The Road to Hell (3) (Multiverse Series)

Entry #3 in the popular Hell's Gate series by 28 times New York Times best-selling author David Weber and Joelle Presby.

The war between magically-gifted Arcana and psionically talented Sharona continues to rage. The dragon-borne Arcanan assault across five universes has been halted at Fort Salby by a desperate defense, but at atrocious cost. One of those costs was the life of Crown Prince Janaki, heir to the newly created Sharonian Empire, who went knowingly to his death in the tradition expected of the House of Calirath. And another price will be the sacrifice of his younger sister, Grand Imperial Princess Andrin, now heir of Sharona, for the accords creating the Sharonian Empire require the marriage of the heir to the Crown to wed a Uromathian prince. 

Andrin bears her family's Talent, the Glimpses, which show flashes of events yet to come. She knows the accords must be secured . . . and like her brother, she will pay any price, make any sacrifice for her duty to her people. 

Sharona's soldiers dig in, facing the Arcanans in a tense standoff which cannot last long. Both sides continue rushing reinforcements towards the front, but how do armies fight wars when they can reach one another only through the portals which join the universes? And far, far behind the front, carried by dragons, a young Voice name Shaylar and her husband Jathmar hurtle deeper and deeper into Arcanan captivity, their only protection the fierce personal honor of the Andaran officer whose men massacred all of their companions in the horrendous misunderstanding which began the entire conflict.

Men and women of honor on both sides must grapple with the terrible costs and deadly secrets of the spreading cataclysm, and in the shadows, those who will balk at neither treason nor murder drive the conspiracies which pour fuel into the furnace. The stakes are high and the pieces are in motion, but there are factors known not even to the conspirators and not even a Calirath can Glimpse the final outcome.

The Hell's Gate Series:
The Road to Hell
Hell Hath No Fury

Hell's Gate

About the Hell's Gate series:
"Magic and high tech collide in this exciting military SF novel from bestseller Weber . . . The authors treat both societies sympathetically and realistically, with human vices and virtues evenly distributed."–Publishers Weekly

About the Honor Harrington series:
“Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection and a deep understanding of military bureaucracy in this long-awaited Honor Harrington novel…Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice to see Honor back in action.”–Publishers Weekly

“. . .everything you could want in a heroine …. Excellent … plenty of action.”–Science Fiction Age

“Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!”–Anne McCaffrey

“Compelling combat combined with engaging characters for a great space opera adventure.”–Locus

“Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection . . . Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice . . ."–Publishers Weekly

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Published Mar 1, 2016

720 pages

Average rating: 8

1 RATING

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Community Reviews

TanguiDom
May 22, 2025
8/10 stars
I really enjoyed the series, despite the writing style being extremely detailed and logistics heavy. I really liked the many POVs we get, even from minor or unimportant characters: it really makes it feel like a living world unlike books that only focus on relevant characters. The plot could certainly move a bit faster, but it’s all very satisfying to see the threads coming together slowly, and learning about more aspects of the worlds and the way Arcanans and Sharonians relate to each other. The war is very compelling, and the political intrigues on both sides make this a really complex affair (although the characterization is very black and white).
I’m hoping a 4th (and final, can’t be dragging this out too much longer) book comes out eventually, although considering what I’ve read online it doesn’t seem likely to happen soon but I’ll be holding out hope

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