Hope's Folly

by Linnea Sinclair

Book Overview

Admiral Philip Guthrie is in an unprecedented position: on the wrong end of the law, leading a ragtag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Or would be if he can get his command... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553592181
• ISBN13: 9780553592184
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent and fast-paced sf romance that works on every level

Linnea Sinclair's book "Hope's Folly" is the story of two lovers, Philip Guthrie and Rya Bennton; their relationship is complicated by several issues. Guthrie is an Admiral who's been forced to rebel against the corrupt people in power, and now is the captain of the ship "Hope's Folly" (named after a cat, not after the common phrase); he also is injured from recent battles, now walks with a cane, and is wondering why the rebellion can't seem to do any better (the folks he rebelled against are quite awful, as you already know if you read "Gabriel's Ghost" and "Shades of Dark," though you don't need to read those books to understand this one; it just helps the backstory a bit to know that). While Rya Bennton is the daughter of his best friend, now deceased; she's much younger than Guthrie, she's a security officer (which Guthrie finds intriguing; he's not sexist) and is in much better physical shape in every way than is Guthrie. And she's been madly (albeit secretly) in love with Philip Guthrie for years, through his previous marriage to Chasidah "Chaz" Bergren, and now sees a possibility she is hesitant to grasp. Falling in love in the midst of wartime is a challenge, but these two do so realistically and intelligently -- the sex scenes are obligatory in the genre (nothing wrong with that), but what makes them work is the strong romance underlying it all. And the complications that arise are real ones, that ring true -- this book is fast-paced, intelligently and thoughtfully written, and is both heartwarming and realistic when it comes to the horror even a just war can bring. Ms. Sincair's writing is effervescent; her characters glide across the page, with their dialogue flowing effortlessly into descriptions of space stations and spaceships and drive problems, etc.; it all works to near perfection. This book works on every level, and the only question I have for Ms. Sinclair is -- when is the sequel? Because I must have more! Five stars, highly recommended. Barb Caffrey P.S. Out of the many other good to excellent books Ms. Sinclair's written, I recommend not only the previous two in this series ("Gabriel's Ghost" and "Shades of Dark,") but "The Down-Home Zombie Blues" and most especially "An Accidental Goddess. You can't go wrong with _any_ of her books, but those are my favorites.

Worth the wait

The only problem that I ever have with Linnea Sinclair's books is putting them down so that I can eat, sleep, etc. This book was no exception, once more the plot, characters and non-stop action served to keep me up way past my bedtime! I love the smart, independent heroines and Chaz's ex came across as real, human, flawed, yet heroic. I simply cannot get enough of her books. I will catch up on my sleep until her next book and hope the new baby doesn't mind my reading while I feed her! Also, I plan on having my girls read these books when the are teens, I think her heroines are amazing role models and that her heroes are worthy of their affections.

A THRILL RIDE!

HOPE'S FOLLY is a story that starts off with a bang and just never lets go- I am glad it never did! The third book in Linnea Sinclair's Dock Five series, HOPE'S FOLLY can be read as a stand alone novel. It is the story of Philip Guthrie, the rebel Alliance's first Admiral and Rya Bennton, his Chief of Security and the daughter of his former mentor. Philip's mission is to get an old, de-commissioned Stryker-class ship, HOPE'S FOLLY, which has been used as a commercial freighter, re-fitted so it can become a working, viable part of the Alliance force. Philip has his work cut out for himself. He has a skeleton crew, a dilapidated ship, and a traitor or traitors onboard. And then there are his growing feelings of love for Rya which he struggles with because not only is she the daughter of his friend and mentor, but she is also under his command, and 16 years his junior. All of Linnea Sinclair's books are auto-buys for me, but not just because the world-building and the action are great. The part of Ms. Sinclair's writing I appreciate most is her ability to capture her character's personalities and bring them to life on paper. Philip Guthrie is a real human being in this book. He is strong-willed, funny, he cooks, he talks to the cat, he makes mistakes and he admits it. Rya Bennton is tough, competent, a trained assassin, an expert at what she does, and occasionally insecure. They connect and I felt as though I connected with them. The secondary characters are not lost in the story-telling in spite of the strength of the main characters and they, too, come to life in the book. I was in the Navy for a period of time and I found the story to be extraordinary in its ability to capture the essence of shipboard life during both the routine and the emergency situations. HOPE'S FOLLY is a book with a hero and a heroine to love and a roller-coaster ride of a story.

Synergy and Energy

First things first: HOPE'S FOLLY is a terrific book. Philip Guthrie and Rya Bennton are a terrific pair. Romance fans couldn't ask for anything more. But what about science fiction fans? Some of you may have been disappointed by crossover sf romances that didn't deliver the goods. HOPE'S FOLLY delivers the goods. Roger Zelazny once contrasted "world vision" with "stage vision." In stage vision, there's nothing outside the story itself -- if the hero took a right turn instead of a left at some point, he'd end up out in the wings with prop men scurrying out of the way. In a story with world vision, he'd find himself in another part of the imagined world. In HOPE'S FOLLY, you always have the feeling that you're in a real world, whether it's at Kirro station or a planetside shipyard or on the fixer-upper warship of the title. This is the third book in the Dock 5 series, so like David Weber with his HONOR HARRINGTON series and Elizabeth Moon with VATTA'S WAR, Linnea Sinclair has a created space opera universe going for her. She's mapped it out; she knows where every place is in relation to every place else. She knows how the Folly is designed, and how its weaponry compares to that of the enemy -- an interstellar empire that has gone toxic, touching off a rebellion that needs every competent man, every competent woman and every ship it can get. Philip is a competent man and Rya is a competent woman. They know what they're doing and they're good at it. They'd better be, because the survival of freedom and justice is at stake, and even if this were straight space opera, they'd make HOPE'S FOLLY a good military sf story -- there's plenty of mystery and intrigue and a victory in space over tough odds worthy of Honor Harrington. But because they are what they are, there isn't any mystery about what they see in each other. There's nothing arbitrary about their romance, or even about their personal demons -- both have traumatic pasts, rooted in the events of previous novels -- that threaten to derail it. Philip isn't a cardboard hunk and Rya isn't a cardboard babe: these are believable people, people you're going to root for as you get into their story. HOPE'S FOLLY is full of energy; energy that comes from the synergy of sf and romance. You can trust me; I've been an sf fan more more than 40 years, and I'm telling you you can trust Linnea Sinclair.

Great writing

In this third entry in the Gabriel's Ghost universe, Linnea Sinclair offers up a tightly written, fast paced, engaging novel. I've been looking forward to Philip's story. Philip gets better with every outing. He's a career military man with a heart and an impeccable sense of honor. His new chief of security, Rya, is a good match for him, as they both balance out the rough losses they've both had in the last few years. Hope's Folly, the ship they're trying to operate, represents the end of the Empire and the building of the Alliance. Certainly, if Philip and Rya can get their rattletrap of a ship to get them through some nasty spots, there's hope for the bigger picture. Oh, and the cat, Folly, was right on. He wasn't sickeningly cute or annoying, and actually advanced the story. A huge improvement from the cats in Games of Command.