Title: The Service of the Sword

Series: Honor Harrington

Author: Jane Lindskold, Timothy Zahn, John Ringo, Victor Mitchell, Eric Flint, David Weber

Genre: Science Fiction, Military Science Fiction

Wow.

That’s all I have to say. I’ve enjoyed every one of the short story compilations for the David Weber’s Honorverse, but usually there was a story which I didn’t care as much for or could have done without. Not so much in this book. I enjoyed everyone, and could barely put it down as I devoured the last three. And each story gets better than the last.

It starts off with “Promised Land” by Jane Lindskold, which centers around two characters. First, Michael Winton, the brother of the queen of Manticore who is trying to prove himself in the military on his own merits, and secondly on Judith, who was captured as a child by pirates and forced into a marriage with an older man when she came of age – and she wants to escape. I was already intrigued by the character of Michael Winton, and Lindskold does an excellent job of crafting and pacing the story. You know the paths of the two characters will cross, you just are not quite sure how it all is going to play out – which Lindskold does excellently.

The second story, “With One Stone,” is written by Timothy Zahn, whom I think has never written anything bad. Honor Harrington plays a secondary role in this story, while the primary character is Rafe Cardones. The story takes place after On Basilisk Station, so if you’ve read that book, this is a neat follow-up story. All, in all, it builds to a neat little climax.

It’s been a long time since I laughed as hard as I did reading “A Ship Named Francis,” by John Ringo and Victor Mitchell. So often the ships and captains of the Manticorans (as well as their allies) are depicted in quite complimentary terms. But everyone knows not every ship is perfect, right? And there’s got to be a ship where just about every element of “not perfect” come together, right? Well, in this case, there is. It’s hard to explain, but I can remember vividly laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes and couldn’t even read the words on the page.

“Let’s Go to Prague” (John Ringo) has this spy-noir feel to it. I really enjoyed the story and was slightly disappointed when it was over – I felt like I’d been cheated out of more. It centers around two non-conventional spys (in enemy territory) who decide to go on vacation (in a better locale, albeit still in enemy territory). They stumble upon the defection of an admiral which has just gone south and end up on the run for their lives.

The last two stories were my favorites among many enjoyable stories. “Fanatic,” by Eric Flint, is a masterful follow-up to “From the Highlands” (also by Eric Flint) from the compilation Changer of Worlds. Victor Cachat was a primary character in that story and he plays an almost primary character in this one. If you have read or are planning on reading Crown of Slaves and Torch of Freedom then you really should read first “From the Highlands” and then this story, “Fanatic.” Flint manages an almost breath-taking pace throughout, and the ending is really a masterful turn of phrase and concept – it kept me chuckling to myself for hours afterwards.

The final story is the title story, “The Service of the Sword,” by David Weber. A classic Weber tale. It centers around Abigail Hearns, who is also a significant character in Shadow of Saganami and Storm from the Shadows, and it takes place shortly before those two storylines. Basically Abigail is the first female from the planet Grayson to enter into naval training with the RMN (Royal Manticoran Navy. She’s on her middy cruise and gets quite the baptism by fire. I couldn’t stop reading – it was fantastic! Makes me want Weber’s next book in the series all the more.

In conclusion, if you enjoy the Honor Harrington series, of all the short story compilations Weber has put together for the Honorverse, this is one I would highly recommend. If you don’t know anything (or don’t care) about the Honorverse or Honor Harrington but you still love a good sci-fi tale, you’ll still greatly enjoy this collection.

Worldview: secular

Recommended age: I would suggest High School age, primarily due to the more detailed violence, though there are some more sexually mature scenarios, none of them get close to being explicit or inappropriate

Title:

Series: Star Wars; Hand of Thrawn, Book 2

Author: Timothy Zahn

Genre: Science Fiction

Vision of the Future is the sequel to Specter of the Past, both of which form a little mini-series in the Star Wars universe of books called “The Hand of Thrawn.” It picks up right where Specter of the Past left off, without much re-hashing at all – so definitely read Specter first. That said, if you enjoyed Zahn’s previous Thrawn Trilogy of the Star Wars universe, then you’ll probably love this little series. It is kind of a sequel to that trilogy, sort of…

Zahn does an incredible job weaving all the different people involved in a Star Wars story into a cohesive and coherent plot. There is just a lot of stuff going on! But he works it very well, most of the groundwork being laid in Specter of the Past so that he can just build and climax for most of this book. Zahn is an incredible writer, and here he does another excellent job of weaving an intriguing story with beloved characters, all the while making it believable and the characters seeming real.

As is usual in most Star Wars books, at least at this point in series, though there are some more mature social and political situations, the voilence and inferred sexuality would barely rate a PG-13 rating in a movie. So I would feel pretty comfortable allowing a middle-school aged child read this (though I would probably point him/her towards the Young Jedi series first…).

Good book, excellent pacing, and a page-turner to boot!

Worldview: Secular

Age Recommendation: a mature middle school aged child should be fine reading this, though high school age would be more appropriate.

Series: Star Wars; Hand of Thrawn, Book 1

Author: Timothy Zahn

Genre: Science Fiction

I am a huge fan of Star Wars, and I also loved Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy. So when I found another Star Wars book by Zahn, and then found out it was one of two books in a duology which serve as a kind of sequel to the Thrawn Trilogy, I was kind of excited. So I got my hands on the second book of the series and (eventually) started through ‘em. Specter of the Past is the first book (followed by Vision of the Future), and, while it starts off a little slow, is another gem by Timothy Zahn.

Unfortunately, in the end, this book did nothing more than set up all the conflict that will have to be resolved in the sequel (Vision of the Future). That being said, it is most definitely a good read. I enjoyed it a good amount, and found myself really drawn into the story by the end. Zahn doesn’t necessarily take too long setting up his characters, but in Star Wars there are a plethora of characters to draw from and to do the conflict justice he has to take a decent amount of time introducing the characters and revealing the layers of conflict.

As should be noted, there are a ton of Star Wars books out there, and I have have barely scratched the surface of them in my reading. So what is needed to enjoy this book? I would suggest having seen Episodes IV, V and VI of the movie, as well as probably reading Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command) before picking up this one. I’m sure reading any of the other books in the Star Wars series which fall before this one chronologically would also contribute to your understanding of what is going on in the galaxy at the time this story takes place, but they are not essential.

I would suggest getting your hands on Vision of the Future before reading this one, primarily because there really is no conclusion at the end. It just kind of stops – almost like a dramatic pause before an intermission and things kick it into high gear. You’re gonna want to have the sequel right there to pick up and continue reading.

If you’re a fan of Star Wars I highly recommend this novel. If you enjoy good science fiction, this would probably be up your alley as well. Zahn is an excellent writer and he does an excellent job here as well. The story would probably be appropriate for middle schoolers (Stars Wars books are generally clean when it comes to language and sexual stuff). The violence is not overwhelming, and the subject matter is slightly mature, but not too much so for that age.

Worldview: Secular

Recommended Age: Middle school age children should be fine with this book.