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.

Great

Nice action, accurate politics, great example of individual integrity. We need more Harringtons in this world.

Good read

I enjoyed this story. Normally I prefer the fantasy side, but this was a good read. The performance was excellent.

A very good space yarn

.I had aways wanted to read this book, series but had never gotten around to it. It was well worth the wait

A great book

I was looking for a nice long series to start while I was deployed overseas. I had seen this book a lot at bookstores, but never bought it. The cover art was always a turn off. I decided to bite the bullet and get. And damn I’m glad I did. It’s so good. I’ve recommended it to everyone. I finished the whole series while I was gone. So good!! I’m working on my third read through.

Great introduction to the Honorverse

I read the first several of these books many years ago and wanted to start back at the beginning and work my way back through it on Audible. The first book seems to have proven that's a good plan. The narrator is top notch and the story and characters are as good as I remembered. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series :)

Love the classic story line of maturing command.

I've read this classic Honorverse foundational beginning many times and enjoyed it every time.
The Narrator BUTCHERED the pronunciation of Manticoran and Manticore so much it made it hard for me to listen without cringing. Some pronunciations of names could be allowed for as stylistic interpretation. BUT the Queen should issue an injunction against her mispronunciation of the Kingdom of Manticore. NOT Man Tick oran! Does she even understand the use of schwa the unstressed syllable? That one thing made it hard to enjoy one of my favorite space classics. The story remains true to it's venerable heritage. Great job Master Story Weaver the honorable David Weber!

Long time fan - Not Disappointed

I have read the entire series twice. I really enjoyed this audio performance which enhanced and supplemented my understanding of the author’s intent. Starting book two now.

Wonderfully narrated

I loved how the voice actor enhanced the storyline. I read the book 15 or 20 years ago and it was very pleasing to listen to it so many years later.

Great Sci Fi ruined by horrible voice acting

I've read all of the Honor Harrington books but I can't stomach the audible versions. Allyson Johnson does well as Honor, but later books of this series introduce a wide host of accents....Scottish, Deep South, French...and she butchers all of them. I've honestly heard better fake accents in high school plays. Totally unlistenable.

well written.

I enjoy the character development. This is how you write a female that is the lead actor. This will be a great series.