A Call to Arms (Manticore Ascendant)

How to rate A Call To Arms? This is the second of the Manticore Rising series, which takes place several centuries before the Honor series. This Manticore is a poor, out of the way system recovering from a plague. The Royal Navy is a neglected, understrength political football. A large mercenary fleet invades the system for no apparent reason and is beaten off at great cost. The reason known to the reader is a transtellar corporation has discovered Manticore has the junction of one or more wormholes and is enormously valuable. All us Honor fans know this. So what's the problem? An excess of talking, like most Weber books. And mainly, you can buy Honorverse #6 Beginnings. This anthology contains A Call To Arms by Timothy Zahn, which is a short version of this book. If you already have #6, don't buy this book. Rating by itself 4 stars, for not letting us fans know it's just an expansion of a previous work, 0 stars.

there is a little bit too much politicking going on in this book for my taste. But then again I didn't like book 10 of the honor harrington series (war of honor) at all. Apart from that I can't wait to follow the new adventures of Travis Long.

If you like the Honor Harrington series this is a fun book to read it's interesting to see the strategies and the cost of a single missile being important compared to the later battles were they threw thousands of missiles at each other with very little strategy.

As a long serving member of the Harrington fan club, this addition lives up to the standard set.I love the battle sequences in these books and they are so well written that I find that the politicians are as self serving as those in real life and dislike them as much. I look forward to the next in the series.

I love this story but am frustrated with Travis not getting credit for his brilliance. To top it off, you are left hanging as to his future. There is a sense that there should be more to this story. Where's the next book David?

Excellent space opera that gives insight into the early Manticore Kingdom and the RMN. The usual political opponents but written in Weber's style to be convincingly sure of their positions. Good space battles that reflect the ships of that period.

Good read! Part of the prequel books for the Honor Harrington books /mostly familiar universe ... Cliffhanger expected ... Can't wait for next installment as we are left hungry for more by such interesting worlds

Two great storytellers working together in the expanded Honor Harrington universe. A second great offering in the series and interestingly complex in the blend of political and military savagery. Weber is one of the best at recognizing that "war is but an extension of political will" and his writing reflects it. Well done and looking forward to the third in the series.

My complaint is that there isn't enough new work in the" Honorsphere" and what new work their is ........is stuff like this. Where the HELL is Honor herself? Did she fall off a planet? Finish the freakin' series already! This book was ok and fairly entertaining. However, if you don't get to the point on Honor,I'm gonna take my book buying business elsewhere.

Another great "David Weber" book. Great and intriguing reading. Characters that seem realistic. Space Warfare and Political Intrigue through out. An early look at the beginning of the world of Manticore. If you are a steady reader of Mr. Weber's books, you will know what this means.

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

A CALL TO ARMS is the second book in the Manticore Ascendant trilogy. Its main viewpoint character is Travis Uriah Long who is serving in the Royal Manticoran Navy. Travis is a rule follower and a stickler for doing the right thing. Writing up a fellow officer for infractions puts him on the radar of a very powerful Admiral who is subtly and not-so-subtly hampering his career.

Of course, despite being a rule follower, Travis has a remarkable talent for coming up with out of the box solutions to problems when the sh*t hits the fan. This becomes an essential skill in this episode. Manticore, after a hundred years of peace, has become the target of an organization who wants to conquer it and take over its valuable wormhole.

The story takes place over six years. As is usual in a Weber book, many plot threads intertwine. One of them tells the story of a spy named Llyn who is gradually assembling the forces that will lead to the takeover of Manticore by his employers. I liked the way that various members of the RMN get hints of what Llyn is doing but don't have enough information to put all the pieces together.

One other plot thread has to do with political infighting on Manticore. Strong factions led the Lord Breakwater, Chancellor of the Exchequer, don't see the need for a Navy and are constantly trying to gut it and transfer assets and personnel to the Manticore Patrol and Rescue Service which has smaller, unarmed ships and has as its mission close-in protection for the planet. Since MPARS is under Breakwater's command, any strengthening increases his influence and power. For some reason, Travis's half-brother Baron Winterfall is a strong supporter of Breakwater.

I like the way Travis changes over the six years of the story and the way he gains supporters of his own among the part of the RMN who value competence more than nepotism. He doesn't play politics at all well which doesn't really change from the beginning to the end of the story.

The main action in this book is the attempt by armed mercenaries hired by Llyn to take over the planet. A hundred years of peace is shattered when the invading force appears on Manticoran Space where they will be opposed by the RMN which is under-staffed, under-supplied and determined to save their home planet.

Fans space operas will enjoy this intriguing series which is a prequel series to the Honor Harrington series.

This book, "A Call to Arms" by David Weber, Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope, is the second in the "Manticore Ascendant" naval Science Fiction series which is set in the same Universe as the "Honor Harrington" books but nearly four centuries earlier. It follows on from A Call to Duty (Manticore Ascendant).

NB This is the full-length version of the previously published novella with the same name. The original and shorter, novella length version of this story is included in the anthology "Beginnings: Worlds of Honor Book 6 (Honor Harrington)."

Although I had already read the previous novella version, I personally don't regret reading this book - in fact, I couldn't put it down - because it fleshes out the stories of both the central character, Travis Long, and a number of the supporting characters, and explains more about how the circumstances leading to the first battle of Manticore came about.

Although even those who have not read the previous version know the Royal Manticoran Navy will defeat both the internal political opponents who want to close it down and the external bad guys who from the start of the book are planning an invasion - because the RMN is still around for Honor Harrington to serve in several centuries later - what you don't know is which of the supporting characters will survive so there is still plenty of tension. But if you have already read "Worlds of Honor 6" then it will fairly rapidly become obvious that you already know, at least from the main hero's perspective, on how the principal plotline will turn out. That may be a particular problem for those fans of David Weber who read him mainly for the space battles, although this book does give you more perspectives on the principal battle in the book from the viewpoint of characters other than Travis Long.

The Honor Harrington Books are set about two thousand years in the future, this series begins in 3532 AD, or 1529 "Post Diaspora" in the Honorverse calendar. That puts this story in the same century as the trilogy featuring Honor Harrington's ancestor Stephanie, which begins with "A Beautiful Friendship (Star Kingdom (Quality))" and starts in 3521 AD/CE by our calendar. To date there has been no overlap between the two trilogies.

The primary hero of the new series, Travis Long, was put onto the track for promotion to be an officer at the end of the first book: at the start of this one, about five years later, he is a Lieutenant (Junior Grade). Meanwhile his half brother is still allied to the idiotic politicians who are trying to shut down the navy in the mistaken belief that nobody is going to attack Manticore, and two of his old friends are about to go to the planet Casca on what had been expected to be a harmless "showing the flag" exercise but turns out to be a little more exciting than anyone expected ...

This series fills in a lot of the backstory for the Honor Harrington Universe. At this time the Haven system has not yet become the "People's Republic of Haven" and they are still friends with Manticore. Gustav Anderman, the half-mad military genius who founded the Anderman Empire, has just begun his career of conquest. And although anyone who has read the "Honor Harrington" books knows that the Manticore system contains a wormhole junction of immense strategic and commercial value, at the time of the first two books in this series, that wormhole network has not yet been discovered and nobody on Manticore suspects it might be there. Which is why they don't realise they have anything which might make it worth anyone's while to invade them. But at the end of the book before this one, a scientist working for a very powerful, wealthy and greedy corporation called Axelrod had worked out that there might be one or more wormhole termini in the Manticore system ...

I love the first two sentences on the dust jacket description of this book: "Lieutenant Travis Long of the Royal Manticoran Navy is the sort of person who likes an orderly universe. One where people follow the rules. Unfortunately he lives in the real universe."

Most of us have met somebody of very high integrity and zero flexibility who is an absolute pain in the neck because they will not adjust to the real world. Most of us have also met people of equally high integrity and a bit more flexibility who are more likeable because they are open minded enough to make some attempt to allow for the needs and failings of other human beings, but who still attract trouble like a lightning rod because their constant attempts to do the right thing often cause more problems than they solve. Travis in the first two books of this trilogy is somewhere between those two positions. Consequently he has a bit of a gift for making enemies (this is not a spoiler as it is stated on the dust jacket.)

This is not a good time to have such a gift because the story is set at a time when the human colony of Manticore, which is many light years from Earth in the back of beyond, has been at peace for a century and is facing arguments about whether it still needs a navy to defend itself. There are political factions which would dearly like to abolish the Royal Manticoran Navy, either to transfer its' resources to use on other priorities or to support their own power bases. They think that there are no threats against whom such a navy might be needed.

Other people in Manticore think the last thing Manticore needs is politicians who think "the Universe is a safe and cozy place," as one of them ironically put it in the previous book.

Readers of other books in the series such as "House of Steel (Honor Harrington)" will know that those who think the Universe is dangerous are absolutely right. They also know that the men and women of the Royal Manticoran Navy will not just be needed, but will find out just how dangerous the Universe really is, far sooner than anyone thinks. Spacers like Travis Long who want to make sure that ships and weapons actually work properly may soon be in desperately short supply ...

I enjoyed both the first two books in this trilogy. I think Zahn and Pope have brought some good ideas and storytelling ability to the Honorverse and am very much looking forward to reading the final book in the series.

This is Book 2 in the Manticore Ascendant series. It is kind of a prequel to The Honorverse which I think I've read all the books, although there might be some recent additions I missed. they're pretty good. This is also a good read. Weber is good at delivering military science fiction. I actually bought this book from the Publisher's website.

It continues the story of Travis Long, an officer in the Manticoron Navy, several hundred years before the Honorverse. In this episode, the Navy is forced to take on a mercenary force that attacks on behalf of a large corporation that wants the star system because its location gives them some kind of space jump point or something.

The Navy is not in a good shape to repel an attack but they manage to as they always do otherwise the book series would have ended and there wouldn't have been the next series.
What makes Weber's books better than average in my opinion is the melding of both the military situation and the political situation which he does very well.

I'm sorry, but after reading all the Honor Harrington books multiple times, I found this book slow, plodding, and the plot line so improbable. Like so many Weber books there is a plethora of really stupid, ambitious politicians (just like real life?), too many conferences, meetings, strategy sessions, etc etc. And why in the world would some poor officer sent out to blow up the enemy be required to beg like a little puppy before he could even blast off a single missile. Mr. Weber has missed the boat with this one. But then, I'm not a fan of the "Honorverse" series, either! Think I will save my $$ and reread the original and noteworthy Honor Harrington series. =^..^=

I’m a pretty huge Weber fan, and I’ve liked some of Zahn’s stuff. I’m also a big Honorverse fan, so this book was intriguing to me. This first on was good, if it had a little too much of “just-in-time” solutions. This book continues with this trend, and I guess it will be the plot device method for the foreseeable future of the series. What I did like is the Fog of War feel, as in Honor’s time, Manticore’s tech is simply far superior to their enemies, whereas in this time, it is a function of tactics. Overall, I look forward to seeing more books in the series as to how Manticore became the powerhouse that it is in Honor’s time. I can’t help but wonder when we will see non-Human or Treecat sentient lifeforms.

As an Honorverse story, the book is great. The incident on Casca is truly suspenseful. The extended space battle is quite complex and even more suspenseful. But a major part of one space battle is almost a direct copy of an earlier Honorverse book, and I resented it. I give no more details to avoid giving away a major part of the plot, but that is why I downgraded my rating to 4 stars. Also, the political battle on Manticore has become dull and repetitive.

A Call to Arms (Honorverse: Manticore Ascendant #2) by David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Thomas Pope – Travis Long was the main character in the first book in this series and once again we follow him into danger. This series is a prequel and backstory for the Honor Harrington series. I found parts of it a little slow and don’t think it would hold anyone’s interest unless they were a fan of the Honor Harrington series. For fans it is a interesting look at Manticore before it became a star power. The lead up to that is a the heart of the plot. Somethings are settled but much is left to be revealed.

A Call to Arms (2015) is the second SF novel in the Manticore Ascendant series, following A Call to Duty.

In the previous volume, Travis was going out for the evening and wanted the aircar. He found his mother feeding the dogs. He informed her of his plans and asked for permission to use the aircar. She agreed, but didn't stop attending the dogs.

Before his father died, his parents were in his life. Since then, his mother had not paid much attention to him. He got to do anything he wanted to do, but he craved order and adult guidance.

Travis met his friends in town. They were going to buy a gift for a girlfriend at the jewelry store and then go out to eat. They asked Travis to wait for them at his aircar.

While they were gone, Travis noticed that one of the stores was now a recruiting station. He went over to talk to the recruiter. While they were talking, Travis hears gunshots.

In this novel, Travis Uriah Long is twenty-seven years old. He is now a Lieutenant (JG) in the Royal Manticoran Navy. He had been an enlisted rating, but was sent to college and OCS.

Lisa Donnelly is a Lieutenant Commander in the RMN. She had been a division officer when Travis had previously served with her.

Charles Townsend a is Petty Officer First Class in the RMN. He is a friend of Travis.

Jeremiah Lynn is an agent for Axelrod. He is searching for a group of mercenaries.

Mota is a former pirate. He is incarcerated in a high security prison on Haven.

Khetha was a General in the Canaan Army. He became the Supreme Chosen One. Then his regime was overthrown and he settled on Casca.

In this story, Travis is writing up a report on a potential recruit. He is sure that the boy will not be enlisting in the Navy. The boy is uncertain about his future and doesn't like the thought of the chain of command or discipline.

Then Lisa comes in to ask a favor. She is going to Casca on the Damocles. They are escorting a merchant ship, showing the flag and picking up shipping data. This data is being collected to locate possible pirates.

Lisa wants Travis to ask his mother to keep her dog while she is away. Her former husband had to travel and couldn't take the dog. The girl who usually does the dog sitting will not be available, so Lisa thinks of Travis and his mother.

The dog's name is Crumpets, a Scottish Terrier. She is house trained and friendly. Travis ends up keeping the dog in his home.

Meanwhile, Lynn visits the prison as a cleaning person. Then he takes a uniform from a guard. Next he drops into Mota's cell.

Mota had been interrogated by his captors, but Lynn wanted to ask him some different questions. He learns that another pirate liked to hum a tune, especially when his superior was around. Lynn departs the prison after leaving a few surprises in the computer system.

Lynn manages to catch the Soleil Azur. She is going to Casca, which is his next stop. He wants to talk to Khetha. He suspects that Khetha knows of a group of mercenaries that will be perfect for a task

Axelrod suspects that there is a wormhole within the Manticore A system. They have made a few checks, but need more. If they prove positive, the mercenaries will invade Manticore.

The Damocles arrives shortly after the Soleil Azure. The pirate data from Haven is being carried on the merchant ship. They transmit it to Casca.

This tale has Townsend cracking the files of the Soleil Azur. He finds a video of Lynn questioning Mota. It is corrupted, but Townsend gets a good look at Lynn's smile.

Later, Lynn has a meeting with Khetha. He gets the information he wants and shoots Khetha and the others in the room. Then he shoots the door guards and departs the area.

Townsend hears two shots. He calls the police. Then he see the same smile on the face of another man.

Lynn escapes in Khetha's shuttle. The next installment in this sequence has not yet been announced on the store.

Highly recommended for Weber, Zahn & Pope fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of mercenary soldiers, naval invasions, and a bit of romance. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

Pros: I liked the narration. It didn't blow me away but it didn't take away from the story and the variation in voice and tone was adequate to add value to the story.
The story was fine on its own, but not worth the price of a full book.

Cons: A re-write with some truly underwhelming fluff added to it to make it a 'new' book. Just read the original short story by Zahn in the collected works book it was originally released in. It's shorter but honestly better. I was really anticipating a worthy sequel to a promising start and this was frankly quite disappointing. I hope book 8 of the Safehold series is better because this isn't the first time in recent memory that David Weber has slacked and released something far below the quality I used to expect from him when I was reading early Honor Harrington books.

This is the second in the series and it felt the same way the first did. It ended like a serial...come back next book for more exciting action. It didn't seem to reach a point where I felt satisfied with ending the book. I know the series will continue, not leave me hungry for a more satisfying conclusion to get me to buy the next book.

This is my personal opinion, your mileage may vary.

Like many reviewers, I like the first book in this series a lot more. This book isn't bad, but it didn't really have a lot to it. Travis Long is barely in the first part of the book, which is more talking and politics than the action that make the HH books so good. Once the action starts, the book is great.

This book is in David Weber's Honorverse in collaboration with Timothy Zahn and Tom Pope. It's a prequel and well written, believable (for science fiction) and a comfortable read. I'm biased toward both David Weber and Timothy Zahn but the collaboration works don't get the feel of 3 different authors.

A must buy for anyone who enjoys Mr. Zahn's or Mr. Weber's works. Tom Pope does an excellent job on the technical details and fiddly bits of starship engineering. This volume is, like all of the Honorverse books, character driven space opera at its finest.

A piece of advertising fluff with little serious content. Mostly cheerleading for Windows 10 with minimal real content. Just look at how great it is with little to say about the poor hardware compatability due to arbitray software interface changes. The cell phone inspired interface in 8 was only usefull in making Vista look good by comparoson. Windows 10 attempts to revive this disaster for actual computers without much sucess and many bugs. I realize that Microsoft could design a clean useful operating system but stays with its horrible no design system to prevent reverse engineering a competing system.