The Service of the Sword: Worlds of Honor 4

by David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Jane Lindskold

Book Overview

Lady Dame Honor Harrington isn't alone. Her life touches others-and their lives touch hers-directly, or indirectly, whether as a naval officer, steadholder, or duchess. In this collection, Jane... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743435990
• ISBN13: 9780743435994
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant "Honorverse" Stories By Others in Military SF

This is a fine collection of short stories which extend the dimensions of David Weber's "Honorverse". In the title story he introduces us to a young Grayson midshipman, the first native Grayson woman, daughter of a statholder, and her miraculous service aboard a Royal Manticoran heavy cruiser commanded by Captain Michael Oversteegen, another RMN officer cut from the same cloth as Admiral Honor Harrington. Jane Lindskold's "Promise Land" is a brilliant look at the repressive male-dominated society of Masada, and how a young Manticoran prince intervenes successfully in a domestic Masadan affair. Eric Flint's "Fanatic" is a brilliant look at what made Havenite secret agent Victor Cachat tick during his service in the La Martine system during the waning days of the People's Republic of Haven. Timothy Zahn's "With One Stone" is a brilliant look at Manticoran Naval Intelligence and of the young Captain Honor Harrington and one of her most brilliant officers, then lieutenant Rafael Cardones, as they contend with trouble from a secret Havenite warship operating in Silesian space, armed with the latest Solly technology. John Ringo's and Victor Mitchell's "A Ship Named Francis" is a brilliant look at an aged Grayson Navy heavy cruiser commanded by an inept captain and executive officer. John Ringo returns in his over-the-top satirical espionage farce "Let's Go to Prague", about the misadventures of two Manticoran intelligence operatives who visit the Havenite planet of Prague for a vacation, and find more than they bargained for.

Excellent Honor universe story with (thankfully) no cats

Women escape from the religious tyrrany of Masada, the Manticore navy pursues pirates and develops new allies, naval losers congregate on a single ship, Manticore spies pursue love and beer in an enemy capital, Haven secret police find a new role for complete fanaticism, and the Manticore navy pursues pirates once again--in a nutshell, IN THE SERVICE OF THE SWORD gives readers a series of new insights into the universe of Honor Harrington. Written by David Weber and a variety of Baen authors. As a pleasant surprise, all of the stories are good with Fanatic, by Eric Flint, especially standing out. Fans of the Tree Cats will be disappointed--they are pretty much non-starters in this story of human players in the game of space. For me, this is a plus. While the 'cats can add to the story, their insipid cuteness gets old fast (Tree-cat fans should, however, definitely check out CHANGER OF WORLDS which is pretty intensively 'cat-centered). The Honor Harrington series is a huge (and deserved) success and fans will enjoy seeing how different authors play with the universe that author David Weber has created. Honor herself appears in only one of these stories (although she is mentioned in most) and the stories are not essential to the continuity of the series. On the positive side, THE SERVICE OF THE SWORD can be read independently and creates a fine introduction to the series for those who have not yet discovered Honor and her friends.

Even More From the Worlds of Honor

The Service of the Sword is the fourth anthology in thr Worlds of Honor series. This volume contains six stories in the Honor Harrington universe, only one of which directly involves Honor.Promised Land by Jane Lindskold is the story of a Grayson girl who is captured by a Masadan privateer and incorporated into his family. Unfortunately for the Masadan, she can read and is computer literate.With One Stone by Timothy Zahn recounts an incident where a Peep warship live tests a new weapon system on Manty merchanters, so ONI gathers information and Honor Harrington provides a warm reception with a little help from her friends.A Ship Named Francis by John Ringo & Victor Mitchell tells about a madhouse of a ship where the odds and sods in the Grayson Navy are sent to keep them away from real sailors. There are real world precedents for this story, but none so surreal as the events herein.Let's Go to Prague by John Ringo is a yarn about two Manty covert ops agents who decide to go for drinks on Prague, a Peep planet, and find plenty of fun and games there. Personally, I believe this story to be not totally fictitious; a goodly number of the covert ops types are adrenaline junkies, not quite sane by normal standards (somewhat like fighter pilots).Fanatic by Eric Flint is the tale of a man who believes in his oath of office and confounds the normal run of hypocrites while purifying the Security service.The Service of the Sword describes the middy cruise of the first Grayson Midshipwoman, the unexpected expenditure of munitions involved, and the example she sets for her successors.Although I enjoyed the first story the most, this opinion is subject to change without notice. I believe that most of these stories will meet with your approval, for they are excellent reading by great writers. Enjoy.Recommended for Honor Harrington fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of naval/marine life, combat and frolics in a SF setting.

Great anthology!

There are six stories in this anthology of Honor's famous universe (created by author David Weber). This will have to be a long review because I want to give a synopsis of each story, as well as a rating. The book's total rating, from me, should be considered as 4.5 stars!The first story is Promised Land by Jane Lindskold. Judith was Grayson-born. As a child she was kidnapped when the merchant vessel she and her parents were traveling on was attacked by Masadan pirates. Judith's parents were killed, but her dying mother told Judith to never let the Masadans know she could read! Judith suffered much abuse as one of Ephraim's wives. However, an elite secret organization, made of females, plotted, planned, and got ready for the day of their salvation. They would get only one chance. They would all escape or be captured and executed as example to others. **** If you love stories by David Weber then THIS author is one to watch! Very well done indeed. **** The second story is With One Stone by Timothy Zahn. We zip back to the days when SHE was "Captain" Honor Harrington of the heavy cruiser HMS Fearless. Lieutenant (Senior Grade) Rafael "Rafe" Cardones was Honor's tac officer. These two are the main characters of this awesome story! Someone in Silesia space had gotten hold of an advanced form of the grav lance. Since Rafe was the only RMN tac officer who's ever used a grav lance in combat, he was temporarily assigned to an elite group and a top secret ONI mission. Honor was on an escort mission but ordered to abandon the ships she escorted if she came across the pirate ship with the advanced grav lance and pursue it. The two missions, of course, would end up in one huge climatic battle. ***** Oh yes! Author Timothy Zahn did especially well on this story. It was great to read one of Honor's early battles. So well done I could have sworn Weber, himself, wrote it! ***** The third story is A Ship Named Francis by John Ringo & Victor Mitchell. Sick Berth Attendant Third Class Sean Tyler was beginning his second hitch with the Manticoran Navy. He thought transferring to the Grayson service and working with other Alliance forces was a good move in his career. He could never have imagined what Fate had in store for him. The first day Tyler set foot on the Francis Mueller he knew the transfer had been a bad move. The entire ship was held together by sweat and prayer ... literally! Every day began with a prayer that always sounded more like an eulogy and by the end of the day at least one crew member had to be tranked due to stress. And those were the GOOD days! ***** This is an extremely short story, about twenty pages total. Out of this entire novel though, this is my FAVORITE! I laughed myself silly during the whole thing! Pure Sci-Fi bliss! ***** The fourth story is Let's Go To Prague by John Ringo. Major John Mullins and his partner, Major Charles Gonzalves decided to take some leave on Prague disguised as StateSec officers. A little blackmail later, they

Expanding Honorverse

I can't say I am anything but completely blown away by the stories in this book. There are courage, adventure, challenges, humor both high and low, joy, sorrow, wisdom and folly in each of the stories. You don't necessarily need to have read any of the other books in the Honor Harrington collection, either the four previous multi-author anthologies or the (so far) ten novels by David Weber, to appreciate these stories, either. Each could stand proudly alone, but together, they form a splendid show of lights, each one illuminating events only hinted at elsewhere in the other books.In Jane Lindskskold's "Promised Land", we find out that the Manticorean Royal Family is truly *royal*, as the Crown Prince fights to keep innocents alive in the heat of his first battle.Timothy Zahn's "With One Stone" shows the gift that being in the right place at the right time can be, and change forever the course of history.John Ringo and Victor Mitchell show us the military equivalent of Siberia, where wit and grace are as much survival tools as discipline.Ringo then returns with "Let's Go to Prague," which had me both laughing like hell and scared likewise, sometimes both at the same time. Warning: do NOT read this story in public, or when you break out into laughter, you may find people edging away from you and eyeballing you for sharp objects. :)Then we see, in Eric Flint's "The Fanatic", both the price AND the cost of duty and power, and the toll each can exact on even the most honorable of men and women.And last, Honor's creator himself gives us the title story "The Service of the Sword," as we watch a young Grayson woman, determined to follow in Honor's footsteps, find out just how BIG the boots that made those tracks must be.Any ONE of the stories in this volume make it worth buying. This is a book that will have an honored place in my collection for as long as I breathe.