It seems too soon, but we’re already talking about the fourth book in the Star Kingdom series: A New Clan, once again written by David Weber and Jane Lindskold. If there was a sassy tag line taken from the summary of the book, it’s “Sex! Drugs! Rock and Roll! And Treecats!”

Published in June 2022, we’re hit with 420 pages full of fresh, new adventures in the Honorverse. As we mentioned in the podcast, there’s now also a fifth book in this series. We’ll certainly cover that when the time comes.

While our treecat friends are a key part of the story, here we’re following Stephanie and friends as they find themselves involved in uncovering the details behind what may be an illegal drug ring. Is this Forestry Service work? Not necessarily, but this well-written story comfortably explains how Probationary Ranger Harrington along with colleagues and friends find themselves involved in determining if a new drug in what is the beginning of common use has ties to a number of accidents involving other youths. Needless to say, things get messy and a little ugly, quickly. These “kids” are growing up!

After seeing the Rangers and Stephanie involved in significant wildfires previously, this is an interesting adventure as forestry work takes a side seat to more traditional law enforcement business in what is revealed to be a somewhat gray area. Like the others in this series, A New Clan is written with a young adult audience in mind, but still a good read for fans of any age. As always, we discuss our pros and cons with this novel from our perspective as Honorverse fans and hope you join right in with us.

We rated A New Clan with a 4, another 4 and a 3.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 3.8.

As always, thank you for listening and big thanks to those of you who also take the time to like and follow us on social media, to comment on our posts or even reach out to us with a longer note. At the end of this show we truly enjoy when we can read your comments and questions. Please keep them coming!

Next time on the Honorverse Today podcast, we’re turning our attention to Shadow of Freedom by David Weber. This book is the third novel in the Saganami Island sequence. We hope you grab it, read it, and find a friend to join us on the continuing adventure 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!

Suddenly we’re here to talk about the fourth novel in the Manticore Ascendant story arc: A Call to Insurrection.

As before, this novel is co-written with Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope and published by Baen in January 2022. We’re back in the fight with Travis Long, his wife Lisa and on an adventure following a recent attack on the young Star Kingdom. What rests behind the recent attack is the speculation that the small and insignificant Star Empire might be sitting on something extremely valuable in the context of trade and commerce. With the potential for a significant increase in economic power, someone is trying to ensure that increase is theirs and not Manticore’s. However, Queen Elizabeth I and her government aren’t completely ignorant of what might be behind the attacks. If they’re right, there is a real threat to the Kingdom looming, and therefore a real need for a stronger and more capable navy. Enter the well-timed diplomatic contact by the Andermani Empire, and quickly we find Travis, Lisa and our other friends on what could be a well-timed adventure. Or possibly a disaster. There’s drama, tension, a bunch of mercenaries, and definitely some combat!

As always, your hosts share their thoughts about the book, and in this case the story arc we know as “Manticore Ascendant”. We even refer back to things David Weber shared with us about what may lie ahead for this part of the Honorverse (could there be more?), and a few thoughts and hopes of our own as the overarching Honorverse adventure continues.

Our ratings for A Call to Insurrection were a 4.5, 5 and 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.7 from your hosts.

As always, thank you for taking this journey with us, listening, liking and commenting on the episodes, and sharing this podcast with other like-minded adventurers. We always love your feedback and thoughts. Like the three of us, every one of you is a part of the crew!

Next time we’re shifting back to the Star Kingdom arc and looking at the fourth book there: A New Clan. If you like seeing the development of the treecat-human partnership, the early years on Sphinx for humans, and the further adventures of Stephanie Harrington, don’t miss this one! Grab your copy, invite a friend, and please 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!

Here we are, finishing the Crown of Slaves series with the fourth book: To End in Fire, once again co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint.

Consistent with the title, this story arc ends with a lot of fire. For the Babylon 5 fans who are also here with us, we can say there’s lot’s of BOOM. It’s another hefty book, coming in at 704 pages if you read the print version, so there’s definitely room for a lot of fire (or boom), and a lot of action overall. The focus of the story is tied to the continued dealing with the Mesan Alignment, with action taking place in several locations including Mesa and Earth. Lots of threads from previous books are pulled together, and we get to watch the workings of the defeated Solarian League’s Constitutional Convention. We also see the establishment of significant governmental reform on Mesa, with some pretty cool time and attention paid to several of our former Ballroom members, including Saburo X.

We continue to see Honor in action as combat ops have ended (paused?) and follow-on operations occur. Oh, and Honor’s mother Alison (one of our favorite characters) gives birth to twins. For those who read it, you know this is only a summary and there’s SO much more going on as well.

Your hosts rated “To End in Fire” with a 4, a 4 and a 4.5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.17 from your hosts.

We hope you never get tired of hearing it because we don’t get tired of saying it: thank you for listening and especially to those of you who take the time to interact with us, like and follow us on social media, and share this podcast with others.

Next, we’re back in the Manticore Ascendant series, looking at the fourth and final book: A Call to Insurrection co-authored by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Thomas Pope. As with the others in this series/arc, we’re making a final trip back to the early years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore. As we wrap this series up, 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!