Title: Entertaining space opera
Review: They used to call this kind of thing space opera. No, not a visionary and intellectually challenging exploration of social possibilities (geez, if that's what you want, go back and read LeGuin or Cherryh) but a dam' fine read that accomplishes all to which it aspires. The reviews that have compared it to O'Bryan's Aubrey - Maturin novels and (to a lesser extent) to Weber's Honor Harrington series, are dead on. Good company imho, though in this tale Drake is less technical than Weber and less encyclopaedically erudite than O'Bryan. For what it's worth and in case the word hasn't gotten around, Drake has a sequel coming out titled "Lt. Leary Commanding" due out from Baen Books this coming July. I thought well enough of With the Lightnings that I plan to snag the sequel as soon as it hits the shelves.
Is this product review negative?