Now it’s time to dive right into the third book in the Crown of Slaves series: Cauldron of Ghosts, co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint. It won’t be a surprise to any of our regular listeners, but this book ties to the previous book we covered based on publication order. That said, this is a particularly tight coupling as this book is often considered a literal and direct continuation of the story in Shadow of Freedom.

As a result, we’re still seeing events occurring in 1922 PD, now featuring our two super-spies: Victor Cachat and Anton Zilwicki and dealing with what’s next for (and with) the Mesan Alignment. Furthermore, we’re seeing the reality of the post-war alliance between Manticore and Haven. The reality of this alliance seems to still be almost unbelievable to leadership within the Mesan Alignment as this wasn’t a part of what they were trying to orchestrate. It sure seems one lesson in this regard we can apply to the real world is the “law of unintended consequences.” This becomes acute as the new Manticoran-Havenite alliance strives to bring the Alignment out of its comfortable place in the shadows. The overall storyline link here is that our heroes Cachat and Zilwicki are running around on Mesa, trying to help reveal the Alignment. The book is definitely action-packed!

Your hosts rated Cauldron of Ghosts with a 5, a 5 and an unusual 4.75 (out of 5), for an overall rating of 4.92 from your hosts.

Once again, thank you for listening and to those of you who take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.

Next, we’re turning our attention to the Manticore Ascendant series, diving into the first book, A Call to Duty co-authored by David Weber and Timothy Zahn. This book and the associated series take us back to the early years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore and a character we were previously introduced to named Travis Long. We’ve been looking forward to this series! As always, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time.

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

This time we’re looking at the third book in the Saganami Island part of the Honorverse story arc: Shadow of Freedom.

We’re solidly in the year 1922 PD and Admiral Michelle Henke takes care of yet more trouble presented by the Solarian League. This is tied to a scenario set up to make the Star Empire of Manticore look bad in a way that would cost them the trust of independent star systems moving forward. She exercises her command authority in the absence of specific guidance about this unforeseen and non-standard scenario confronting her, and does so in a way that would allow Queen Elizabeth to distance the Star Empire from the actions if necessary. Even so, the plot fails, the Star Empire succeeds, and the story ends in a cliff-hanger when Michelle is then able to turn her fleet’s attention toward an even more substantial threat.

The novel was long and there was so much to talk about that this became one of our lengthier episodes. We also had quite a bit of listener feedback we were able to share as well. Friends, heartfelt thanks to each of you who take the time to enjoy this adventure with us, and additional thanks to those of you who take a little more time to send us your thoughts! We definitely enjoy it when you join us in the conversation around the (virtual) kitchen table.

We rated “Shadow of Freedom” with a 5, a 5 and another 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of a 5 from your hosts.

Once again, thank you for listening and big thanks to those of you who also take the time to like and follow us on social media, share this podcast with others, and to even comment on our posts.

Next, we’re going to return to the Crown of Slaves series as we dive into the third book in that arc: Cauldron of Slaves, co-authored by David Weber and Eric Flint. If you’re a fan of the adventures of Anton Zilwicki and Victor Cachat, be sure to grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time!

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!

What a surprise! Due to a quick turn of events we’re able to interrupt our regularly scheduled program for a very special treat. Instead of discussing Shadow of Freedom, we were privileged to have Jane Lindskold join us, along with another visit by David Weber. As far as we can tell, there’s no better reason to interrupt the plan than this. This was the first time we’ve had the chance to enjoy Jane’s company, and the last time we were able to spend time with David was back in episode 22. Grab your favorite beverage, sit down and join us as we talk with Jane and David about their collective storytelling within the Honorverse!

As you listen, remember Jane’s contributions to the Honorverse are significant, including several short stories and novels. Her short stories include:

• "Queen’s Gambit" – a short story in the Worlds of Honor anthology (discussed in episode 10)
• "Promised Land" – a short story in The Service of the Sword anthology (discussed in episode 15)
• "Ruthless" – a short story in the In Fire Forged anthology (discussed in episode 23)

She’s also co-authored four novels with David in the Star Kingdom story arc:

• Fire Season (discussed in episode 25)
• Treecat Wars (discussed in episode 28)
• A New Clan (scheduled for a future episode)
• Friends Indeed (available for purchase soon!)

Jane and David talked briefly about the soon-to-be-released Star Kingdom novel Friends Indeed, mixed in among some great banter and information about these two story-telling power houses: how they met, how David brought Jane into the Honorverse, and how they’ve worked together since. We had time to ask Jane several that came from you, our listeners and fellow travelers as well. Not surprisingly, there were several questions we didn’t get to ask due to time constraints, but also because as the discussion unfolded, some were answered before we could ask them. Schedules permitting, we hope to have Jane on again to cover even more ground with her work.

Be sure to visit Jane’s official website to find out more about the incredible volume of work she’s done, and more about what’s coming. You can find her at https://janelindskold.com

On the next episode we’ll get right back to the normal schedule and discuss the novel Shadow of Freedom, no doubt invigorated by the exciting info and insights we’ve gained from our two most special of guests.

As always, genuine thanks to each of you for listening, and especially folks who have found the time to send us comments—please keep them coming. If you haven’t already done so, consider spreading the word to others who you know are Honor Harrington fans, or to those who might enjoy the Honorverse!

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!