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!