As promised, in this episode we discuss the second novel in the Manticore Ascendant series: A Call to Arms. Written by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope, the story of Travis Long continues after he’s completed his training to become a commissioned officer. We join him back in the fleet with a few years of commissioned time under his belt and wearing the bars of an ensign.

In many ways Travis has grown and matured through the passage of time, the challenges of training, and more years under his belt as an officer. Even so, we can still see the core of his ethical framework visible through the way he wrestles with the problems that life presents to him in naval service. We also see his giftedness continue as someone who can think outside of his own personal boundaries. While we’ve seen this result in some very positive ideas that allowed his ships (current and past) to successfully navigate some pretty difficult situations, thankfully he hasn’t become the one-man silver bullet that seems to be the magical solution to horrible problems. In this regard, we were happy that the authors kept the story believable. As this book ends, we found ourselves looking forward to the next book in this series.

Our ratings for A Call to Arms were a 5, 5 and 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.8.

As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with others. Don’t forget, it’s never too late to comment on previous episodes either. We love your feedback and thoughts. Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew!

Next time we’re stepping away from the Manticore Ascendant series and returning to the Saganami Island series to read and discuss Shadow of Victory. If you’ve been missing seeing the dark and sinister ways of the Mesan Alignment—they’re back! As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

Lately there are times it seems we’re getting close to the end of our adventure through the Honorverse and then a little reminder like this happens: we’re discussing the first book in another four-book story arc! In this episode we’re talking about A Call to Duty, kicking off the Manticore Ascendant series. This novel was authored by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope.

You’ll remember a while back we read a story by Timothy Zahn that took place early in the life of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, revolving around an interesting character named Travis Long. In this series of books we finally get to read the rest of Travis’ story, beginning right here. We also get a very interesting glimpse into the early and formative years of the RMN—essentially watching Travis and the Navy grow up together.

Travis’ military life begins, almost in desperation as a group of his friends use him as an unknowing wheel man while committing a crime. Travis realizes too late that he’s going to be guilty by association and takes refuge in an RMN recruiting office. The recruiter sees goodness and promise in Travis, revealed by his conscience, and signs him up for an enlistment. As we follow him through training and his initial time in the operational fleet, his story reveals a lot about Travis’ ethical code, which is both a strength and a potential weakness in terms of his service. The Navy causes Travis to realize and then begin to deal with the fact that while there may be moral absolutes and certain black and white issues, much of the world operates in a very gray space where problems are more complicated than he expected. While he’s still immature, certain leaders in his chain of command realize he shows potential to become a commissioned officer and is selected to become a “Mustang”.

Your hosts rated A Call to Duty with a 5, 5 and another 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 5 from your hosts.

Once again, thank you for listening and to those of you who take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.

Next, we’re picking up the next book in this anthology set called A Call to Arms, where we get to see what happens next with Mr. Long. Without interruption, we get to continue to enjoy the masterful storytelling of David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope. As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

Now it’s time to dive right into the third book in the Crown of Slaves series: Cauldron of Ghosts, co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint. It won’t be a surprise to any of our regular listeners, but this book ties to the previous book we covered based on publication order. That said, this is a particularly tight coupling as this book is often considered a literal and direct continuation of the story in Shadow of Freedom.

As a result, we’re still seeing events occurring in 1922 PD, now featuring our two super-spies: Victor Cachat and Anton Zilwicki and dealing with what’s next for (and with) the Mesan Alignment. Furthermore, we’re seeing the reality of the post-war alliance between Manticore and Haven. The reality of this alliance seems to still be almost unbelievable to leadership within the Mesan Alignment as this wasn’t a part of what they were trying to orchestrate. It sure seems one lesson in this regard we can apply to the real world is the “law of unintended consequences.” This becomes acute as the new Manticoran-Havenite alliance strives to bring the Alignment out of its comfortable place in the shadows. The overall storyline link here is that our heroes Cachat and Zilwicki are running around on Mesa, trying to help reveal the Alignment. The book is definitely action-packed!

Your hosts rated Cauldron of Ghosts with a 5, a 5 and an unusual 4.75 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.92 from your hosts.

Once again, thank you for listening and to those of you who take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.

Next, we’re turning our attention to the Manticore Ascendant series, diving into the first book, A Call to Duty co-authored by David Weber and Timothy Zahn. This book and the associated series take us back to the early years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore and a character we were previously introduced to named Travis Long. We’ve been looking forward to this series! As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

This time we’re looking at the third book in the Saganami Island part of the Honorverse story arc: Shadow of Freedom.

We’re solidly in the year 1922 PD and Admiral Michelle Henke takes care of yet more trouble presented by the Solarian League. This is tied to a scenario set up to make the Star Empire of Manticore look bad in a way that would cost them the trust of independent star systems moving forward. She exercises her command authority in the absence of specific guidance about this unforeseen and non-standard scenario confronting her, and does so in a way that would allow Queen Elizabeth to distance the Star Empire from the actions if necessary. Even so, the plot fails, the Star Empire succeeds, and the story ends in a cliff-hanger when Michelle is then able to turn her fleet’s attention toward an even more substantial threat.

The novel was long and there was so much to talk about that this became one of our lengthier episodes. We also had quite a bit of listener feedback we were able to share as well. Friends, heartfelt thanks to each of you who take the time to enjoy this adventure with us, and additional thanks to those of you who take a little more time to send us your thoughts! We definitely enjoy it when you join us in the conversation around the (virtual) kitchen table.

We rated “Shadow of Freedom” with a 5, a 5 and another 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of a 5 from your hosts.

Once again, thank you for listening and big thanks to those of you who also take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.

Next, we’re going to return to the Crown of Slaves series as we dive into the third book in that arc: Cauldron of Slaves, co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint. If you’re a fan of the adventures of Anton Zilwicki and Victor Cachat, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time!

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

What a surprise! Due to a quick turn of events we’re able to interrupt our regularly scheduled program for a very special treat. Instead of discussing Shadow of Freedom, we were privileged to have Jane Lindskold join us, along with another visit by David Weber. As far as we can tell, there’s no better reason to interrupt the plan than this. This was the first time we’ve had the chance to enjoy Jane’s company, and the last time we were able to spend time with David was back in episode 22. Grab your favorite beverage, sit down and join us as we talk with Jane and David about their collective storytelling within the Honorverse!

As you listen, remember Jane’s contributions to the Honorverse are significant, including several short stories and novels. Her short stories include:

• "Queen’s Gambit" – a short story in the Worlds of Honor anthology (discussed in episode 10)
• "Promised Land" – a short story in The Service of the Sword anthology (discussed in episode 15)
• "Ruthless" – a short story in the In Fire Forged anthology (discussed in episode 23)

She’s also co-authored four novels with David in the Star Kingdom story arc:

• Fire Season (discussed in episode 25)
• Treecat Wars (discussed in episode 28)
• A New Clan (scheduled for a future episode)
• Friends Indeed (available for purchase soon!)

Jane and David talked briefly about the soon-to-be-released Star Kingdom novel Friends Indeed, mixed in among some great banter and information about these two story-telling power houses: how they met, how David brought Jane into the Honorverse, and how they’ve worked together since. We had time to ask Jane several that came from you, our listeners and fellow travelers as well. Not surprisingly, there were several questions we didn’t get to ask due to time constraints, but also because as the discussion unfolded, some were answered before we could ask them. Schedules permitting, we hope to have Jane on again to cover even more ground with her work.

Be sure to visit Jane’s official website to find out more about the incredible volume of work she’s done, and more about what’s coming. You can find her at https://janelindskold.com

On the next episode we’ll get right back to the normal schedule and discuss the novel Shadow of Freedom, no doubt invigorated by the exciting info and insights we’ve gained from our two most special of guests.

As always, genuine thanks to each of you for listening, and especially folks who have found the time to send us comments—please keep them coming. If you haven’t already done so, consider spreading the word to others who you know are Honor Harrington fans, or to those who might enjoy the Honorverse!

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

We move into the third book in the Star Kingdom series: Treecat Wars, by David Weber and Jane Lindskold. Published by Baen, this 376-page gem first hit the street in September 2013. With the brutal fire season over, Stephanie and her friend Anders are heading off to Manticore after being selected to attend Forestry Service ranger school. Stephanie’s story, along with her three friends Anders, Jessica and Karl, is one of two central storylines. The second (and arguably the primary) follows the troubles that fall upon a handful of treecat clans revolving around the displacement of one clan after their lands were destroyed by the fires we read about in the previous book in this set.

Very real and difficult friction emerges between several of these clans as the treecats who were displaced by the fires now struggle to find a new territory that will support them through the upcoming winter. That friction culminates in a literal war between clans. This is remarkable in that prior to this novel the treecats have appeared to us (and to the characters from Stephanie’s time in the Honorverse) as a very homogenous and peaceful people. While they are when compared to humans, this is our first look into the politics of the interaction of treecat clans, specifically when those clans face challenges tied to survival. We even get to see some stark differences in treecat personalities and how those personalities impact clan conduct. In the podcast we even get to discuss the DIME model as we see how it applies to the treecats.

Related, we see some (much less deadly) strife appear among our set of four human friends. While not a surprise, with Stephanie spending several months away from her boyfriend Anders and in training with Karl, her relationship begins to morph as their affection for each other appears to bloom beyond just friendship. Meanwhile, Anders and Jessica are working closely together with the Forest Service to do what they can to address the consequences of the treecat war. That proximity and shared mission results in their friendship also blooming into a much deeper relationship. All this creates the potential for real conflict between these four friends when they’re reunited after ranger training ends on Manticore. There’s even more going on as well, but we’ll leave that for you to enjoy through the book itself.

We rated “Treecat Wars” with a 4, another 4 and a 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.3 from your hosts.

As always, thank you for listening and big thanks to those of you who also take the time to like and follow us on social media, to comment on our posts or even reach out through a longer note. At the end of this show we truly enjoyed reading many of the comments and questions we’ve recently received. Please keep them coming!

Next time on the Honorverse Today podcast, we’re turning our attention to “Shadow of Freedom” by David Weber. This book is the third novel in the Saganami Island sequence. We hope you grab it, read it, and find a friend to join us on the continuing adventure through the Honorverse!

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

Beginnings is the sixth (and second to last) book in the Worlds of Honor anthology set. It contains five short stories, penned by four talented authors: David Weber, Charles E. Gannon, Timothy Zahn, and Joelle Presby. Each of these stories brings us to interesting and important beginnings for many events that we’ve become familiar with in the Honorverse but have often gone with little or no explanation.

This collection of writings comes in at 377 pages and was first published by Baen in June 2013.

Charles E. Gannon brings the first story to us: By the Book.

In this story we join the crew of Earth Union Customs Patrol ship Venerated Gaia commanded by Lieutenant Lee Strong in 250 PD. Their mission: board and recover a hijacked ship named Fragrant Blossom, a ship they’ve located and seized near the Sol System asteroid belt. Once the ship is captured and under their control, a series of non-standard events results in Lieutenant Strong coming into contact with an administrator working for the Outbound Operations Administration, a somewhat quiet and shadowy man named Perlenmann. Mr. Perlenmann seems to have been effectively benched professionally and is sent to his current post on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, primarily due to what those holding (somewhat authoritarian) political power deemed to be his radical views. It’s from this position of relative obscurity we learn that Mr. Perlenmann is an influential member of an organization plotting to bring the current political elite and their parties to their knees by causing an economic collapse across the Earth Union and Sol system. He recruits Lieutenant Strong to deliver the necessary computer program, causing a catastrophic collapse, which results in the related loss of power of the controlling political parties and the disintegration of the Earth Union. With the passage of time, the collapse is eventually referred to as the Economic Winter of 252 PD. When the economy recovered as a much freer and open economic system, it spawned powerful growth that enabled the remarkable beginning of the movement of humanity out of the Sol system and into the stars.

Your hosts gave this story two ‘thumbs-up” and one “neutral” vote.

Next we discussed Timothy Zahn’s short story A Call to Arms.

We move forward in time now, over a thousand years, to 1543 PD. Following the recovery from the Economic Winter of 252 and the subsequent expansion, we see a Solarian Axelrod Corporation plan unfolding to attack the Manticore System through the use of mercenaries. At the same time, we join a young Lieutenant Travis Long onboard the HMS Phoenix. When he writes up a subordinate for substandard performance, he finds himself the one who’s in trouble and he’s transferred to a different ship, the HMS Casey. It turns out the poor performer is from a politically and militarily powerful family. What appears to be bad news for Lieutenant Long turns into a blessing as the mercenaries arrive in the Manticoran system. Now confronting the enemy, his strength as a tactician shines as he’s key in defeating the threat. The “misstep” while onboard the Phoenix quickly and quietly moves to the background as his new captain nominates him for the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. He also learns a powerful lesson from Captain Heissman about being aware of and getting used to the existence of internal politics within the RMN.

Of note, this story is the beginning of more time we’ll spend with Lieutenant Travis Long. Our introduction to him here sets up seeing a lot more of him in the “Manticore Ascendant” series of novels, by the dynamic writing duo of David Weber and Timothy Zahn.

This one received “thumbs-ups” from each of your hosts, with a bonus “two thumbs up” from Raul.

Beauty and the Beast is the third...

“A Rising Thunder” basically picks up where “Mission of Honor” left off, with events that begin in April 1922 PD and span about five months. We’re back in the main sequence, and it seems hard to believe that this novel is the second to the last of the core novels! But we’re not close to being done with the Honorverse content, with lots of material from the related series and anthologies still to cover. And don’t forget the newest Honor Harrington novel “Toll of Honor” is out there to be enjoyed now. Technically it’s a stand-alone novel, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an integral part of the Honorverse. When published, “A Rising Thunder” hit the streets at 458 pages in March 2012.

Even though we’ve reviewed and discussed three other books since “Mission of Honor”, when we picked this one up, it was as if we had just finished “Mission” the day prior. It took no effort to fall right back into the events that we left off with in the previous main sequence novel. As a reminder for those who may be new to this journey, we’re reading all the Honorverse writings in their order of publication, knowing that the books and stories that are outside of the main sequence are truly not just side stories. In fact, they constitute a significant building out of the main storyline and should be read as such. If the Honorverse was a river, these other writings represent the places where the river widens. They are not separate but related stories.

As we jump into “A Rising Thunder”, the war between Haven and Manticore is truly over and we see these two former enemies form a significant military alliance in order to face a new and shared threat together. More accurately we should we say threats since the wolf closest to the sled appears to be the Solarian League, but the very real and greater danger is the Mesan Alignment. In this story, Honor and the alliance do what they can to minimize or eliminate their vulnerability to another strike by the Alignment while specifically addressing the Solarians as the League violently maneuvers to take advantage of what they believe to have been a be significant and terminal blow to the military and economic health of Manticore and Haven. Both nations are truly damaged. It takes reading this novel to find out just how significant that damage is, and just how effectively they’re able to counter the Solarian threat. To bring us back to the beginning of this summary and to leave you with a taste of the unknown, don’t forget we’re just one novel away from completing the main sequence. We’ll leave it to you to read along with us to find out just how David Weber might be wrapping this part of the story up.

All three of your hosts rated “A Rising Thunder” with a 5 (out of 5), resulting in an overall rating of another perfect 5.

We continue to appreciate the support everyone who takes the time to join us in this voyage through the Honorverse—new listeners as well as the folks who have been with us early on. Special thanks for those of you who like and/or comment on our posts, and even reach out and send us a note. We truly can’t say how much the feedback means to us.

Next time we’re going to discuss the sixth anthology in the Worlds of Honor collection, entitled “Beginnings”. It contains five short stories authored by David Weber and three others. No doubt this collection is going to be a good read and time well spent.

As always, please grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time!

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about