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More Than Honor | Rating | |
| B | |||
| David Weber | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Worlds of Honor | Jayne's Intelligence Review: The Royal Manticoran Navy, Jayne's Intelligence Review: The Havenite Republican Navy, On Basilisk Station, The Honor of the Queen, The Short Victorious War, Field of Dishonor, Flag in Exile, Honor Among Enemies, In Enemy Hands, Echoes of Honor, Ashes of Victory, War of Honor, At All Costs, More Than Honor, Worlds of Honor, Changer of Worlds, The Service of the Sword, Crown of Slaves, The Shadow of Saganami | ||
The "Honorverse" consists of more than just Honor Harrington. The setting encompasses a good portion of the galaxy, and there's two thousand years of future history yet to be told. From humanity's first contact with Sphinx's treecats to an archaeological trip to the backwaters of the Solarian League, some of these stories can at last be told. There's also a story directly relevant to the war between Haven and Manticore that is only alluded to in the mainstream books of the series, and a lengthy essay by David Weber.
I really quite liked this anthology. It's the first time Weber allowed others to play in his sandbox, and by and large they played very nicely indeed. David Drake and S. M. Stirling are accomplished authors in their own right. I definitely liked the story set on Haven, portraying the Leveler rebellion, more than I did the one set in the Solarian League, but both were very good stories that help flesh out the setting.
But by far the best were Weber's own contributions. The essay at the end is a lengthy discourse explaining certain things about the Honorverse. It mostly concerns itself with the history of the diaspora, of faster-than-light technology, and Haven's economic downfall, but because it's not even trying to be part of a story Weber has the freedom to delve into amazing detail. The article is eighty pages long! But it's fascinating reading, at least to Honor fans, and darn near mandatory if you ever want to write Honorverse fanfiction (or real fiction, like Drake's and Stirling's) of your own.
And Weber's story is excellent as well. Who wouldn't be interested in seeing not only how humans and treecats met, but why they like celery so much? That half the story is told, for the first time, from the treecat's point of view makes this story worth reading right thee. Stephanie might be a little too precocious, even if she is an eleven-year-old certified genius, but the irritation is transitory.
Reading More Than Honor is not necessary to enjoy the other books in the series. Weber has always been good about embedding needed information in his stories even when the events are shown in full in another book. But this can help readers see some of those events in full. It also expands the universe, showing us there is more to see than just Haven and Manticore. Other people have roles to play, and even if they're not as significant as Honor Harrington their contributions are not to be slighted. If you really want to get the full enjoyment out the the Honorverse, you really should seek this volume out.
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