The War God's Own [Hardcover]

David Weber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

Bahzell Bahnakson of the Horse Stealer hradani had never wanted to be the champion of the War God. Unfortunately, the War God had insisted. Which was how he had found himself among hostile strangers in the Empire of the Axe - except that that was only the least of his problems. For a start, there was the Order of Tomanak, who were horrified that their deity had chosen a hradani as champion, and were resolved to rectify the matter in a most unpleasant fashion. And if he survived that, he had to get home somehow, in spite of the enemies determined to stop him, to face the Dark God who had sworn to destroy all hradani. But one thing Bahzell had learned: a champion of the War God Tomanak does what needs to be done. And those who got in his way had better watch out...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

David Weber is best known for his Honor Harrington series of science fiction books, but with Oath of Swords he began a lighthearted fantasy saga centered around Bahzell Bahnakson. Bahzell is the reluctant champion of the War God Tomanak (a.k.a. the Sword of Light, the God of Justice, and Captain-General of the Gods of Light) and a member of the Horse Stealer clan hradani. Being a hradani puts Bahzell on a rung of the social ladder somewhere south of deplorable and just west of offensive, making him an unlikely champion for any god, much less Tomanak.

Although this relationship can be trying at the best of times, it's stretched perilously thin in The War God's Own, where Bahzell is called upon by Tomanak to fight the minions of Sharna, the Dark God. This is a fun, swashbuckling story that moves along nicely, managing to be both entertaining and unassuming at the same time. --Craig Engler

From Booklist

With the sequel to Oath of Swords (1995), the new series by the creator of the popular Honor Harrington yarns has been promoted to hardcover. In it, Bahzell Bahnakson and Brandark, two hradani (i.e., humanoid giants with foxlike ears), take several more steps in their venture to advance Bahzell's father's plans for uniting and civilizing the hradani and the war god Tomanak's plans for opposing the grim, dark god Shama. Along the way, the pair acquire several companions, including a young knight who has to be forcibly cured of prejudice against hradani, and give readers what amounts to a guided tour of a well-realized fantasy world, most of whose elements are genre staples. Still, Weber deftly fleshes out such concepts as the underground cities of the tale's dwarves, the immortality of its elves, the power of its demons to destroy those who summon them (and name-spelling errors be damned), and so on. Even the Scots flavor of hradani speech patterns charms more often than not. Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Baen; First Edition edition (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671878735
• ISBN-13: 978-0671878733
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952. Weber and his wife Sharon live in Greenville, South Carolina with their three children and "a passel of dogs".

Previously the owner of a small advertising and public relations agency, Weber now writes science fiction full time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sequel That Works, June 2, 2000

By 

Chrijeff (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The War God's Own (Mass Market Paperback)

Many sequels fall short of the original, but this one doesn't. Weber hits the ground running and maintains his pace throughout. I had recently read "Oath of Swords" (for which see my review) and broke a cardinal rule--I pulled the sequel out of my to-be-read stack and read it out of order, I was that eager to find out what happened next! I wasn't disappointed. Weber develops his character and world to a further degree, introducing Bahzell's people (including his parents and several sibs), a female Champion of Tomanak, and a young knight-probationer who goes from priggish prejudice to a deep bond with the hradani. Also back is Wencit of Rum and, of course, Bahzell's patron, Tomanak Scale-Balancer. The author has done his research, too, as in the scenes where Bahzell visits a dwarvish settlement and sees what's clearly a blast-furnace in operation. The ending leaves room for more, and I'll be watching. Excuse me--I want to go update my Eyes listing!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you David, March 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The War God's Own (Hardcover)

I read Oath of Swords as part of my discovery of David Weber in early 96. After reading several Honor books OoS was revelation, a fun, fast light hearted fantsy read. I thought is was a experiment he wasn't to eager to follow up on. An enjoyable proof-of-concept " I can write fantsy to" kinda thing. I was absoultly stunned to see War Gods Own. I didn't know, and I try to keep up with Weber's work. Needless to say I bought right away and haven't been disappointed. The characters are likable, the story fun if predictable, and the background of the world. Wow. I hope Mr Weber returns to the world on a more regular basis. I want to see its past and its future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long Awaited Sequel for Bahzell Bahnakson, February 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The War God's Own (Hardcover)

Like the previous reviewer, I downloaded the preview from Baen books. I would suggest, in order to fully enjoy War God's Own, you really should read Oath of Swords (the first book) before reading War God's Own. While you might enjoy the latter, there are so many references, just in the preview, to characters and events in the first book, that I imagine it might be hard to follow what's going on. For instance, the young knight's fury over the Ballad of Bahzell Bloody-Hand, a song that Brandark began composing in the first book, is based on Bahzell's adventures in Oath of Swords (I have hopes that Mr. Weber will let us see some of these lyrics someday). And the War God had to argue long and hard in the first book to recruit Bahzell, which is also, I gather, mentioned in the song, which the young knight thinks is making fun of his order and his god. And War God's Own picks up right where Oath of Swords ends. The tone of the previous book and the preview of this one are far lighter than Honor. (Weber does not appear to be near as hard on his characters in this series as he is on those in the Honor series.) There is humor, swashbuckling adventure, a charming reluctant hero and smart-mouthed sidekick, an entertaining supporting cast of characters, villainous bad guys, and some poor sods just trying to do the best they can in a bad situation. The good guys get rewarded and the bad guys get their come-uppance. What more could you ask of a book? I like all of Weber's books, but I think I would have a real problem if both Honor Harrington and Bahzell Bahnakson came out at the same time and I had only enough money for one. I have a feeling Bahzell would win. In fact, I liked the preview so much I ordered it from Baen in the hopes that I might get it earlier than if I wait for the book to arrive at my local bookstore. (When it comes to books, I'm not very good at delayed gratification.)