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

Now, let’s be about it!

It’s time for the third novel in the Manticore Ascendant story arc: A Call to Vengeance.

Co-written with Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope and published by Baen in March 2018, this is another of David Weber’s lengthier novels, but with good reason. We’re watching a more mature Travis Long (and colleagues, including Lisa Donnelly) participate in operations of the maturing Royal Manticoran Navy. The Manticoran government continues to struggle with the roles, relationships and funding competition between the RMN and MPARS. In a subplot we see the establishment of the Special Intelligence Service (known quietly but openly as Delphi) and an associated struggle in terms of roles, responsibilities and authorities between the Office of Naval Intelligence and Delphi. As those pots simmer (or boil), Elisabeth works through a potentially significant political fight that manifests as a “Constitutional crisis”. This all sounds serious, right? It is, but there are definitely a few very funny events that occur within the pages within both plot lines.

Our ratings for A Call to Vengeance were a 5, 5 and 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 5.

As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with others. Don’t forget, it’s never too late to comment on previous episodes either. We love your feedback and thoughts. Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew!

Next time we’re stepping back into the main story arc as we dive into Uncompromising Honor as things get very heated between Manticore and Mesa. As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

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.