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A review by sjlee
House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion by David Weber
3.0
This is one of those challenging reviews to write. House of Steel is a mash-up of a couple different ideas, which means assessing it as a whole is more difficult than one might initially assume.
This book consists essentially of three sections: a narrative story, an encyclopedia and an essay. One is okay, the other is rather dull and the last is exceptional.
The House of Steel is a short story by David Weber profiling the career of King Roger III as a young naval officer and king as he pushes the Star Kingdom of Manticore into a major naval modernization program and build-up. Much of the breakthrough technology that defines the Manitoran ascendancy has its roots to this time period. To a certain extent it is interesting to see how the theory or initial concepts evolved into war-winning technology and tactics. The story also gives a more personal glimpse into the life of Elizabeth Winton, the current monarch in the story. It's a fine story, and more accurately puts a human face on a piece of Manticoran history that we already know.
The second encyclopedia section is just a massive information dump. The geographies, histories, militaries and personalities of the Star Kingdom/Empire of Manticore and the Protectorate of Grayson are all laid out. Some of it is interesting, such as the histories. It will, if nothing else, provide a handy reference tool for fans curious about particular questions that would otherwise be difficult to find answers to. Still, the statistics about fictional spaceships only goes so far, though the history of their development and relevance is nominally interesting.
Finally, the best part of the book and the entire reason I bought it was the essay 'Building a Navy in the Honorverse'. While the title suggests a focus on the Honorverse it really is a fantastic guide to thinking about and conceiving of 'realistic' space navies in science fiction. The author lays out how real world navies make decisions about fleet missions, size, composition, and operations. If I ever start another military science fiction story I will be re-reading that essay. It might be enough to recommend the book on its own for the right price.
This book consists essentially of three sections: a narrative story, an encyclopedia and an essay. One is okay, the other is rather dull and the last is exceptional.
The House of Steel is a short story by David Weber profiling the career of King Roger III as a young naval officer and king as he pushes the Star Kingdom of Manticore into a major naval modernization program and build-up. Much of the breakthrough technology that defines the Manitoran ascendancy has its roots to this time period. To a certain extent it is interesting to see how the theory or initial concepts evolved into war-winning technology and tactics. The story also gives a more personal glimpse into the life of Elizabeth Winton, the current monarch in the story. It's a fine story, and more accurately puts a human face on a piece of Manticoran history that we already know.
The second encyclopedia section is just a massive information dump. The geographies, histories, militaries and personalities of the Star Kingdom/Empire of Manticore and the Protectorate of Grayson are all laid out. Some of it is interesting, such as the histories. It will, if nothing else, provide a handy reference tool for fans curious about particular questions that would otherwise be difficult to find answers to. Still, the statistics about fictional spaceships only goes so far, though the history of their development and relevance is nominally interesting.
Finally, the best part of the book and the entire reason I bought it was the essay 'Building a Navy in the Honorverse'. While the title suggests a focus on the Honorverse it really is a fantastic guide to thinking about and conceiving of 'realistic' space navies in science fiction. The author lays out how real world navies make decisions about fleet missions, size, composition, and operations. If I ever start another military science fiction story I will be re-reading that essay. It might be enough to recommend the book on its own for the right price.