Weber, David

Average customer rating:

Running out of steam?
Best of the series so far
Worth waiting for...
1634 and beyond
The beginning dragged, but the rest was great

1634: The Baltic War
David Weber , and Eric Flint
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 141652102X

Book Description

The Baltic War which began in the novel 1633 is still raging, and the time-lost Americans of Grantville¿the West Virginia town hurled back into the seventeenth century by a mysterious cosmic accident¿are caught in the middle of it. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden and Emperor of the United States of Europe, prepares a counter-attack on the combined forces of France, Spain, England, and Denmark¿former enemies which have allied in the League of Ostend to destroy the threat to their power that the Americans represent¿which are besieging the German city of Luebeck. Elsewhere in war-torn Europe, several American plans are approaching fruition. Admiral Simpson of Grantville frantically races against time to finish the USE Navy¿s ironclad ships¿desperately needed to break the Ostender blockade of the Baltic ports. A commando unit sent by Mike Stearns to England prepares the rescue the Americans being held in the Tower of London. In Amsterdam, Rebecca Stearns continues three-way negotiations with the Prince of Orange and the Spanish Cardinal-Infante who has conquered most of the Netherlands. And, in Copenhagen, the captured young USE naval officer Eddie Cantrell tries to persuade the King of Denmark to break with the Ostender alliance, all while pursuing a romantic involvement with one of the Danish princesses.

Customer Reviews:

Running out of steam?.......2007-06-13

I loved the earlier books in the series, but in this one, the action slows down and the character development falters. I thought that it needed a good editing to tighten up the story.

Best of the series so far.......2007-06-12

This was great! Good stories, fit together well......I'm ready for more (please!!)

Worth waiting for..........2007-06-11

When the Gallieo Affair hit my 'Buy it as soon as it appears' list on Amazon I was hoping it was the continuation of of the Baltic plot line of the series. Alas, I was forced to wait. When 1634: The Baltic War hit my mail box I sat down and read the book from cover to cover.(Not being currently employed gives you that opportunity). Many, but certainly not all of the on going plots were addressed in this novel, but many remain outstanding. This one was a lot of fun and I looking forward with an open wallet to any future installments that Weber, and his guest writers, decide to grace us with.

1634 and beyond.......2007-06-06

OK, I really like series, like to get to know characters, how they intermingle with the other characters, How their paths cross and lead to unexpected events, etc. Second, my favorite genre is historical fiction - great way to tell a story and keep history alive. So this book had all the initial indicators for a worthwhile read.

So it is my fault I bought this book. 1632 was an interesting idea and some of that shows through in this book. What went wrong? First, it is a looooog book. Too long, by about 400 pages. Second it is a bit disjointed, this book has so many storylines it is hard to keep track of them, especially since they are not very compelling story lines. Last, but the most important - many of the characters are jerks. There, I said it (I had another phrase in mind but jerk tells it well enough and the language I planned on would offend many of you). In 1632 the characterizations were interesting, you could understand that they were establishing a premise and some characteristics were amplified so the "good" guys looked good and the bad guys looked like jerks. Now, the main characters just act stupid and it ruins the book. No, not all of them but many. I find it hard to believe that characters such as these could have really influenced history.

Unless you are a really desperate and dyed in the wool 1632 fan, save your money. This is another Baen formula book. It does a disservice to both authors who have written much better books.

The beginning dragged, but the rest was great.......2007-06-02

I really, really enjoyed 1632 and 1633. I enjoyed the Grantville Gazettes. This installment wasn't my favorite. It took me a long time to get through the first 1/3 of the book. I typically read at a very fast pace, but this one just wasn't doing it for me. Then, last night, it all turned around. I was up until 2:30am to finish it off!

I think the change had to do with the later part of the story focusing more on the characters I grew to love in the first books and less on historical figures which, to be honest, I often can't keep straight in my mind.

I recommend that folks who love this series read this one. If the beginning isn't working for you, HANG IN THERE!

Average customer rating:

A great series continues
A very good Rich Weber book
A great read
Going From Bad To Worse
Hell hath no fury is a good read

Hell Hath No Fury (Multiverse, Book 2)
David Weber , and Linda Evans
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416521011

Book Description

It began with two men. They came from very different worlds¿entirely different universes, in fact¿and they met in a virgin forest on a duplicate planet Earth. Neither of them had expected it, both of them realized how important the first contact with any other trans-universal human civilization might be. But something went wrong. Neither side knows who shot first. But both the magic-using civilization of Arcana and steel-and-steam age Sharona, with its psionic Talents, think it was the other side. And it doesn't really matter, now, because the original incident has snowballed. Both sides have additional dead to mourn; both sides have additional wrongs to avenge. Both sides have additional military forces moving towards the front. War between the universes is the last thing responsible leaders on either side want. But the fury of their respective populations, xenophobic fear of the unknown, and cries for "justice" (or vengeance), are all driving both sides towards the brink. The actions of local military commanders and diplomats may well determine the final outcome, and unscrupulous, power-hungry men¿and Arcana and Sharona alike¿have agendas of their own. The fuse has been lit, and a war stretching across the universes, across an endless succession of identical Earths, fought between dragons, spells, and crossbows and repeating rifles, machine guns, and artillery is about to begin in white-hot rage and fury. Where it will end¿and how¿no one knows.

Customer Reviews:

A great series continues.......2007-06-11

The conflict between two civilizations that span multiple parallel Earths (Sharona, based on technology and psi, and Arcana, based on magic) that started in Hell's Gate (Multiverse, Book 1) continues, blown into war by a power hungry faction of Arcanans, who are contemptuous of the abilities of barbarians unaware of the use of magic.
Several threads are present to be of later importance - the dolphin alliance with Sharona (from the first book, but not referenced since), the Voice (telepath) from Sharona with her husband and the honorable Arcanans escorting them into Arcana, the newly unified Sharononian government at pseudo-Constantinople and, of course, the soldiers of both civilizations (with a developing conflict between those Arcanans who knowingly fabricated the war and those who are finding out the truth). An additional intriguing occurrence is the gradual discovery by those of each side who've penetrated the other's territory of the nature of their own skills in a vastly different environment (that's a little cryptic, but to say much more would be spoiler). There's also a bit of a cliff-hanger ending each of the books.
There are glossaries that help overcome the sense of disorientation of unfamiliar names for familiar locations (I used a map for book one and wrote names as I read through the book) and to keep track of the large number of characters. The atlas glossary could use some editing - e.g. one region is referred to as being both "west of India" and "containing China" and another area is referred to as belonging to the opposite civilization from what's stated in the text. It is still very useful, despite a little carelessness.
There is so much material that this series should last for several more books. If not, there will be a lot of unhappy fans.

A very good Rich Weber book.......2007-06-01

In a world where trans-dimensional rifts allow movement between parallel universes, two mighty empires have arisen. One uses magic uses a highly-developed magic, while the other is based on steam technology and psionics. And when they came together, conflict was probably inevitable. In this, the second book of the series, war has now come, and Hell hath no fury like this war across the multiverse!

I am a big David Weber fan, and I couldn't wait to get this series. Overall, I like the way that the author handled the two disparate technologies (magic developed to the point of technology and psionics also developed to the point of technology), and the war scenes are pretty realistic and gruesome. Overall, I found this to be a very good Rich Weber book, one that I do not hesitate to recommend.

A great read.......2007-05-17

The first book in the series was good even though confusing with the introduction of all the characters and places. This one really clicked. I could hardly put it down. The action was great, the characters well developed, and the story flowed smoothly. I am so looking forward to the next one.

Top-notch combat action. The usual Weber detailed political intrigue.

Going From Bad To Worse.......2007-05-15

In HELL'S GATE, David Weber and Linda Evans created an interesting new series of universes in which to play and posited a first contact scenario between the two civilizations as a botched effort, rife with misunderstandings on both sides and tragic violence. In this second volume, the situation just gets worse as misunderstandings proliferate and people with ulterior motives and hidden agendas do their best to promote themselves at the expense of their societies.

One of the civilizations under scrutiny is fairly backward from a technological point of view and could best be described as pre-industrial. To make up for this lack, they employ genuine magic, complete with fire breathing dragons. Since the other side has no conception of this, it is difficult to fight.

The other side has a Victorian industrial base but supplements itself with various psionic powers. This too proves formidable for their opponents who have no conception at to how this might operate.

In this installment, the magical side has launched an offensive cloaked by negotiations in an order to gain the military high ground. The campaign is being run by officers in the area and their high command has no idea of what is going on or even that a war has broken out. This book takes us several months into the conflict and the line of communications is so long that the home world has not yet even found out about it. This leaves the in theater commander free to wreak havoc for his own personal agenda and that of his ethnic group.

The opposing side is remote but not as remote from the point of contact. They have been ambushed and are mad. They are mobilizing for total war but again, they are hampered by personal agendas.

We are only a few months into the series and it promises to be a long affair. I look forward to reading about it.

Hell hath no fury is a good read.......2007-05-14

Having recently read the first book in this series, I was eager to read the second one. I found that this second book builds very well on the interesting dilemma or enigma of the first, namely what happens when a universe populated by humans who use magic meets a universe populated by humans who use various telepathic and telekinetic abilities? One of the things this book, like the first, makes crystal clear is that even with telepathy and magic, humans remain human, with all the good and bad things that implies. The good character development in the first book continues in this second one, and the seeds of many issues (no doubt to be resolved in future volumes) are well sown here. All in all a good read, and one that leaves me hungry for the next volume!

Average customer rating:

Enjoyable
Boring
Back to HONOR
SciFi Hornblower novel
Vintage David Weber

Off Armageddon Reef
David Weber
Manufacturer: Tor Books
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ASIN: 0765315009
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Book Description

Humanity pushed its way to the stars - and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out. Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures: with mind control and hidden high technology, they've built a religion in which every Safeholdian believes, a religion designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever. 800 years pass. In a hidden chamber on Safehold, an android from the far human past awakens. This "rebirth" was set in motion centuries before, by a faction that opposed shackling humanity with a concocted religion. Via automated recordings, "Nimue" - or, rather, the android with the memories of Lieutenant Commander Nimue Alban - is told her fate: she will emerge into Safeholdian society, suitably disguised, and begin the process of provoking the technological progress which the Church of God Awaiting has worked for centuries to prevent. Nothing about this will be easy. To better deal with a medieval society, "Nimue" takes a new gender and a new name, "Merlin." His formidable powers and access to caches of hidden high technology will need to be carefully concealed. And he'll need to find a base of operations, a Safeholdian country that's just a little more freewheeling, a little less orthodox, a little more open to the new. And thus Merlin comes to Charis, a mid-sized kingdom with a talent for naval warfare. He plans to make the acquaintance of King Haarahld and Crown Prince Cayleb, and maybe, just maybe, kick off a new eraof invention. Which is bound to draw the attention of the Churchand, inevitably, lead to war. It's going to be a long, long process. And it's going to be the can't-miss SF epic of the decade.

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable.......2007-06-21

OFF ARMAGEDDON REEF(2007) is a complicated story that takes place mostly on a colonized planet in a far off star system, containing the last remnants of humankind. The colony has been set up to thrive within a contrived religious framework that preaches "limited technology", so as to minimize the chance of detection by a superior (but stagnant) race, which is bent on destroying humankind, and has already destroyed all of the original planetary systems that had been colonized by future star-faring humanity... but, there is a "fly in the ointment"... as a humanoid robot awakes 750 years after first landing, with the intent of moving mankind forward in technology (yet still avoid detection), so that they can advance and defeat the hostile alien race, before they find and destroy the last remnants of humanity.

While the book may not be perfect, it is certainly enjoyable, and that is what I read for... so it gets 5 stars.

Most of the many characters are interesting, and the main "naval battle oriented" storyline involving Galley vs. a rapidly developed Galleon technology is fun. I'm looking forward to more books in this series.

Boring.......2007-06-19

The premise sounds interesting...but I was expecting something more. This book starts out slow and loses speed. I've read some of Weber's collaborations and they are all pretty good. Now, after OAR, I guess Weber was responsible for the character development and the other author for the action. I'll stick with Ringo.

Back to HONOR.......2007-06-18

I am a great fan of David Weber, and have read all of the Honor Harrington series, along with his other collaberationns, but this book is just horrible, and slow. I could only take about a 1/4 of the book before donating it to Salvation Army. Please return to the Honor Harrington series, and forget this book.

SciFi Hornblower novel.......2007-06-17

I enjoyed this novel very much. It combines the Science Fiction with the great old novels of English sailing ships and the Napoleonic Wars. It is similar to one of the earlier David Weber novels in that a religion suppresses technological progress. This novel is different enough that this is not a problem for me.

Vintage David Weber.......2007-06-08

David Weber has a vehicle here for a science fiction story set in the age of sail. I didn't like it as much as the Honor Harrington series of even the Hell's Gate series, but I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Average customer rating:

Clash of two very different human cultures
A Promising Start
Hell's Gate (Multiverse, Book 1)
EXTRAORDINARILY BORING AND SLOW , VIRTUALLY NOTHING HAPPENS
A Wonderful New Playground

Hell's Gate (Multiverse, Book 1)
David Weber , and Linda Evans
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416509399

Book Description

The Union of Arcana has expanded through the portals linking parallel universes for over a century and a half. In that time, its soldiers and sorcerers have laid claim to one uninhabited planet after another¿all of them Earth, and in the process, the Union has become the most powerful, most wealthy civilization in all of human history. But all of that is about to come to a screeching halt, for the Union¿s scouts have just discovered a new portal, and on its far side lies a shattering revelation. Arcana is not alone, after all. There is another human society, Sharona, which has also been exploring the Multiverse, and the first contact between them did not go well. Arcana is horrified by the alien weapons of its sudden opponents, weapons its sorcerers cannot explain or duplicate. Weapons based upon something called . . . science. But Sharona is equally horrified by Arcana¿s ¿magical¿ weapons. Neither side expected the confrontation. Both sides think the other fired first, and no one on either side understands the ¿technology¿ of the other. But as the initial disastrous contact snowballs into all-out warfare, both sides can agree on one thing. The portal which brought them together is Hell¿s Gate itself!

Customer Reviews:

Clash of two very different human cultures.......2007-05-28

Start with the very standard idea that a multiverse exists in which the universe has repeatedly separated into different alternates in which the same event has different outcomes. Now add a much rarer twist - contact is possible between universes with common history tens of thousands or more years in the past, but not with more recent ones. Gone are the "Nazis won WW II" or "Roman Empire still lives" contacts. Instead, humanity finds a chain of Earths in which there are no humans, but which are in an "Age of Mammals" which is pretty much as on our Earth.
Such a scenario allows for contact between (and clashes between) two human cultures which have developed in vastly differing manners - one discoverted technology and the other magic. Each approach blinded its adherents to even the possibility of the other way of life.
Further, to make things more even, the technology people have not yet achieved flight or radio communication, but do have railroads, steamships and late 19th century artillery and machine guns. Further, they have some psi "Talents", which may eventually balance the "Gifts" of the magical adepts.
Both civilizations have been actively spreading through the chain of alternate Earths, without meeting other humans, until they meet in a world newly discovered by both and far from the home world of either. A clash ensues, started by accident, but fed by paranoia, incompetence and egotism.
A interesting twist is the existence in the technology world of a pseudo-British Empire (headquartered in Ireland, so not quite British) whose past resembles Rome and its Byzantine avatar (including a clone of Constantinople as its past capital) - they even have "joint" sovereignty over pseudo-Gibraltar - and a psuedo-Ottoman Empire ("Othmaliz") whose Constantinople-clone capital is the site of the world conference called to address the crisis resulting from the clash of cultures. Why create a history very different from ours and then copy details of our history into the new history? Since that is what happens, I suggest the reader label a blank world map with the local names from the story to keep track of what's happening on "technology Earth" ("Sharona" - incidentally, Weber's wife's name is "Sharon").
The early section of the book, is, as other reviewers have mentioned, disjointed and hard to read. I almost gave up. After the first 50 or so pages, the story becomes much more interesting and is hard to put down.
The scenario has potential for a long series of high quality stories.

A Promising Start .......2007-05-23

To those who are griping about the amount of exposition, don't you think the introduction of not one but TWO entirely new universes might require a little bit of explaining? Actually there are more since it's a multiverse, but the protagonists are from the two main ones. See? It is such a broad new storytelling concept that even in a letter about it some explanation is required. I suspect the same folks would be complaining that there wasn't ENOUGH background if Weber had left it out and simply dropped dragons and spells on a reader who had just gotten used to a bunch of characters (in the OTHER universe) who were telepathic steam engine users. Yes, there are a lot of characters, but again, remember, two universes. Rest assured, these people are being introduced for a reason. Seemingly minor characters now will have vital roles to play later. Trust the author. He knows what he is doing. Has Weber ever disappointed you before?
I found this novel, well, novel. It is a promising and entertaining beginning to a whole new series and I look forward to a long and enjoyable string of books set in this `multiverse' that promise to stand up in quality and pure reading fun to the Honor Harringtons already on my shelves. I read through this book in just a couple of days and immediately ordered the next one. Let me assure you now; It gets even better in "Hell Hath No Fury". I am eagerly awaiting announcement of the third book in this thoroughly enjoyable new series and will buy it without hesitation

Hell's Gate (Multiverse, Book 1) .......2007-05-14

Interesting - at the start there were a couple of times I was going to chuck the book. I dislike books where the character's names are unpronounceable. But after a hundred or so pages I was hooked. The march toward war in the crazy worlds of Hell's Gate is so logical that you have to keep reading to see how it all turns out.

EXTRAORDINARILY BORING AND SLOW , VIRTUALLY NOTHING HAPPENS.......2007-05-13

This book is 800 pages long. I wonder if the writers were paid by the page and/or by the number of words. The only thing that actually "happens" in the book, covering at most, 50 pages, is two battles in the beginning between Arcana and Sharona. Arcana is a very advanced society based on magic. Sharona is technological, but for some unknown reason, is only at a steam powered level of technology I don't understand why Sharona could not have had a 20th century level of technology. The balance of the book is basically 750 pages of conversations between the characters and some political manipulations. There is such a thing as having too much characterization. It was very difficult not to nod off during this book.

A Wonderful New Playground.......2007-05-03

I love David Weber's work but I have put off starting this series for quite a while because I am miffed. I am waiting for the continuation of some of his other works, particularly the Honor Harrington series. I want him to get on with it. Now, having read this one, I have even more reason to be miffed. I have to wait for continuations of this series as well.

The concept is a bold one. "Portals" allow transit from parallel versions of earth that are practically identical except for one thing. There are no humans. This has led to a plethora of resources as the new universes are exploited. Then comes the fateful day when it is learned that "we are not alone". There is another human civilization out there doing the same thing. This could be cause for rejoicing except that first contact does not go the way anyone could hope. There is shooting by two nervous individuals. It gets worse when an incompetent and cowardly officer becomes responsible for a massacre of a civilian survey party.

The two civilizations facing each other have much in common. There are political considerations for just about everything in both home universes. This leads base men to make matters worse on both side.

There is also much different. On one side, technology seems to be fairly primitive. Arbalests and swords are the normal armament. This does not prevent those using this technology in doing so most effectively but it is still primitive when compared to the technology used by the other side which seems to be on a par with the late Victorians. The real difference, though is in their respective gifts and talents. The more archaic civilization does not need the fancy mechanics because they have magic, complete with dragons, unicorns and such. The other side does not know how to fight this. For their part, though, the more advanced civilization makes use of psionic talents. Telepathy, precognition and related skills are a normal part of life for them. In neither case are these gifts and talents universal but they do tend to make the other side even more incomprehensible than they would otherwise seem.

Weber and Evans have crafted a well thought out series of universes in this series. This initial book is basically dealing with the initial contact and the ramification stemming from that contact. The point of contact is a long way from the home of either civilization and the potential for unwanted strife is great. Weber and Evans make the most of that potential.

I still want Weber to get back to work on the Honorverse books but I am going to cut him some slack because I want him to finish more of these as well.

Jayne's Intelligence Review - The Royal Manticoran Navy (Honor Harrington)

Average customer rating:

Honor Universe
The Honorverse reference!
Excellent Book!
Excellent Reference Book

Jayne's Intelligence Review - The Royal Manticoran Navy (Honor Harrington)
David Weber , Ken Burnside , and Thomas Pope
Manufacturer: Ad Astra Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1934153087

Product Description

The Royal Manticoran Navy as You have Never Seen It Before! This soft cover coffee table book has information on the Royal Manticoran Navy from David Weber's Honor Harrington universe, ranging from the founding and battle histories to detailed class histories and size comparison charts of the ships, to layouts of the pinnaces and rank insignia! Much of this material has never been published elsewhere, and this book is an official concordance of data on the Manticoran Navy, with material written by David Weber himself!

Customer Reviews:

Honor Universe.......2007-05-20

Wonderful illustrations and descriptions of the ships and situations in Honor's universe. A perfect companion to the fiction and with the new games coming out an excellent tool to learn what it's all about.

The Honorverse reference!.......2007-01-26

The first of a serie of books that promise to be full of interesting data for all the fans of David Weber and his Honorverse. This book begins the description of the Royal Manticoran Navy and its ships, weapons, ranks, uniforms... A fantastic product.
I'm now waiting eagerly for the second book in the serie depicting the People's Navy which should be released really soon: "Jayne's Intelligence Review: The People's Republic Navy".

And for french fans...
Le premier ouvrage d'une série de livres de référence abordant l'univers de Honor Harrington créé par David Weber. Cette ouvrage qui aborde la Marine Royale Manticorienne en passant en revue les uniformes, les grades, les différentes armes et équipements, ainsi bien sûr que les vaisseaux de guerre, sera un ajout très utile à la bibliothèque des accrocs à l'Honorverse. D'autres ouvrages suivront comme celui qui devrait être disponible sous peu sur la Marine de la République Populaire de Havre.

Excellent Book!.......2007-01-05

This is a must have for all those fans of David Weber's Honerverse.
The first in a series of books covering the political entities in the honorverse. It gives background info into the Manty navy and marines. The layout of the book is excellent. Every right handed page is in colour, which is treat to behold and adds character to the book.

A very excellent book and I can't wait for the rest in the series.

Excellent Reference Book.......2006-12-22

The Jayne's Intelligence Review series from Ad Astra Games promises to be one of the most exciting products to come down the pike from a company already well-known for its realistic and exactingly researched game materials. The first volume, The Royal Manticoran Navy, is a resource guide for the delight of any Honorverse fan. With David Weber's stamp of approval, this slim volume tells you all about the Star Kingdom of Manticore from the Honor Harrington series of novels and short story collections. Between its covers you will find complete data on all of the starships of the RMN as well as uniforms, ranks, organization, weapons, skinsuits, powered battle armor, tactics, and astrography.

This series is intended to give useable background information for wargamers and roleplayers alike, but it is also an excellent resource guide for anyone who has read of the adventures of Honor Harrington in David Weber's series of Napoleonic space opera.

I definitely award this book five stars and I am certainly looking forward to the companion volume on the Peoples Navy of Haven (which should be out in a couple of months).

Average customer rating:

Path of the Fury was Great, This is a Drag
Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman...Betrayed!!!
A Mistake
Alicia IS a girl
In Fury Born by David Weber

In Fury Born
David Weber
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416520546

Book Description

Imperial Intelligence couldn't find them, the Imperial Fleet couldn't catch them, and local defenses couldn't stop them. It seemed the planet-wrecking pirates were invincible. But they made a big mistake when they raided ex-commando leader Alicia DeVries' quiet home work, tortured and murdered her family, and then left her for dead. Alicia decided to turn "pirate" herself, and stole a cutting-edge AI ship from the Empire to start her vendetta. Her fellow veterans think she's gone crazy, the Imperial Fleet has shoot-on-sight orders. And of course the pirates want her dead, too. But Alicia DeVries has two allies nobody knows about, allies as implacable as she is: a self-aware computer, and a creature from the mists of Old Earth's most ancient legends. And this trio of furies won't rest until vengeance is served.

In Fury Born is a greatly expanded new version of David Weber's popular novel Path of the Fury, which has gone through six large printings in its original mass market edition. David Weber has added considerable new material, revealing the earlier life of Alicia DeVries before she embarked on her mission of vengeance, and illuminating the universe of the original story. The result is a novel with almost twice the wordage of the original, and a must-buy for all David Weber fans.

Customer Reviews:

Path of the Fury was Great, This is a Drag.......2007-04-24

All of Weber's original stuff: The Mutineer's Moon trilogy, the Honor Harrington Series, the Apocalypse Troll, work with Steve White, work with Ringo, and the Path of the Fury were simply outstanding. Weber was, I repeat was, the very best sci-fi author left. But Path of the Fury was out of print, and the original paperbacks were even in demand. Rather than just give us loyal readers the old book in a re-issue, the author sucked us in to an "expanded" Alicia DeVries' Path of the Fury. The old part of the book is still excellent, the new part could have been written by a freshman high school student. Why have you forsaken us David Weber? You did the same thing with Book One of yet another series "Hell's Gate". That was pure drivel; who cares what color socks everyone had on? We, your loyal fans, want you to write as well as you used to, back when you cared. Please quit this venality and write your best again. Don't you have enough money?
Sincerely,
Seth Aragorn

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman...Betrayed!!!.......2007-03-07

A'.com recommended this book to me--a sci-fi addict--so after reading the synopsis and a few of the reviews I decided to give it a go. WOW!!!...now I'm a David Webber fan of the Inner Order after this book, and have bought at least three (3) others since my Webber initiation. Extremely well written, this book--set in the far future of Earth and settled Earth-like planets--develops it's characters gradually but to the full, deals with philosophical issues necessary to the story line, and "Alley" (Alicia) the heroine grows from adolescense to womanhood in the Elite Space Corps in equally gradual confrontations with "The Enemy" suffering defeats as well as stunning successes as she marshalls HER Fury (pay CLOSE ATTENTION to THAT WORD as you read this book) as she learns the enemy is not just without but treacherously WITHIN her Military Establishment as well. She exacts her revenge with ecstacy AND agony in league with her "personal" Fury, becomes more and more facile with her bionic enhancement (internal--not external), uses her bionic "links" to become fast friends with a self-aware artificial computer intelligence on the "AI" spaceship prototype she commondeers and not only triumphs over the enemy, but over her revengeful self as well in a surprising plot twist at the very climax of the action at the book's close. David Webber gets it ALL together in this book, telling a masterful tale in which the reader participates both objectively and subjectively. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

A Mistake.......2007-02-21

Disclaimer - David is my younger brother.

This isn't as bad as it could have been - if i'd never read the original, shorter - superior - "Path of the Fury", i would almost certaonly give this five stars.

But, as it is...

It's way too long.

Dave twists the storyline in the new, earlier parts of the book to make it fit the backstory he originally sketched in the shorter version, and i'm pretty sure it's inconsistent in places - even as rewritten here. (Some of the references to Alicia and Tanis's days in the Cadre don't seem to me to fit together between the newer and older parts, for instance.)

He uses some pretty heavy-handed retcons to insert stuff from the new material in the existing material (his handling of Alicia's grandfather is one such, in my opinion).

Basically, most of this project (the expansion) is an answer to a question that nobody really asked, not that needed to be answered.

Read the shorter version first - i'll bet you can find it cheap right here on Amazon - then wait a week or so and read this version.

(He even changed the spelling of one of the characters' name. If it was good enough a spelling for Thorne Smith, by golly...)

Alicia IS a girl.......2007-02-12

I just re-read this for the third time (I really do like Weber stories), and I have to disagree with some other reviewers who feel that Alicia could just as well have been a bloke.

What makes this story arc fascinating is the rather subtle intertwining of two quite distinct themes. The first has been mentioned by others, which is personal vengeance versus societal justice - deep enough in its own right. The second is the nature of Fury. A concept mostly lost to our somewhat secular society. I would remind people where the term comes from: Middle English furour, wrath, fury, from Old French fureur, from Latin furor, from furere, to rage. And the Furies? All Godesses. All female.

Fury is an emotion so deep as to be an elemental force. Consider a mother cat defending her kittens against a predator that she /knows/ is going to kill her. But still she fights; and sometimes prevails. Her rage is elemental, and brooks no opposition. It is a fire.

Alicia/Megaira/Tisiphone becomes the fire against which her opponents cannot prevail. She becomes that elemental force. In my opinion, that is quite unequivocally - perhaps not 'feminine' - but most definitely female.

I want to see more of the Fury.

In Fury Born by David Weber.......2007-02-11

Very Good. Weber's past combat experience shows. Have read this book several times.
The publisher put out a tradeback with the 1st story (Birth of the Fury)attached to this story. Both were very good. Get both if you want a good read.

Average customer rating:

A Bolo doesn't just fade away
Frank C. Dayton
One of the Best Bolo Novels
Old Soldiers - New Entertainment
Another Weber anti-war statement

Old Soldiers
David Weber
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416508988

Book Description

Captain Maneka Trevor was the sole human survivor of the Dinochrome Brigade's 39th Battalion . . . but she hadn't wanted to be one. The Bolo known as "Lazarus" -- Unit 28/G-179-LAZ -- was the 39th's sole surviving Bolo . . . but he hadn't been hers. The doctors and the Bolo techs have put them both back together again, yet there are wounds no doctor or technician can heal. And now Maneka and Lazarus must serve together once again, in a war whose stakes are literally the survival or extermination of the human race. They are all that stand between a desperate, secret colony of humanity and destruction: a Bolo commander torn by survivor's guilt and a Bolo whose very existence reminds her of all she has lost. The odds against them are heavy, the stakes are huge, and surrender is not an option. The Dinochrome Brigade is used to that, but can Maneka and Lazarus survive their own shared past to defend the present?

Customer Reviews:

A Bolo doesn't just fade away.......2007-02-24

The best part about "Old Soldiers" (the second Bolo-novel written by Weber, in the universe created by Keith Laumer) is that in this 372-page paperback novel, Weber doesn't have the space to "bloat" his story like he has done in other recent works. Instead, it forces him to focus on all-out action - something he excels at writing! The story clips along at a furious pace, dragging the reader with it like he/she's being hooked behind a Bolo travelling with the pedal-to-the-metal.
Complex tactical strategies, as viewed in detail from both sides, will have you scratching your head as you try to figure out how our heroes will be able to beat the vastly superior 'Dog Boys' when the remnants of the Concordat and the Melchonian empire finally start butting heads with all guns blazing.
Minor drawback is, that for the better part of this novel most of the characters are no more than standard cardboard-cut out people that don't really come alive, except for headliners Maneka Trevor and Unit 28/G-179-LAZ, a.k.a. "Lazarus". It's only when battle is fully joined that characters (especially the bad guys!) really start to "breathe".
I am not going to spoil it by telling what happens, but the ending is somewhat surprising (not standard "Hollywood"-fare so to speak), although it is surprisingly suitable to the overall theme of this novel. So, for everyone who enjoys an action-filled, roalercoaster-ride of a read, buy this novel!

Frank C. Dayton.......2007-01-03

I have a standing order for anything David Weber writes. I am amazed at the number of books he has put out. Not a klinker in the lot. The only problem I have found: I have to plan when I start reading one of his. I will probably not get any sleep until I am done. They will never be long enough.

One of the Best Bolo Novels.......2006-11-02

I have read all of the available Bolo Novels and this is by far one of the best. Weber really caught the tone and atmosphere of the last days of the great war between Humanity and Melconians. He brings out the desperation and fatalism of both sides in the last stages of Operation Ragnarok.

I hope that Weber does more novels in the Universe. The only other author that really bring the Bolos to life is William H. Keith, who has written the most full length novels in this series.

If you are a fan of the Bolo Novels and Short stories or if you are a new reader to the series, you will not be disappointed.

Old Soldiers - New Entertainment.......2006-07-27

Novel is based on the Bolo SuperTank theme with some new twists and is very much worth the read. Readers of David Weber's "Path of the Fury" will recognize some things which were relatively new to his stories in that book.
The hero of this novel is the supertank and the heroine is the tank commander.
By the time the fighting (which is very well done) is over the two have "A LOT in common" to say the least. To tell much more would give away too much of the story, but I highly recommend it to Weber SF readers and to anyone who likes Military SciFi.

Another Weber anti-war statement.......2006-04-27

The Concordiat and the Melconian Empire have long passed the point of military victory or defeat and have locked themselves into a battle of genocide. Only one civilization will survive--peering out from the ashes of what was once a galaxy-wide federation. But although humans have stretched themselves thin, the increasing certainty that humans will lose this long battle makes them look for some alternative--and the idea of planting new colonies far from either the Concordiat or the Empire comes up--operation Seed Corn.

A pair of obsolete Bolos, a small fleet, and the transport ships of a new colony set off for a new world--somewhere in space. But Melcornia has calculated that the humans will try such a ploy and an Empire fleet discovers the colony task force--and attempts to destroy it. Destroying a Bolo, though, is harder than it looks--and a Bolo looks hard. The Bolo is a monster on land, but even in space, its weapons are as powerful as anything mounted on a cruiser.

Their warships destroyed, a Melcornian troopship tracks the colony transports to their new world and attacks. Their plan should have worked--but once again, it's impossible to overestimate the power of a Bolo.

Author David Weber approaches Bolo warfare with the same mathmatical precision he uses in his Honor Harrington series. Throw weights, percentage of projectiles that self-destruct, damage from electro-magnetic impulse, and the rest are all calculated and displayed for the reader's benefit. Also as with the Honor Harrington series, a clever female soldier (Captain Maneka Trevor in this case) is able to outthink and outplan her enemies to a hopeless degree (although was it really necessary--she had a Bolo)?

Weber makes OLD SOLDIERS work by making the Melcornians the true protagonists. Like Lucifer in Paradise Lost, the Melcornians know that they have no chance of victory. The Bolo will simply grind them into nothingness. Still, they are resigned to doing their best, to doing what they can in hopes that some miracle may spare them--when their entire fleet, and indeed their entire race, was destroyed by the Bolos.

On its face, OLD SOLDIERS is another paen to mass murder--certainly the apparent protagonists never really think about the deaths they're inflicting. But beneath the surface, Weber has created a strong anti-war statement. The Melcornians and humans are essentially indistinguishable--both facing destruction at the hands of an enemy they can't understand. Both pursue honor, duty, and believe that they are waging an essentially defensive war. By the end, only a truly disturbed reader will want to hear about another mass of death.

Average customer rating:

The Wars of Terra, Continued
Two More Books under One Cover
You have read them before...
4 1/2 stars well written space thrillers

The Stars at War II (Starfire)
David Weber , and Steve White
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743499123

Book Description

The war wasn't going well. The alien Arachnids were an enemy whose like no civilized race had ever confronted. Like some carnivorous cancer, the "Bugs" had overrun planet after planet . . . and they regarded any competing sentient species as only one more protein source. Defeat was not an option. . . . The Grand Alliance of Humans, Orions, Ophiuchi, and Gorm, united in desperate self-defense, have been driven to the wall. Billions of their civilians have been slaughtered. Their most powerful offensive operation has ended in shattering defeat and the deaths of their most experienced military commanders. Whatever they do, the Bugs just keep coming. But the warriors of the Grand Alliance know what stands behind them and they will surrender no more civilians to the oncoming juggernaut. They will die first-and they will also reactivate General Directive 18, however horrible it may be. Because when the only possible outcomes are victory or racial extermination, only one option is acceptable. The Shiva Option.And peace isn't always wonderful Once the enemy is defeated, the central governments of the Inner Worlds were anything but willing to relinguish their wartime powers. To insure that their grip on the reins of power remained firm, the bureaucrats are allowing the non-human beings of the Khanate in, while keeping the Fringe Worlds out, smugly confident that this will keep the colonial upstarts in their place. The Fringers have only one answer to that: Insurrection.</p>

Customer Reviews:

The Wars of Terra, Continued.......2006-10-04

The Stars at War II (2005) is an omnibus edition of the Starfire series, including The Shiva Option and Insurrection. The Shiva Option is the third novel in internal chronological sequence within the series and Insurrection is the fourth novel in internal sequence following The Shiva Option. This is the first hardback publication of Insurrection.

The Shiva Option (2002) is a continuation of the events described within In Death Ground. This duology describes a war similar in many ways to the Pacific theater of World War II. The enemy has the worst aspects of the Japanese military, but exaggerated to the ultimate degree. IDG has the desperate battles prior to Midway and the Coral Sea and TSO has the grinding battles after that, successively retaking island after island until finally Okinawa falls.

The Divine Wind is prominent in this book, but the amphibious assaults and ground combat of that war are mostly eliminated by the Shiva Option. Considering that the defensive phase of war in the Pacific took only a few months, yet the offensive phase took four and half years, it is obvious why this book is so long. If the enemy can be stopped, it most often must be done quickly or not at all; defeating the enemy, however, is long and hard.

The prologue occurs shortly after the failure of Operation Pesthouse. Fleeing the Bugs, Survey Fleet 19 encounters a new set of sentient beings, the Star Union of Crucis, who have already had violent contact with the Bugs. This new group joins with SF19 to destroy the pursuing Bug fleet and then both withdraw to the Star Union.

Meanwhile, back at Alpha Centauri, the Joint Chiefs of the Grand Fleet, and their staffs, meet to discuss strategy now that the Bugs have ended their current offensives. Naval Intelligence reports that a new class of warships, designated Monitors and even larger than superdreadnoughts, has been deployed by the Bugs. They also state that analysis of the Bug artifacts has shown five distinctly different construction techniques, probably indicating five separate manufacturing centers, designated as Home Hives. Moreover, the initial Bug contact was probably with Home Hive Five.

The remainder of the novel is a series of strategic offensives against the Home Hives. Like its prequel, this volume is full of spatial warfare. It also includes several nuclear bombardments of enemy planets -- the Shiva Option -- and one planetary assault with subsequent ground combat.

The Arachnid civilization in Starfire owes a lot to the Bugs in Heinlein's Starship Troopers, but the approach in this series is entirely different and much wider in scope. These novels concentrate primarily on naval combat and equipment; the only use of armored combat suits is by the Telikans in the above mentioned planetary assault.

Insurrection (1990) begins several generations after the Fourth Interstellar War against the Bugs. The Legislative Assembly of the Terran Federation has long been dominated by the Corporate Worlds at the expense of the Fringe Worlds. Now the Corporate Worlds have devised a plan to reapportion the Assembly by merging with the Orion Khanate, thereby reducing the Fringe World power base.

They are frustrated at the last moment by bad publicity generated when Oskar Dieter, a Corporate World leader, personally insults Fionna MacTaggart, leader of the Fringe Worlders. However, the leader of the Corporate World delegation, Simon Taliaferro, plots to assassinate Fionna in order to throw the Fringe Worlders into a fury so that they will resign from the Assembly. His plot works as planned, but the consequences are more that he reckoned with.

Terran Federation Navy Task Force 17 moves against Beaufort, Fionna's home planet, as a show of force, but it moves too slowly and the insurrection has started before it arrives. Admiral Forsythe is advised to go slowly and negotiate with the rebels, but refuses and plans to fire on opposed ships if necessary. This triggers a mutiny, with the Fringe Worlders taking or destroying all TF17 ships.

As the word is spread, other ships mutiny and flee to the Fringe Worlds. Tenth Cruiser Squadron is too far within the Federation to flee, so takes the desperate gamble of raiding Galloway's World to destroy the largest Federation shipyards. Overall, the Federation loses approximately half of Battle Fleet, about 80 percent of the Frontier Fleet, and most of their shipbuilding capability for at least 6 months. This bad news forces the fall of the current government and brings Oskar Dieter to power as prime minister.

This story is based on the political and economic situation between the British Empire and its American colonies prior to the Revolution. As with that situation, the Fringe Worlds are being economically exploited by the Federation mercantile class with the assistance of the Legislative Assembly. While Simon Taliaferro is not a king, he is just as mad as King George and just as dangerous to his own long-term interests. The ensuing military actions in this story are naval rather than military, but otherwise the results are much the same. Since the Khanate basically remains neutral, this story is greatly simplified compared to the Revolution by the lack of other major powers.

Von Clausewitz's On War is quoted several times in this book. The story reminds me of another axiom: "War is an extension of politics by other means". Politicians should be careful what they ask for; they may get it . . . and choke on it.

This book is recommended for all Weber & White fans and anyone who enjoys tales of realpolitik, naval combat, and politician bashing -- i.e., Heinlein fans -- and inside jokes (think Operation Bughouse).

-Arthur W. Jordin

Two More Books under One Cover.......2005-10-09

Like THE STARS AT WAR, this is not really a new book. It is a collection of two previously published works although there are reputedly about 20,000 new words included. If you already own either of the books, there is little reason to buy this volume. Otherwise, it is a good buy.

The two included books are THE SHIVA OPTION and INSURECTION. Reviews of each appear below.

THE SHIVA OPTION
THE SHIVA OPTION conludes the story begun in IN DEATH GROUND. The story and the options are just as horrific and the consequences are just as bad.

Humanity and its allies face a war to the end with a race that will either eat every race it comes across or die trying. They cannot be negotiated with. They can either be killed or allowed to win. Killing them is not easy because they don't care about their own casualties. They have only a hunger and nothing can assuage it.

The space battles are well though out as is the strategy presented. They should appeal to fans of space battle. Like the predecessor, however, the real story concerns the hard choices of the leaders.

This is not a fun book to read but it is interesting and worthwhile. It also leaves open the possibility that more bugs will appear in later volumes.

INSURECTION
Insurrection takes place in the same universe as IN DEATH GROUND and THE SHIVA OPTION about a generation after the events of the latter. Humanity has been at peace but that doesn't stop nasty politicians from trying to do nasty things to people. Finally, a time comes when the people will take it no more and the result is civil war.

This book makes clear that there are honorable people on both sides of the conflict but the horrors of war are such that innocents are bound to suffer. Like the other books of this series, the action sequences are well though out and well written but the main lessons come from choices faced by the protagonists. Weber and White are good at writing about space battle. They are even better at writing about political issues and human choices.

You have read them before..........2005-08-30

Just remember that both sections in this big volume have been published previously, and if you like Weber and White - like I do - you will probably have them on your shelf.
Obviously, if you haven't read the "Shiva Option" or "Insurrection" this is a "must get" book, since both stories handle interstellar war with detail and finesse.

4 1/2 stars well written space thrillers.......2005-06-29

"Shiva Option". The enemy's first and only directive is that all other species, sentient or not, is food. Humanity and its three ally races that form the Grand Alliance are under siege, losing the war to the Bugs. Efforts to communicate and forge a truce leading to peace have failed as the Bugs refuse to communicate or perhaps are unable to communicate with beings they consider beneath them on their food chain. Death apparently awaits humanity.

"Insurrection". Several generations have passed since the Fourth Interstellar War against the Bugs (see The Shiva Option). The central Corporate Worlds of the Terran Federation refuse to relinquish their war powers though the hostilities are over. They control everything while the Fringe Worlds pay the price. However that is not enough for the avaricious leaders of the Corporate Worlds as they want more power. To expedite matters by causing chaos in the Fringe Worlds, a Corporate World agent assassinates Fringe Worlds leader Fionna MacTaggart. Rebellion explodes on Fionna's home planet. The Terran Federation Navy arrives to put down the revolt by force but instead the crews mutiny refusing to kill fellow citizens; soon rebellion spreads across the Federation leaving the Federation reeling near death.

These are two reprints of early 1990s space operas combined into one book. "The Shiva Option" remains one of the most exciting thought provoking thrillers of the past two decades. "Insurrection" is also a well written action thriller as a domino effect leads the Terran Federation on the brink of a supernova, but does not contain the cerebral punch of "The Shiva Option" because much of the cast are throwaways.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Can't read it....
Please end it!
At All Costs
Great transaction
Great Space Battles

At All Costs (The Honor Harrington)
David Weber
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416509119
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Book Description

What price victory? The war with the Republic of Haven has resumed . . . disastrously for the Star Kingdom of Manticore. Admiral Lady Dame Honor Harrington, Steadholder and Duchess Harrington, the single victorious Allied commander of the opening phase of the new war, has been recalled from the Sidemore System to command Eighth Fleet. Everyone knows Eighth Fleet is the Alliance's primary offensive command, which makes it the natural assignment for the woman the media calls "the Salamander." But what most of the public DOESN'T know is that not only are the Star Kingdom and its Allies badly outnumbered by the Republic's new fleet, but that the odds are going to get steadily worse. Eighth Fleet's job is to somehow prevent those odds from crushing the Alliance before the Star Kingdom can regain its strategic balance. It's a job which won't be done cheaply. Honor Harrington must meet her formidable responsibilities with inferior forces even as she copes with tumultuous changes in her personal and public life. The alternative to victory is total defeat, yet this time the COST of victory will be agonizingly high. </p>

Customer Reviews:

Can't read it...........2007-04-10

Bought it, and can't force myself to read it. I've totally lost track of the plot amongst all the various spin offs, authors, and assorted bumphf cashing in on the series. Stick a fork in Honor, she's done...

Please end it!.......2007-04-02

I didn't have especailly high hopes for this book. I think there has been a gradual decline in the quality of HH books over the years, and this one brings it to a new low. Basically, it's waaaaaay too long. At 850 pages, it's a monster read, and a slow one. That's not always a bad thing - sometimes if you like the characters it's nice to just hang out with your friends for page after page. But not here. Why is it necessary to describe in detail the exact movements of a treecat using sign language? For several paragraphs? More than once? Why are we given pages of liturgy for religious services? I think I'd be in a very small minority when I confess that I quite like the 1662 Prayer Book, though I can't quite work out why it would be revived in the distant future when it's been out of use here for decades! Maybe it was easy to cut and paste, and got the word count up.

And then there's the space combat - a strength of the series, especially the first three or four. But there's the rub - there are only so many ways you can describe a spaceship blowing up. By the 11th book in the series I can't be the only person out there whose eyes are beginning to glaze over when we get to the battle sequences.

But the big problem - spoiler alert! - is the way in which Weber solves the love triangle we left the last book with. Honor loves Hamish. Emily loves Hamish. Hamish loves Honor and Emily. What to do? It turns out that there's an easy solution. After about 400 pages of agonising (not to mention most of the previous book) it seems that Honor can marry them both. A bit outre? Seemingly not - apparently such arrangements fall well within the accepted norms of Manticoran law and custom. (Although we've never had a whiff of this before.) But what really gets me is that the reason it didn't happen about halfway through the last book is that (get this), gosh, no-one thought of it. It seems that no-one ever told Mr Weber that if you shoot someone with a gun in Act V, the gun better have been hanging on the wall in Act I.

All-in-all, I can only say, please Mr Weber. It is time to bring the series to an end. Please do it soon.

At All Costs.......2007-03-22

Weber is amazing!! As many books as there are in this series, and he continues to find new twists to put into the story of our favorite heroes.
The plot moves quickly both on the military, political and home fronts. New ideas presented in all three fronts.

Great transaction.......2007-03-20

Arrived in stated condition and on time. Would do business with again. Thanks.

Great Space Battles.......2007-03-15

I have to agree with the other reviewer. This is a great book. Fans of the series should love the amount of action. Personally, I always like it when the action is heavy in a book - and the space battles, and the discussion about their implications - in this book are great! Truthfully, Weber does such an incredible job examining each side in the latest installment of the Havenite/Manticore War that I found myself rooting for the Peeps in the major battle. What more can I say - whole systems devastated and entire fleets, hundreds of capital ships, blown away makes for a fast-paced, entertaining read.

Average customer rating:

Weber does it again
Nothing happening here
Honorverse: The Saga continues
too much going on
A worthwhile read

War of Honor
David Weber
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0743507010

Amazon.com

David Weber's Honor Harrington series continues in this 10th novel, which picks up the action several years after the previous volume, Ashes of Victory. With a ceasefire in place with the Peeps, the new government of the Star Kingdom ignores the wishes of Queen Elizabeth and then threatens the very fabric of the Manticore Alliance against the People's Republic of Haven. We find Honor in the role of a senior political advisor, performing with her usual flair and élan.

With War of Honor coming in at over 800 pages, Weber has room to expand subplots and secondary characters and bring to the reader a feeling of depth and completeness seldom seen in science fiction novels. Favorite characters from past stories return, many of them growing in stature from unimportant secondary characters to major players in the "Honorverse." Weber serves up trouble in Silesia, the excitement of a new wormhole junction, scheming in Manticorian politics, strange events deep in Peep territory, and plenty of exploding spaceships--and, as publisher Jim Baen says, "We like exploding spaceships." --Ron Peterson

Book Description

<B><CENTER>NO ONE WANTED ANOTHER WAR</CENTER></B>

Thomas Theisman didn't. After risking his life and a fresh round of civil war to overthrow the Committee of Public Safety's reign of terror and restore the Republic of Haven's ancient Constitution, an interstellar war was the last thing he wanted.

Baron High Ridge didn't. The Prime Minister of Manticore was perfectly happy with the war he had. No one was shooting anyone else at the moment, and as long as he could spin out negotiations on the formal treaty of peace, his government could continue to milk all those "hostilities only" tax measures for their own partisan projects.

His Imperial Majesty Gustav didn't. Now that the fighting between the Star Kingdom and the Havenites had ended, the Andermani Emperor had his own plans for Silesia, and he was confident he could achieve them without a war of his own.

Protector Benjamin didn't. His people had made too deep a commitment to the Manticoran Alliance, in blood as well as treasure, for him to want to risk seeing it all thrown away.

And Honor Harrington certainly didn't. The "Salamander" had seen the inside of too many furnaces already, knew too much about how much war cost.

Unfortunately, what they wanted didn't matter....

Customer Reviews:

Weber does it again.......2007-05-07

This book and others in the series are just good reading. Very good SF but with a touch of the real world. Thanks for the mix.

Nothing happening here.......2007-02-06

I've followed this series from the beginning and this book is the one I least like. Nothing happens, with even the ending being disappointing - it's basically just a quick summary rather than the usual exciting finale. In 800 pages, the book is all didactic political talk and explanation. And those "bad guys" who get their due justice receive it all offscreen. It was such a disappointment, I wouldn't recommend the cliffsnotes for this book- they'd be boring too. And that's too bad, as the series held up well for 8 books.

Honorverse: The Saga continues.......2007-01-05

Another fine addition to the World of Honor Harrington. Although the political intrique can bog down the story line, this book is a fine piece of work by David Weber. A pleasant surprise was the CD in the back of the book with loads and loads of information and if I counted correctly almost 80 books. The Baen Library method of dissemanation for these books and many other authors' books has no equal of shared prose. I also liked the ability to share these with my cousin. We have been sharing books for more than 50 years, and although not of the same sex, we have always enjoyed the same types of books. She introduced me to Honor Harrington several years ago, and we have rushed each time there is a new book to see who could read it first.

too much going on.......2005-10-25

While I throughly enjoy the Honorverse, this book suffers greatly from being overly busy. Weber has too many seperate plot threads going at the same time, and each of them suffers from lack of attention. Elemination fo some of the secondary plots and expanding the main plots more fully would have made the book a lot more readable. Also, his last several books have suffered an ongoing encroachment of politics, to the detriment of the space opera portion of his stories. Perhaps he should revisit the earlier Honor Harrington books and attempt to recapture that missing spark.

A worthwhile read.......2005-10-14

I have only recently begun reading David Weber's Honor Harrington series, and War of Honor was my introduction to the Honorverse. What I have discovered is an outstanding space opera series with a strong, resilient, likeable female lead character. I have enjoyed this book immensely, and am now going back and reading the earlier books on the HH series. My favorite so far is the first book, On Basilisk Station. You can see my review for that novel, but for now, let's look at War of Honor. Manticoran Prime Minister Baron High Ridge and his allies seek to destroy their two chief political adversaries, Hamisch Alexander, the Earl of Whitehaven and her Grace, Duchess/Steadholder and Admiral of the Royal Manticoran Navy, Honor Harrington by circulating rumors of infidelity between the two. The peace process between the Republic of Haven and the Star Kingdom of Manticore hits a snag. And the Andermani Emperor Gustav decides to make his imperial presence felt on Silesia. As lengthy as this book is (over 860 pages), it sure doens't seem long. The hardcover and audiobook editions of WoH each include a CD-Rom with all ten of the Honor Harrington novels, plus several of the short story anthologies as well a guide to the enire "Honorverse." War of Honor is a very worthwhile read, and I am looking ever forward to reading At All Costs, the next chronicle in the HH series.

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