Weber, David, and Timothy Zahn. A Call to Duty. Honorverse: Manticore Ascendant No. 1. Baen, 2014.
Nobody writes better, straightforward military science fiction than David Weber and Timothy Zahn. Certainly, no one writes more of it. I have lost track of the number of books based on the novels that at first featured Honor Harrington and her treecat and then went on to fill in the gaps in the history of Manticore and its enemies and allies. A Call to Duty is the first of a series that takes us back into the early days of the star kingdom when its navy was in its nascent stage. The story pattern is familiar: we follow Travis, a young man looking for order in his life, into bootcamp and through his first battle experience, where he shows himself to be able to think “outside the lines.” Not all of his officers appreciate this quality. There are three books in the series so far with a fourth due out in 2021. Thomas Pope, as an expert on the Weber oeuvre, also had a hand in the writing, though his name does not get on the title page. Weber, David, and Timothy Zahn. A Call to Duty. Honorverse: Manticore Ascendant No. 1. Baen, 2014.
Nobody writes better, straightforward military science fiction than David Weber and Timothy Zahn. Certainly, no one writes more of it. I have lost track of the number of books based on the novels that at first featured Honor Harrington and her treecat and then went on to fill in the gaps in the history of Manticore and its enemies and allies. A Call to Duty is the first of a series that takes us back into the early days of the star kingdom when its navy was in its nascent stage. The story pattern is familiar: we follow Travis, a young man looking for order in his life, into bootcamp and through his first battle experience, where he shows himself to be able to think “outside the lines.” Not all of his officers appreciate this quality. There are three books in the series so far with a fourth due out in 2021. Thomas Pope, as an expert on the Weber oeuvre, also had a hand in the writing, though his name does not get on the title page. ( )

A CALL TO DUTY is the first book in a new series that takes place early in Manticore's history. The main character is Travis Uriah Long who is seventeen when the story begins. He had been a neglected child and ached for order and boundaries in his life. He rather impulsively joins the Royal Manitcoran Navy in hopes of finding the structure his life had been missing.

Travis hasn't picked the best time to join the Navy. A recent plague and other political considerations have put into question whether or not the navy would continue to exist. There hadn't been any threat to the star system and many in politics felt that the money devoted to the navy could best be used for domestic needs.

The navy itself was going through some issues too. Politically well-connected students were advanced over more competent students and cheating was common. Travis was a rule-follower and his calling attention to breaches in the rules didn't endear him to all his commanding officers or to all of his fellow recruits.

However, he makes it through training and finds himself on a ship where he gets involved in a situation. He comes up with a possible solution but can't get the commanding officer to accept it which leads to the death of a ship which happened to contain two of the people who helped him when he was a recruit.

He is surprised when he is assigned to another ship that is on its way to a meeting with Haven and some other star systems. He is even more surprised when a well-planned pirate attack happens. Despite being a rule follower, Travis also has a unique way of thinking outside the box. He does manage to provide some ideas that are very useful in Manticore's counter-attack.

This story has a lot of the usual Honorverse things - political intrigue and infighting, lots of descriptions of ships and weapons, and multiple points of view. It provides a good explanation of the development of the Star Kingdom.

I enjoyed watching Travis find his people and find a place in the Royal Manticoran Navy. I look forward to his further adventures. As an audiobook, the multiple points of view and settings which often changed within chapters made following the story a little more challenging until some people were named. ( )

This is a new series set in the Honorverse but at the beginning of the Manticorian kingdom. It follows Travis Long as a 17 year old who joins the Navy to leave a neglectful mother. Travis is big on following the rules and this trips him up a few times in the beginning of his military career. He does have a knack for rubbing some people the wrong way but he also impresses others with his quick thinking. The other half of the plot revolves around his older half brother Gavin who happens to be Baron Winterfall a new member of the House of Lords. He hasn't spent much time with his brother so doesn't know that he has joined the Navy in the beginning of the book. With the two brothers story lines you see both sides of the Navy’s problems at a macro and micro level.

The story was good and the big plus for me since this is co written the info dumps are way down and tighter plotting is back. A good fun read and I will certainly be picking up the next book when it comes out. ( )

Great fun! Off into the black with the Royal Manticorean Navy!

It had been some time since I strayed into the Star Kingdom, home of Honor Harrington - I've got quite a few yet-unread ebooks in the series, but spying the audible book for this new entrant, David Weber paired with Timothy Zahn(!), I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did.

It's well before Honor's time, and gives some interesting perspective and background to Honor's world. And it was a good caper story, building the mystery slowly about what the bad guys (no spoilers here) were up to and how the good guys slowly pieced it together. I've already started volume #2 (hm - when is #3 coming?), as well as the first two of the Honor stories for a re-read.

As Space Opera, these are satisfying - the good guys *mostly* good, and the bad guys from evil to misinformed or deluded. Weber's world of ships and technology are well defined enough that (though I admit I am not master of all the details) there is the ring of a "real" world to it - something one sees in the better Star Trek and Star Wars novels - sort of the illusion of Hard SF in the midst of space opera.
( )

Travis Long's story. He and the RMN saved each other. He needed order, they needed someone to carry on the traditions and strengths of the Navy. Pre-wormhole Manticore. Politics almost killed the Navy. ( )