A Call to Duty, by David Weber and Timothy Zahn

I always enjoy stepping into one of David Weber’s stories. I know it will be interesting and well written. A Call to Duty, by David Weber and Timothy Zahn (Amazon link) doesn’t disappoint. Set in the Honor Harrington universe, but many years before she arrives on the scene, the people of Manticore are rebuilding, following a devastating plague. With no wars being fought, some of the politicians would like to dismantle the Royal Navy and dedicate additional resources to other endeavors. The process begins. Fortunately, it doesn’t get too far.

Enter a young man flirting with trouble, Travis Uriah Long. Finding no structure in his home life, he enlists in the Manticore Royal Navy. Travis doesn’t find as much discipline or structure as he was hoping, and falls afoul of certain senior officers. Fortunately, others are on his side, or at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Showing a talent for learning star ship mechanics, he eventually finds himself assigned to a ship reconstruction crew lacking — you guessed it! — discipline and structure. The story takes off from there, with Long serving on a star ship that goes on rescue missions, and later battles pirates. For the sake of brevity, I’m simplifying things in the extreme. The book is much more original than that.

Likeable characters, good action scenes, intrigue, and tough decisions all factor into a grand space opera and a welcome addition (as the start of a new series) in the Honor Harrington universe. Just don’t go looking for her.

Confession: I didn’t read the entire book in one sitting; I took a few minutes to grab a bite to eat.

You’ll enjoy A Call to Duty. I certainly did!

 

 

 


1 Comment

  1. Greg Smith

    I love his Honor Harrington series. This book had plenty of intrigue in it. Long, as a character, was a bit wooden, though. Still, enjoyed A Call to Duty a lot.

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