A Rising Thunder

Honor Harrington, Book 13

By: David Weber

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson

Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Peril and strife strike on a double front for Honor Harrington and company. After a brutal attack on the Manticoran home system, Honor Harrington and the Star Kingdom she serves battle back against a new, technologically powerful, and utterly nefarious enemy. And as if that weren’t task enough, Honor must also face down a centuries-old nemesis in the crumbling, but still mighty, Solarian League.

The war between the People’s Republic of Haven and the Star Kingdom is finally won and peace established, but grave danger looms - for there is a plan well on its way to completion designed to enslave the entire human species. Behind that plan lies the shadowy organization known as the Mesan Alignment.

Task number one for Honor is to defend against another devastating Mesan strike - a strike that may well spell the doom of the Star Kingdom in one fell blow. It is time to shut down and secure the wormhole network that is the source of the Star Kingdom’s wealth and power - but also its greatest vulnerability. Yet this is an act that the Earth-based Solarian League inevitably will take as a declaration of war.

The thunder of battle rolls as the Solarian League directs its massive power against the Star Kingdom. And once again, Honor Harrington is thrust into a desperate battle that she must win if she is to survive to take the fight to the real enemy of galactic freedom: the insidious puppetmasters of war who lurk behind the Mesan Alignment!

©2012 Words of Weber, Inc. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Need a change in production

What did you love best about A Rising Thunder?

That it was an Honor Harrington novel and a continuation of a story that I have been following since 2000.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Rising Thunder?

The Treecats and the refusal of the so-called educated politicans that refuse to believe that they have anything to add to a discussion or are afraid to be around them for fear of being found out.

Have you listened to any of Allyson Johnson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to them many times and I wish that she would STOP with the accents. I understand that she is trying to make the story more intresting but she is just muddying up the story and making it harder to follow.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

disgust at the blind averice in the Solie politicians attitudes. I nearly screamed. They act just like Washington politicians.

Any additional comments?

Bring in a male narrator for the scenes where a male is the focus like the ones for the senior undersecretaries. The breaking up between male and female voices would enhance the books. The publisher might even go back and redo all the books that way. I know that I'd get them.

Needs more Honor!

I enjoy the behind the scenes political maneuvering that I’ve come to expect from this series but there was so little of Honor in this book it may as well have been one of the side story novels.

Entertaining story, but more of a recap.

I have really enjoyed this series so far. This book is basically a bridge between the main Honor plot line, the Torch plot line, and the Saganami plot line. It is a necessary recap of all of the plots as well as evolves the story forward. It is really a staging book for the next one in the series.

Weber gets better and better.

Weber is good at developing characters and his story line are easy enough to follow but interesting because of the many possibilities they encompass.

Another good book in the Honorverse.

The saga continues following Honor Harrington and the empire of manticore. This story does not follow Honor as closely as the others giving an interesting perspective into the world of Honor Harrington. A fun read/listen all around.

Another great read, but...

Don't get me wrong, I love the book and the performer, but there was one jarring change in this compared to its predecessors: the pronunciation of "Manticoran".

To be clear, I've read the author's notes on the topic from the other books in the series, and how he had informed the voice actor of a faulty pronunciation. I kind of wish that they had just kept the faulty one for consistency's sake instead of fixing it. Hearing the change after getting used to the other way of pronouncing it the me for a few minutes. And honestly, I like the "wrong" way a little better.

The first only "ok" book in the series for me

Spends far too much time rehashing what occurred in the last book. Otherwise another great Honor Harrington book!

Disappointed with Audible on this one.

Disappointed the chapters are out of order. This made it difficult to enjoy. Here’s the lineup:
Start with chapter 15 - 25 (book chapters 1 - 11).
Then chapter 1 -14 (book chapters 12- 24).
Chapter 26 - 36 (book chapters 25 to end. )
Confusing huh?

Ugh! Are you kidding me?

First, why in the world would you change the pronunciation of "Manticoran" after twelve novels? Second, although this installment was much more interesting that the 12th book, I still protest the absence of the main character in so much of the book. Last, for the second time in a row, David Weber has ended the book in the middle of the story. That is extremely irritating!!

Where's Honor Harrington???

I'm almost two hours into the story and we have yet to see Honor Harrington - really? I thought this book was about her, so where the heck is she?

I really want my credit back. The book so far is really slow and all that's happened is a great deal of military posturing and trying to remember who is with whom, whom is fighting whom, and wait... yes, the secret group that is fighting everyone plus yet another new enemy that the description says is coming... wow, I need a flow chart to figure out what's going on!!

I enjoy hearing about the relationships and characters in the stories, not so much the politics and descriptive space battles. I'm dumping this book and looking for something different. Maybe I'll come back in the future and try again. I doubt it...