The Warmasters (Mass Market Paperback)

~ David Weber (Author), (Author), Eric Flint (Author) "That looks like your snotty, Senior Chief..." (more)
Key Phrases: War Maiden, Fencing Master, Del Conte (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This anthology contains three novellas of future or alternate war by three of the acknowledged experts in the field, so the title satisfies any reasonable truth-in-packaging requirements. The book should also satisfy most fans of the authors. David Weber's "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington" confronts his best-known creation with the perils and opportunities of her "middy" cruise, which she survives with ah, honor and even distinction, in spite of the best efforts of enemies both foreign and domestic. Eric Flint's "Islands" reintroduces Calopodius, a Byzantine soldier blinded at 18 while commanding a desperate holding action in the Drake/Flint Belisarius alternate-history series. It also introduces his aristocratic wife, Anna, and by the time the two meet again, she's not the woman he married but a much improved and strengthened version. Finally, David Drake offers another story of the mercenary tankers, Hammer's Slammers, "Choosing Sides." Lt. Arne Huber has to choose whether he will work with the Slammers' chief executioner, Maj. Joachim Steuben, to avenge treachery and murder against his men and friends. Except Flint on occasion, none of the writers is doing anything that's not by now standard for good military SF. Nor are any of them really going to surprise any readers who might, for example, want to see Hammer's Slammers not being stabbed in the back by their civilian employers. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Three novellas set in the best-known worlds created by three leading military sf writers are the contents of this indicatively titled volume. David Weber's "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington" takes his series protagonist on her middy cruise, complete with her treecat companion Nimitz, inept superiors, and a formidable opponent met in an action-filled climax. David Drake reintroduces us to Hammer's Slammers, and especially the psychopathic dirty-tricks officer, Major Joachim Steuben, as seen through the eyes of a company officer learning how dirty tricks sometimes need to be. Finally, Eric Flint takes Calopodius from his collaboration with Drake, the Belisarius series, and fleshes him out as a warrior who, blinded at 18, discovers unusual talents as a historian and finds the most unusual wife he marries out of convenience to be a formidable and loving woman. Fans of Honor Harrington, Hammer's Slammers, and Belisaurius won't find these tales unusual for either their authors or their series, but they will thoroughly enjoy them. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Baen (January 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743471857
• ISBN-13: 978-0743471855
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #859,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not New for David Weber, May 8, 2002

By	I. Burcham (Carlsbad, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Warmasters (Hardcover)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth buying for military sci-fi fans, July 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Warmasters (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really, really good military science fiction, February 17, 2004

By	Rusir-10 (Gaithersburg, MD United States) - See all my reviews

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.