Customer Reviews

Warmasters

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was very disappointed to start reading and found out the first story by David Weber was taken out of a previous David Weber book of short stories, "Changer of Worlds". I thought I was going to get a new story about Honor Harrington. Eric Flint's story was very entertaining. It was a continuation of the Belsarius alternate history. David Drake's continuing tale of Hammer's Slammers is always graphic, but Mr. Drake has tried to impress upon his readers that war is not neat and clean.

Even though David Weber's contribution is repeated from another anthology, Warmasters is worth buying for military sci-fi fans. The second story, set in the Belisaurius universe, is excellent, both for character development (Calopodius & his wife) and for adding a medical twist to the universe. The third story, about Hammer's Slammers, is also good. I read a library copy, but have purchased a copy for my personal collection.

Three novellas from three of the best military science fiction authors currently publishing stories! I'd give it four stars except for the fact that David Weber's story - about Honor Harrington's middy cruise was published somewhere else (my apologies for not being able to cite it directly, but I know that I've read the story already).

Quick review of each - David Weber's story was excellent. I've been an Honor fan for a number of years and this story doesn't disappoint. In all honesty, it doesn't add too much to Honor's character either, but it's still enjoyable. If nothing else, it's interesting to see Honor with some self-doubt and a lack of tactical genius (not that she's making mistakes left and right, but she's being trained by the Captain and Tactics Officer and they know things/tricks that she doesn't).

Eric Flint - Another series that I really love. I've read reviews that the Belisarius series is predictable with characters all possessing the same dry sense of humor, but it is just so much fun to read! This short story represents a bit of a departure, as we get a completely new character Calopodius's wife (Calopodius the young officer blinded in one of the most recent full lenght novels). No nerve-wracking moments in this story, but some really nice development of two characters. If you're the emotional type you may even find a tear in your eye during some of the story (not me of course, I'm saying if you were the emotional type you might!)

Finally, there's David Drake's short story from his Hammer's Slammers series. I actually don't read this series so I had very low expectations of this story and almost skipped it (but I was still on the plane with an hour left in my flight so..) Skipping it would have been a mistake. Another well written story with interesting albeit very different characters from the other two authors.

Overall, this is a great set of short stories and novellas. They're not integral to any of the on-going series's, but they are well written and well worth your time reading them.

A collection of novellas related to ongoing series, Honor Harrington, Belisarius and Hammer's Slammers. Never read any of the Belisarius work, seems interesting enough - something to do with aliens or future people providing advanced tech to ancient times - the General appears to have artillery and telegraph communications for example.

The first two are quite good, with Weber's rookie Harrington tale the pick, but I am still not much a fan of the Slammers it seems.

Warmasters : Ms Midshipwoman Harrington - David Weber
Warmasters : Islands - Eric Flint
Warmasters : Choosing Sides - David Drake


Tactically reduced.

4 out of 5


Wifely tour of duty instructions.

4 out of 5


Political payback Slam.

3 out of 5

If military sci-fi is your thing, or if you want to find out if you even like military sci-fi, then The Warmasters by David Webster, Eric Flint, and David Drake is the perfect book for you. The three authors are all masters at their craft and each has a different genre and style.
The first book in this compilation is Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington by David Weber. This book is basically the navy in space, and it describes the beginning of the famous admiral Honor Harrington while she is just a simple Midshipwoman of her first military voyage.
After this is Islands by Eric Flint. It takes place during an alternate version of Earth where the Roman Empire hasn't fallen and an ongoing war is in progress in the time period of about the Imperial Age. The wife of a famous officer serving under the great General Belisarius wants to see her husband, and she goes thru the war torn Roman Empire, becoming famous in her own way getting there.
Choosing Sides by David Drake is a more conventional military Sci-fi about Hammers Slammers, an elite mercenary regiment that uses specialized hover tanks. This book continues into more of a political war when the main character is blamed for his squad's misconduct.
Overall this book is a great value, and is definitely worth buying if you have any interest in military sci-fi. The three different genres are all very different types of stories and they all make a good read.

I am very fascinated by the books of all the 3 writers. Unfortunately only after I bought it I found out that this were only excerpts from older books . In the meantime I noticed that apparently this is common for there 3 writers to repackage same contents again and again. It's unfortunate as their books are so good. So please check the contents of their books before you buy them to save you some disappointment.

David Weber's Honor Harrington series is based on a future in which
an very English like "Kingdom" has been established in space
with battleships and cruisers and space battles with a Democratic rival
state.
Eric Flint's is novelette is about an alternative future in which the Roman Empire survives into the 1800's and in which again they are very English,
oh, rather.
David Drakes's Hammer's Slammers is another war based series about armor
and mercenary contract war soldiers.
Of the three stories I liked only one, but they are all well written
and seem to be popular.

I greatly enjoy David Weber's books. I have hard cover copies of most of them. I do not understand why he thinks that we should buy another copy of Ms. Midshipman Harrington. I already have Changer of Worlds and the same story begins both books. Mr. Weber has been very successful and I have been a part of his success. This is very hard to take. Maybe I'll wait to read his next NEW book at the library.

I'll be upfront. I generally don't like David Drake's stuff and haven't read the third story in this book. He concentrates too much on the ugly and nasty of war to the point that it destroys my enjoyment. If I want ugly, I can just turn on the 6 o'clock news.

However, the other two stories in this volume were well worth my time and money. The editorial review on this page pretty well sums up the stories' overall themes, but it doesn't do justice to their content.

"Ms. Midshipman Harrington" takes us to Honor's first cruise, and we see her when she is just beginning to find out that, while command talent may be inborn, it must be annealed and honed by life. It's David Weber's usual solid "What comes next?" storytelling, and it kept me going from beginning to a very satisfying ending.

"Islands" is the truly great and rare jewel. We get to watch BOTH Anna AND Calpodius grow in the forge of their adversities, and watch them deal with a world in which women are sold in marriage as chattels by learning to deal with the challenge of being human partners not by merely discarding or rebelling against the world's rules, but by choosing to stand boldly above them, molding their own lives to their own wills and hearts. Legends are made of equal parts work, courage, and love, and I will be returning to this legend again and again in years to come. Thank you, Eric.

I haven't read Weber's Harrington series to know, but other reviewers have said that the Weber contribution is from elsewhere. So are the other two - the Drake story comes from "Paying The Piper" (which is good in itself, but I don't need a separate chapter) and the Flint one is found as part of "The Dance of Time" (ditto on good but don't need 2). I was a bit disappointed that Amazon doesn't state that with better clarity.