A Call to Arms
David Weber, Timothy Zahn, and Thomas Pope
Baen, Oct 6 2015, $26.00
ISBN 9781476780856
The impoverished Star
Kingdom of Manticore parliament debate continues over whether the isolated in a
remote area of the galaxy nation needs
a defenseless naval fleet loaded with obsolete in terrible shape ships and
corrupt lazy officers. Those in favor
insist on modernization though know budgeting remains an issue; those opposed
insist no one out there gives a crap about this out of the way orb. Changing the pros and cons is the discovery of
a strategic wormhole that the external superpowers want to control. The parliamentary members mostly ignore the
impact except to consider leasing the rights to control of the wormhole to one
of the coveting outside powerhouses.
However, not everyone watching Manticore
remains patient with the minor Star Kingdom’s internal argument. Hostile takeover comes to Manticore, but the
underfunded obsolete Royal Navy led by courageous in corrigible officers like Lieutenant
Travis Long defends their nation while the Parliament deliberates over going to
war or less costly (and personally profitable) surrender.
The storyline starts leisurely as the
plot builds a solid foundation that leads to an exciting military science
fiction. Once again loyal Long thinks
outside the crypt while preparing for war at a time when the Manticore
Parliament seems to mirror our Congress (take credit for success and blame
others for failure; but mostly do nothing except claim exceptionalism and patriotism). In spite of a sameness to the overarching
premise to the previous Manticore Ascendant thriller (see A Call To Duty), this
is an interesting space opera that Harrington fans will enjoy; especially how
ancient history differs from what future generations and historians, and the “books”
believe happened.
Harriet Klausner
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