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Everything about Honorverse totally explained

» Note: This is the 'Main' article for the Honor Harrington related book series and sub-series by David Weber.

The Honorverse is the semi-official name for the setting of a military science fiction series of stories by David Weber featuring Honor Harrington, the Nelsonesque heroine in a series reminiscent of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower book series. The books are popular in the United States and new releases regularly make The New York Times Best Seller list.

History

The universe first explored in On Basilisk Station has a detailed diasporal historical "background" for the initial storyline, in which (over several thousand years) mankind migrated first to stars near Earth by "slow-ships" (See: cryonics and suspended animation) and then, as a means of faster than light travel was discovered and gradually developed, rapidly beyond.
   The hypothesized FTL system is a richly detailed hyperspace mechanism, with some unique features such as the ability to "sail" along "gravity waves". One important feature of the hypothesized physics behind the tales is that there exist rare wormholes, by which properly equipped ships can travel virtually instantaneously between wormhole terminus points, vastly speeding interstellar travel along such routes. In practice, these are akin to choke point naval stations (fortified ports, cities, etcetera, in the Age of Sail in the Caribbean, around the horns of Africa and South America, or places in the Far East like India, Ceylon, The East Indies or places near strategic straits like many in today's Indonesia) or man-made routes such as the Panama and Suez canals. Possession of a wormhole provides the owner star nation an important revenue source from tariffs and increased trading opportunities relative to star nations without such access.
   The analog to our world's extant nation states is the star nation, which in the case of central protagonist Honor Harrington is the Star Kingdom of Manticore. This is located in a binary star system that has three inhabited planets and the unique status of having not just one terminus of a wormhole junction, but six (to the stars: Sigma Draconis, Matapan, Gregor, Basilisk, Trevor's Star, and Phoenix) as of the events in the first book of the series On Basilisk Station. In the tenth novel of the series, War of Honor, a seventh terminus is discovered and explored and it's found to lead to a planetless M8 red dwarf near the inhabited Star named Lynx in the (so-called) Talbott Cluster. This became central to the first novel of a new sub-series, Shadow of Saganami, and in some of the short stories set after its discovery.
   Since the wormhole junction termini links are so similar to "Age of Sail"-like trade routes, the Star Kingdom of Manticore has a very important role in interstellar trade and general commerce much out of proportion to its population or number of planets. Like the British Royal Navy in the days of the British Empire, the Royal Manticoran Navy has an important role in maintaining the security and integrity of the star nation's economy, and has been designed to do just that. The Star Kingdom's wealth and importance have evoked both envy and avarice and it has been and remains the object of much intrigue and friction on the part of other large powers in the Honorverse: examples include the Solarian League, the Republic of Haven, the Andermani Empire, Mesa and its corporate powers, and the large, chaotic collection of mostly individual star-polities known by the misnomer of the Silesian Confederacy, where pirates roam, and more or less everyone wants to do business, or conquer, or annex the mess.
   There are some other interesting historical parallels to Earth's Age of Sail built into the Honorverse. It is set primarily after Honor's October 1, 3961 birth. Disruptive technological advances have been gradual in the Honorverse for most of the 500 years of the Star Kingdom of Manticore's existence, and as the series opens, that technological stagnation has led to a similar stagnation in both military strategy and tactics. The gravity impeller propulsion systems used in spaceships require "gun ports" in military vessels and captains strive to position their ships to maximize their fire power by using a broadside attack akin to the unturreted days dominated by the warships and ships of the line of the Age of Sail. Like Horatio Hornblower, Lord Nelson and Thomas Cochrane, Honor Stephanie Harrington is a superb ship handler bordering on genius.
   Although most of the stories and books cast Honor in a starring role, more recent additions to the series include short stories and novels in which only passing references at most are made to her. In some cases this is because they're set before her birth; otherwise the featured characters have usually made appearances (if only brief ones) in Honor-centered stories.

The "Honorverse" universe

The most important space empires or kingdoms in the series are the Star Kingdom of Manticore, the (People's) Republic of Haven, the Solarian League, the Silesian Confederacy, and the Andermani Empire. Grayson, Mesa, and Erewhon are single system star nations of some importance. Several of the members of the Manticoran Alliance are limited to a single system each; the largest star nation in the neighborhood is Haven (whatever its current government) and the second largest is the three-planet (or four if one counts Basilisk) Star Kingdom of Manticore. By the end of War of Honor, an additional system has petitioned for membership in the Star Kingdom (Trevor's Star, formerly independent and then conquered by the Republic of Haven). The Shadow of Saganami recounts the attempt of the Talbott cluster systems (about 20 star systems near the newly discovered Lynx terminus of the Manticore Junction) to petition for admission to the Star Kingdom as an alternative to the unpleasant prospect of being engulfed by the Solarian League's Office of Frontier Security. And, in At All Costs, a deal between the Andermani Empire and the Star Kingdom resulted in the division of the anarchic Silesian Confederacy between them, adding a large number of systems to the Star Kingdom, now becoming an Empire.

Books

All the books up to and including At All Costs are available on free-to-copy CDs produced by Baen Books. Weber has stated that there will be at least five more books in each of the Honor Harrington, Wages of Sin, and Saganami Island series. The newest book, At All Costs, is now available in both paperback and hardcover and the hardback includes one of the CDs containing all the previously released Honorverse titles.

Main series (novels)

  1. On Basilisk Station (© 1993 Mass market paperback, © 1999 Hardcover)
  2. The Honor of the Queen (ISBN 0-671-57864-2, Copyright © 1993 by David Weber, First hardcover printing, March ©2000)
  3. The Short Victorious War (1994)
  4. Field of Dishonor (1994)
  5. Flag in Exile (1995)
  6. Honor Among Enemies (1996)
  7. In Enemy Hands (1997)
  8. Echoes of Honor (1998)
  9. Ashes of Victory (2000)
  10. War of Honor (2002)
  11. At All Costs (2005)

Sub-series works

The sub-series works are:
  • Genre collections in which the author, David Weber has opened his milieu and copyrighted characters to other authors. These are examples of old style or traditional collaborative writing, in which Weber also adds a story or two of his own.
  • Departures from the main Honor Harrington storyline, usually featuring previously minor characters used in other works.

    Worlds of Honor sub-series anthologies

    The Worlds of Honor anthologies are:
  • More Than Honor (1998): stories by David Weber, David Drake, S. M. Stirling plus an Honorverse background history, and including the story in which a central species first becomes known to humans; (3 stories total).
  • Worlds of Honor (1999): stories by David Weber (two stories), Linda Evans, Jane Lindskold and Roland J. Green; (5 stories total).
  • Changer of Worlds (2001): stories by David Weber (three stories) and Eric Flint; (4 stories total) Also contains the short story "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington".
  • The Service of the Sword (2003) by David Weber, Jane Lindskold, Timothy Zahn, John Ringo and Victor Mitchell (co-written), John Ringo and Eric Flint; (6 stories total). Originally, this book was to have been titled In Fire Forged.

    Wages of Sin sub-series

    The Wages of Sin works are:
  • Crown of Slaves (2003) with Eric Flint — a departure type work, the setting is outside Manticore space for these stories based on the Zilwicki family, who were mentioned in earlier works.
  • Crown of Slaves 2 (working title, planned release in 2008)

    Saganami sub-series

    The Saganami works are:
  • The Shadow of Saganami (2004) — In this first novel the action happens in the Talbott Cluster, newly discovered to be connected to Manticore via a junction terminus, and involves the naval career of Helen Zilwicki mentioned in earlier works.
  • Storm from the Shadows (planned release in 2009)

    Honorverse stories by internal chronology

    Honorverse Year (From) Honorverse Year (To) Story Title Author Source Hardcover Release Paperback Release
    ? ? A Beautiful Friendship David Weber More than Honor NA Jan 1, 1998
    ? ? The Stray Linda Evans Worlds of Honor ? Mar 1, 2000
    c1652 P.D. ? What Price Dreams? David Weber Worlds of Honor Feb, 1999 Mar 1, 2000
    c1880 P.D. ? Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington David Weber Changer of Worlds Feb 27, 2001 Jan 29, 2002
    1883 P.D. 1883 P.D. Queen's Gambit Jane Lindskold Worlds of Honor Feb, 1999 Mar 1, 2000
    ? ? Promised Land Jane Lindskold The Service of the Sword Mar 25, 2003 Jun 29, 2004
    1890 P.D. 1890 P.D. The Hard Way Home David Weber Worlds of Honor Feb, 1999 Mar 1, 2000
    c1900 P.D. (March 3rd) c1901 P.D. (January) On Basilisk Station David Weber On Basilisk Station (Novel) Oct, 1994 Feb, 1999
    ? ? With One Stone Timothy Zahn The Service of the Sword Mar 25, 2003 Jun 29, 2004
    c1903 P.D. (April) c1903 P.D. (May) The Honor of the Queen David Weber The Honor of the Queen (Novel) Mar, 2000 Jun 1993
    c1904 P.D. c1905 P.D. (May) The Short Victorious War David Weber The Short Victorious War (Novel) Jun, 2002 Oct, 1994
    ? ? A Grand Tour David Drake More than Honor NA Jan 1, 1998
    c1905 P.D. (June) ? Field of Dishonor David Weber Field of Dishonor (Novel) Oct, 1999 Oct, 1994
    ? ? A Ship Named Francis John Ringo & Victor Mitchell The Service of the Sword Mar 25, 2003 June 29, 2004
    ? ? Deck Load Strike Roland J. Green Worlds of Honor Feb, 1999 Mar 1, 2000
    ? c1907 P.D. (August) Flag in Exile David Weber Flag in Exile (Novel) Mar, 2001 Sep, 1995
    c1908 P.D. (September) c1910 P.D. (March) Honor Among Enemies David Weber Honor Among Enemies (Novel) Feb, 1999 Jun 1, 1997
    c1911 P.D. (July) c1911 P.D. (July) A Whiff of Grapeshot S.M. Sterling More than Honor NA Jan 1, 1998
    ? ? Changer of Worlds David Weber Changer of Worlds Feb 27, 2001 Jan 29, 2002
    c1911 P.D. c1911 P.D. (December) In Enemy Hands David Weber In Enemy Hands (Novel) Aug, 1997 Oct 1, 1998
    c1912 P.D. (February) c1913 P.D. (December) Echoes of Honor David Weber Echoes of Honor (Novel) Oct, 1998 Oct, 1999
    ? ? Let's Go to Prague John Ringo The Service of the Sword Mar 25, 2003 June 29, 2004
    ? ? From the Highlands Eric Flint Changer of Worlds Feb 27, 2001 Jan 29, 2002
    c1913 P.D. (December) c1915 P.D. (May) Ashes of Victory David Weber Ashes of Victory (Novel) Mar 1, 2000 Feb 27, 2001
    c1914 P.D. (December) c1914 P.D. (December) Nightfall David Weber Changer of Worlds Feb 27, 2001 Jan 29, 2002
    ? ? Fanatic Eric Flint The Service of the Sword Mar 25, 2003 June 29, 2004
    c1918 P.D. (June) c1918 P.D. (August) The Service of the Sword David Weber The Service of the Sword Mar 25, 2003 June 29, 2004
    c1918 P.D. c1920 P.D. War of Honor David Weber War of Honor (Novel) Aug 31, 2002 Nov 1, 2003
    ? ? Crown of Slaves David Weber Crown of Slaves (Novel) Aug 26, 2003 Mar 29, 2005
    c1920 P.D. (June) c1921 P.D. (July) The Shadow of Saganami David Weber The Shadow of Saganami (Novel) Oct 26, 2004 Sep 6, 2005
    c1920 P.D. (July) c1921 P.D. (August) At All Costs David Weber At All Costs (Novel) Oct 25, 2005 Sep 25, 2007

    Stories by internal chronology

  • "A Beautiful Friendship" by David Weber from More than Honor
  • "The Stray" by Linda Evans from Worlds of Honor
  • c1652 P.D. "What Price Dreams?" by David Weber from Worlds of Honor
  • c1880 P.D. "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington" by David Weber from Changer of Worlds
  • "Queen's Gambit" by Jane Lindskold from Worlds of Honor
  • "Promised Land" by Jane Lindskold from The Service of the Sword
  • c1890 P.D. "The Hard Way Home" by David Weber From Worlds of Honor
  • cMarch 3, 1900 P.D. - cJanuary 1901 P.D On Basilisk Station (1993)
  • "With One Stone" by Timothy Zahn from The Service of the Sword
  • April 1903 P.D. - cMay 1903 P.D. The Honor of the Queen (1993)
  • Contemporary Events
    • The Short Victorious War (1994)
    • "A Grand Tour" by David Drake from More than Honor
  • Field of Dishonor (1994)
  • "A Ship Named Francis" by John Ringo and Victor Mitchell from The Service of the Sword
  • "Deck Load Strike" by Roland J. Green from Worlds of Honor
  • Flag in Exile (1995)
  • Honor Among Enemies (1996)
  • "A Whiff of Grapeshot" by S. M. Stirling from More than Honor
  • "Changer of Worlds" by David Weber from Changer of Worlds
  • In Enemy Hands (1997)
  • Contemporary Events
    • Echoes of Honor (1998)
    • "Let's Go to Prague" by John Ringo from The Service of the Sword
  • Contemporary Events
    • Ashes of Victory (2000)
    • "From the Highlands" by Eric Flint from Changer of Worlds
    • "Nightfall" by David Weber from Changer of Worlds
    • "Fanatic" by Eric Flint from The Service of the Sword (characters introduced in "From the Highlands")
  • "The Service of the Sword" by David Weber from The Service of the Sword
  • Contemporary Events
    • War of Honor (2002)
    • Crown of Slaves (2003)
  • Contemporary Events
    • The Shadow of Saganami (2004)
    • At All Costs (2005)
    Further Information

    Get more info on 'Honorverse'.


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