Honorverse Today

At the time of recording, this is the latest (and pretty recent) addition to the collection of anthologies within the Honorverse. David Weber and his co-authors have produced a work in this book that is powerful. Even though one of your hosts was under the weather when we recorded (as you’ll hear), we enjoyed what we read. We can’t wait to hear what you, our traveling companions thought as well.“ Challenges” is the eighth volume in the Worlds of Honor anthologies, published in November 2025. For those of you who aren’t caught up (at this point) with this latest of books, spoilers abound if you chose to listen before reading. You’ve been warned! This latest installment brings us another five short stories from a total of six authors: Marisa Wolf, Jane Lindskold, Jacob Holo, Thomas Pope, David Allen Butler, and of course, David Weber. As with the previous anthology, there are a few new faces mixed in with some true favorites!The title comes from where this collection takes us: back to the earlier years of the Star Kingdom, to include the plague years, and therefore to some of the challenges that the Star Kingdom face.An important note: David Weber uses the stories in this book to help fix some continuity issues that emerged over the many novels that have brought us the amazing Honorverse. There’s a note at the beginning of the book that explains this, so please don’t skip over it—what’s contained in this note is important.As originally published by Baen, “Challenges” arrived as a 272-page hardcover in November 2025.The first story in the book is One Controllable Step, by Marisa Wolf.The constantly mutating virus that has hit Manticore hard has just been declared a plague and has jumped from Manticore to Sphynx. A team of scientists have arrived from Beowulf to do what they can to help turn things around before the young Star Kingdom fades into history with the possible deaths of all. We’ve heard about this plague many times over the years; this story gives us some of the details about the efforts to save lives and to save the Kingdom.Your hosts gave this story three ‘thumbs-up”.====The second story, Deadly Delusions was written by Jane Lindskold. In this very cool story, we see some of the early work being done by the company BioNeering, specifically work being done by Dr. Mariel Ubel. The featured point of view for the story are retired Sheriff’s Deputy Arvin Erhart and a treecat named True Stalker, but there are a few other important character perspectives, too. All this is happening around the time young Stephanie Harrington is about 11 years old—around the age we first meet her and she bonds with her treecat.We gave this story three “thumbs-up”, as well.====The Great Condiment Caper was the third story, written by Jacob Holo, with Thomas Pope. While we’re back in the early years of the Star Kingdom, we get the chance to check in on the young Ensign Edward “Eddie” Saganami. A freshly minted junior officer, he’s serving onboard Manticore’s first completely home built destroyer, the Ad Astra as an engineering officer. When a palate of precious cargo goes missing, young Ensign Saganami is given the responsibility to solve the crime. The story is light-hearted and fun, although contained within are some wonderful lessons about officership, and some of the little things that actually impact a crew’s morale in addition to the direct impact of a ship’s commander, XO and the other senior leaders onboard. In this case, the little thing at the center of the story: Dempsy’s Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce. For real!Your hosts scored this one with another unanimous three “thumbs-up” as well!====XO was the fourth story in the anthology, written by Daniel Allen Butler.We find ourselves onboard the HMS Ulysses as a medical incident removes the ship’s captain from command, and the XO, Lieutenant Commander Ellen D’Orville finds herself in command while they take the captain to the nearest medical facility. Upon arrival, LCDR D’Orville learns she will remain in command, and take the ship and crew on its next mission to conduct an intelligence mission as a part of Operation Long Winter. They are to remain undetected as they operate in another star nation’s space. Enter Manpower and slavers operating in the same volume of space. At the heart of the problem is the matter of dealing with genetic slavers. Obligated to act against these slaver pirates, but also to remain silent, LCDR faces a very real moral dilemma as she has to decide to break silence (and violate her orders) to address the slave ship or remain silent and neglect the competing moral obligation to act against the slavers. Both are required by Manticoran law. No matter what she does, she’ll have done the right AND the wrong thing, both of which will always come with consequences.No specific dates are given in the story, but we know that these events also happen during Operation Long Winter, presumably putting us in the same timeframe that Ensign Saganami was onboard the

It wasn’t very long ago we discussed A New Clan and in what seems like no time at all, here we are talking about this newest addition to the Star Kingdom series: Friends Indeed. As we’ve become accustomed when we’re enjoying adventures in this story arc, this novel was written by David Weber and Jane Lindskold.The adventures of young Stephanie Harrington continue as she strives to ensure proper recognition of what the treecats are: not just sentient, but a sapient species. Steph’s personal life continues to grow as well, as her relationship with and love for Karl finally becomes apparent. No surprise to us as readers, but we see the point when Stephanie seems to realize (or embrace) that Karl is special in her life. The same is true for Karl, too.We also meet Duncan Harrington, a relative of Steph’s and a brilliant scientist who also has an interest in the treecats. While Stephanie and Duncan each find joy in each other’s fondness for the ‘cats, what comes as a surprise is when we learn Duncan works for the Alignment. What we’re left hanging with are all the unanswered questions about Duncan’s true motives, which part of the Alignment he works for, and whether he’s associated with the benign or malign Alignment, where within the “onion” does he fall. We trust we’ll know more about this in the future.We rated Friends Indeed with a 4.5, a 4.5 and a 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.67.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 to us with a longer note. At the end of this show we truly enjoy when we can read your comments and questions. Please keep them coming!The next time we gather with you all for the Honorverse Today podcast, we’ll discuss the latest anthology “Challenges” by David Weber along with other select authors. This is the eighth anthology in the set. Friends, please note at the time we’re reading and discussing “Challenges”, it’s still a very new book. Consider this a spoiler warning if you haven’t read it yet. Along those lines, please read it soon and as always, invite 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 [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

Here we are at the end of the main series set of novels—sort of. You’ll certainly find this book listed that way by some fans, and that’s just fine. However you bin this book, it’s characterized as a stand-alone novel, but it does what we’ve seen others do previously in the Honorverse: it gives us new information and perspective on events we’ve already seen. It also sets the stage for what is referred to as the Expanded Honorverse. Your hosts have discussed this before to a limited extent, and in our interviews with him, Mr. Weber also gave us some detail on the way the Honorverse will move forward in the future. Toll of Honor seems to be a stage-setter or bridge from the Honorverse we know and love to what lies ahead.Featured in this novel are the events revolving around Honor’s duel with Pavel Young. As painful as the events were that ultimately brought the duel about, we get some more color here and it didn’t come across as simply filler material. Along these lines there’s some important and very touching storytelling about a key event or two tied to when Honor officially becomes a Steadholder on Grayson. We also learn a good bit about how the relationship between Horrace Harkness and Iris Babcock begins. This was a lot of fun and a wonderful way to balance the heaviness of Honor’s duel.Related to all this, there’s an author’s note at the end of the book that’s definitely worth the time to read, so please don’t hit the end of the last chapter and shut the book.Your hosts rated “Toll of Honor” with a trio of 5s (out of 5), resulting in an overall rating of 5.Next time we’re going to cover “Friends Indeed”, the fifth novel in the Star Kingdom series by David Weber and Jane Lindskold.For first-time readers, please grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again for our continuing voyage through the Honorverse!You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

We know we’ve been enjoying this Honorverse adventure for a while when we realize the book we’re discussing this time wasn’t published when we began the podcast.  David Weber keeps writing and we’re happy to have more content to read, enjoy, and discuss with you, our co-adventurers!  What Price Victory is the seventh book in the Worlds of Honor anthology and brings us five short stories written by six authors:  Timothy Zahn, Thomas Pope, Jane Lindskold, Jan Kotouč, Joelle Presby and David Weber.  We have some familiar faces and a few new folks, too.What Price Victory is 320 pages (hardcover), published in February 2023. The first story in the book is Traitor, by Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope.It takes place sometime around 1528 PD and focuses on events surrounding a significant challenge to Andermani Emperor Gustav.  What initially appears to be quiet and professional concern that Gustav may not be fit to lead the Empire, as the concerned parties assemble, it becomes clear that the real intent is to stage a coup.  Things get wild!Your hosts gave this story three ‘thumbs-up”. The second story, Deception of Gryphon was written by Jane Lindskoldt.  The last book we discussed was A New Clan which featured Stephanie Harrington and her friends.  This short story brings us back to Stephanie and Karl shortly after the events in A New Clan, but now these two heroes are on Gryphon with Stephanie’s parents.  While there, they find themselves involved in what initially looked like a suicide, but quickly questions surface about whether or not it may have been a murder.  As a credentialed law enforcement officer, Karl gets involved along with Probationary Ranger Harrington and the story unfolds.We gave this story three “thumbs-ups”, as well. The Silesian Command was the third story, written by Jan Kotouč.  Now we find ourselves early in the days of what is usually called the Second Manticoran-Havenite War, probably in 1919 or 1920 PD.  The Star Kingdom of Manticore is growing and we’re seeing some of the struggles of the war spilling over into Manticore’s efforts to manage new territory gained when the Silesian Confederacy was split between the Star Kingdom and the Andermani Empire.  There’s intrigue, nuclear weapons, a rogue People’s Republic of Haven State Security officer, and pirates!Your hosts scored this one with two “thumbs-up”, and a “neutral” vote. If Wishes Were Space Cutters, written by Joelle Presby, was our fourth story.Joelle takes us back to Grayson and a character named Noah Bedlam.  This young man dreams of bigger things in the future, then finds himself with a new job helping to build a space station.  He takes the job and leaves his mom (who he lives with) behind—hopefully the new work will pay him enough to improve both his and her standard of living.  High drama ensues when space debris hits the ship (a cutter) he’s stationed on, causing critical damage.  With the help of a new acquaintance, he works to stem the unfolding catastrophe and save many lives.  As a result, he’s recommended to attend pilot training.We struggled with this one, scoring it with a “neutral” vote and two “thumbs-down”. The fifth and final story is written by the man himself, Mr. David Weber, titled First Victory.The events in the story unfold across a significant period of time between March 1846 and December 1877 PD.  Most of the story is at the front end of this window culminating with Honor’s birth, then there’s a leap forward to when she’s 17.Lots of tension and love in this story.  Tension that is the relationship between Jennifer (Allison’s mom) and Allison (Honor’s mom) is broken when Allison decides to marry Alfred.  Even without the presence and support of Jennifer, the marriage of these two young doctors is a happy and prosperous one.  Years later, Honor is born, and what may be the heart of the story emerges—the family ends up coming together.  We won’t say how, but it’s pure storytelling gold.  Then the leap forward in time happens and we see Honor with an acceptance to the Academy at Saganami Island, preparing for what begins the adventure we all know and love so well.When the dust settled, this story received three “thumbs-up” from us.  Whatever else we thought about the other stories in this volume, it ended strong with a great story from David! Overall, we rated this whole seventh anthology volume with a 4.5, a 3.5 and a 4 (out of 5) for an overall rating of 4.The next time we get together, we’re going back in time to discuss the novel Toll of Honor, which returns us to the events that lead to the culmination of the feud between Honor Harrington and Pavel Young.  You’re not going to want to miss it!I know we say it every podcast, but it’s because it’s true:  we truly appreciate all of you who listen to our thoughts about these books.  More importantly, we appreciate

It seems too soon, but we’re already talking about the fourth book in the Star Kingdom series:  A New Clan, once again written by David Weber and Jane Lindskold.  If there was a sassy tag line taken from the summary of the book, it’s “Sex!  Drugs!  Rock and Roll!  And Treecats!”Published in June 2022, we’re hit with 420 pages full of fresh, new adventures in the Honorverse.   As we mentioned in the podcast, there’s now also a fifth book in this series.  We’ll certainly cover that when the time comes.While our treecat friends are a key part of the story, here we’re following Stephanie and friends as they find themselves involved in uncovering the details behind what may be an illegal drug ring.  Is this Forestry Service work?  Not necessarily, but this well-written story comfortably explains how Probationary Ranger Harrington along with colleagues and friends find themselves involved in determining if a new drug in what is the beginning of common use has ties to a number of accidents involving other youths.  Needless to say, things get messy and a little ugly, quickly.  These “kids” are growing up!After seeing the Rangers and Stephanie involved in significant wildfires previously, this is an interesting adventure as forestry work takes a side seat to more traditional law enforcement business in what is revealed to be a somewhat gray area.  Like the others in this series, A New Clan is written with a young adult audience in mind, but still a good read for fans of any age.  As always, we discuss our pros and cons with this novel from our perspective as Honorverse fans and hope you join right in with us.We rated A New Clan with a 4, another 4 and a 3.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 3.8.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 to us with a longer note.  At the end of this show we truly enjoy when we can read your comments and questions.  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 [email protected].  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

Suddenly we’re here to talk about the fourth novel in the Manticore Ascendant story arc:  A Call to Insurrection.As before, this novel is co-written with Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope and published by Baen in January 2022.  We’re back in the fight with Travis Long, his wife Lisa and on an adventure following a recent attack on the young Star Kingdom.  What rests behind the recent attack is the speculation that the small and insignificant Star Empire might be sitting on something extremely valuable in the context of trade and commerce.  With the potential for a significant increase in economic power, someone is trying to ensure that increase is theirs and not Manticore’s.  However, Queen Elizabeth I and her government aren’t completely ignorant of what might be behind the attacks.  If they’re right, there is a real threat to the Kingdom looming, and therefore a real need for a stronger and more capable navy.  Enter the well-timed diplomatic contact by the Andermani Empire, and quickly we find Travis, Lisa and our other friends on what could be a well-timed adventure.  Or possibly a disaster.  There’s drama, tension, a bunch of mercenaries, and definitely some combat! As always, your hosts share their thoughts about the book, and in this case the story arc we know as “Manticore Ascendant”.  We even refer back to things David Weber shared with us about what may lie ahead for this part of the Honorverse (could there be more?), and a few thoughts and hopes of our own as the overarching Honorverse adventure continues. Our ratings for A Call to Insurrection were a 4.5, 5 and 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.7 from your hosts.As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with other like-minded adventurers.  We always love your feedback and thoughts.  Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew! Next time we’re shifting back to the Star Kingdom arc and looking at the fourth book there:  A New Clan.  If you like seeing the development of the treecat-human partnership, the early years on Sphinx for humans, and the further adventures of Stephanie Harrington, don’t miss this one!  Grab your copy, invite a friend, and please join us again next time. You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at [email protected].  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

Here we are, finishing the Crown of Slaves series with the fourth book:  To End in Fire, once again co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint.Consistent with the title, this story arc ends with a lot of fire.  For the Babylon 5 fans who are also here with us, we can say there’s lot’s of BOOM.  It’s another hefty book, coming in at 704 pages if you read the print version, so there’s definitely room for a lot of fire (or boom), and a lot of action overall.  The focus of the story is tied to the continued dealing with the Mesan Alignment, with action taking place in several locations including Mesa and Earth.  Lots of threads from previous books are pulled together, and we get to watch the workings of the defeated Solarian League’s Constitutional Convention.  We also see the establishment of significant governmental reform on Mesa, with some pretty cool time and attention paid to several of our former Ballroom members, including Saburo X.We continue to see Honor in action as combat ops have ended (paused?) and follow-on operations occur.  Oh, and Honor’s mother Alison (one of our favorite characters) gives birth to twins.  For those who read it, you know this is only a summary and there’s SO much more going on as well.Your hosts rated “To End in Fire” with a 4, a 4 and a 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.17 from your hosts.We hope you never get tired of hearing it because we don’t get tired of saying it:  thank you for listening and especially to those of you who take the time to interact with us, like and follow us on social media, and share this podcast with others.Next, we’re back in the Manticore Ascendant series, looking at the fourth and final book:  A Call to Insurrection co-authored by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope.  As with the others in this series/arc, we’re making a final trip back to the early years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore.  As we wrap this series up, 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 [email protected].  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

What?!  A Third Awesome Interview with David Weber!Other than the timing, a third interview was probably not a surprise to any of you since we openly mentioned having Mr. David Weber join us again after the second interview, as well as the interview with Jane Lindskold and David.Most of the questions we asked were directly submitted by all of you, our friends who are with us on this journey through the Honorverse.  Several of them were summary / roll-up questions based on common themes that many of you have asked.We don’t think we discussed anything that would constitute true spoilers, but David was very open with us about several things related to the continuation of the Honorverse, including one already-named anthology (Challenges), the mention of another possible anthology, as well as future novels.Perhaps the most significant thing we talked about was when David gave additional details about something he mentioned in at least one of the previous interviews:  how the Honorverse will continue when the day comes to hand the reins (or not) to someone else.  We already knew he does intend to pass the torch to some extent.  In our discussion he mentioned more specifics related to his plans, to include a later implementation of the time jump he intended if Honor had died as originally planned.   Mr. Weber, once again we owe you Honorverse-sized thank you for the amazing amount of time you’ve given all of us.  You’ve also trusted us with all kinds of wonderful information about the amazing world you’ve built, and where it’s going.  You certainly could do what many other authors have done and just let us all wait and see, but you’re shining a wonderful light on the future of the Honorverse (and a few other projects)!  Again, thank you kind sir.On the next episode of Honorverse Today, we’ll resume our voyage as we discuss To End in Fire.As always, we have to thank each of you for listening, and especially those of you who have found the time to send us comments.  As you’ve seen, we really do share those with Mr. Weber.  We still have a list of questions and comments we haven’t been able to ask him yet, but if you all join in with us at our request, I suspect we can lure him back into the studio for another session.If you haven’t already done so, consider spreading the word to others you know are already Honor Harrington fans, and even to those who might enjoy the Honorverse!You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at [email protected].  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

It seems time has passed too quickly in terms of the podcast, but here we are already talking about Uncompromising Honor, the 14th novel in the main story arc.  For those watching where we are relative to what’s left, you know this is technically the last novel in the main series, but that’s only sort of true.  Depending on where you look, you’ll see a fifteenth novel called Toll of Honor.  Other places list it as a stand-alone novel, or even the first novel in another related story sequence called the Expanded Honorverse.  We’ll sort that out as we read it and as time passes, and also perhaps with some amplification from David Weber.  The big point is we still have quite a bit of content ahead of us, plus we understand there are even more books coming (!), so stay strapped in.Uncompromising Honor brings the two (or three, depending on perspective) major and enduring story arcs together, culminating with the Grand Alliance and the Solarian League staring at each other across the battlefield.  The story in this book is huge, has plenty of action and emotion, and several surprises.As those of you who have been with us from the start know, the story we’ve enjoyed isn’t quite what David Weber imagined early on.  Even so, as great authors do, he adjusted the plan and brought us a very satisfying (and significantly large) novel to discuss in this episode.  If you’ve read it and didn’t bother with the Afterward, please go back and read it.  It’s short and full of information directly from David himself.  There are nuggets in there that he touched on during his interviews with us, but this is more concise and focused primarily on the changes from his original plan that brought us what we’ve read up to this point.Your hosts rated Uncompromising Honor with a trifecta of 5s (out of 5), resulting in an overall rating of 5.We were able to cover (and I think catch up) with feedback we’ve received.  As always, thank you all for listening, but special thanks to those who take the time to further participate in the show through your comments and questions.Next time we’re going to cover To End in Fire, the fourth and final novel in the Crown of Slaves series.As always, please grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again for another voyage through the Honorverse!You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at [email protected].  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

It’s time for the third novel in the Manticore Ascendant story arc: A Call to Vengeance.Co-written with Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope and published by Baen in March 2018, this is another of David Weber’s lengthier novels, but with good reason. We’re watching a more mature Travis Long (and colleagues, including Lisa Donnelly) participate in operations of the maturing Royal Manticoran Navy. The Manticoran government continues to struggle with the roles, relationships and funding competition between the RMN and MPARS. In a subplot we see the establishment of the Special Intelligence Service (known quietly but openly as Delphi) and an associated struggle in terms of roles, responsibilities and authorities between the Office of Naval Intelligence and Delphi. As those pots simmer (or boil), Elisabeth works through a potentially significant political fight that manifests as a “Constitutional crisis”. This all sounds serious, right? It is, but there are definitely a few very funny events that occur within the pages within both plot lines.Our ratings for A Call to Vengeance were a 5, 5 and 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 5.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 back into the main story arc as we dive into Uncompromising Honor as things get very heated between Manticore and Mesa. 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 [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

This time, we dive right into the final book in the Saganami Island series:  Shadow of Victory.This chunky novel weighs in at 756 pages and hit the streets in November 2016.  The story covers a date range from February 1921 PD through October 1022 PD.  For those tracking dates, you’ll realize this is one of those times when David covers events we’ve already seen, but from a different perspective.  There’s also some new info in here, too.The major things that happen reflect the continuing exposure of, or for some, the revelation of, the Mesan Alignment.  These include the sneak attack on Manticore itself, destroying a significant segment of their economy and military infrastructure.  We also see Operation Janus, the Alignment’s effort to discredit Manticore by making false promises of military support to oppressed segments of other start nations if they decide to rebel.  Then there’s the horrific Operation Houdini.  These plans are diabolical, especially when taken together.  The false promises might embolden revolutions, causing the division and downfall of many when Manticore never shows up with the “promised” support.  It would also drain resources from the governments experiencing those revolutions.  Additionally, when Manticore appears to renege on promised support (that they never made), it paints them in a light that they can’t be trusted to keep their word internationally.  Finally, in the context of the hostilities between Manticore and the Solarian League (actually provoked by the Alignment!), Manticore looks like they’re acting consistent with the propaganda that paints them as improperly seeking to expand their empire by force, employing their military to engage the Solarians directly and indirectly.  There’s certainly a lot going on here.  We’ll warn you now:  your hosts didn’t particularly enjoy this book.  Tune in to find out why and let us know if you agree or not. We rated Shadow of Victory with a 2.5, a 2 and a 3 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 2.5.As always, thank you for listening.  Special thanks 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 time, we’re excited to discuss A Call to Vengeance, book three in the Manticore Ascendant story arc.  That’s right: we’re going to see what happens next with Travis Long, Lisa Donnelly and others as the young Royal Manticoran Navy continues to struggle against emerging mercenary threats to the Star Kingdom while the government struggles with how well to fund the Navy in light of possibly decreasing funds for the navy while increasing funds for the Manticoran Patrol and Rescue Service.  Yes, we’re about to enjoy some more great storytelling from the dynamic trio 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.

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 [email protected].  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 [email protected].  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 [email protected].  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 [email protected].  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.comOn 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 [email protected].  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 [email protected].  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 story in the set, this one written by David Weber.  Taking place in 1842 PD, we see the beginning of Honor Harrington’s immediate family as we get to enjoy learning about how her parents Alfred and Allison met and fell in love.  This is definitely a significant beginning!After arriving on Beowulf to begin his medical education, previously a Royal Manticoran Marine Corps NCO, Alfred Harrington received a commission, requested a transfer to the RMN, and is now pursuing a new career as a physician.  Upon arrival, Lieutenant Alfred Harrington fights a few battles of perception as he doesn’t quite fit what many believe is the necessary and appropriately prestigious background for medical students attending the school.  He weathers the attitudes without issue but has what turns out to be a significant encounter with a member of Beowulf’s somewhat secretive Biological Survey Corps, Captain Jacques Benton-Ramirez y Chou.  A day later, Alfred meets another student and his companion, Allison.  Not known to Alfred at the time, Allison is Captain Benton-Ramirez y Chou’s

“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 [email protected].  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!