A Rising Thunder

Honor Harrington, Book 13

By: David Weber

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson

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.

Cause and Effect Novel

What did you love best about A Rising Thunder?

I'm glad David Weber finally tied all the spinoff series back into the main Honor Harrington series.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm glad Honor and the treecats had important parts in the series again.

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

Elizabeth, Empress of Manticore

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

No, unfortunately it felt like Weber rushed through or abruptly ended many of the events or scenes that could of had a major impact on the readers. If I remember correctly its happened in previous novels of his too. The best example in this novel was the battle in the Manticore system when the Solarian League attempted to force the Manticoren Empire into surrendering. As soon as the battle started, the scene ended and went into the effect the one sided battle had on everyone.

Any additional comments?

Most of this novel is cause and effect. There would be an event (usually a short scene) and then there would be the effect which would be reflected by multiple viewpoints from various characters all over the galaxy. Frankly, I was disappointed once again due to fact there was only one actual space battle but plenty of dialog from many characters all concerning the same subject matter. Despite being on the brink of war, the fact that the tech is one sided and the battles will be just opportunistic ambushes might just led the series away from the military sci-fi genre for good. However, it may not matter since the series is probably almost finished anyway.

Outstanding Story

Keep writing David. This a wonderful story filled with rich and detailed worlds and interesting characters. If you are a fan of suspence, war, love, hope, trechury, subtrifuge and more this series is a must read. When I read the first book I just had to read the rest.

chapters out of order

The chapters are out of order if you bought this book as two parts. The device puts book 2 at the beginning, but keeps the chapters order as if you listen on a computer. Try uninstalling audible on your device and logging out, then reinstall and re-download the book. It worked from me.

Great driving story

What did you like best about this story?

If you have been following the Honor stories you know, if not, WHY? The only problem is when is the next one coming?

Any additional comments?

I listened to this while driving from near Philadelphia to Springfield, MO. Even though it took 2 days the time passed easily.

wow

Every installment in this series is a step up from the next! The action and character development is realistic and awesome in its depth. Long live the Honorverse! This series is exactly what we need to remind us of our real values. 2022 2nd reading and what a ride, especially politically!

Great book for fans of the series

Any additional comments?

This book is primarily seting up the series for a new set of books. It actually starts prior to the end of the previous book in order to give aditional background information to frame the New struggle about to envelope the varius star nations.

Excellent story and great performance

I've loved the Honorverse series and this is no exception. The story is very solid and Allyson does an excellent job narrating the entire series. All of her accents, pronunciations, and tempo are wonderful.

Highly recommend!

Love the series

What made the experience of listening to A Rising Thunder the most enjoyable?

Strong female lead with old fashion values, like a female John Wayne.

What other book might you compare A Rising Thunder to and why?

It's a sci-fi space series, I think one of the best.

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

Yes, great narrator, easy too listen to, allows listeners to concentrate on the story not the narration.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It would take a HBO (or the Like) series to tell the main story and this book is a small piece.

Any additional comments?

Wish the author would write more books in this series faster!

great story

fun continuation of a great series, well worth the read. interesting how some of the story line lines up with today's politics

good book!

good follow on, leaves you hanging. cannot wait for the next book. hopefully more Honor there.