Doug's Book Reviews: Better to Beg Forgiveness...

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	Better to Beg Forgiveness...		Rating
			B
	Michael Z. Williamson
	Series Info	Related Books
	#1 in series The Freehold Universe	No related books
Celadon is a distant hellhole of a planet where the average citizen doesn't have running water but does have guns with plenty of ammo. Education and employment are nonexistent, except for the lucky, rich elite. Corruption is rampant. But the UN has decided enough is enough. They've installed Balaji Bishwanath as President, with contractors from Ripple Creek Security as bodyguards. Unfortunately for Bishwanath and Celadon, the UN put him there to be a puppet so they can cater to their cronies on Earth with fat "reconstruction" contracts that ultimately do nothing but put money in their pockets. Unfortunately for the UN, President Bishwanath is a real statesman, the sort that genuinely cares about his people and inspires deep loyalties from those around him — including his bodyguards. And none of them is about to sit back and relax as the UN screws their boss over. Williamson begins Better to Beg Forgiveness... as the contractors arrive on Celadon. This might be an attempt to get right to the heart of the story — certainly not a concept to be despised — but with no leadup whatsoever I only felt lost. Just who are these people? what's going on? And most importantly, why should I care? That first chapter or two was surprisingly hard to get past. Thankfully, it lasted only a chapter or two. By the third I had enough of a handle on the situation and characters that I didn't have to force myself to keep reading. Better to Beg Forgiveness... is in the same setting as Freehold and The Weapon, though again there is no indication of it anywhere on the book. And for a long time it's impossible to say just when it is in relation to those books. Grainne is mentioned occasionally, but it's just a name, with no detail or real information. It's not until two hundred pages in — a third or so of the book — that a letter home gives readers enough data to realize this novel takes place years before the Grainne War, before Grainne even declares independence. If they're paying attention, anyway, and they're relatively familiar with the setting. But by making this a prequel, and by using independent contractors as opposed to a military associated with a specific government, Williamson neatly sidesteps one of my biggest criticisms of Freehold and, to a lesser extent, The Weapon. There is not much glorifying of a social structure or supposedly superior style of living; most of what is there happens near enough to the end that it doesn't impact the story. Mostly, it just comes across as telling what the Freehold of Grainne is like, so it even helps things along. Ripple Creek is definitely better than the UN militarily, but that, too, is fine. It turns the book into a less political story and into one of competence versus stupidity, loyalty versus selfishness, a small cadre of honest people against a massive — and massively corrupt — system. Better to Beg Forgiveness... is a good military story. it has a different focus than most, since the main goal is simply to keep Bishwanath alive. There's also plenty of intrigue to spice things up as the UN flunkies do their best to keep Celeadon a destitute backwater wracked by civil strife. The parallels between Celadon and a good many contemporary Third World countries that have come under the UN's guiding hand, like Somalia, are obvious, as well. I have no idea how accurate a parallel it is — I don't actually believe the system is trying to keep such places destitute backwaters, but on the other hand there's surely some corruption to be found in the people inside that system. My only doubts are over how pervasive it is. However close to reality it may be, however, it still serves as a good object lesson of what to keep an eye out for in such situations. And it makes for a pretty good story, to boot.

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