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| Honor
Harrington: On Basilisk Station,
by David Weber review by James Faine |
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Hello all. For those that are unfamiliar with my reviews I rate with a “Star” system with one being “Just Plain Bad” to five being “Not To Be Missed”. Today we will be discussing one of my favorite series ever in the sci-fi Space Opera Genre. This is the first book of a series of 10 (and counting) by the British author David Weber. For this series David has done something that only a few other authors of current times have bothered to do: He has created his own technology and cultures for his books instead of borrowing from the classics like Star Wars and Star Trek. Not only is the technology in his books original and creative, it is also within the bounds of science as we understand it now, and seems to become more and more likely with the more we learn of the universe and the way it works. In my humble opinion, this alone make his books worthy of consideration by any real fan of the genre. But on to the book itself. Our heroine (another great thing about our books, the heroes are not all male!) finds herself given command of a Hyper Capable (that faster than light speed by the way) destroyer. This is her first Hyper Capable Command and a sign of her excellence as a young officer to have such a prestigious posting with only the rank of commander. All is not bliss however as things begin to go wrong from the start. Her ships weapons have been replaced with experimental designs approved by an admiral who regards light ships as expendable. Her crew blames her form their posting to what they consider a punishment detail, and the commander of her battle squadron turns out to be an old enemy who has plans to finish her career once and for all. If that were not enough, throw in an aggressive star empire bent on a war of expansion, a planet filled with sentient and hostile giant praying mantis, space pirates, and a very angry mega-billionaire! David manages to weave a believing and heroic tale of a captain and her ship who do their duty with honor no matter the cost or odds. The book reminds me of another my favorite series from childhood sans the technology. If you are familiar with the Horatio Hornblower sage from a few centuries ago, you might see some similarities, but the elegance and adventure with which David weaves his tale makes the story his own and you will find yourself caring about this captain and crew by the end of the book. Honor Harrington deserves to go down in the history of the genre with the likes of Admiral Kirk, Captain Picard, Admiral Sheridan, and Commander Adama. So what are you waiting for? Sign on with Captain Harrington today! ***** Five Stars. |
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