From multiple New York Times best selling author David Weber and #1 New York Times best selling author Timothy Zahn. NEW ENTRY IN BEST-SELLING SERIES. Book #2 in the Manticore Ascendant series, set in David Weber's Honorverse.
Lieutenant Travis Long of the Royal Manticoran Navy is the sort of person who likes an orderly universe. One where people follow the rules.
Unfortunately, he lives in the real universe.
The good news is that Travis is one of those rare people who may like rules but has a talent for thinking outside them when everything starts coming apart. That talent has stood him—and the Star Kingdom—in good stead in the past, and it’s one reason he’s now a “mustang,” an ex-enlisted man who’s been given a commission as a King’s officer.
The bad news is that two of the best ways of making enemies ever invented are insisting on enforcing the rules . . . and thinking outside them when other people don’t. Travis learned that lesson the hard way as a young volunteer in basic training, and he knows that if he could just keep his head down, turn a blind eye to violations of the rules, and avoid stepping on senior officers’ toes, he’d do just fine. But the one rule Travis Long absolutely can’t break is the one that says an officer in the Royal Navy does his duty, whatever the consequences.
At the moment, there are powerful forces in the young Star Kingdom of Manticore’s Parliament which don’t think they need him. For that matter, they’re pretty sure they don’t need the Royal Manticoran Navy, either. After all, what does a sleepy little single-system star nation on the outer edge of the explored galaxy need with a navy?
Unhappily for them, the edge of the explored galaxy can be a far more dangerous place than they think it is. They’re about to find out why they need the Navy . . . and how very, very fortunate they are that Travis Long is in it.
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Very enjoyableI simply enjoy the Harrington series and all of David Webers writing. Zahn has been a favored writer since I first came across him in the Star War series. Just fun well thought out and keeps my attention. I have read it twice and will read it again. A good story never gets old.
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GoodEnjoy just about the whole series. This was good not great. Good background too, wish I could write well but at least I get to read others.
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Product Review
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Product ReviewWeber calls this series the history books of Manticore. Zahn does an outstanding job of weaving this story of domestic and interstellar politics, heroes, villains, and those in-between, and patriotism (duty, honor, kingdom).
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Product ReviewI liked this book, apparently more than the other reviewers did. It's got the same political intrigue + big battle where lots of people die, just like the rest of the Honor Harrington books do. To my eye, it's of similar quality, just on a smaller scale. And, unlike the more recent novels in that series, lots of stuff actually happens here--it's not mostly filler, it's well constructed as a novel. It has an intriguing beginning, good stuff in the middle (intrigue, a crime, a big nasty battle), and a satisfying ending (unlike some of the more recent Honor Harrington novels that basically didn't go anywhere). And it certainly leaves open lots of interesting territory for the next novel. The viewpoint characters are interesting too: Long, Townsend, Donnelly, Winterfall are all quite different from each other but I found each at least as interesting as the main characters in the rest of the Honor Harrington series. No, it's not the greatest space opera book ever, but it certainly held my attention, and I after reading it I wanted to return to this universe again and get to know the characters better after reading it; I would have bought the next novel immediately if it were available.
I think this book and its predecessor could stand on its own, apart from the rest of the Honor Harrington series, as decent novels. Even though you know how it has to end (because it's a prequel) the working out of that necessary conclusion is pretty well done. And you also get the pleasure of watching more tidbits of the back story of Manticore fall into place.Posted on
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Product ReviewYou can see Zahn's handy work in this book. I love the Honorverse series, but just feel let down by some glaring weaknesses in the story line. Very dissapointing. Would point some out, but it would give away some of the plot. There is not much to give away.
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Product ReviewThree stars for the Honorverse, but overall, it's... I don't know, looks to me little half-cooked. I really cannot point what my problem with the story really is, but there's just something missing. On the other side, the overall background is very interesting and working, so, not bad at all.
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Product ReviewIf there was a half star I'd have given it 3.5 so I rounded down. I enjoyed it more than 'A Call to Duty.' I can see where they're going with the character development and I enjoy the tech differences between the Ascendant vs Harrington books. Still waiting for that moment when the main chars really drag me into the moment.
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Product ReviewNjaa. It gets a 3 star rating based on how long it took me to read it. A book that I read in 3-4 days gets 5. This one took longer. I didn't feel compelled to turn the next page just to know what happens next.
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