After the disastrous attack on the Manticoran home system by forces unknown, the Royal Manticoran Navy stands on the brink of collapse. A shadowy enemy with the resources to hurl warships across hundreds of light years seeks to conquer the Star Kingdom for reasons unknown, while forces from within Manticore’s own government seek to discredit and weaken the Navy for reasons very much known: their own political gain.
It’s up to officers like Travis Long and Lisa Donnelly to defend the Star Kingdom and the Royal Manticoran Navy from these threats, but the challenge is greater than any they have faced before. Weakened but not defeated, the mercenary forces and their mysterious employer could return at any time, and the anti‑Navy faction within Parliament is growing. The situation becomes even more dire when fresh tragedy strikes the Star Kingdom.
While the House of Winton faces their enemies at home, Travis, Lisa, and the other officers of the Royal Manticoran Navy must reunite with old friends and join new allies to hunt down and eliminate the forces arrayed against them in a galaxy‑spanning conspiracy.
Manticore has learned that the universe is not a safe place, but the Star Kingdom’s enemies are about to learn it's dangerous to mess the Manticore!
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Liked it quite a bit. The 4 rating is mostly due to a few issues that should be picked up by editing (Ship name being flipped in the same paragraph as an example). But it is nice to see how the Star Kingdom is at the beginning. Now to hopefully get more books about Stephanie Harrington & Lionhart, and the rest of the Honor Harrington books!
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Nicely developedWell written, nice Easter eggs and future references, it was good to have the Knights of the Dinner Table pulling security. This is a fun read.
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A wonderful look at pre-Harrington Manticore and the RMNI am really enjoying reading about the early days of Manticore and the RMN. In those days the Navy was almost a canoe with a shotgun. This is long before Honor when her pinnacle is the equal of early destroyers and her destroyers outgun the old battle cruisers.
If you haven't read the other prequels, I suggest that you get them too and read them in order. It'll be well worth your time and moneyPosted on
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this helps fill in som history of Manacore, but the ending left me wating moreAnother grest read in the continued saga of our favorite star system .
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A joy to read. And proof that it takes the most unlikely of hero to triumph over politics!
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AwesomeVery enjoyable.
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good!Was enjoyable! Some parts of the story were a bit boring, particularly in hindsight (sorry, not wanting to spoil things, hence being very vague).
Nonetheless, interesting to see the RMN as something else that what we are used to in the days of Honor Harrington, but also to see that at that time, Haven and the SKM were friends, if not allies.
All in all, an enjoyable ride!
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A Great "Prequel"I really liked this book. I have been checking the Baen website everyday since it was first shown in the March publications, I bought it the first day the E-ARC became available. It is a great story but it is really just a 367 page prequel for the next book, This book sets the stage for the conflicts coming
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Great!It was an unexpectedly good read and the story is intriguing. The Manticoran constitution is brought up again, and it is an interesting metaphor: In order to make an original population (who are themselves immigrants) support further immigration, they are granted special rights over the new arrivals. We can see less blatant but similarly effective schemes in contemporary democracies. But this is a deal with the devil, and Manticoran politics is balancing on a razor's edge between the aristocracy gaining too much power and the commoners questioning the system.
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