for this book is all of the David weber fans, and its a good introduction to younger readers/listeners to step into the Weber bookverse.

Thank you to David
I am still waiting for the next books in several series with great anticipation and hope to be enthralled within his future books

64 old and an avid listener to the sci fi genre and I think David Weber is one of the best sci military writers
LJM

Great, no more need be said

I waited years for this on audio after having read it twice already. Well worth the wait although I must say the last section is by far the best, as in the original book.