David Weber

jbcohen · 09-23-2011, 09:17 AM

I enjoy his writting on Honor Harrington, however all of this brittish lords and laddies gets a little boring. Is there an american version of david weber?

Penforhire · 09-23-2011, 01:29 PM

Maybe John Ringo. But you'll have to put up with a different set of strangeness such as excess patriotism, expressions of BDSM, self-indulgent characterizations and the like.

HarryT · 09-24-2011, 03:11 AM

David Weber IS American.

Harper Kingsley · 09-24-2011, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

David Weber IS American.

I thought he was being funny. That's pretty good right there

Anyways--John Ringo is not my favorite. I read "A Hymn Before Battle," and though there were some aspects I really didn't like, it was more the "author's voice" that I didn't appreciate, not the story. Then he had the sequel, then the sequel after that, and boom, it was a really long series that completely skewed off the course it was on.

I do like David Drake a whole lot, though he's a lot of hardcore military sci-fi, so if you want love or anything... he'll give you mercenaries and violence instead.

S.M Stirling has some good stuff. "The General" was great, though that was him writing with David Drake.

Keith Laumer's "Bolos" is great. Also, there's Eric Flint. Some of his stories are pretty solid, though he introduces some disturbing things, or goes off on the semi-ridiculous.

Most of these guys, you can at least get the first book free from the Baen Free Library.

Nyssa · 09-24-2011, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I enjoy his writting on Honor Harrington, however all of this brittish lords and laddies gets a little boring. Is there an american version of david weber?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

David Weber IS American.

I knew something about that request struck me as being odd.

@jbcohen: Out of curiosity, what is it about the British style government that is bothering you so much?

Apache · 09-24-2011, 04:57 PM

I think he is referring to the Government in the Honor Harrington Series. It is a constitutional Monarchy like the British Monarchy. John Ringo's Hymn Before Battle was my least favorite of his. His Empire of Man Series ie: Prince Roger was much better.
Apache

fjtorres · 09-24-2011, 06:10 PM

Not there's anything wrong with modelling an interstellar Empire on the British Empire, but there are plenty of alternatives for modern space opera fans:

David Drake's RCN series is an excellent fit for fans of the Honorverse and the first volume, WITH THE LIGHTNINGS is in the BAEN FREE LIBRARY. No need to worry about a british-style regime, as the Cinnabar empire is modelled mostly on Republican Rome. Any Space Opera series with a librarian as a protagonist is worth looking into.

John Ringo's LOOKING GLASS WAR/VORPAL BLADE series is also very good adventure SF. Just bear in mind that the overall narrative and individual volumes vary from light and playful (volume 1, INTO THE LOOKING GLASS verges on farce at times) to seriously realistic (volume 2, VORPAL BLADE, for example). No british-isms either, as the protagonists are US Space Marines. And a "housecat" named tiny.

Recommended. (Actually, I'm minded to go reread the series.)

Weber himself has another, shorter, space opera series collected in EMPIRE FROM THE ASHES with minimal brit flavor that is also a lot of fun. (Though the female lead does sport an Elizabethan back-story.)

As for the Honorverse series, the reason the primary good guys are modelled on the British Empire is because Weber had the Napoleonic Wars in mind when he started the series. Hence their antagonists are suspiciously french-like. As the series has evolved he has modeled the different star nations after regimes/cultures from other eras and regions, so the Graysons are vaguely 19th century mormonic and the Solarian League maps most closely to the contemporary European Union.

Strether · 09-24-2011, 06:26 PM

What do you suppose Weber had in mind when he wrote the Oath of Swords fantasy trilogy, where the protagonist sounds like he was in a Maeve Binchy novel?

Jim

Nyssa · 09-24-2011, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Not there's anything wrong with modelling an interstellar Empire on the British Empire, but there are plenty of alternatives for modern space opera fans:

David Drake's RCN series is an excellent fit for fans of the Honorverse and the first volume, WITH THE LIGHTNINGS is in the BAEN FREE LIBRARY. No need to worry about a british-style regime, as the Cinnabar empire is modelled mostly on Republican Rome. Any Space Opera series with a librarian as a protagonist is worth looking into.

First of all, Thank You!

Second, The first 3 books of the RCN series are all part of the Baen series!

With the Lightnings

Lt. Leary Commanding

The Far Side of the Stars

Sorry to be

but I have a question for those who use Baen regularly:

Do you know why the prices are included for the free books? Is that a donation suggestion?

jgaiser · 09-24-2011, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Do you know why the prices are included for the free books? Is that a donation suggestion?

Yes.. And if you purchase books from the Free Library they will show up in your "My Books". I've done it a few times. Also, purchased a few books that I really liked from the free CDs on The Fifth Imperium.

jgaiser · 09-24-2011, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

David Drake's RCN series is an excellent fit for fans of the Honorverse and the first volume, WITH THE LIGHTNINGS is in the BAEN FREE LIBRARY. No need to worry about a british-style regime, as the Cinnabar empire is modelled mostly on Republican Rome. Any Space Opera series with a librarian as a protagonist is worth looking into.

Oh yes.. Second the RCN series. Up to number 4 and they're also available from The Fifth Imperium as the When The Tide Rises CD.

Nyssa · 09-24-2011, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Yes.. And if you purchase books from the Free Library they will show up in your "My Books". I've done it a few times. Also, purchased a few books that I really liked from the free CDs on The Fifth Imperium.

You learn something new everyday.

Thank you for the cd link as well. We have a few of them from buying the hard cover editions of the Honor Harrington series.

emellaich · 09-27-2011, 04:09 AM

On the RCN series, I liked the first one, but I've loved the later ones. Also, the RCN culture seemed somewhat 'different' to me, but I picked up a kindle book when it was free:
Ancient Rome in so many words (unfortunately it's now 9.99) and it's been fun to read about the real world inspiration for many of these practices.

fjtorres · 09-28-2011, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emellaich

On the RCN series, I liked the first one, but I've loved the later ones. Also, the RCN culture seemed somewhat 'different' to me, but I picked up a kindle book when it was free:
Ancient Rome in so many words (unfortunately it's now 9.99) and it's been fun to read about the real world inspiration for many of these practices.

If that sort of thing appeals to you, this series is pretty good:
http://www.amazon.com/History-Privat.../dp/0674399749

Unfortunately its not available in ebook form but if you don't mind treeware...

morriss003 · 11-19-2011, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

If that sort of thing appeals to you, this series is pretty good:
http://www.amazon.com/History-Privat.../dp/0674399749

Unfortunately its not available in ebook form but if you don't mind treeware...

And if you like that, this is free;

http://www.archive.org/details/cambr...dieva009698mbp

09-23-2011, 09:17 AM	#1
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	David Weber I enjoy his writting on Honor Harrington, however all of this brittish lords and laddies gets a little boring. Is there an american version of david weber?

09-24-2011, 06:10 PM	#7
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	Not there's anything wrong with modelling an interstellar Empire on the British Empire, but there are plenty of alternatives for modern space opera fans: David Drake's RCN series is an excellent fit for fans of the Honorverse and the first volume, WITH THE LIGHTNINGS is in the BAEN FREE LIBRARY. No need to worry about a british-style regime, as the Cinnabar empire is modelled mostly on Republican Rome. Any Space Opera series with a librarian as a protagonist is worth looking into. John Ringo's LOOKING GLASS WAR/VORPAL BLADE series is also very good adventure SF. Just bear in mind that the overall narrative and individual volumes vary from light and playful (volume 1, INTO THE LOOKING GLASS verges on farce at times) to seriously realistic (volume 2, VORPAL BLADE, for example). No british-isms either, as the protagonists are US Space Marines. And a "housecat" named tiny. Recommended. (Actually, I'm minded to go reread the series.) Weber himself has another, shorter, space opera series collected in EMPIRE FROM THE ASHES with minimal brit flavor that is also a lot of fun. (Though the female lead does sport an Elizabethan back-story.) As for the Honorverse series, the reason the primary good guys are modelled on the British Empire is because Weber had the Napoleonic Wars in mind when he started the series. Hence their antagonists are suspiciously french-like. As the series has evolved he has modeled the different star nations after regimes/cultures from other eras and regions, so the Graysons are vaguely 19th century mormonic and the Solarian League maps most closely to the contemporary European Union. Last edited by fjtorres; 09-25-2011 at 12:09 PM.

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09-23-2011, 01:29 PM	#2
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Maybe John Ringo. But you'll have to put up with a different set of strangeness such as excess patriotism, expressions of BDSM, self-indulgent characterizations and the like.

09-24-2011, 03:11 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	David Weber IS American.

09-24-2011, 04:57 PM	#6
Apache Readaholic Posts: 5,140 Karma: 90000000 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South Georgia Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"	I think he is referring to the Government in the Honor Harrington Series. It is a constitutional Monarchy like the British Monarchy. John Ringo's Hymn Before Battle was my least favorite of his. His Empire of Man Series ie: Prince Roger was much better. Apache

09-24-2011, 06:26 PM	#8
Strether Guru Posts: 746 Karma: 2825929 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fresno Device: Kindle 1; iPad Air; iPhone 7; Kobo Libra; Kindle Oasis 3	What do you suppose Weber had in mind when he wrote the Oath of Swords fantasy trilogy, where the protagonist sounds like he was in a Maeve Binchy novel? Jim

09-27-2011, 04:09 AM	#13
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,101 Karma: 4388403 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis	On the RCN series, I liked the first one, but I've loved the later ones. Also, the RCN culture seemed somewhat 'different' to me, but I picked up a kindle book when it was free: Ancient Rome in so many words (unfortunately it's now 9.99) and it's been fun to read about the real world inspiration for many of these practices.

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