Amazon.com
David Weber, author of the enormously popular Honor Harrington militarySF series, takes to deep space and the high seas in the opening chapters of Apocalypse Troll.The fateful space battle and resulting spaceship crash that bring together Colonel Ludmilla Leonova and Captain Richard Aston, U.S. Navy, set the stage for another rip-roaring, guns-blazing science fiction adventure. When Captain Aston finds out Colonel Leonova's secret, he eagerly offers his help, then finds himself in the middle of an extremely dangerous military situation. Weber's fast plots, nonstop action, and attention to detail are what makes his books so much fun to read, and Apocalypse Troll is no exception. --Adam Fisher ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

GREAT novel
This is a great novel.The characters are as believable as science fiction can have.Though it takes place in the present, the novel explores time travel with legitimate alternatives.

compare this to "On Armageddon Reef"
Fans of Weber will have noticed his tendency to recycle broad plot settings. For example, his latest tome, Off Armageddon Reef, is an improved rendition of his Children of Empire series. But the starting scenario in OAR also closely resembles the backdrop of this book. In Troll, we have an enemy bent on wiping out humans. With an advantage in numbers and worlds. But the opening scene is where humans have proved more adaptable and having driven them back to a few worlds, and are on the verge of victory.

While in OAR, humans also faced a more numerous enemy. The humans were more versatile, and had better weapons and tactics. But were essentially defeated. And in a last ditch effort to stave off extinction, sent a secret fleet fleeing into the unknown. Taken together, OAR and Troll are like head and tail of the same coin. Weber uses his author's license to investigate both outcomes.

Loads of fun!!
While waiting my turn at the Honor Harrington series, I picked up this book in order to get a taste of David Weber.I was very happy with what I read.This book is a great deal of fun - lots of action, a great work of military science fiction (read: SCIENCE FICTION to those who are going "oh, but this doesn't make sense" - yeah - it's SCIENCE FICTION!!Who knows what might make sense in an alternate reality??Heh - maybe the laws of physics, etc. are different there? *laugh*) and, of course, for those who are interested, just a teeny, tiny bit of romance thrown in.Or lust - maybe you could call it lust.At any rate, it was a very enjoyable read and I'm very glad I picked it up and took the time - I will definitely put it on my "read again after I get through the hundreds waiting to be read" list.Another I highly recommend to those who enjoy a good military science fiction book that adds a bit of humor, a bit of fun, and whole lot of action.

very good but a little trite
Good story. The time shifting in the hyper bands, the trolls, the hunt for the troll are great story plots.Some of the interpersonal relationships are a little hard to believe though.

Great Stuff!
David Weber does another great job in this stand alone novel. As with most of his work, this is one of military fiction. That is what Weber does best.

In the future, humanity encounters another civilization that considers all other life forms to be a perversion of nature to be destroyed. This means us. Fortunately, humanity is the most advanced species they have ever tried to wipe out. Since they usually find agrarian cultures, they are not prepared for a real conflict and humanity manages to fight them off, barely. It takes the news of this defeat quite a while to make it back to the alien culture so humanity has a chance to prepare for the next wave. In doing so, we exhibit our advantage. We are quick to adapt and are particularly adept at matters of physics. The aliens do not develop so quickly but they have their own advantage in the biological sciences. All of this serves as prologue.

As the book opens, humanity is about to win its war. The aliens gamble on a last ditch effort they send a fleet hurtling towards earth in an attempt to take advantage of a theoretical possibility of time travel. Their intention is to destroy humanity before it has a chance to become dangerous. A human fleet tries first to intercept them and then to follow them. In the process, most of it is destroyed. A single being from each side, each with a single ship, manage to make it but they wind up in approximately our time. That sets up the introduction.

The rest of the book involves the effort of the alien cyborg to subvert humanity and the efforts of humanity with its visitor from the future to stop that plan. It is exciting reading from start to finish.
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Customer Reviews (55)

It could have been less confusing!
I have been a great fan of David Weber for years. He's the wondrous weaver of spectacular space operas as what David Drake is to Sci-Fi futuristic ground combat. I have enjoyed the first two books of these series immensely but by the time I got to this final chapter of the trilogy, things have became very complicated, to say the least. With so many fleet battles in so many star systems, with brand new aliens introduced and more warp points discovered, it became very, very hard to keep track of things.

While the authors have thankfully included in the beginning of the book a couple of double-spread star charts that might have helped with enlightening events, they actually turn out to be counterproductive. For one thing, the legends that accompanied the first star chart were so tiny that even with the help of magnifying glasses, they were not easy to make out! Little was spend in explaining what the chart represented. I came away with the vague impression that the dots and lines represented an 'overall' picture of what lies outside the immediate area of interest covered in the current novel. Was this meant to be the far larger picture and setting for more in this space opera universe?

Though I could dismiss the first chart readily as not being pertinent to this novel, the second one simply multiplied my confusion as I attempted to use it as a reference for the various battles that spans many, many star systems, especially in the latter part of the novel! Am I to take it for granted that the insect-size legends of that first chart are suppose to serve this second chart too? I don't know. Somehow, attempting to follow the various passages of fleets and battles from one systems to another, being told by the author that there were certain numbers of star systems in between Bug XX and Anderson XX, or certain numbers of warp points, hidden or otherwise, within this or that system and finding that such descriptions simply do not coincide with second star chart does not help in immersion into this universe! There were many inconsistencies within, and thus confusion ensured! In the end, I simply gave up attempting to make heads or tails of such descriptions and would tell myself "... whatever you say (David)." That is not really the way I would like to enjoy such an otherwise extremely engrossing space opera!

I could suggest that, while keeping the larger (and hopefully edited and proofed to be reader-friendly) chart(s) in the beginning of the book, smaller, simpler star system charts that illustrate the handful of systems and various warp points involved within each particular battle could be inserted between text where appropriate? Following the authors' battles have been like trying make senses of historical battles in other books and novels, only without the help of those topographical maps or simple line drawings with symbols and arrows, slowing down the tempo of the overall enjoyment at best, or making everything more confusing at worst.

Too Much Information
It seems that every other chapter of this book starts thusly:

Admiral Nelson Halsey looked about the command bridge of his flagship, the Superduper Kickbutt Attack Ship "Sharon Sanchez de Casador y Nichols."All of his staff were working diligently, professionally, and without error, setting up the attack on the Bug fleet.That fleet appeared undefeatable, preceeded by ninety-bazillion kamikaze corvettes.However, his 33rd Fleet, consisting of eleventy-seven Superduper Kickbutt Attack Ships of the latest Paris Hilton class, six and a half dozen Semi-Superduper Kickbutt Attack Ships, many of them of the Scared-Of-Nothing carrier class carrying the newest Barfgag type fighters, along with a profusion of Kinda-Superduper Kickbutt Attack ships, a myriad of Not-So-Superduper Kickbutt Attack Ships armed with up-to-the-minute Mark XLIV OMGIGFAMABB (Oh My Goodness It Goes Fast And Makes A Big Boom) missiles, multitudinous fleet carriers, a horde of other carriers, and more smaller ships than he could shake a stick at, was quite capable of defeating the Bugs.

White and Weber get bogged down in detail.It's quite obvious that this book originated as a computer game.On pages 239-240 of the paperback edition, there's a description of part of Raymond Prescott's Seventh Fleet.A sample sentence reads "Either could call on Vice Admiral Janos Kolchak's Task Group 71.3, with its twelve fast superdreadnoughts and thirty-four battlecruisers, for assistance."Do we really care how many ships are in TG 71.3?

After the first hundred pages, when it's discovered that the Bugs go stupid if a planet full of them gets wiped slick, there's no doubt as to who will win the war.The overwhelming industrial might of the Terran Confederation and the Orion Khanate produces overwhelmingly large numbers of ships, which wipe slick various Bug planets and then wipe out the various Bug fleets supposedly protecting them.When the Star Union of Crucis, the Bugs' "Old Enemy," show up, the end is in sight, but not for several hundred pages.

Individually and collectively Weber and White have written some excellent space opera.THE SHIVA OPTION is not one of their better books.

Neocon HEAVEN
It's a universe where things really ARE black & white, the enemy really IS worthy of no respect or sympathy, all civilians are morons, all progressives are closet traitors, and "political" admirals are color-coded to easily distinguish them from REAL military heroes.

The irony is that the chief difference between "us" and "them" (the latter being the Arachnids) is that THEY have no liberals, no progressives, no moral qualms, no sympathy for anyone different from themselves, no "humanist" qualities whatsoever.

It's unintentional satire, I think. Does someone out there believe the real world resembles the Weber-White universe in any way?

Aside from the politics of it, you can start anywhere in the 800-page "brick" and be sure that the next 100 pages are JUST like the previous 100 pages.

Finally, an ending
If you love space combat, you love Weber. This book is a wrapup of the war against the bugs, and thankfully, the book has an ending. That sounds like something you would expect, but about halfway through, you may begin to wonder if the book will ever end.

I get that Weber wants the reader to know that this war was a kill or be killed struggle. A war of extermination. Only one can survive. I just think he could have wrapped it up a little quicker, or if that weren't possible, he could have shifted the focus around a bit. Tell me a story about something that brought some more life to the story. As it was, there was a lot of hardship and pain, and then it ended. I felt it was a bit hollow on the storytelling and more like an account of trench warfare in space. If too much space combat were possible, this book would be the shining example.

Still, Weber continues to be the master of the space opera. In this case, I think it went on too long.

Hopefully the last of the "Starfire" books

This book is based on a boardgame, and it shows.

"The Shiva Option" is the sequel to "In Death Ground". I cannot understand why, when both authors developed enormously as individual writers in the five years between that book and this sequel, "The Shiva Option" improved so little. It is by no means a bad book if you are into military SF, but I was disappointed, because I was expecting something brilliant and this is merely good.

Back when I was a student, there were two popular space battle games: "Star Fleet Battles" set in the Star Trek universe, which more recently became a computer game, and "STARFIRE," set in a universe heavily influenced by Heinlein's "Starship troopers." Like many simple wargames, Starfire is characterised by absurdly high casualty rates and the successful admiral has to treat spaceships as expendable "Missile fodder."

About fourteen years ago the creators of "STARFIRE," Dave Weber and Steve White, launched themselves as successful science fiction authors by writing two books based on the game, "Insurrection" and "Crusade". A few years later they followed these with "In Death Ground" which chronicled the first half of the war against the Arachnids or "Bugs".

After getting their first "Starfire" books published, Weber and White wrote a large number of other works, some of them highly original and most of them very well written. Both particularly expanded their horizons between 1997 when "In Death Ground" came out and 2002 when they published "The Shiva Option." So when they came back to the Starfire universe to finish the story of the war against the bugs, I expected to be enthralled to see how much more they could do in the second volume with all that extra experience under their belts. Sadly the answer was rather less than I expected.

There are some clever twists in the book, but rather too much is taken up with descriptions of larger and larger fleets of bigger and bigger warships. And, like the game, the book produces preposterous casualty lists. The reader is not meant to approve of the craven politicians in the book - the admirals and marines are the heroes and the politicos are meant to appear almost as despicable as the "bugs".

But if, God forbid, the human race ever finds itself in a war which racks up a body count remotely like those in the book, I hope our politicians do ask the admirals searching questions about why they are throwing away ships and lives in a way that makes First World War generals seem overcautious by comparison.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book. Anyone who enjoyed "In Death Ground" will enjoy "The Shiva Option." And although neither is in the same league as "Starship Troopers," if you liked that book you might find it interesting to read two books which provide a panoramic overview of a war very like the one in which Heinlein's bildungsroman is set.

Nevertheless, the worst thing about this book is the fact that the authors left themselves the option of a sequel. Had we but worlds enough and time I would not object to this, but both Weber and White have written other work which is so much better that I hope they will concentrate on finding pastures new.
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Book Description
Readers can't get enough of Honor Harrington and her world, and here David Weber is again, accompanied by some of the top science fiction writers in the field, with new adventures of the best starship commander in the galaxy, and explorations of previously uncharted corners of her universe. It's a party-and you're invited!

... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

David Weber - A Science Fiction Master
Go to Baen Free Library. If you haven't read everything he's written, at least give it a try.....

Well Written Stories
As a recent discoverer of the Honorverse (Honor Harrington Series) by David Weber, I'm continually amazed at how well written, and fun, these stories are. In this case there are 4 stories by other authors in addition to 1 by David Weber. They are very entertaining and seem to fit well with the already constructed story lines. The only fault I can find is one story refers to "Seaforth" and, unless I'm mistaken, the planet is "Seaford". Since this occurs more than once I can only assume it's not a typesetting issue. But I digress. The stories are fun. They give you hint where they're going (some more than others) and get you there in an enjoyable way. Good Reading is in store for you. But, it helps to have completed most of the Honor Harrington series before jumping these short stories as some spoilers to the overall plot line would be given away...

Lots of fun!
Detra Finch did a good job summarizing the stories in this anthology, so I'll stick to just telling you that this is a marvelous set of stories set in the Honorverse; we see many of our old friends, such as Rafe Cardones, Abigail Hearnes, Kevin and Virginia Usher (albeit briefly) and Victor Cachat.Each of the writers has lovingly created a small story that complements the overall series in a special way; I think my favorites were the two VERY humorous pieces by John Ringo ("A Ship named Frances" and "Let's go to Prague" - about a ship crewed by misfits and screw-ups and a badly botched vacation attempt by two spies, respectively), although they were all very good stories and I enjoyed them immensely.If you are a fan of Honor Harrison, you'll LOVE these stories.If you haven't discovered the Honorverse yet - WHAT ARE YOU DOING???Run to the store and pick up every book ever written about it!You won't regret it; terrific military sci-fi/space opera!

Exceptional!
Another exception book by David Weber in the Honor Harrington series. I love the female heroine, which is not common in the sci-fi genre of this type, and she is totally believable, totally relatable, and simply amazing! I have read each and every book of this series and except for one, I found them all to be equally compelling. Now, I want one of those cats! (read the book to find out what I mean!)

More stories from the Honorverse
The Service of the Sword is the fourth collection of short stories from David Weber's Honorverse, the universe in which his series of Honor Harrington novels are set.TSOTS contains stories from Weber, Eric Flint, John Ringo, Jane Linskold, and Timothy Zahn.This volume opens with Linskold's Promised Land, about a young Grayson woman who is kidnapped by a Masadan privateer who keeps her as an enslaved wife.She joins forces with several other women and begins planning their escape from Masada.Zahn follows with With One Stone, which picks up after the end of the first HH novel On Basilisk Station, with Captain Honor Harrington in command of the heavy battle cruiser HMS Fearless. Although Honor is present in this story, the real central character here is Senior Grade Lieutenant Rafael "Rafe" Cardones, Honor's tac officer.Next is A Ship Named Francis by John Ringo and Victor Mitchell, a tongue-in-cheek look at incompetent officers who are total screw-ups.Very nice.Ringo's Let's Go to Prague, about two Manticoran covert ops agents on the Peep world of Prague disguised as Havenite StateSec officers.The two agents get bored and decide to go on leave.Next is Eric Flint's The Fanatic about a Havenite agent during the last days of the PRH.Weber himself closes out this volume with The Service of the Sword about Abigail Hearns, the first Midshipwoman in the Grayson Space Navy on her middie cruise.Abigail is the daughter of a Grayson steadholder.During her teenage years, she observed Honor Harrington's defense of Grayson, and now she is determined to follow in Honor's footsteps.All of the stories in this volume are good, with Let's Go to Prague and With One Stone being my overall favorites.The Service of the Sword is one of the best volumes of the Worlds of Honor series, and I look forward to more stories from Weber's Honorverse. ... Read more

Amazon.com
David Weber is best known for his Honor Harrington series of science fiction books, but with Oath of Swords he began a lighthearted fantasy saga centered around Bahzell Bahnakson. Bahzell is the reluctant champion of the War God Tomanak (a.k.a. the Sword of Light, the God of Justice, and Captain-General of the Gods of Light) and a member of the Horse Stealer clan hradani. Being a hradani puts Bahzell on a rung of the social ladder somewhere south of deplorable and just west of offensive, making him an unlikely champion for any god, much less Tomanak.

Although this relationship can be trying at the best of times, it's stretched perilously thin in The War God's Own, where Bahzell is called upon by Tomanak to fight the minions of Sharna, the Dark God.This is a fun, swashbuckling story that moves along nicely, managing to be both entertaining and unassuming at the same time. --Craig Engler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

An Excellent Military Fantasy
David Weber has a talent for writing military fiction. This is true of his grand works of space opera and, in this book, he proves it is true of fantasy as well. Some of his works seem like primers in grand strategy or in tactics but this is not one of those works. Its just a great military fantasy.

Fantasy implies that there will be magic involved and there is but it is understated. So too are there elves, dwarves, Halflings and the like. There is also a new race, that of the protagonist, which seems at odds with just about everyone else. They can be thought of as oversize barbarians who scare everyone. That is why it is so surprising when the war god of this creation picks him to be his champion. Nobody trusts him including the military order dedicated to the service of this god.

The war god has bigger plans and wants to stop a plot of the darker gods from gaining too much power. The champion wants to protect his people and do as the god bids.

It's a well crafted story but, most important, it is fun to read.

Tomanoak is Back!
WOW! If you love Lord of the Rings or similar you will love this book. Tomanoak is back! And he's directing Bahzell everywhere he doen't want to go. From a school for the Nights of the Order to a massive cave systme of the dwarfs. if you like long, lengthly and detailed sagas you will adore this book. Just be thankful they don't print the lyrics for Bahzell the Bloody Handed!

PLEASE SIR, MAY I HAVE SOME MORE?
With his military sf getting, frankly, too commercial, it was great to see Weber return to Bahzel and Brandark.This book once again reminded me of why I started reading this author in the first place.Forget Honor Harrington!Bahzel is just such a great character!This book just makes you want to read it all in on sitting, which is the highest praise a book can earn, isn't it?I have read both books so many times now that I've needed to replace one of them.It is great to pick up a book and ENJOY it without worrying about complex plot twists or bad guys coming out of left field.If there isn't a third book in the works...

So, who needs suspense?
This book is really top reading entertainment that doesn't bog you down with plot twists, and suprise endings. If you are looking for something fun that ends well, then this is for you. A review by Epiphyte denigrated it for those very reasons. We all have our peccadillo's, but I for one enjoy the occasional novel that allow's me to relax and not be overly concerned whether the hero/heroine is going to get out with a whole skin! David Weber writes many books like this, and they are all enjoyable. Five stars for fun!

The saga continues...
Sequel of Oaths of Sword. If you like the first book, you will love this. That's all I will say. ... Read more

Book Description
WELCOME AGAIN TO THE MANY WORLDS OF HONOR

Lady Dame Honor Harrington -- starship captain, admiral, Steadholder, and Duchess -- has spent decades defending the Star Kingdom of Manticore against all comers. Along the way, she has become the legend known as "the Salamander" from her habit of always being where the fire is hottest...and also a national bestseller (Ashes of Victory: #7, The Wall Street Journal).

But it's a big universe, and Honor's actions affect a lot of lives, not all of them human. And their actions affect her -- a lesson "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington" learns years before rising to command rank, when a desperate battle against "pirates" who aren't quite what they seem begins her brilliant career.

Closer to home, in "Changer of Worlds," a secret that the alien treecats have kept from their human friends for hundreds of years is about to come out...and completely change the relationship between the two species forever.

Meanwhile, Eric Flint weighs in with "From the Highlands." Honor can't be everywhere, so when the People's Republic of Haven tries to stage a political assassination on Earth, Anton Zilwicki -- husband of one of the Star Kingdom's most revered military martyrs, and father of a young woman who is clearly a chip off the old block -- steps into the breach...and takes the opportunity to settle some old scores along the way.

And finally, Esther McQueen and Oscar Saint-Just square off for their final confrontation in Noveau Paris in "Nightfall."

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Customer Reviews (19)

Changer of Worlds (Worlds of Honor, Number 3)
I liked the book the different short stories were fun to read.The books in this series add a nice depth to the main story that David Weber writes about Honor Harrington.I recommend reading the books in the World of Honor series.

Volume Three of Weber's Worlds of Honor
Changer of Worlds is Volume Three of Worlds of Honor series featuring short stories set in the universe of Weber's Honor Harrington series.This volume opens with Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington, a short novel about Honor's probationary voyage as a midshipwoman.Midshipwoman Harrington finds herself facing Silesian pirates and a superior officer hellbent on destroying her.Weber's story Changer of Worlds is largely about treecats Nimitz and Samantha, with Honor putting in a cameo.Eric Flint checks in with From the Highlands (the only story in this volume not written by Weber.This story is of Anton Zilwicki, a Manticoran captain whose daughter is kidnapped and his efforts to rescue her.This is my favorite story in this whole volume.Changer of Worlds closes with Weber's Nightfall, about the internal struggle within the Havenite power structure during the last days of the Rob S. Pierre government depicting a battle of wills between Pierre and Admiral Esther McQueen.Altogether, Changer of Worlds is another fine volume of stories set within the Honorverse, deepening the reader's understanding of the universe of Weber's HH series, and I look forward to reading Volume Four: The Service of the Sword.

A Splendid Mishmash
In this third collection of short stories set in the Honor Harrington Universe, Weber takes a bigger hand himself. He is the author of three out of the four stories of the volume. Again, this is filler material that serves as window dressing for the main series of novels but it is no less entertaining for that. In fact, I think this is the best of the 3 collections thus far.

Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington - This is a piece by Weber. It tells the tale of Harrington's first tour of duty in space and clearly shows foreshadowing of the character she is to become. She is confident, capable and does not suffer fools lightly. In this story, her ship is deployed to Silesia to suppress pirates. The pirates turn out to be more powerful than bargained for and it is the young midshipwoman who saves the day.

Changer of Worlds - This is another work from Weber. It is a short story which details the treecat's decision to colonize other worlds with the help of their humans. The central characters are Nimitz and his mate, Samantha with Honor Harrington putting in a cameo.

From the Highlands - This story is from Eric Flint and takes place in the capital of the Solarian Confederation: Chicago. It seems that 2 thousand years have done nothing to mitigate the existence of an underworld. The story concerns a plot by a rogue Peep SS agent to kidnap the daughter of a Manticorian intelligence agent as part of a plot to cover up his own shady dealings. What he does not count on is the resourcefulness of the young girl, the tenacity of her father and the presence of another Peep who is so morally outraged that he takes a hand in the situation. This is a good adventure story.

Nightfall - Another story by Weber, this one seemed at first to be a plagiarism of part of one of his later HH novels. It tells the story of the battle of wills between Peep Adm. Esther McQueen and the Rob S. Pierre government. As it turns out, some of the verbiage is lifted directly from the other book but there is a wealth of additional story as well. It chronicles the events of McQueen's coup in much more detail than the novel.

These are all solid stories and well worth the time.

If you liked this one you'll like The Warmasters...
mainly because, with no accompanying notice, Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington is repeated verbatim in that volume! yep, 50% of the "new" book is recycled. Oh it's a decent enough story but I'm uncertain it deserves being repeated in less than two years, especially with no notice that it was, in fact, being republished. So if you've previously read The Warmasters, perhaps in the hardcover that came out 2 months after Changer came out in paperback (ouch) make sure you want the other stories.

Changer is a decent collection in setting some of the series backstory: but Baen has some explaining to do about it's recycling IMHO.

A must for Honor Harrington fans!
For all you Honor Harrington fans out there, listen up! This is a collection of stories worth reading! Most are written by David Weber, himself. The first story, my personal favorite, is about Honor and her quirky pet treecat before the first book of the series began! It was Honor on her first ship tour as Midshipwoman!

This book is a must for all Honor Harrington fans! Not just a bunch of short stories either. Each story is like a small book. Don't expect ten pages per story, expect seventy-five or more! An exciting book that will tame the hunger of fans until Mr. Weber gets the next Honor story out. Highly recommended reading! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

put out the safety cones: historians at work
This is precisely the type of history book advocated by James Loewen, the author of "Lies My Teacher Told Me."

Take five scholars, all discussing the same event, and end up with five quite different interpretations of that event. The editors did a great job of introducing each of the scholar's views, pointing out bones of contention, backgrounding the source material. This is how history is supposed to be taught!

I think one reviewer may have mischaracterized this book as racist. To say that only the views of the Spanish were presented, when in fact the only source material available is from the Spanish colonials, is to confuse the viewpoint of the historian with the viewpoint of the 17th century government of Spain.

I'm thinking about buying the whole series of Historians at Work if they are all this interesting.

Interesting but a Little Racist
This book had a lot of great information about how the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 affected the Spanish. It tells how they felt, what they did, what they thought, where they went. It even tells about what they thought the American Indians were thinking and feeling at the time. There are even passages citing American Indian quotations that were written by totally biased Spaniards from the time of the revolt! So, if you're interested in hearing just one side of a very important event, this is the perfect book. I think this really would be a good book if it were coupled with another book that attempted to show the other side.

History Through Different Windows
Weber has put together a selection of informative essays by different authors, all dealing with the famed Pueblo Revolt of 1680.Given that the (for a time successful) uprising took place, the question for students ofhistory is the standard one:Why?

As the essays in this book pointout, there is no one answer to that question.There are, instead, manyanswers, and additional questions.

In history, it's not so much acase of arriving at the "truth."Rather, it's the journey ofdiscovery that really counts.The essays Weber has collected run thegamut, from turgid academic writing and sniping to refreshinglyclearly-stated prose.His introduction is masterly, the bibliographicreferences invaluable, and the overall effect one of having learned justhow complex and diverse the causes of an effect can be.

Highlyrecommended for readers interested in this area, especially for classroomuse at the college and university level. ... Read more

Product Description
The People's Navy as You have Never Seen It Before!This soft cover coffee table book has information on the People's Navyfrom David Weber's Honor Harrington universe, ranging from thefounding and battle histories to detailed class histories and sizecomparison charts of the ships! Much of this material has never beenpublished elsewhere, and this book is an official concordance of dataon the People's Navy, with material written by David Weber himself!This book has 20 color pages of interior art! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Way out of date.
The book was published this year (2007), but it is very out of date.There is nothing in there that dates past "The Short Victorious War".

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Customer Reviews (23)

Not your usual run of swords and sorcery book
Most of David Weber's work is military SF, but he has branched out into the swords and sorcery genre with his three books about Bahzell Bahnakson. I don't usually have much time for "Conan" style books even when they're written by authors of the calibre of Roland Green or Harry Turtledove, but these three - Oath of Swords, The War God's own, and Wind-rider's Oath - are something else.

Some of the particular strengths of this series are things which are carried over from Weber's other work - good use of humour, brave but believable heroes and heroines, characters who have to overcome their own prejudices and mostly do so.

One thing which I appreciate about David Weber as an author is that he does not find it necessary to insert a gratuitous love story into every book, even in this genre. Not that his characters are sexless or incapable of love, and there are hints of interplay between characters which may - or may not - develop into romances later in the series, but Weber's characters fall in love when it fits the bigger story canvass and not for the sake of including a romance in every volume in some formulaic pattern.

Perhaps the best feature of the book is that it is not entirely predictable and first impressions are not always right. For example, when one of the central characters meets someone who initially appears to be a bigoted blockhead, there is a roughly 25% chance that he or she really will turn out to be a hopeless case or a bad guy, and a 75% chance that he or she will actually be an honest person who is at least sometimes capable of doing the right thing. Equally some of those who appear at first to be good guys (or girls) turn out to be in the wrong, or even working for the dark Gods.

The storyline is strong, if a little complicated. It is much easier to keep track of what is going on if you had previously read the first two books in the series. One interesting feature is that, during a pause in the middle of the book, Bahzell's patron God gives him an explanation of how free will and destiny could both exist: it is a take on the "many worlds" thesis which I had not previously encountered and for me it was worth reading this book just for that passage.

There are some irritating minor issues in the presentation of the book. It contains two maps, but both of them fail to show most of the main locations in this book. There is a list of mortal characters at the front of the book and a list of Gods (good and evil) at the back. The three most important characters in the book are not included, which is not really a problem, but also excluded from the list are one or two characters from previous books who are repeatedly referred to and I found this rather annoying. In one scene two of the characters discuss someone called Wencit of Rum, and after trying and failing to remember who he is I looked at the index of characters: no mention. Eventually to make sense of the conversation I had to dig up the previous books in the series to remind myself who Wencit is (he is approximately the equivalent of Gandalf or Belgarath).

When I originally wrote this review I said that the point of the cover art, showing the concluding scene of the book, appeared to have been diminished by the unfortunate placement of a bubble with the words "New York Times best seller" which I suspected hid the object which Kaeritha has just thrown in Bahzell's direction. In subsequent printings the offending words have been removed and the item is indeed now visible.

Bottom line: if you liked any of David Weber's other books, read the three Bahzell Bahnakson books and it is unlikely that you will be disappointed. If you like the swords and sorcery genre generally, it is also likely that you will like these three. But if you do read any of these, make sure to read them in the right order, which is Oath of Swords, The War God's own, and Wind-rider's Oath.

Not Weber's Best, but Still Good
I was a bit worried when I opened this book.It had been years since I read the first two in the series, and I didn't have them with me.But the story drew me right in, refreshing my memory of the characters and the world without getting bogged down in summarizing the earlier books.

David Weber does a lot of things well.His battles have a powerful, epic feel, and the action in this book pulls you right along.

At the same time, there's a distinction between being larger than life, and being a bit flat as a character.I don't just mean Bahzell here.All of the heroes are too heroic.Weber spends a great deal of time building up the animosity between the Sothoii and the Hradani, but pretty much ever one of the Sothoii go through the same pattern of initially hating Bahzell, then seeing the error of their ways and humbly apologizing, after which Bahzell so nobly offers his understanding.It's nice that all of the good guys are oh so enlightened, but it started to strain the seams of credibility.

Likewise, the nastiness of the villains started to go a bit overboard when they all started giving off a poisonous, vile green glow.

My last nitpick is that things happen a bit too easily for the champions, at times.Not only are they all marvelous warriors (which makes sense, as they're champions of a war god), but if they're ever in over their heads, the god Tomanak pops in to help them out.They're stronger than their enemies, and Bahzell's god is stronger than everyone else's.Even the green glow of kryptonite--I mean, of evil--isn't enough to defeat these superheroes.They get tired and exhausted, pushing themselves to the brink, but there's rarely a sense that they're in genuine danger.

I admit it: I'm a picky reader, and I have a hard time ignoring flaws like these in a book.In this case, the strengths of the story were more than enough to pull me through.More than anything, Bahzell and his companions are fun.They believe in justice and good and all that noble stuff, but they also have a sense of humor.Even the war god jokes around with his champions sometimes.And while I prefer my stories and characters a bit more complex, there's also something to be said for a good old clash of good vs. evil.

I would definitely recommend starting with the first two books, which I think are stronger.But I don't regret buying this one, either.

Good, But Not Excellent
The first of this series I had the pleasure to read was the middle volume, THE WAR GOD'S OWN. I found it to be well written and interesting and different enough from the run of the mill product to be really of note. After that, I read the first volume and now I have just finished the third. It too is well written but does not have the excitement or the humor of the second. It is about on par with the first volume. This may be disappointing but it should not be. Everything cannot be a masterpiece and even Weber's lesser works are VERY well done.

In this installment, our Hradani champion is called upon to go to the Sothoii Kingdom, the hereditary enemies of his own people. He is called upon to foil yet another plot the a coterie of the gods of darkness and this time it will be more difficult because they are working under false colors. It is also more difficult because the political situation with regard to his race as well as that of his allies is highly complex. The Sothoii love the Coursers and both hate the Hradani. That makes it difficult when the Champion come to save your people is a hated hradani and it gets weirder when the champion gets bonded with a courser. It also makes for a few smiles.

Its not his best work but it is enjoyable.

The Cover
I liked the book. But, of the three books, this is the weakest.Still, I hope that the story continues...

But... The cover! Don't artists know that a SIGNIFICANT part of the story needs to be depicted?Not this one.The cover depicts a scene that happens after the end of the story.The closing paragraph.I really hated that.Perhaps the artist only read the first and last chapter before deciding what to paint, and couldn't come up with anything better.

Another HIT!!
David Weber has completely captured my attention with the Bahzell series.This is the third book in the series and I just wish he would write them faster.

Bazell is a hradani (very tall human like with fox ears, unhuman endurance and 'the rage').Weber has more fantasy in this series than in some of his others but once again, his writing is excellent.He drags you into a world where the Gods sometime interact thru their 'champions'.The War God has chosen Bazell as one of his champions and sets him tasks to help all of the hradani people.It's easy to find yourself in this world and only wake up when the novel is done.The characters are well thought out and in-depth - after reading the first two books, I was looking forward to the reaction some of the characters would show...

I don't want to recap the plot since it's above in the synopsis but if you like fantasy and enjoy well written novels, the Bahzell series is fun and full of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Good stories all, but...
I haven't read Weber's Harrington series to know, but other reviewers have said that the Weber contribution is from elsewhere.So are the other two - the Drake story comes from "Paying The Piper" (which is good in itself, but I don't need a separate chapter) and the Flint one is found as part of "The Dance of Time" (ditto on good but don't need 2).I was a bit disappointed that Amazon doesn't state that with better clarity.

A great military sci-fi anthology
If military sci-fi is your thing, or if you want to find out if you even like military sci-fi, then The Warmasters by David Webster, Eric Flint, and David Drake is the perfect book for you.The three authors are all masters at their craft and each has a different genre and style.
The first book in this compilation is Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington by David Weber.This book is basically the navy in space, and it describes the beginning of the famous admiral Honor Harrington while she is just a simple Midshipwoman of her first military voyage.
After this is Islands by Eric Flint.It takes place during an alternate version of Earth where the Roman Empire hasn't fallen and an ongoing war is in progress in the time period of about the Imperial Age.The wife of a famous officer serving under the great General Belisarius wants to see her husband, and she goes thru the war torn Roman Empire, becoming famous in her own way getting there.
Choosing Sides by David Drake is a more conventional military Sci-fi about Hammers Slammers, an elite mercenary regiment that uses specialized hover tanks.This book continues into more of a political war when the main character is blamed for his squad's misconduct.
Overall this book is a great value, and is definitely worth buying if you have any interest in military sci-fi.The three different genres are all very different types of stories and they all make a good read.

Really, really good military science fiction
Three novellas from three of the best military science fiction authors currently publishing stories!I'd give it four stars except for the fact that David Weber's story - about Honor Harrington's middy cruise was published somewhere else (my apologies for not being able to cite it directly, but I know that I've read the story already).

Quick review of each - David Weber's story was excellent.I've been an Honor fan for a number of years and this story doesn't disappoint.In all honesty, it doesn't add too much to Honor's character either, but it's still enjoyable.If nothing else, it's interesting to see Honor with some self-doubt and a lack of tactical genius (not that she's making mistakes left and right, but she's being trained by the Captain and Tactics Officer and they know things/tricks that she doesn't).

Eric Flint - Another series that I really love.I've read reviews that the Belisarius series is predictable with characters all possessing the same dry sense of humor, but it is just so much fun to read!This short story represents a bit of a departure, as we get a completely new character Calopodius's wife (Calopodius the young officer blinded in one of the most recent full lenght novels).No nerve-wracking moments in this story, but some really nice development of two characters.If you're the emotional type you may even find a tear in your eye during some of the story (not me of course, I'm saying if you were the emotional type you might!)

Finally, there's David Drake's short story from his Hammer's Slammers series.I actually don't read this series so I had very low expectations of this story and almost skipped it (but I was still on the plane with an hour left in my flight so..)Skipping it would have been a mistake.Another well written story with interesting albeit very different characters from the other two authors.

Overall, this is a great set of short stories and novellas.They're not integral to any of the on-going series's, but they are well written and well worth your time reading them.

Worth buying for military sci-fi fans
Even though David Weber's contribution is repeated from another anthology, Warmasters is worth buying for military sci-fi fans. The second story, set in the Belisaurius universe, is excellent, both for character development (Calopodius & his wife) and for adding a medical twist to the universe. The third story, about Hammer's Slammers, is also good. I read a library copy, but have purchased a copy for my personal collection.

A ...
I greatly enjoy David Weber's books.I have hard cover copies of most of them.I do not understand why he thinks that we should buy another copy of Ms. Midshipman Harrington.I already have Changer of Worlds and the same story begins both books.Mr. Weber has been very successful and I have been a part of his success.This is very hard to take.Maybe I'll wait to read his next NEW book at the library. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Demon Jester without the jests
A well-told story of a fairly standard theme - the humans kidnapped and forced to survive in an alien and technologically threatening universe. In this example of the genre Weber (who always does put together a good yarn) presents the desperation very effectively, but the humans are just TOO adaptable and the aliens are just TOO cardboard cutout. A pleasant airplane read but not up to Weber's usual standard.

OK if you find it used, and have time to waste
Yet another one of David Weber's very predictable, quickie books to make a buck.As so many others have pointed out, the entire concept has been done much better:Anderson's "High Crusade," Pournelle's "Janissaries" and Barbet's "Napoleons of Eridanu.

The real weakness of the book is Weber's predictability and falling back on tried-and-true themes worked out in the Honor Harrington series.Telepathic aliens that hold the solution, evil but stupid villains oh so easily outsmarted by our endlessly virtuous hero, and the "contralto" voice which is obligatory for all Weber heroines.

However, it is a ripping-enough yarn for a not too discriminating reader who, like myself, bought it used.IF you have already read Anderson, Barbet or Pournelle, try Weber.Otherwise, get one of them.

Quick and Enjoyable Read
This is the first Weber book I've read, so I can't compare it to his others.That said, I enjoyed it very much.I was looking for a fast paced read, and this book supplied that.It held my interest throughout.Lots of interesting twists could have been injected, but then it wouldn't have been that nice fast paced action I was looking for.

Not alien enough
The main reason I did not like this book is its main premise. I never cared for the "advanced but stogy aliens, stunned by the adaptability of 'primitive' humans". This theme has been done many times, and I never found it convincing. Moreover, as is almost always the case in such stories, the aliens of "Excalibur Alternative" are far too human. I like aliens which are ALIEN, with incomprehensible motivations and un-human behavior, not East India Company in funny suits. For good examples of truly ALIEN (and much more menacing) villains see "Pandora's Star" by Peter Hamilton and "The Course of Empire" by Flint and Wentworth. The latter has an added twist of TWO alien species: one being a more or less "East India Company" style, and the other truly beyond comprehension -- not just to humans, but to the "conventional" aliens as well.

Now, that was my personal taste on the genre, and I am aware that some readers like the genre in question. However, I have issues with execution as well. First, as some reviewers pointed out, Sir George Wincaster and his men (and women) are FAR too sanguine about the whole situation. They treat being abducted by aliens with poise and rationality unlikely from modern people, to whom the idea is at least imaginable. That 14th Century Englishmen would react like this is completely unbelievable. Second, stupidity and arrogance of the main villain are so completely over the top, it's not even funny. His incompetence goes beyond "stogy and unimaginative" into the real of "absurd". Of course, if he were smarter, Sir George would have failed, and there would be no story.

Another good Weber story!
A good book that is light but still engaging and thought-provoking. It made for an EXCELLENT way to pass a Saturday afternoon! The basic storyline is fairly simple, a crew of English infantry, knights & bowmen on their way to France in 1346 get abducted by aliens, along with a few wives, children, and seamen. They are to be unpaid mercenaries, forced to fight alien races on alien worlds for the alien being that has kidnapped them.

Fairly pedestrian . . . EXCEPT for the main characters and the politics of who has kidnapped them and why. I initially thought that Weber had created human characters that were not very real in their ability to grasp new concepts, think beyond their initial prejudices and still be that stubborn and hate their captors that much. But then I remembered the people in real history who dared to dream dreams that no one else did and were there at the right time and place to try for those dreams, sometimes in the face of overwhelming odds. I also remembered that human beings ARE capable of surviving just about anywhere and, while they're at it, being individualistic, rebellious, stubborn pig-headed sneaks with very long memories. And I thought that maybe, while Sir George was definitely a rare and extraordinary human being, maybe he wasn't an impossible human being.

The story does move a bit slowly in some places in the first half of the book, but it's still an interesting read. After Sir George and the rest of the humans get their big chance, things move much more quickly. The last section of the book that starts with the Solarian Union negotiating with the Galactic Federation is wonderful, both in the story and in the story-telling.

The book has a rather eclectic blend of medieval military tactics, knightly accoutrements, the psychology of how to inspire men on the battlefield (and how to discourage them as well), Machiavellan plotting in a science-fiction setting, sudden plot twists and a theme of "what happens when someone asks the questions everyone thought they already knew the answers to?", so there are probably a lot of readers who will not like it as much as a straight fantasy book or straight sci-fi book. But for readers who don't mind genres being mixed around a bit, it's an excellent read. ... Read more

Book Description
This landmark book explores how Spain tried to come to terms with independent Indians on the frontiers of its American empire in the late 1700s.

"[An] important new book. . . . It displays . . . a mastery of the literature and impressive erudition; a capacity for the patient teasing out of the truth from sources that are often incomplete and partisan; and a lucid narrative style that carries the reader along. . . . A formidable achievement."—J. H. Elliott, New York Review of Books

"A stunning book that will be read for generations and lauded for its awesome research, judicious analysis, and graceful prose."—James Schofield Saeger, Lehigh University





... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

informative but poorly written
I guess this is what passes for history these days. Make sure you pay homage to every point of view at every time and at every place, and never mind about organization. There's no doubt that Weber knows his subject, but come on, it's like he took all his notecards from a lifetime of research, shuffled them a few times, dropped them on the floor, and then wrote this book in the order that he picked them up. This book is all over the map, both figuratively and literally. I understand that all historical narrative is necessarily flawed, by point of view, cultural bias, etc., but hey, give me credit for having the intelligence to uncover these flaws myself. A work like this demands structure, which unfortunately this book does not have. I rate this book three stars only because there is a wealth of information in here. But be prepared to dig!

Insight into the complexity of Spanish colonialism in the Americas
Although this is a masterly piece of scholastic writing by perhaps the pre-eminent historian of Spanish colonialism in the Americas, it is also a vivid read for the non-scholar (such as myself).If you believe that the Spanish relationship to the native people in their American colonies was a consistently brutal and usurious one, this book will give you an appreciation of how highly varied and sometimes very moral (in the morality of the day), it actually was, especially toward the end.

... Read more

Book Description
This account of the French era in Canada is the most original treatment of the subject in over a century. The analysis and ideas in the first edition helped create a whole new school of thought about Canadian history. Over 50,000 copies have been used in classrooms in Canada and the United States in the decade since its publication. In this revised edition, the author updates the bibliography and adds new ideas advanced in the 1970s that will make more valuable still this acclaimed general history of New France.

The French era in Canada. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An Indispensable History Of New France
"The Canadian Frontier" is an excellent exposition of the story of the interface between Canadian and native civilizations from 1534-1760.As the Canadian frontier included much of the Midwest, this book is a good choice for both American and Canadian readers with an interest in the history of New France.

Prof. Eccles makes the point that the Canadian frontier is conceptionally different from the American frontier.The American frontier was a geographical concept, the line where settlement gave way to wilderness.The Canadian frontier, by contrast, was a series of settled islands in a sea of wilderness at which civilization "did business" with native cultures.

One test of a good historical book is whether it changes the reader's view of history.This one passes that test.I had always viewed the competition between the French, British and Indians in North America as being based on basic nationalistic and tribal rivalries.Prof. Eccles explains the rivalry in terms of an economic competition over the fur trade.The roles of the Indians was to supply the furs.The locations of the trade shifted over time between the eastern settlements, western trading posts and in Indian villages at which traders visited.Traders competed in goods offered, while tribes competed, at times by war, to control access to traders and their goods.Middleman profits were often at stake.

The economy of New France is contrasted with that of the British colonies.The economy of the British colonies was largely based on farming while the economy of New France was, primarily, extractive, based on the fur trade and, to a lesser extent, fishing.Farming in New France was, initially, merely to supply the settlers.As population increased and the fur trade declined, New France evolved from a trading to an agricultural colony.

The trading pattern of New France determined land use practices as well as relations with the Indian tribes.I had always thought of low populations of New France as a reflection of the unwillingness of the French to migrate to North America.From this book I learned that low population density was indispensable to a fur trade based economy.

Like the Spanish to the West, and unlike the English to the south, evangelization was a major part of the interaction on the Canadian Frontier.Much of the exploration and development was instituted or accompanied by missionaries.

Over time, the Canadian Frontier was changed by tribal wars which determined the access of each tribe to western traders and their wares.Although Indians are often portrayed as victims of white aggression, the truth is that they acquired a dependency on European goods which contributed to their own downfall.

The military aspects of the North American wars are interesting in that they relate the relative contributions of the Regular forces, the militia and the Indians.Another of my conceptions which was changed by this book was that the outcome of the French and Indian war was dictated by the colonial population imbalance.Prof. Eccles makes the case that the fighting qualities of the French militia made them dominant over the English militias and that it was only the skills of the British regulars against the bungling of the French regulars which won the war for Britain.

Ultimately, the world in which the Canadian Frontier arose and prospered changed and the Frontier disappeared.The French and Indian War restricted the numbers of voyagers to a handful.The vision of the French habitants changed from that of an open continent in which to trade for furs, to a river valley in which to farm and sell their produce.The leadership of the fur trade changed from French entrepreneurs to British businessmen.The British, who fought to wrest the Ohio Valley from the French, tried to close it to their own colonists.Ultimately, the colonials who fought to take the Ohio Valley from the French took it from the British with French aid.The Indians who had tried to play one power against the other, found that, in contributing to the downfall of the French regime, they had traded a benevolent, cooperative colonial power for one which would take their land and destroy their culture.

Professor Eccles has told the early history of much of our continent with insight and a skilled writing style.The supporting notes and bibliography guide the reader to sources for further research and reading."The Canadian Frontier" is a must for anyone with an interest in the history of New France.
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The Canadian Frontier
W. J. Eccles did a phenomenal job in covering the history of New France. I was expecting a dry history. I didn't get one. What I got was a story of men and a few women.

This book is a facinating account of thesettlement of Canada under the French. For a history book, it was hard toput down. Eccles brought the problems of starting and maintaining a colonyto life. He presents historical figures like Frontenac and La Salle as realpeople who made real mistakes without excuses or whitewashing.

I wouldrecommend this book to anyone doing any type of research into New France. ... Read more

Book Description
The Baltic War which began in the novel 1633 is still raging, and the time-lost Americans of Grantville—the West Virginia town hurled back into the seventeenth century by a mysterious cosmic accident—are caught in the middle of it.

Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden and Emperor of the United States of Europe, prepares a counter-attack on the combined forces of France, Spain, England, and Denmark—former enemies which have allied in the League of Ostend to destroy the threat to their power that the Americans represent—which are besieging the German city of Luebeck.

Elsewhere in war-torn Europe, several American plans are approaching fruition. Admiral Simpson of Grantville frantically races against time to finish the USE Navy’s ironclad ships—desperately needed to break the Ostender blockade of the Baltic ports. A commando unit sent by Mike Stearns to England prepares the rescue the Americans being held in the Tower of London. In Amsterdam, Rebecca Stearns continues three-way negotiations with the Prince of Orange and the Spanish Cardinal-Infante who has conquered most of the Netherlands. And, in Copenhagen, the captured young USE naval officer Eddie Cantrell tries to persuade the King of Denmark to break with the Ostender alliance, all while pursuing a dangerous romantic involvement with one of the Danish princesses.

... Read more

Book Description
Beginning a new blockbuster series set in the "Honorverse"-the universe of Honor Harrington. The Star Kingdom's ally Erewhon is growing increasingly restive in the alliance because the new High Ridge regime ignores its needs.Add to that the longstanding problem of a slave labor planet controlled by hostile Mesans in Erewhon's stellar back yard, a problem which High Ridge also ignores. Finally, the recent assassination of the Solarian League's most prominent voice of public conscience indicates the growing danger of political instability in the Solarian League - which is also close to Erewhon. In desperation, Queen Elizabeth tries to defuse the situation by sending a private mission to Erewhon led by Captain Zilwicki, accompanied by one of her nieces. When they arrive on Erewhon, however, Manticore's most capable agent and one of its princesses find themselves in a mess. Not only do they encounter one of the Republic of Haven's most capable agents - Victor Cachat - but they also discover that the Solarian League's military delegation seems up to its neck in skullduggery. And, just to put the icing on the cake, the radical freed slave organization, the Audubon Ballroom, is also on the scene - led by its most notorious killer, Jeremy X.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

A Fine Addition to the Honorverse
Although Honor Harrington plays a peripheral role in this book, it's great to visit the Honorverse.

Honorverse Just Keeps Getting Better
I was frustrated, having run out of "favorite" scifi authors to read, when a buddy of mine sent me a box of Honorverse books by David Weber. Those I read were GREAT. Now, I've read even more. But this book, Crown of Slaves,co-authored with Larry Flint, is tied for my favorite. It's set in the universe of Admiral Lady Dame Honor Harring, Dutchess and Steadholder Harrington. But our favorite leading lady makes only a cameo appearance. This story centers on Princess Ruth, Berry Zilwicki, her father Capt. Anton Zilwicki (RMN) his surprising alliance with Victor Cachat (Republic of Haven, mortal enemy of the Star Kingdom of Manticore) and a new star - Thandi Palane.The story is fast paced, intriguing, well written, with Weber's usual superb character development.

David Weber is masterful. Few authors can create an entire universe to compete with the greats - Issac Azimov, J.R.R. Tolkien and Frank Herbert, but Weber succeeds. And - he demonstrates a keen sense of hard science fiction (more so in the other Honorverse novels), politics (his strong suit here) and military and intelligence tactics (again, well demonstrated here).

Flint, I'm sure, is responsible for the character development of the Zilwickis, Thandi Palane (one of my new favorite characters), Cachat and the other leading characters in this book. I would guess that Flint is also responsible for the fast-paced action in this book - which moves much more quickly than Weber's later novels.

If you've read other books in the Honorverse, you've glimpsed Mesa, home of the genetic slavers, Manpower, Inc., and you've seen the edges of the Solarian League. In this spin off novel, you will really enjoy the more in-depth insight into these organizations ... and, if you're a bit older, you'll appreciate the Gorbachev/Reagan-like (or maybe even Kruchev/Kennedy-like) relationship between Capt. Zilwicki and Victor Cachat. It's Brilliant!

Great Addition to the Honorverse
I did have to wonder if this would measure up to the Honor Harrington books, but I should have known better after reading the short story collections.Crown of Slaves is an excellent book which serves to further the depth of the Honorverse.Ruth and Berry are delightful as foils and a great look at intelligent teens/young adults.Weber and Flint expertly dance with Cachat's character to produce a realistic outcome.And you can hardly write about this novel without mentioning the fantastic Thandi Palane, a deadly addition.

If you weren't already engrossed and utterly absorbed by the Honorverse, you will be after this installment.

Tried to finish it twice
I Loved the Honor books, so, I tried, twice, to finish this one. I'll keep it simple. A confusing list of characters talk, and talk and talk ...... for the first half of the book.

Espionage and intrigue in the Honorverse
This book is set in the same Universe and timeframe as David Weber's "Honor Harrington" novels, sometimes nicknamed the "Honorverse." The events take place at approximately the same time as the early chapters of "War of Honor."

If you have not read any of the other books in the series: this novel is set in space and is the story of how men and women from several planets who are actually at war with one another collaborate against an unholy alliance of terrorist religious extremists, and corrupt corporations profiteering from a vile form of slavery and who are rich enough to buy governments.

If you are familiar with the rest of the series, be aware that this books has several differences from them.

With the most recent group of short stories and novels in the "Honorverse" Weber and his collaborators seem to be establishing three groups of characters and storylines, which they are all linked in a reasonably consistent manner into one history.

There is the main sequence featuring Honor Harrington herself, in which the most recent novels are "War of Honor" and "At All Costs." There is a "next generation" sequence featuring some younger officers in the Grayson and Manticoran navies such as Helen Zilwicki and Abigail Hearns. The first book in that series is "The Shadow of Saganami" which is set about a year after "Crown of Slaves."

And there is a series of spy stories, in which "Crown of Slaves" is the first full length novel. Honor Harrington does get a cameo part in the book, but the central figures are Anton Zilwicki, his adopted daughter Berry, Princess Ruth Winton, and the Havenite agent Victor Chachat.

The first main difference between "Crown of Slaves" and most of the other books in the Honorverse is that the main enemy is the genetic slavers, the companies who traffic in slaves (particularly Manpower) and the government officials they have bought.

Agents from Manticore and Grayson are practically allied with agents from Haven against the slavers, despite the fact that their countries have fought a long and bitter war. This novel falls within a period of ceasefire between Haven and Manticore but they have never signed a formal peace treaty are are still legally at war. Despite this,Manticorans such as Anton Zilwicki can and do make common cause with Victor Cachet, the star agent of Haven's Federal Intelligence Service, against the slavers.

The second main difference is that the book is about espionage, political manouvering, counter-terrorism and revolt rather than space battles. The only Manticoran naval officer who gets to fight a space battle is Captain Oversteegen, who despite being a cousin of the Manticoran Prime Minister, Baron High Ridge, definately has a mind of his own.

This is a well-written story, with a lot of exitement, a rather convoluted but clever plot, and interesting heroes and heroines, although the "bad guys" are so awful that they are sometimes a little hard to believe.

If you read the other "Honorverse" books purely for the space battles, leave this one alone. But if you like the intrigue and the characters, you'll very probably enjoy this book.

If you have not read any of the Honorverse books, but like stories of
intrigue and revolt in the far future - think Aeon Flux but slightly more cerebral and plausible - you may well enjoy it. ... Read more

Book Description
This classic history by LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen is crammed with colorful pathmarkers like Jedediah Smith, John C. Fremont, and Kit Carson, and with packers, home seekers, and horse thieves. ... Read more