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Title: Worlds Of Honor |
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Review of Worlds Of Honor
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Comments for Worlds Of Honor
- Posted on 2007-12-30
Not Free SF Reader
A range of stories, from a murder investigation, to a military conflict, and an actual princess-with-cat tale (but no pony :)). None of them are particularly good.
Worlds of Honor : The Stray - Linda Evans
Worlds of Honor : What Price Dreams? - David Weber
Worlds of Honor : The Queen's Gambit - Jane Lindskold
Worlds of Honor : The Hard Way Home - David Weber
Worlds of Honor : Deck Load Strike - Roland J. Green
Treecat partner murder revenge.
3.5 out of 5
Got to check out those humans, boss.
3 out of 5
Royalty more fun with smart furries.
3 out of 5
Get out of my way you fracking fool, I have an avalanche to rescue people from.
3.5 out of 5
Planetary dispute with guns.
2.5 out of 5
2.5 out of 5
Score: 3
- Posted on 2006-02-27
Honorable
The whole Honor Harrington series is some of the best fiction that I have ever read. The understanding and parallel to today's politics and Media is very insightful
Score: 5
- Posted on 2005-12-09
More background of the Honorverse
Worlds of Honor is a collection of five short stories set in the universe of David Weber's Honor Harrington series. I have enjoyed the HH novels immensely, and I am finding the short story collections are quite good as well. The first story, The Stray, by Linda Evans, is a murder mystery set on Sphinx with a human doctor and a treecat working together to solve the crime. Weber himself checks in with What Price Dreams about the first adoption of a member of the Manticore Royal Family by a treecat, told largely from the 'cat's perspective. Queen's Gambit, by Jane Linskold, is a more politically-driven story about the rise of Queen Elizabeth III to the throne of the Royal Kingdom of Manticore and the investigation into the assassination of Elizabeth's father. Weber delivers again with The Hard Way Home, the only story in which Honor Harrington puts in an appearance. This story gets away from the usual military or political conflicts found in an HH story and gets more into a man versus nature with the Attica Avalanche. This is probably my favorite story of the five. Finally, Roland J. Green checks in with Deck Load Strike about a raid on a distant backwater planet. This is my least favorite story in this volume. If you're looking for a regular entry in the Honor Harrington series, stick with the full-length novels, but altogether, Worlds of Honor is a fascinating read which, like More Than Honor, helps to further deepen the reader's understanding of the Honorverse.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2005-06-05
Building the Background
Don't expect an Honor Harrington saga in this one. Instead of directly being part of the Honor series, it is an anthology of shorts set in Honor's universe. Two of the stories are by David Weber himself and other three are from guest contributors. Honor does make a brief appearance in one of the Weber stories but it is just in a supporting role.
"The Stray" tells the story of a rural doctor on Sphinx not long after the first treecat adoption. He is an adoptee. Much of the story is told from the point of view of the cats. They are aware of a terrible crime by a human and manage to get the good doctor to investigate it. This is a very good story and well worth the read.
"What Price Dreams" is one of the Weber stories. It tells of the first time a member of the Manticorian royal family is adopted by a cat. This fortuitous occurrence helps to foil an assassination plot and results in political advantage for the cats. Much of this one is also told from the cats' points of view. It too is a good story.
"Queen's Gambit" takes place during the beginning of Elizabeth's reign and this brings us into the actual time period of Honor Harrington. The story concerns the assassination of Elizabeth's father and the investigation of the crime. This is an occurrence alluded to in one of the main Honor Harrington books. Again, the story is worthwhile.
"The Hard Way Home", Weber's second contribution to this collection, is the one where Honor makes a personal appearance. She is just a Lt. Cmdr. at the time and is serving as the XO of a ship testing out a new type of pinnace. During the trials, her people are called upon to rescue the survivors of an avalanche at a ski resort. The real protagonists in this one are the kids who aid in their own rescue with Nimitz's help. It too was a good read.
"Deck Load Strike" deals with a campaign by proxy between clients of the Peeps and of Manticore on a backwater planet. It is almost exclusively a military account of a raid. It was well written but I did no enjoy it as much as the others.
If it seems that this collection is top heavy with treecats, that is because it is. They are even alluded to in the last story though they do not take part. People fascinated with treecats will want this collection only for that reason but the stories hang together well whether you are a treecat fan or not.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2001-06-04
Tasty, Yet Less Filling
First off, let me state that the Honor Harrington series is one of the best things to happen to the science fiction field for quite awhile, at least since the quiet death of the cyberpunk movement. Military SF has been moving into vogue lately, and David Weber's work is the best of the lot. He has created a vivid, detailed, and intricate setting that remains internally consistent, which is no mean feat. He has also developed a large number of characters for whom the reader will feel a significant attachment.However, this short story collection, by various authors and including Mr. Weber, falls somewhat short of the mark, unless you really like "all treecats, all the time". The first story, "The Stray", is adequate but overly long because the same events are related from multiple points of view. Done well, this can be intriguing; here, it is simply annoying when it takes the injured human hero 40 pages to crawl to his aircar, especially as this takes place in a flashback, so we know that he made it.
The last story, "Deck Load Strike", is much shorter but not terribly interesting. The good guys meet the bad guys and a short fight ensues. Yeah, this is the essence of the vast majority of SF, I suppose, but here it seemed to be stripped to its bare bones and the characters simply fail to come to life. Also, the timing of some of the events of the battle sequence are just plain odd. I mean, a century-old fish-factory ship launches aerial troop transports for the raid, yet somehow crosses many kilometers of ocean to arrive at the strike point at the same time? Fast ship.
"What Price Dreams?" offers a nice glimpse of treecat society and a well-thought-out look at how bad guys set up their plots within plots with their high-tech resources. However, the two primary high points can be seen coming from miles away and are utterly predictable, albeit satisfyingly executed.
"Queen's Gambit" provides some backstory for Honor's Manticoran monarch, Elizabeth III. While the conspiracy portions of the story are rather fascinating, the investigation aspect is a bit dull. Some of it seems so casually done that I kept expecting the Mystery Machine to pull up and disgorge Scooby Doo and friends, crying out, "Let's look for clues!" However, the resolution, with its balance of political compromises, is well depicted.
Best of the bunch is "The Hard Way Home", which features Honor herself in a tale set previous to the series premiere. Here, treecats fortunately do not serve as the deus ex machina to save the day. And for a nice change of pace, the conflict is not military or political in nature, but rather humanity against the elements. Weber has a deft touch with characterization and can sketch out even supporting characters with just a few strokes.
If you want to make your Honor Harrington collection complete, go ahead and pick this one up. But certainly, if you've never read any of the books, skip this one and start with "On Basilisk Station"--you'll be far better off.
Score: 3