A Call to Duty by David Weber and Timothy Zahn

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Growing up, Travis Uriah Long yearned for order and discipline in his life . . . the two things his neglectful mother couldn't or wouldn't provide. So when Travis enlisted in the Royal Manticoran Navy, he thought he'd finally found the structure he'd always wanted so desperately.

But life in the RMN isn't exactly what he expected. Boot camp is rough and frustrating; his first ship assignment lax and disorderly; and with the Star Kingdom of Manticore still recovering from a devastating plague, the Navy is possibly on the edge of extinction.

The Star Kingdom is a minor nation among the worlds of the Diaspora, its closest neighbors weeks or months away, with little in the way of resources. With only modest interstellar trade, no foreign contacts to speak of, a plague-ravaged economy to rebuild, and no enemies looming at the hyper limit, there are factions in Parliament who want nothing more than to scrap the Navy and shift its resources and manpower elsewhere.

But those factions are mistaken. The universe is not a safe place.

Travis Long is about to find that out.



Review:

XO checking in again.  I am really spoiled by Nat when it comes to books.  She sees all these great sites, all these upcoming books, and when she sees one that I might like, she gently, kindly, looks at me, and in a sweet, sultry voice says “READ THIS IN 4 DAYS AND THEN REVIEW IT OR I WILL KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!”.  I apologize, that’s a slight exaggeration.  She gave me 7 days. 

David Weber is back, and this time, he partners with Timothy Zahn, to take his fans of the Honorverse back to a time before the technological and military superiority of Manticore and her allies.  A Call to Duty, Manticore Ascendant Book 1, takes us back to a time when the Plague is still a recent memory, and the entire Manticoran Navy consists of 8 ships.  Far, far away are the days of Manticoran Fleets protecting the shipping lanes of the Silesian Confederacy from pirates, from going toe to toe with Thomas Theisman and Shannon Foraker and the battle fleets of Haven, and from defending your home world and its allies from attacks from Mesa.  What’s here now is a shrinking Navy with disappearing parts and budgets, a confused, squabbling and self-important political machine (OK, sorry, that won’t change anytime in their future), and a King who is tired keeping his fledgling world together.  And Travis Long, a young kid who has to make a decision one fateful night to be the getaway driver for his ‘friends’ or join the Navy.  Time will only tell if he made the right decision, and right now, Travis is not sure.

At its heart, this is a space pirate tale, with the scrappy newcomers fighting against a trained, smart, and well-funded pirate organization.  The pirates aren’t trying to rob a ship, they’re trying to steal one.  Well, two if they can get away with it.  Travis might be great at thinking outside the box, but it’s going to take everyone to get them out of this one, and if they’re all very VERY lucky, they’ll even be alive to see if it worked.    At the same time, there’s intrigue and struggles near the throne, and the King is tired, and Prince Edward has a feeling that he’s about to get handed the keys to the Kingdom.  The only question is will the Kingdom survive until he can get the Navy back in shape, and ready to face future threats.  And in the fine tradition of the House of Winton, the Prince will be trying to figure everything out while serving in that same Navy he’s trying to save. 

Sometimes Book 1 of a series can be a little dry, setting up the people, the places, the tech, and the society.  The story is fast paced, then slows, then speeds up again.  It is a bit of a roller coaster, but you know quickly who to love and who to hate (HA HA, no, it’s not going to be that easy, sorry, I was just seeing if you’d fall for it), and the political intrigue is present, as always in the Honorverse.  Weber and Zahn are a Sci-Fi geeks marriage made in heaven, and the book has both their fingerprints all over it.  I’ve missed Zahn since I first read his Star Wars trilogy, and I’ve been so hooked on Weber, I am almost always reading one, and rarely for the first time.  I look forward to seeing where the series goes, and hopefully this will not be the last collaboration between these two science fiction icons.   A good read, and more importantly, a set-up to a hopefully GREAT series.

Smooches,

the XO

A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber

* * * * 1/2


“A stellar introduction to a new YA science-fiction series set in the “Honorverse” of Weber’s popular adult novels…It’s rare to find teen science fiction that strays beyond dystopian fare. The environmental messages, human-animal friendship, humor, action, and inventive technology will make this series starter an easy hit with teen SF readers” – Booklist starred review

Hello – XO here. When my wife/boss/Captain, Nat, told me that my favorite author was going to release a YA novel, I squealed like a 12 year old girl. At which point, she decided that I had the correct qualifications to write a guest review for the Bibliojunkies. With that said, be gentle, I’m nowhere near as good as these ladies at writing reviews. Fortunately, they love me, and I can still read so…

I’ve read all of Weber’s Honorverse novels, actually ALL of his novels, usually within a few weeks of their release, so I was standing at the mailbox waiting for this one to arrive. I was a little cynical since this story was already released in a short story collection, but obviously the book was longer (Yeah, I can count too, usually). Weber made a few modifications to the original short story, and used it the lead off the book, with added story line following. I’ll also throw a plug in for the adult Honorverse series, if you are a fan of sci-fi, please check it out, and be sure you give it a chance; it starts out a bit slow with book 1, but book 2 and on are amazing.

The story follows young Stephanie Harrington, Great-Great-Great –yadda-yadda-yadda Grandmother of the Hero of the Honorverse books, Honor Harrington. Stephanie is smarter than her peers, as grown-up as most adults in town, and as curious as a, well, as a tree-kitten. She meets her companion while trying to solve the great celery mystery of 1518 DP (don’t ask, read it, it’ll make sense) and they instantly form a powerful, unexplained bond. This is a 12 year old, stuck on a planet that has seasons 15 months long, and she is the frst person to find and meet another member of a sentient race of non-humans. Not too shabby for someone who hasen’t even started high school (And for my daughters, just note, she’s set the bar pretty high, but I expect each of you to somehow do at least the same). What follows is an adventure that neither of them expected, but both of them are going to see through, regardless of the cost. I apologize in advance to Nat, Shel and Bel, but this book ROCKS the other YA books out there ! I can honestly say this is the BEST YA sci-fi book I have ever read (Number of YA sci-fi books read prior to this = 0).

There are no vampires, or werewolves, or love triangles, in fact, at 12ish, Stephanie still finds boys a bit “yucky”. There is no depressing dystopian world where everything is morose and sad. There is a bright young girl, her new friend, the sentient arboreal treecat Lionheart, some dastardly evil doers, and a supporting cast of furry, ferocious, friendly, fascinating treecats (see what I did there, chuckle at my hilariousness). I, for one, am now going to annoy my wife on a daily basis, asking when the next book in the series comes out.

~ The Executive Officer (a.k.a Nat's husband)