On Basilisk Station

Honor Harrington, Book 1

By: David Weber

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson

Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Having made a superior look a fool, Honor Harrington has been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin.

Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station.

The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens.

Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling; the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is up to something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system.

But the people out to get her have made one mistake. They've made her mad.

A Note from Author David Weber
There's been some confusion—not to say, um, energetic debate, readers and fans being readers and fans—about the correct pronunciation of "Manticoran." The truth, alas, is that a stitch was dropped. An error occurred. A mistake was made… and it wasn't Audible's fault. It was mine. Before Audible recorded the very first Honor Harrington book, narrator Allyson Johnson and I not only corresponded by e-mail but actually spoke to one another by phone. She wanted to make absolutely certain she had the correct pronunciations for names, places, star nations, etc., and I tried to make certain all of her questions were answered. And so they were. Unfortunately, at some point in the process, I replied to one of her e-mails by telling her that "Man-ti-core-ahn" was pronounced "Man-tik-er-ahn." Exactly how this happened is more than I can say at this point, except to blushingly disclose that the original e-mail remains intact, confirming to all the world that it was, indeed, my fault. I can ascribe it only to a temporary mental hiccup on my part and crave your forgiveness. If, however, you must blame someone for the mix-up, that someone should be me and not Audible, who have done everything they could to get it right.

©2002 David Weber (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Good author - Poor narrator

Good story (and so are the next ones in the series) - decent character development - very weak science, but when you encounter FTL travel you are forced to suspend a lot of reality - however, it is obvious that neither the author nor the director of the narration have reasonable knowledge of military ranks or the tactics of battle - oh well there are worse sins, such as the narrator who reads descriptive text well and in a generally pleasing tone, but whose characters' voices are disgraceful. Honor frequently sounds like a whining, slightly nasal, pre-pubescent little girl. Most of the other female voices are poor to fair, but the male voices are horrid. Worst of all is that there is little differentiation between characters even with regard to the sex of the speaker and a multi-character discussion is very difficult to follow.

Very good

This is my first read into the series. The set universe seems quite abundant, the plot is also rich and thrilling enough. I would prefer if there was a bit of humor included though. All the dialogs seem too serious, a bit dry one might say. The humor and more emphasis on character relationships would certainly be more pleasant and add some spice. For the lack of this I give 4 stars. But overall it's very good. The narrator is not distracting at all. In fact I like her. Her voice changing to express various characters is excellent.

Wonderful Story - Great Narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this series to fans of science fiction serials and adventure. The stories are fast moving and engaging. the character development is well done and the listener learns to genuinly love or hate characters as the author intended.

What other book might you compare On Basilisk Station to and why?

This series is clearly based upon the Horatio Hornblower novels, and given its space background, is therefore closely related to Star Trek (Kirk was also based upon HH). Honor Harrington is a classic hero in the Hornblowerr, Kirk, Picard, Janeway style.

Which character – as performed by Allyson Johnson – was your favorite?

Allyson Johnson is a truly fantastic narrator and makes the books come alive. She is one of the most engaging and entertaining readers I have encountered in a long time. I love her narration of the story and her voice perfectly fits Honor.

Any additional comments?

On Basilisk Station is a great introduction to Honor Harrington. The book is fast paced and drops us into the story right away.

Fun though predictable.

This audio book was fun to listen to, though a bit predictable. It's written as a mix between "Star Trek:The Next Generation" with a similar penchant for techno-babble, and "The Hunt for Red October" with a focus on military morality.

On the downside, most of the characters have personalities muted by military procedure.The performance was strong, though it is somewhat hampered by many indistinguishable minor characters.

I'd recommend this book to anyone actively serving in the military, and women in particular, as it's bound to be inspirational.

I might consider listening to another book in this series, once I clear out my queue.

Enjoyable book with a few weak elements

Would you listen to On Basilisk Station again? Why?

I had previously read the book, so the audiobook was more of a refresher for me. I primarily like the book because it is so blatantly riffing of of the Horatio Hornblower books of the 1930. It is an enjoyable naval romp. That said there are some points in the book where the narrative stumbles under dry laborious details. Also there was some weakness in the narration. The narrator chose to use a higher, girlier voice for the main character. This is jarring, particularly given the number of points where the main character's voice and tone are described. Perky is not what they should be going for.

Audible Honor Harrington

Omg this was superbly done. The narrator had voices and accents and just played it up. Super excellent job Allyson Johnson. Im going to go buy the next one.

honor ,duty, country.<br />

I enjoyed the book itself greatly. for the most part the narration was good but every now and then is not quite right. overall a 5, 4 for narration and a 5 for story. I will eventually get all of the honor books on audio just as I have almost all in hardback.

On Basilisk Station a Weber classic

Where does On Basilisk Station rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I purchased the book when it first came out. Then I purchased the paperback. Then I purchased more copies and gave them to my friends. Finally, I chose On Basilisk Station as the first audiobook I ever purchased. I've read the book numerous times, and anjoy it every time. Listening to the book is like lying back and letting it flow into you. I have purchased a number of audiobooks since, but Basilisk is still my favorite, and I don't hesitate to recommend it to others. Of all the Harrington books Weber has written I think it's one of the finest.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Honor Harrington, without a doubt. When I first met her on the pages of Weber's book I thought she represented all that is fine and noble about womens' emancipation. I still find her so.

What about Allyson Johnson’s performance did you like?

I loved the way she interpreted the book. For my money, she is the perfect reader and foil for Honor Harrington.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to it in two sittings. I simply can't absorb it all at once, even though I was familiar with the story. But once started, I could hardly stop.

Any additional comments?

My son recommended Audible Books to me because he was buying and using them both in the car and on the train in a long commute to Toronto. I resisted the idea at first, because I am an avid reader (a book a day at least), and thought I wouldn't much like just sitting still and listening! How wrong I was! Audible Books have taken me back to my childhood when my mother used to read to me, and to the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Stage series of one-hour dramas. I never failed to listen to those broadcasts, and even today I can remember some of them. They were the beginning of a lifelong interest in literature, and directly responsible for me becoming a writer and editor myself.

Listening to Audible Books has also made me realize that I learn more, and remember more when I hear the books narrated as opposed to just reading them, especially if I have already read the book. They also allow me to analyze the books better, because the narrator has to read through all the boring bits which as a reader I usually skipped. In skipping the boring bits I almost always missed some important facet of the story. In fact the audiobooks have such a powerful impact on me I often dream whole sequences from them, almost word for word, when I am asleep at night.

Another factor is that hearing non-fiction books read allows me to understand them better. I have sampled a number of them, not bought any yet , but I am looking at Will Durant's A History of Western Philosophy, which I used as a text in college. I bet I could get straight A's on any exam, oral or written, after listening to that book read to me.

Which brings me to one other point. Your narrators (even when they make pronunciation mistakes) are able to bring the driest of books alive. That is a great, great talent. Some are better than others, but none are bad. Congratulate them all for me!

Good story, good narrator, excellent for Honor fan

The story is a fun one of Horatio Hornblower type set in future space-faring human society. Narrator is very good. The only thing that bothers me is her pronunciation of Manticoran (adjectival form referring to the home planet of the heroine, Manticore) as Man-tick-or-an. However, as Ms. Johnson is only following Mr. Weber's pronunciation notes, she can't be blamed. (Mr. Weber later said something to the effect that he must have been having a senior moment at the time, and the error was his. Very graciously, I might add.) It does jar, however, which is the only reason I'm not giving the book 5 stars.

Hook, line, and sinker

This book sets the line and reels you in for the entire series. Great female lead character and a rather interesting political statement as well which may not sit well with some readers