A review by sjlee
In Fire Forged by David Weber
2.0
The fifth book in the Worlds of Honor series consists of four short stories.
"Ruthless" Then Crown Prince Michael Winton in his service in the Royal Manitocoran Navy and Judith Newland, shortly after her escaping Masadan captivity. Agents kidnap Ruth; Michael and his best friend and fellow serviceman go on a wild goose chase. I did not enjoy this story. It is emotionally overwrought, the plot/conspiracy at the heart of it is not particularly interesting. It does not expand the universe in a meaningful way.
"An Act of War" An unusual arms tech dealer arrives on Haven and offers a revolutionary technology to the Havenite government. Oscar Saint-Just plans to use the technology to build tensions between the Andermanni and Manticorans. I found this story alright. A problem with the story is that is set in the past compared to where the books are. There is no tension. We know they won't go to war and there won't be an incident, so... where is this going?
"'Let's Dance!'" A Honor Harrington story set early in her career as she engages in a diplomatic mission in the Silesian Confederacy. The premise of the story is interesting: trying to deal with the complicated, corrupt power structure of Silesia. I did not find this story terribly satisfying. Honor Harrington is often (and perhaps rightfully) accused of being a Mary Sue. It makes the plot predictable. I think failure would have been more intriguing and a better motivator.
"An Introduction to Modern Starship Armor Design" This is a narrative technobabble dump, but I found it oddly compelling. It was my favourite of the four entries in the collection, which should say it all. Written as a research summary of the development of military armor shows the complexity and thoroughness of the series/universe.
Overall I'd say this is a book worth skipping for fans of the Honorverse.
"Ruthless" Then Crown Prince Michael Winton in his service in the Royal Manitocoran Navy and Judith Newland, shortly after her escaping Masadan captivity. Agents kidnap Ruth; Michael and his best friend and fellow serviceman go on a wild goose chase. I did not enjoy this story. It is emotionally overwrought, the plot/conspiracy at the heart of it is not particularly interesting. It does not expand the universe in a meaningful way.
"An Act of War" An unusual arms tech dealer arrives on Haven and offers a revolutionary technology to the Havenite government. Oscar Saint-Just plans to use the technology to build tensions between the Andermanni and Manticorans. I found this story alright. A problem with the story is that is set in the past compared to where the books are. There is no tension. We know they won't go to war and there won't be an incident, so... where is this going?
"'Let's Dance!'" A Honor Harrington story set early in her career as she engages in a diplomatic mission in the Silesian Confederacy. The premise of the story is interesting: trying to deal with the complicated, corrupt power structure of Silesia. I did not find this story terribly satisfying. Honor Harrington is often (and perhaps rightfully) accused of being a Mary Sue. It makes the plot predictable. I think failure would have been more intriguing and a better motivator.
"An Introduction to Modern Starship Armor Design" This is a narrative technobabble dump, but I found it oddly compelling. It was my favourite of the four entries in the collection, which should say it all. Written as a research summary of the development of military armor shows the complexity and thoroughness of the series/universe.
Overall I'd say this is a book worth skipping for fans of the Honorverse.