Honorverse Today

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 honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

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 you as participants in the adventure, at times contributing your thoughts and comments to us.  Please keep those likes and comments coming, and if you’re enjoying the podcast, be sure to tell others to join us.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

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 honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  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 honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  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 honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

As promised, in this episode we discuss the second novel in the Manticore Ascendant series:  A Call to Arms.  Written by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope, the story of Travis Long continues after he’s completed his training to become a commissioned officer.  We join him back in the fleet with a few years of commissioned time under his belt and wearing the bars of an ensign.In many ways Travis has grown and matured through the passage of time, the challenges of training, and more years under his belt as an officer.  Even so, we can still see the core of his ethical framework visible through the way he wrestles with the problems that life presents to him in naval service.  We also see his giftedness continue as someone who can think outside of his own personal boundaries.  While we’ve seen this result in some very positive ideas that allowed his ships (current and past) to successfully navigate some pretty difficult situations, thankfully he hasn’t become the one-man silver bullet that seems to be the magical solution to horrible problems.  In this regard, we were happy that the authors kept the story believable.  As this book ends, we found ourselves looking forward to the next book in this series.Our ratings for A Call to Arms were a 5, 5 and 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.8.As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with others.  Don’t forget, it’s never too late to comment on previous episodes either.  We love your feedback and thoughts.  Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew!Next time we’re stepping away from the Manticore Ascendant series and returning to the Saganami Island series to read and discuss Shadow of Victory.  If you’ve been missing seeing the dark and sinister ways of the Mesan Alignment—they’re back!  As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

Now it’s time to dive right into the third book in the Crown of Slaves series:  Cauldron of Ghosts, co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint.  It won’t be a surprise to any of our regular listeners, but this book ties to the previous book we covered based on publication order.  That said, this is a particularly tight coupling as this book is often considered a literal and direct continuation of the story in Shadow of Freedom.As a result, we’re still seeing events occurring in 1922 PD, now featuring our two super-spies:  Victor Cachat and Anton Zilwicki and dealing with what’s next for (and with) the Mesan Alignment.  Furthermore, we’re seeing the reality of the post-war alliance between Manticore and Haven.  The reality of this alliance seems to still be almost unbelievable to leadership within the Mesan Alignment as this wasn’t a part of what they were trying to orchestrate.  It sure seems one lesson in this regard we can apply to the real world is the “law of unintended consequences.”  This becomes acute as the new Manticoran-Havenite alliance strives to bring the Alignment out of its comfortable place in the shadows.  The overall storyline link here is that our heroes Cachat and Zilwicki are running around on Mesa, trying to help reveal the Alignment.  The book is definitely action-packed!Your hosts rated Cauldron of Ghosts with a 5, a 5 and an unusual 4.75 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.92 from your hosts.Once again, thank you for listening and to those of you who take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.Next, we’re turning our attention to the Manticore Ascendant series, diving into the first book, A Call to Duty co-authored by David Weber and Timothy Zahn.  This book and the associated series take us back to the early years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore and a character we were previously introduced to named Travis Long.  We’ve been looking forward to this series!  As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

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 honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

Beginnings is the sixth (and second to last) book in the Worlds of Honor anthology set.  It contains five short stories, penned by four talented authors:  David Weber, Charles E. Gannon, Timothy Zahn, and Joelle Presby.  Each of these stories brings us to interesting and important beginnings for many events that we’ve become familiar with in the Honorverse but have often gone with little or no explanation.This collection of writings comes in at 377 pages and was first published by Baen in June 2013.Charles E. Gannon brings the first story to us:  By the Book.In this story we join the crew of Earth Union Customs Patrol ship Venerated Gaia commanded by Lieutenant Lee Strong in 250 PD.  Their mission:  board and recover a hijacked ship named Fragrant Blossom, a ship they’ve located and seized near the Sol System asteroid belt.  Once the ship is captured and under their control, a series of non-standard events results in Lieutenant Strong coming into contact with an administrator working for the Outbound Operations Administration, a somewhat quiet and shadowy man named Perlenmann.  Mr. Perlenmann seems to have been effectively benched professionally and is sent to his current post on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, primarily due to what those holding (somewhat authoritarian) political power deemed to be his radical views.  It’s from this position of relative obscurity we learn that Mr. Perlenmann is an influential member of an organization plotting to bring the current political elite and their parties to their knees by causing an economic collapse across the Earth Union and Sol system.  He recruits Lieutenant Strong to deliver the necessary computer program, causing a catastrophic collapse, which results in the related loss of power of the controlling political parties and the disintegration of the Earth Union.  With the passage of time, the collapse is eventually referred to as the Economic Winter of 252 PD.  When the economy recovered as a much freer and open economic system, it spawned powerful growth that enabled the remarkable beginning of the movement of humanity out of the Sol system and into the stars.Your hosts gave this story two ‘thumbs-up” and one “neutral” vote.Next we discussed Timothy Zahn’s short story A Call to Arms.  We move forward in time now, over a thousand years, to 1543 PD.  Following the recovery from the Economic Winter of 252 and the subsequent expansion, we see a Solarian Axelrod Corporation plan unfolding to attack the Manticore System through the use of mercenaries.  At the same time, we join a young Lieutenant Travis Long onboard the HMS Phoenix.  When he writes up a subordinate for substandard performance, he finds himself the one who’s in trouble and he’s transferred to a different ship, the HMS Casey.  It turns out the poor performer is from a politically and militarily powerful family.  What appears to be bad news for Lieutenant Long turns into a blessing as the mercenaries arrive in the Manticoran system.  Now confronting the enemy, his strength as a tactician shines as he’s key in defeating the threat.  The “misstep” while onboard the Phoenix quickly and quietly moves to the background as his new captain nominates him for the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.  He also learns a powerful lesson from Captain Heissman about being aware of and getting used to the existence of internal politics within the RMN.Of note, this story is the beginning of more time we’ll spend with Lieutenant Travis Long.  Our introduction to him here sets up seeing a lot more of him in the “Manticore Ascendant” series of novels, by the dynamic writing duo of David Weber and Timothy Zahn.This one received “thumbs-ups” from each of your hosts, with a bonus “two thumbs up” from Raul.Beauty and the Beast is the third 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 sister.  An initial friendship forms, followed quickly by an emerging relationship.  Unknown to each other, both are strongly attracted to one another in a way that defies their scientific mindset.In an attempt to pressure Captain Benton-Ramirez y Chou into divulging BSC secrets, Mesan operatives kidnap Allison.  For the Mesans, the unknown factor now in play is Lieutenant Harrington, who has a compulsion to come to the aid of Allison.  A short, tense and violent time later, Alfred has freed Allison—perhaps demonstrating the adage:  once a Marine, always a Marine.  This shared trial firmly forges what both Allison and Alfred realize is an almost unexplainable love between them, and the rest is history.So many beginnings here:  as mentioned earlier, the beginning of Honor’s immediate family; but also, the earliest manipulations we’ve seen Mesa attempt on a universal scale; and just as significant, the beginning of what may very well be the reason why Nimitz / Laughs Brightly and Honor form a bond.  It’s also apparently an insight into why the very first treecat-human bond was with a Harrington so long ago on Sphynx when Stephanie met Lionheart / Climbs Quickly.Your hosts scored this one with a “thumbs-up”, a “neutral” and another double “thumbs-up”.The fourth story, also by David Weber, is entitled Best Laid Plans.The date is 1871 PD and we join a young (12 year old) Honor Harrington, scheming of ways to enjoy some independence by justifying traveling into a remote area to gather a bouquet of specific flowers to give to her mother as a birthday gift.  As if the previous short story might have been a tactical set-up, we quickly see the events occurring that resulted in Honor and Laughs Brightly meeting.  Laughs Brightly and a younger brother named Sharp Nose are gathering provisions when they see/sense/taste Honor’s mind glow.  Shortly after, the treecats encounter a pair of peak bears which are moving toward an unaware Stephanie.  As the treecats move to try and warn Honor, Sharp Nose steps on a bad branch and is badly injured when he falls to the ground.  That sound attracts the bears, Laughs Brightly moved to defend his brother and is wounded by a bear in the subsequent fight.  The sound of the fight attracts Honor to the scene and she ends up saving the treecats by shooting the bears.  As Laughs Brightly wakes up in Honor’s arms, their eyes meet and their bond is formed.While Honor and Laughs Brightly’s (Nimitz’s) bond isn’t a first, this bond sets up the beginning of what we can call the treecats’ regular (or perhaps permanent) movement off of Sphynx as Nimitz eventually leaves Sphynx with honor as she begins her Naval career and subsequent life off world.Three easy “thumbs-up” from your hosts for Best Laid Plans.The fifth and final story in the anthology is Obligated Service by Joelle Presby.This final story moves us back into “modern” times relative to the central Honorverse story arc, with events occurring in 1921-1922 PD.In this interesting story, we see Claire Lecroix, a Grayson woman belonging to the Burdette Steading, shortly after her graduation from the Manticoran Naval Academy at Saganami Island.  Keep in mind two key pieces of history related to these events.  First, Honor was admitted to the Grayson Conclave of Steadholders in 1904 or 1905.  Just a year or two later, she killed the previous Burdette Steadholder (William Fitzclarence) in a duel and the key was passed to Nathan Fitzclarence.  Nathan is the one who nominated Claire and two other women to attend Saganami Island, believing that it would make him look good, however he also didn’t think any of them would graduate.  While Claire is working on a GSN ship as an officer candidate, her steading revokes her permit to work outside the home, presumably irritated by her emerging success.  While the Burdette Steading is still clinging to a more “traditional” past, Michael Mayhew and most of the rest of Grayson are steadily moving forward regarding normalizing the rights of women.  One of Mayhew’s legal councils, the wife of Claire’s commanding officer Commander Greentree, uses Burdette law to free Claire from her obligations to her steading.  Along with that new independence based on her status as a Naval Officer (and therefore a “gentleman”), that same law is used to allow her to gain legal guardianship over her younger brother.There are a number of beginnings in this story, including the beginning of what can genuinely be called women’s independence within the Grayson society, at a much lower level than within the government itself.  We also see related practical rights and authority appearing for ladies...

We are jumping right into the second book in the Star Kingdom series, this one titled Fire Season.  This one’s a joint venture between David Weber and the now-familiar Jane Lindskold.  Published by Baen, it came out at a comfortable 287 pages in October 2012.  In the previous Star Kingdom novel, we met an 11-year-old Stephanie Harrington in part 1, then moved forward in Stephanie’s life, approximately 16 months in Part 2.  Here in Fire Season, Stephanie is now 14, turning 15 years old.While this is another “treecat novel” and the treecats are featured characters, the story really focuses on Stephanie, her schoolmates, her parents, and several other adults central to her life, and a team of scientists who arrive on Sphinx with a more official charter to study the treecats.  We learn a lot more about Stephanie and the changes she’s going through as she’s maturing from a child into a young adult.  Given she’s growing up on a frontier world, it’s exciting to see just how much she and some of her friends are trusted with and expected to do as they become contributors to the society around them.  Or perhaps “societies” would be more accurate since the events of the novel certainly include the treecats.  The combination of the impact of fire season along with the visiting scientists leads to an action-packed, dramatic story that adds some beautiful depth to several characters, as well as richness, history and complexity to the Honorverse.One thing we reinforce in the podcast is that while this series is written for young adults, there are no punches pulled in terms of the story.  If you tend to shy away from “YA” novels, do yourself a favor and be sure to read all of them in the Star Kingdom series.  As you know from our second interview with David Weber, he doesn’t avoid complex, heavy or dark issues that need to be a part of the broader story just because some of his books are written for our young adult Honorverse family members.  These novels were written for the rest of the more “seasoned” adults out there, too.  We’re confident you won’t be disappointed.We rated Fire Season with a 5, a 4.5 and a 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.83 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 even reach out through a longer note.Next time on the Honorverse Today podcast, we’re back into the main storyline, jumping into the novel A Rising Thunder.  As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us!And yes, the blooper reel this time is from a previous show. We'll let you figure out which one!You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

“In Fire Forged” is the fifth anthology in the Honorverse, containing three short stories and another technical writing.  We see the return of two favorite co-authors:  Jane Lindskold bringing us the short story “Ruthless” and Timothy Zahn who hits us hard with his short story “An Act of War”.  David Weber brings us the third short story entitled “Let’s Dance”, which is really a novella disguised as a short story.  Then he brings us home with the technical essay “An Introduction to Modern Starship Armor Design”, brought to us through the character Hegel DiLutorio, a retired officer in the Royal Manticoran Navy.This 311-page collection was first published by Baen in February 2011.The first story is Ruthless by Jane Lindskold.Jane brings us back to the story of Judith, a Masadan refugee rescued by Michael Winton when he was a midshipman.  We promised you’d see more of Judith in the future, and here the promise is delivered.  Time has passed, Michael is now a young commissioned officer in the RMN, he and Judith are married and have a young daughter named Ruth.  There’s a plot afoot by George and Alice Ramsbottom, staunch Manticoran isolationists who object to the alliance Manticore formed with Grayson.  In an attempt to disrupt this new alliance, they kidnap Ruth with the intent to return her to her Masadan father.  They hope that Grayson will question their decision to enter an alliance with Manticore based on an assumption that if Manticore can’t even protect one child, they’re not a Star Kingdom worth allying with for broader and more significant defense issues.  As a bonus, if Michael will act rashly, this may also embarrass the Star Kingdom’s reputation broadly.  The events in this story take place in 1889 PD, two to three years after the events captured in Jane Lindskold’s short story “Promised Land”.Your hosts all gave this one a “thumbs-up”.Next we discussed Timothy Zahn’s short story An Act of War.  This story takes place around the time as Honor escapes from Hades (approximately 1914 PD).  We saw those events in the novel “Ashes of Victory”.  When Honor’s escape becomes known, this story gives us a glimpse into an arms dealer named Charles who at the same time was trying to sell cloaking technology to Haven.  Events unfold when Oscar St. Just is convinced to install this equipment on a ship and for that ship to be used in an unorthodox manner to hopefully fuel a war between Manticore and the Andermani Empire.  This would be a good thing from the Havenite perspective.  Risky deeds are attempted and things get pretty tense, pretty fast!This one received three “thumbs-up” from your hosts as well!The third story is Let’s Dance, written by David Weber.  As mentioned, this is more of a novella than a short story.  It takes us back to Commander Honor Harrington’s first hyper-capable command as she captains the destroyer HMS Hawking (sometime prior to 1900 PD).  We see events related to the Manticoran efforts to normalize relationships with Silesia, which have been somewhat tense.  She’s conducting anti-piracy operations in Silesian territory, intervenes and captures a vessel conducting piracy and in a good-faith gesture, turns the ship and crew over to the local Silesian system governor.  A short time later she learns two unsavory things.  First, the ship and crew she handed to the Silesians has mysteriously disappeared.  Honor has no doubt they were released rather than prosecuted.  Second, she learns about a significant Mesan (Manpower, Inc.) slave-trading station through an interesting and unproven source.  That source quickly builds credibility by revealing a knowledge of Honor’s Beowulfian family and a shared hatred of the slave trade.  He quietly discloses he's also a member of the Audubon Ballroom, an entity formally designated as a terrorist organization.  Honor doesn’t reveal her source, but brings the information of the possible slave trade operation to the Silesian government.  She offers to lend her assistance by stopping by the suspected location on her way out of the system.  When that offer is all but dismissed, Honor takes the opportunity to ally with the Ballroom and visit the location anyway.  The outcome is violent.  This results in her RMN superiors learning of her decision to ally with a terrorist organization to conduct anti-slavery operations in a location that violated her orders and the Silesian government’s desires.  The story ends when we see just how the RMN leadership deals with her decision.It was easy for us to give three more “thumbs-up” for this story!The final “story” is a technical essay, written by the fictional character Captain Hegel DiLotorio (David Weber) and published in 1906 PD:  An Introduction to Modern Starship Armor Design.It provides a level of detail related to deep space warfare (we’d know it as “blue water” naval warfare on Earth) from the mid 1200s PD until the time the essay was published.  This gives us a historical context to place the technology discussion within.  The essay is fascinating even though every reader has probably already gleaned much of what’s covered simply by reading the Honorverse books.  The essay focuses on the Star Knight-class heavy cruiser, confirms some of what we all have already gleaned, provides info that supplants incorrect assumptions we may have, and finally, provides a lot of interesting details as to how naval combat and the ships that fight are actually built.  The focus is on armor, although to understand that requires some awesome explanations of the weapons the armor is designed to defend against.  Even though it’s not a story, don’t skip this incredible technical explanation.  Treat this essay as a companion to an earlier technical digest we saw in the “More Than Honor” called The Universe of Honor Harrington.Three more “thumbs-up” from your hosts to wrap up the final story in this anthology.Overall, we rated “The Service of the Sword” with three 5s (out of 5) for an overall rating of 5.Next time we’ll discuss “A Beautiful Friendship”, the first novel in the Star Kingdom story arc.  If the title sounds familiar, it is.  The first part of this novel was told in a previous short story we discussed a while back.  That story appears again here as the beginning part of the novel, followed by a bunch of new and exciting events.  If you haven’t read the novel already (or the short story), you have a little extra time to catch up.As always, please keep those likes and comments coming.  If you’re enjoying this podcast, be sure to tell a friend.  Remember, two of your hosts are new readers, so new readers are just as welcome as those of you who are recent or long-time fans.You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!

Mission of Honor brings us back to the main series/sequence, as we look at the twelfth novel in that line of the Honorverse story.  The events in this ~600-page gem occur between late 1921 through the middle of 1922 PD.  Having developed the breadth and depth of some significant events in the overall storyline, David moves away from the technique he’s used across several previous books to layer and unfold important - and different - perspectives of key events.Events continue to spiral in a manner quickly approaching out of control and absolutely not to the benefit of the Star Empire of Manticore.  The Solarian League has essentially declared war on Manticore through a direct attack on RMN assets.  Then they spun the events to convince themselves that they were the victims rather than the perpetrators.  Now they confront Admiral Henke’s fleet and demand Henke surrender herself into their custody.However, all hope isn’t lost.  Henke’s 10th Fleet soundly defeats the challenging Solarian force.  Meanwhile Honor is on a diplomatic mission — a Mission of Honor — to establish terms of peace with Haven.  During this series of diplomatic meetings, Operation Oyster Bay executes, with the attacker’s identity remaining unknown.  The attack causes the near total loss of orbital industrial facilities in the Manticoran home system.  As a result, debris falls onto the planets below causing extensive damage and loss of life.Back on Haven, Honor is meeting directly with President Pritchart and key cabinet members.  While talks begin in a cool but correct manner, Honor and Pritchart’s relationship warms and respect grows between them as time passes.  Between the two of them, they put several new pieces of the puzzle together which builds Manticore and Haven’s understanding of the Mesan Alignment’s secretive actions and intentions.  Unfortunately, diplomatic talks are suspended due to Oyster Bay and Honor is recalled to Manticore.  Even so, the diplomatic negotiations aren’t over, as we see by the end of the book.This entire novel was non-stop excitement!We rated “Mission of Honor” with a 5, a 5 and another 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of another perfect 5 from your hosts.We always say it (because it’s true!) we truly appreciate the support of everyone who takes the time to wander through the Honorverse with us.  Special thanks for those of you who like and/or comment on our posts, and even reach out and send us a note.Next up:  a surprise prize!  While we told you in the episode we’re discussing the anthology In Fire Forged next, circumstances let us sit down once again with David Weber for a second interview.  Get ready to learn a lot more about this amazing world we’re moving through, featuring quite a few questions provided by you, our friends and listeners taking this journey with us.Don’t worry though, we’ll pick up and discuss the fifth anthology in the Worlds of Honor set entitled In Fire Forged after the interview.  If you enjoyed Mission of Honor, catch your breath and get ready for a lot more action! As always, please grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time!You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com.  We look forward to hearing from you.Now, let’s be about it!