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on June 1, 2013
I really enjoyed this book, even though in a lot of ways, it's a collection of some fairly standard tropes. However, most stories are that - tropes become tropes by being widely and commonly used, after all. The common comparison seems to be the Aubry/Maturin novels at sea, and even further back to Horatio Hornblower to some degree. I can't comment on those comparisons, as I haven't read them. Instead, I find myself comparing this to David Drake's Royal Cinnabar Navy novels, and to a great degree, the techno-thriller and gun porn elements of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels. There's also a touch of the Golden Age SuperScience, when the ship's crew takes information from sensor readings, and fairly immediately figures out how to modify their weapons in the same manner - a maneuver straight out of Doc Smith's Lensman series.
All in all, if you like Tom Clancy, Doc Smith, David Drake, or Heinlein's juveniles, there's a pretty good chance you're going to love this story!
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I've just bought and read the new 47N edition, and I'm not thrilled with the changes. A lot of the changes seem aimed at increasing the eventual special effects budget for the movie - more flashy explosions and immediate action, less flavor and color in the story. It's like someone decided the way to judge good cooking is to find it's scoville rating, hiding the taste of the rest of the ingredients behind a wall of fire, not letting you enjoy the much broader, richer spectrum of tastes in a well simmered stew. Fortunately, they didn't go too far, but over all - it just feels that much weaker than the original version.
All in all, if you like Tom Clancy, Doc Smith, David Drake, or Heinlein's juveniles, there's a pretty good chance you're going to love this story!
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I've just bought and read the new 47N edition, and I'm not thrilled with the changes. A lot of the changes seem aimed at increasing the eventual special effects budget for the movie - more flashy explosions and immediate action, less flavor and color in the story. It's like someone decided the way to judge good cooking is to find it's scoville rating, hiding the taste of the rest of the ingredients behind a wall of fire, not letting you enjoy the much broader, richer spectrum of tastes in a well simmered stew. Fortunately, they didn't go too far, but over all - it just feels that much weaker than the original version.
on May 6, 2017
This review is for both this book, and the trilogy as a whole. Some of the best works I've read in a long time; I read a couple hundred a year. Good pacing, world development, and characters. Excellent mix of thoughtfulness, humor, action, and emotional punch with great battle scenes. Think early David Weber, Robert Freeza, Scott Gier's Genellan series, or Ringo's Space Bubble series. Have to say, I would actually pay MORE for this series than I did, as the value was excellent and certainly comparable to that purchased at a more full price from BAEN, for example. Hope the author generates more in the near future as I am eagerly awaiting more adventures against the Krag.
on July 28, 2016
Let me start out with this: I really like this book. Speaking as an active duty serviceman, I have to say the author has really captured the often ludicrous situations we find ourselves in due to layers of regulations and wobbly command structures. The action is a little slow in this first book, but keep in mind this is the set-up for an entire series.
The Skipper being of Cajun ancestry warms my heart. I'm a coon-ass, too.
If you liked the Hornblower books, or if you're a fan of hard sci-fi, you'll like this book,
Now, having said all that - the audiobook version is a giant stinker. I don't know where they found the voice actor to read the book, but good lord he's horrible. Imagine the worst, cheesiest radio DJ you've ever heard, doing a really bad William Shatner impression. His narration is awful enough, but when he's voicing lines in character as Robichaux...it's cringe-inducing.
The Skipper being of Cajun ancestry warms my heart. I'm a coon-ass, too.
If you liked the Hornblower books, or if you're a fan of hard sci-fi, you'll like this book,
Now, having said all that - the audiobook version is a giant stinker. I don't know where they found the voice actor to read the book, but good lord he's horrible. Imagine the worst, cheesiest radio DJ you've ever heard, doing a really bad William Shatner impression. His narration is awful enough, but when he's voicing lines in character as Robichaux...it's cringe-inducing.
on March 30, 2015
A novel that takes one into the military mind as well as fictional military action. While the Sci Fi action is there, it's not the typical shootem up book like Starship Troopers was. The book deals more with what makes a good command structure, how does a leader deal with compelling other men to utmost service and how does a leader deal with the stresses of military life, in others and himself. These concepts are then displayed through the action our hero and his ship encounter.
The author definately knows the military and has many insights into life aboard a ship. I can imagine no other way to explain his knowledge. As you watch the captain shape his crew, undo prior performance problems and lead them towards more sucessful behaviors, you begin to root for this captain. And it scratches a particulalrly male itch to see something fixed and then watch the unfolding of how the corrected crew and machine become more effective in dealing with the enemy.
The author definately knows the military and has many insights into life aboard a ship. I can imagine no other way to explain his knowledge. As you watch the captain shape his crew, undo prior performance problems and lead them towards more sucessful behaviors, you begin to root for this captain. And it scratches a particulalrly male itch to see something fixed and then watch the unfolding of how the corrected crew and machine become more effective in dealing with the enemy.
on April 15, 2014
This was a purely impulse buy over Kindle. Something in the description grabbed me, so I went with it. And was glad I did - this was a fun read, with a lot going on in a short space. I used the title 'Master & Commander IN SPAAAAACE!' for a reason - this is the kind of, basically, British naval novel that what I have read of the Aubrey & Maturin feel like. Very much how the ad copy described it - ships of wood, men of iron.
The plot it pretty straight forward - Max Robichaux, a young Lieutenant Commander in the Union Space Navy is sent off to command the USS Cumberland - a destroyer with a very bad reputation. He is there to prove his own unfitness for service to a dubious admiral, and see if he can, by some miracle, whip the lackluster crew into shape. Or at least make them less inept. He is aided by Dr. Ibrahim Sahin, chief medical officer. The enemy are the Krag - basically tall bipedal rats.
Like in the British naval novels it is related to, there are lots of nicknames, implied singing, and a pretty solid lack of female characters. There are a lot of points of derivation, and that is one of the reasons I lowered the score on this one. It is hard, having read the entire Honor Harrington series by David Weber, to not compare the two. Even 'On Basilisk Station' was not Weber's first novel, whereas this was Honsinger's first. Apples and oranges.
But. The drawback to reading this much is seeing connections to other fiction, where there may be none. The Krag feel like Kzin crossed with Skaven. I want the ships to be larger - they are not fully described in the book, so I was seeing Weber's larger ship structures. This is revealed on the author's site. This is not an issue with the book, not in the least, but knowing it has furrowed the brow as I read book two. I also wonder at the missile arrangement - they seem to be bow/stern rather than broadside. Not very 'age of sail' there. Then again, that is much more like a modern submarine, which is another source for the novel.
The other issue I had was the repetition of 'men and boys', used with a rather annoying frequency. I understand why it saw use, I just think the reader will remember that there are young midshipmen aboard - in the finest British navy tradition they start before the teenage years. I think this was overkill, but not horrible.
What I did like was the newness of the technology. It was not recycled or especially derivative, and was internally consistent. The characters are interesting, and have both purpose and hooks making them stand out. The background characters are background, but not cookie cutter. The book addresses religious genocide without resorting to stereotypes. I also like the doctor - even though he is a bit too 'first season Bones' level of what I see as intentional cluelessness. I have a fondness for the name Ibrahim, so that is a bonus point.
So, to sum up, this is not only a great first book, but a great book. Ignore the marketing hyperbole, and snap it up before he realizes he could easily charge double! This is an enjoyable read, with a lot of potential for more. Like I said, I am already in the second one. That is as positive a review as I can give.
The plot it pretty straight forward - Max Robichaux, a young Lieutenant Commander in the Union Space Navy is sent off to command the USS Cumberland - a destroyer with a very bad reputation. He is there to prove his own unfitness for service to a dubious admiral, and see if he can, by some miracle, whip the lackluster crew into shape. Or at least make them less inept. He is aided by Dr. Ibrahim Sahin, chief medical officer. The enemy are the Krag - basically tall bipedal rats.
Like in the British naval novels it is related to, there are lots of nicknames, implied singing, and a pretty solid lack of female characters. There are a lot of points of derivation, and that is one of the reasons I lowered the score on this one. It is hard, having read the entire Honor Harrington series by David Weber, to not compare the two. Even 'On Basilisk Station' was not Weber's first novel, whereas this was Honsinger's first. Apples and oranges.
But. The drawback to reading this much is seeing connections to other fiction, where there may be none. The Krag feel like Kzin crossed with Skaven. I want the ships to be larger - they are not fully described in the book, so I was seeing Weber's larger ship structures. This is revealed on the author's site. This is not an issue with the book, not in the least, but knowing it has furrowed the brow as I read book two. I also wonder at the missile arrangement - they seem to be bow/stern rather than broadside. Not very 'age of sail' there. Then again, that is much more like a modern submarine, which is another source for the novel.
The other issue I had was the repetition of 'men and boys', used with a rather annoying frequency. I understand why it saw use, I just think the reader will remember that there are young midshipmen aboard - in the finest British navy tradition they start before the teenage years. I think this was overkill, but not horrible.
What I did like was the newness of the technology. It was not recycled or especially derivative, and was internally consistent. The characters are interesting, and have both purpose and hooks making them stand out. The background characters are background, but not cookie cutter. The book addresses religious genocide without resorting to stereotypes. I also like the doctor - even though he is a bit too 'first season Bones' level of what I see as intentional cluelessness. I have a fondness for the name Ibrahim, so that is a bonus point.
So, to sum up, this is not only a great first book, but a great book. Ignore the marketing hyperbole, and snap it up before he realizes he could easily charge double! This is an enjoyable read, with a lot of potential for more. Like I said, I am already in the second one. That is as positive a review as I can give.
on April 29, 2015
I'm going to be a little biased here since I absolutely love science fiction novels especially those which have some plot-line in which humanity is the underdog. So bear in mind this review is for a like-minded reader. Before I get into the review, I must warn you that there are some [minor] spoilers relevant to the story in this review.
The plot starts off with Captain Max Robichaux, the newly appointed commanding officer of the "Cumberland Gap" as it's referred to due to its poor battle performance. As you can guess the main job of the captain is to turn the ship's crew from coward robots to fierce warriors, ready to battle against the rat-like Krag; the main villain hellbent on the destruction of humanity. As Max patrols his quiet section of the galaxy, he deals with serious problems among the crew to include: drug use, insubordination/sabotage, abuse of power, and overall poor morale. Throughout the story you surprisingly can learn a lot from the main character terms of leadership. I'm currently in the ROTC program at my university and a lot of the lessons of leadership that Max applies I've also learned about in my studies. My only complaint about this book is that the dialogue is sometimes too strong; a lot of times I've found myself asking "Why does this character have to explain so much about military tactics to someone who's job it is to understand tactics?" (Essentially, narration could have been used to explain the logic in order to maintain immersion).
Overall this is an excellent book and I highly recommend not only this book but the entire Man of War series to anyone who likes Sci-fi military books.
The plot starts off with Captain Max Robichaux, the newly appointed commanding officer of the "Cumberland Gap" as it's referred to due to its poor battle performance. As you can guess the main job of the captain is to turn the ship's crew from coward robots to fierce warriors, ready to battle against the rat-like Krag; the main villain hellbent on the destruction of humanity. As Max patrols his quiet section of the galaxy, he deals with serious problems among the crew to include: drug use, insubordination/sabotage, abuse of power, and overall poor morale. Throughout the story you surprisingly can learn a lot from the main character terms of leadership. I'm currently in the ROTC program at my university and a lot of the lessons of leadership that Max applies I've also learned about in my studies. My only complaint about this book is that the dialogue is sometimes too strong; a lot of times I've found myself asking "Why does this character have to explain so much about military tactics to someone who's job it is to understand tactics?" (Essentially, narration could have been used to explain the logic in order to maintain immersion).
Overall this is an excellent book and I highly recommend not only this book but the entire Man of War series to anyone who likes Sci-fi military books.
on April 10, 2015
This interesting read was written by a technological savvy and technologically imaginative author. Great distances in space, for example, are covered by a technique that doesn't currently exist, I don't think, but which seems plausible enough and which, one would hope, may well exist in the future (the alternative is a little depressing -- what if we are just stuck here in this neighborhood forever?) Better, author Honsinger develops and maintains the tension, not with the technology with which he is extremely confident and comfortable, but with human drama, placing his characters in difficult situations and letting them work their way through (or not!) as best as circumstances permit. More interestingly, some of the alien beings are much more advanced than their human counterparts, but are utterly indifferent to the struggles between the good guys and the bad guys. Better still, the good guys are flawed, as are we all. Best of all, the book is lightly and occasionally "spiced" with references to the Cajun hunting and culinary culture of SW Louisiana, from which the book's protagonist, or his ancestors, sprung. I voted 4 instead of 5 stars because the book occasionally "jarred" me with weapon terminology (such as "gun" and "cutlass", or maybe "saber") that seem archaic considering the futuristic setting. I hope the author will forgive this observation if the space weapons of the future in fact come to bear the very names he gives them, which they may. I suppose there will always be weapons that expel some kind of projectile to disable or kill a bad guy, and "gun" maybe works as well as "phaser." In any event, sci fi and action fans will be delighted with To Honor You Call Us, as was I. -- RHerrington
on August 9, 2014
A wonderful series that combines the action and adventure of interstellar war with the details of life aboard a ship in dangerous waters. From the beginning with the introduction to Max Robichaux and his command staff, you find yourself rooting for them to succeed, both in their mission and in correcting the flaws with their vessel, the Cumberland 'Gap'. The author has done a great job bringing some of the tradition from the old salt water navy forward into the future -- and then introduces a device in the form of the Doctor to explain a number of those traditions in a humorous and enlightening fashion without talking down to the reader.
One thing that I enjoyed particularly with the books was that success didn't lead to immediate promotion which would change the focus of the story -- how many military sci-fi series have you read where the protagonist is promoted once or twice a book and ends up running the entire Navy before long. Max is introduced as a ship commander going where the action is the hottest -- and he's going to stay there until the job is done.
One thing that I enjoyed particularly with the books was that success didn't lead to immediate promotion which would change the focus of the story -- how many military sci-fi series have you read where the protagonist is promoted once or twice a book and ends up running the entire Navy before long. Max is introduced as a ship commander going where the action is the hottest -- and he's going to stay there until the job is done.
on December 5, 2014
I like the characterization, the twisting plot, and intense action scenes in THYCU. There are a lot of new-generation weapons and new kinds of propulsion. On the other hand, Honsinger pays homage to Master and Commander by allowing rations of alcohol for the crew and equipping everyone with daggers and swords (to repel boarders). The jarring element concerns the sorry state of medical technology in 2314. There are no autodocs, self-diagnostics built into space combat uniforms or nano pharmaceuticals. It isn't as though humans are indestructible; computers are everywhere else.
The first chapter would not be out of place in an age of sail (or, for that matter, alongside Lt Leary, Commanding), only with ships sideswiping in space. Next, we are immersed in the larger world of Union Navy -vs- Krag aggressors, the officer pecking order, and introduction to a new ship and crew. It does not go smoothly. Captain Robichaux must bond with new subordinates while investigating this dysfunctional crew.
Oh, you will enjoy a later interview with salty-spoken Adm Hornmeyer:
' "But you, young man, you are the only destroyer skipper in this whole ***** war to take down a Krag battlecruiser without assistance from another warship . There's gonna be some publicity from this, but I'm tempted to keep classified how you did it, just so it doesn't tempt every half-assed destroyer skipper into bolting a brace of Raven missiles onto the side of his cutter. Very dangerous stunt. Unless the pilot is a ***** genius, it's a good way to destroy the cutter and kill the pilot. With all that mass near the bow, it must have taken a brilliant *** pilot to manage the thing."
Honsinger, H. Paul (2014-02-18). To Honor You Call Us (Man of War) (pp. 401-402). 47North. Kindle Edition.
I want to read For Honor We Stand (Man of War Book 2) to find out what Robichaux does next.
The gift from this author is a detailed website (http://hpaulhonsinger.com) with diagram of bridge arrangement, systems, bridge personnel, and a glossary + navy ranks and training.
The first chapter would not be out of place in an age of sail (or, for that matter, alongside Lt Leary, Commanding), only with ships sideswiping in space. Next, we are immersed in the larger world of Union Navy -vs- Krag aggressors, the officer pecking order, and introduction to a new ship and crew. It does not go smoothly. Captain Robichaux must bond with new subordinates while investigating this dysfunctional crew.
Oh, you will enjoy a later interview with salty-spoken Adm Hornmeyer:
' "But you, young man, you are the only destroyer skipper in this whole ***** war to take down a Krag battlecruiser without assistance from another warship . There's gonna be some publicity from this, but I'm tempted to keep classified how you did it, just so it doesn't tempt every half-assed destroyer skipper into bolting a brace of Raven missiles onto the side of his cutter. Very dangerous stunt. Unless the pilot is a ***** genius, it's a good way to destroy the cutter and kill the pilot. With all that mass near the bow, it must have taken a brilliant *** pilot to manage the thing."
Honsinger, H. Paul (2014-02-18). To Honor You Call Us (Man of War) (pp. 401-402). 47North. Kindle Edition.
I want to read For Honor We Stand (Man of War Book 2) to find out what Robichaux does next.
The gift from this author is a detailed website (http://hpaulhonsinger.com) with diagram of bridge arrangement, systems, bridge personnel, and a glossary + navy ranks and training.
