Beginnings World of Honor #6 out

[Timba]

This was a fun read. As the title implies you go back in time in these stories. Sometimes far back in time.

Two short stories by Weber himself, one giving some history on Honor's parents and one on her childhood.

The other stories are by Charles Gannon (I liked this), Timothy Zahn (I always like his stuff and this was no exception) and Joelle Presby (I enjoyed this but I struggled a bit as I had trouble getting the story in focus).

 

[Parson]

Timba,

What do you do? Do you live on the Weber site or what?

I clicked over to Amazon and it said "Pre-order" but then I noticed that the Kindle version was already available. So it is now safely on my Kindle awaiting my perusal. I see that you could be the first to review the book on the Amazon site.

I'm excited and will soon be able to chat with you about the relative merits of each short story.

 

[Timba]

Timba,

What do you do? Do you live on the Weber site or what?

I clicked over to Amazon and it said "Pre-order" but then I noticed that the Kindle version was already available. So it is now safely on my Kindle awaiting my perusal. I see that you could be the first to review the book on the Amazon site.

I'm excited and will soon be able to chat with you about the relative merits of each short story.

I visit Baen on the 1st and 15th every month. They have the new releases right on the front page. I admit to also checking Weber's homepage now and then just to see what is happening.

I look forward to your thoughts on these stories.

 

[Parson]

[Spoilers from this point onward]



Well I've finished "By the Book" by Charles E. Ganon. I thought the story started out with a bang. I loved the way we are on the cruiser and really not sure what's going on and the captain makes unusual but in the end insightful decisions. I was not so fond of the next half of the story where the captain is essentially a detective. I thought that we weren't given enough information about the stuff he was looking into. I really was frustrated by the onion effect. Every time he'd dig through a layer he'd find another layer beneath that. I suppose I should have been surprised that Parson was the answer to who-dun-it. But I wasn't. From the very beginning of the detective part of this story he was the odd character which made him stick out like a sore thumb to those of us who read some detective books. o I do.) On the whole I'd rate this story a 3, on a scale where 1 Avoid at all costs 2 Not recommended 3 Neither recommended nor not recommended 4 Recommended 5 Must Read.

It certainly wasn't a bomb, but it was not anything to be thrilled with either.

 

[Parson]

Parson wonders where Timba disappeared to, hopes for a bit of conversation on these after time.....


Beauty and the Beast by Timothy Zahn ---- This was a crackerjack of a story. It has created a back story that resonates perfectly with what we know of Honor and the Harrington history of really brilliant mind touches with the tree cats. The pacing of the story had me from "Hello." I had always known that Honor's father, Alfred Harrington, had been a soldier, but this makes him more than just any yeoman. The link between Alfred and Allison fits with what we know about the tree cats, but it is something that was not even hinted at before this story. It also seems as though Alfred borders on having ESP, as he has these very dependable "hunches." I don't know how much Timothy Zahn has spent reading the Honor Harrington series, but he has an absolutely right feel for it. I think that this story will become required reading for anyone who wants the whole story of the "Honorverse." This gets 5 stars from me. It is not a story to be missed.

The Best Laid Plans by David Weber --- I was worried that this story would not match Zahn's and it probably didn't. But it sounded to me like either Weber and Zahn had collaborated in writing these or Weber wrote after Zahn the fit between these stories was so good. Maybe my brain isn't making the connection but before this story and Zahn's there was hardly a hint that Alfred and Allison were more than very in love and very good parents. Now we learn that it is impossible for Honor to lie to her Dad because he always knows when she's telling the truth. A logical move from Zahn's story but another piece of new material. The main story about how Honor and Nimitz became linked is solid and makes good sense. I give this story a 4, recommended.

Obligated Service by Joelle Presby --- This was a nice story. It did lose me a little bit in the beginning. It took me a while to figure out what the back ground of the story was. It was not until the end of the story that I made the connection of "Birdies" with the Blackbird ship yards. I was consistently frustrated by how difficult it was for other people of Grayson to figure out what was really wrong with Claire. There should have been enough racial memory for that to be obvious for anyone who talked with Claire for more than a few minutes. Also the story was too internal for me. I wanted some action, which never really showed up in this story. However the last line in the story is an absolute classic. On the whole I give this story a three. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing so right either.

 

[Timba]

Parson wonders where Timba disappeared to, hopes for a bit of conversation on these after time.....


Beauty and the Beast by Timothy Zahn ---- This was a crackerjack of a story. It has created a back story that resonates perfectly with what we know of Honor and the Harrington history of really brilliant mind touches with the tree cats. The pacing of the story had me from "Hello." I had always known that Honor's father, Alfred Harrington, had been a soldier, but this makes him more than just any yeoman. The link between Alfred and Allison fits with what we know about the tree cats, but it is something that was not even hinted at before this story. It also seems as though Alfred borders on having ESP, as he has these very dependable "hunches." I don't know how much Timothy Zahn has spent reading the Honor Harrington series, but he has an absolutely right feel for it. I think that this story will become required reading for anyone who wants the whole story of the "Honorverse." This gets 5 stars from me. It is not a story to be missed.

The Best Laid Plans by David Weber --- I was worried that this story would not match Zahn's and it probably didn't. But it sounded to me like either Weber and Zahn had collaborated in writing these or Weber wrote after Zahn the fit between these stories was so good. Maybe my brain isn't making the connection but before this story and Zahn's there was hardly a hint that Alfred and Allison were more than very in love and very good parents. Now we learn that it is impossible for Honor to lie to her Dad because he always knows when she's telling the truth. A logical move from Zahn's story but another piece of new material. The main story about how Honor and Nimitz became linked is solid and makes good sense. I give this story a 4, recommended.

Obligated Service by Joelle Presby --- This was a nice story. It did lose me a little bit in the beginning. It took me a while to figure out what the back ground of the story was. It was not until the end of the story that I made the connection of "Birdies" with the Blackbird ship yards. I was consistently frustrated by how difficult it was for other people of Grayson to figure out what was really wrong with Claire. There should have been enough racial memory for that to be obvious for anyone who talked with Claire for more than a few minutes. Also the story was too internal for me. I wanted some action, which never really showed up in this story. However the last line in the story is an absolute classic. On the whole I give this story a three. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing so right either.

You threw me a curveball on this Parson. The Beauty and the Beast story you liked so much (me too) was actually by Weber himself. Zahn's story was A Call to Arms. I really enjoyed it as it filled in some more Manticoran history.

Agree totally with your assessment of Beauty and the Beast. Great story! Great action. Excellent insight into A&A.

I also agree the last Weber story was not as good as B&B but was certainly a good read.

The last story by Presby gave me the same problems it gave you but I think I fell into sync with it (perhaps quicker) due to having read another short on the Baen site that dealt with some of the same characters and may in fact have been by the same author but it is not on the site now so I cannot confirm. It was not something that was for sale, simply a story they put up for free at Baen. Anyway, I agree with your assessment, solid story but nothing to recommend. As an author I think she has something though so I hope she continues to work at the craft.

 

[Parson]

Parson shakes his head in bemusement. How did I do that?! It certainly clears up how Beauty and Beast was so perfectly aligned with the Honorverse! It also points at one of the frustrations I had with the Kindle version. I had to "thumb" back to find the beginnings of the stories because there was no table of contents. You had to guess at the location and I'm not much good at that at all. I had even forgotten the story when I went to assigning authors to stories. The cover didn't help either because it did not say who wrote what stories.

I concur with your feelings about Presby. She does have something to offer as an author. I hope she continues to write. I even like Claire and would like to hear more about her. If she were writing more than a short story, I would have liked a bit more of what the other characters were feeling and thinking from time to time. In this story you could only assume by their reaction often of puzzlement, to Claire's actions and statements.

Okay:

Call to Arms by Timothy Zahn. This story was interesting to me mostly because it speaks of a time which the Honorverse has not dealt with. It seemed totally strange that ships were limited to a missile load not unlike modern day submarines. At that level it was totally believable. Also believable, but not something that made me like the story, was the pettiness of some of the officers involved. This story continued the slow pace of the opening one. I give it a 3 nothing to recommend it but equally nothing that says it should be avoided.

 

[Timba]

Totally agree about the table of contents. Some e-books have it and some do not. I have no understanding of the lack in some. I bought the epub version and on page 5 under the copyright info the titles and author were given which is what I referenced when you managed to confuse this old mind of mine.

I just finished another book that had a table of contents and it was interactive so you could click on a given chapter and go right to it. We as consumers need to bitch more I guess.

 

[Parson]

And who do you suppose we send our "female dogs" to? The author, the publisher? Amazon?

 

[Vertigo]

The publisher, Parson, the formatting of Weber's ebooks will almost certainly be done by Baen.

I haven't commented here as I'm way behind you guys in HH reading at the moment and haven't even looked at buying this yet though no doubt I will in time! It does sound like both of you have enjoyed it!

 

[Parson]

I might just see if I can leave some creative feed back there then. Thanks Vertigo. I did indeed enjoy the book and like I said earlier Beauty and the Beast should not to be missed.

 

[Timba]

The publisher, Parson, the formatting of Weber's ebooks will almost certainly be done by Baen.

I haven't commented here as I'm way behind you guys in HH reading at the moment and haven't even looked at buying this yet though no doubt I will in time! It does sound like both of you have enjoyed it!

I might just see if I can leave some creative feed back there then. Thanks Vertigo. I did indeed enjoy the book and like I said earlier Beauty and the Beast should not to be missed.

I concur with Parson's assessment and I suppose I should get off my duff and send a politely worded note to Baen also.

 

[Vertigo]

Yeah but I hate to criticise the one publisher that has embraced the new technology probably more than any other and seems to have the right attitude towards it as well (I'm still so impressed by their offer of free ebooks to any certified disabled folk).

 

[Timba]

Yeah but I hate to criticise the one publisher that has embraced the new technology probably more than any other and seems to have the right attitude towards it as well (I'm still so impressed by their offer of free ebooks to any certified disabled folk).

Agreed, I was thinking more in the manner of politely encouraging the inclusion of a table of contents on all their books going forward. I think "good" businesses like to hear feedback.

 

[Parson]

Agree as well!

 

[Vertigo]

Absolutely and indeed I think there is more evidence for Baen listening to feedback than many others! I keep wishing they'd sign up some of my other favourite authors!

 

[Timba]

I concur with your feelings about Presby. She does have something to offer as an author. I hope she continues to write. I even like Claire and would like to hear more about her. If she were writing more than a short story, I would have liked a bit more of what the other characters were feeling and thinking from time to time. In this story you could only assume by their reaction often of puzzlement, to Claire's actions and statements.

I mentioned I had read something by Presby before as a free offering on the Baen site. I recently picked up from their free library something called Free Stories 2012 and the second story in this collection is what I read from Presby before. Take a peek, it is free and some of the other stories may be worthwhile also. Can be found here Free Short Stories 2012 - Baen Ebooks

 

[Parson]

Thanks Timba, I've downloaded and read the first letter. Having read these first would certainly have helped!! Or perhaps since I read the short story first, I understand better, but I think (and it helps my ego) to believe the former rather than the latter.


I wonder how many like you frequent the Baen site. Not many I would think. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Timba]

I agree that reading these letters first would have helped with the second story. It sure helped me and I still staggered a bit getting going with the latest story.

I have been meaning to mention that for quite a few weeks now Baen has been having podcasts and as part of each weeks podcast they are providing one chapter of the audiobook Shadow of Freedom. I have never listened to an audiobook before and have to admit am enjoying this. It also reminds me of being a kid as I have to wait a week between chapters and as I am sure you remember (we are close to the same age I think) lots of things were done as serials back then. Has been great fun. All the podcasts they have done are on the site under the Baen Community tab if you want to give it a try. I do not usually listen to the whole podcast but simply jump ahead to the audiobook which is usually about the last 20-30 minutes.

I have enjoyed the audiobook version enough that I am planning to see what I can check out of the library as audiobooks. I find it a nice change of pace.

 

[Siberian]

This was a good anthology but I was annoyed at Honor's parents story because it "spoiled" Stephanie Harrington's series.