These stories are a gas, but they often verge on the dark...think only of the poor guy in Time-Trap, maybe the best story in the book. This guy may be the predecessor of Paul Jonas, the Otherland character who was hurled from a strange environment to another, and who was also pursued by ghastly creatures. Thanks to Eric Flint for having made us rediscover these classic stories!

This book manages to combine military SF, comedy (both slapstick and wordplay), satire, class wars, cloning, and genetic engineering with a little romance and still come out swinging. These collaborators can really, well, collaborate.

The hero is the sole human survivor of his platoon. Chip is trapped behind enemy lines ("way behind enemy lines" as one chapter title puts it). His compatriots are genetically engineered "rats" and bats. Imagine if Shakespeare's comical secondary characters were forced to spend time in close quarters with rebellious Irish poets, and you get the general idea of the chaos.

Mix with the daughter of a wealthy shareholder, her alien tutor, and her fluffy companion. Add the clashes between a military commander who knows what he's doing and lots and lots of "authority" figures who don't. Shake and stir.

I read this in the e-book edition (which you can purchase through Baen's Webscription program), but I enjoyed it enough that I'd like to buy the paperback when it comes out. It will be worth it for the cover alone.

My only real problem is that I kinda sorta figured out a major surprise a little too early. But I didn't figure out all the implications of that right away.

Anne M. Marble Reviewer, All About Romance

This is the best science fiction book I've read in a decade. By combining futuristic DNA manipulation with a rollicking good time, Dave Freer has produced a truly great book. The layers of complexity in this story are exceeded only by the unexpected twists and turns. The setting, a colony planet, is beautifully drawn and so realistic it's almost scary. A cloned slave-grunt soldier, the lone human survivor of his platoon, takes on giant maggot aliens in a series of battles that swing between terrifying and hysterically funny. The grunt's companions are genetically engineered bats and rats, which were designed to help fight the human war and seem to be a cross between Mafia rejects and members of a biker gang. A high-ranking, disgruntled officer takes on the whole inept army beaurocracy. The romance between a naïve rich girl and the cynical army grunt adds extra color and hilarity. Even the bad guys turn out to be even badder than the reader expects, forcing the other characters to deal with betrayal and misinformation. The happy ending is satisfactory without being sugary-sweet or predictable. There are just enough ends left loose that the authors could conceivably write a sequal (hopeful hint!). Very highly recommended.

This is a prime example of what great fun sci-fi can be in the hands of a good author. Genetically engineered bats, rats, and "vats" (human clones serving as indentured servants) combine with the sci-fi staple of vicious bugs who imperil a small human colony in a fast read. There's a recipe for explosives and how to make a brandy flamethrower! Flint is an imaginative writer, there are few others who would make genetically engineered bats Irish anarchists at heart, and a cloned sous chef a hero.

This book was great fun and a fast read. Like the first two in the series, it centers around the Roman general Belisarius and his fight against the evil supercomputer-from-the-future Link and its Malwa minions. In this installment, the war has moved into Persia, making uneasy allies of the Romans and their former foes.

More than one story line wends its way through the narrative. The focus is alternately on Belisarius in Persia, Antonina in Egypt, and Shakuntala in India. Various Malwa schemes are thwarted as the Great Lady Holi and her cybernetic cargo spearhead the assault into Mesopotamia.

The only real quibble I have with this book is the ease with which the good guys win every battle. Granted, Belisarius is supposed to be a genius general, but one would think a supercomputer might have *some* ability to outwit him. Instead, Link so far steadily plods two steps behind the Roman alliance.

Despite that, this is an enjoyable book. Once again Belisarius is at the forefront of the action with his oh-so-clever battle plans, but the supporting characters are not neglected. Readers will be swept along by the steadily building conflict, and are sure to eagerly await the next installment.

Good Morning, General Belisarius. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, will be to lead your armies against overwhelming force led by the ultimate evil. If you lose, commit suicide, for humanity will enter an age of darkness that will never lift. If you or any of your companions are caught, you will face slow death by hideous torture. This message from the future will *NOT* self-destruct because you will *need* everthing it can teach you. Good luck.

With this, the third (of four so far) book in the series, the overall structure of the story is now plain. We get to watch Belisarius, his wife Antonina and their friends, like the I.M. force, begin forging a boom to lower on the Malwa. The true pleasure of this series is that it's on a much larger, far more beautiful, and incomparably better painted canvas. You don't HAVE to read the earlier books to follow the story. Eric Flint intersperses enough of a situation report into the tale that you can jump in and pretty much figure out what's going on. However, there is a lot of the fun getting to know these people over the course of several books.

As seems to be his habit, Flint's writing is superb, and the people, places, time and battles are well-drawn. Again, as always, there are wonderfully memorable scenes, including one particular sequence where Antonina comes into her own. If Belisarius is a Craftsmaster of War, she is a Cook, seasoning the siege of an impregnable fortress with a dash of force and a soupcon of violence in a display of lateral thinking that left me dumbfounded, admiring, awestruck, and laughing like hell.

Start to finish, this book is a pure delight, and I get to start on number four at once! I have only one complaint: I agree that - the maps could be better, since much of the ground of the story is unfamiliar to those of us who are not historians.

As always, Eric, thank you for hours of reading pleasure.

I came across a novel on the Baen web page called, "1632" by an author unknown to me, Eric Flint. I read the first 21 chapters on the web page and knew that this was going to be one of the top authors in science fiction. ("1632" is like "Island in the Sea of Time" if it had been was written by Leo Frankowski.) I looked up what other books Eric Flint might have written and found this series, written with David Drake. I quickly read the first two books in the series, then had to buy the hardback of "Destiny's Shield." This is the third book in the series which began with, "An Oblique Approach." I missed reading "An Oblique Approach" when it first appeared at the book stores because I assumed it was just another pseudo historical science fiction novel. It IS set during height of the Eastern Roman Empire, in an alternate universe, but this is a GREAT pseudo historical science fiction novel. There is a certain similarity to "The General" series which David Drake also coauthored, but this is better. With "Destiny's Shield," the series just gets more interesting. I'm hooked, and now I have to wait for the next novel in the series.

Belisarius is one of histories great might have beens. The last Procouncil of Rome, a military leader of great genius, as an old man he lead an untrained army to destroy an invasion of barbarians. He almost united the Roman Empire, almost.

What if.... David Drake wrote that he presented S. M. Stirling with an essay on the life of Belisarius, the series "The General" resulted. If Mr. Drake did the same with Mr. Flint, than this series would be the variation on that theme.

Happily, Mr. Flint proves to be an an excellent writer, not the same writter as M. Stirling, but his own. Stirling's strength is his physical presents. You can see his story. Mr Flint's strength is his feel, you can feel his story.

The one great weakness is that while Theodora, and, to a lesser degree, Antonia, have personalities with strengths and weaknesses, the other characters, including Belisarious, are one dimentional, few doubts, no fears, to perfect.

The story itself is! a rousing yarn, filled with action, a touch of philosophy, and an emerging conflict between the idea of "the All" versus "The One", the individual of society.

I look foward with anticipation for the next installment.

This book and its series is the achime of military sci-fi. It broadens the scope of battle beyond mere skirmishes and brings it into the full context of inter-continental warfare with a Roman era technological base that is further enhanced by a living intelligence from the future, with all the knowledge that represents. It is the mix of the old and the new, the profound and the pragmatic, and finally the just and the unjust. This is a book about evil men and their weaknesses just as it is about General Belisarius and his ability to command. This book and its series differentiate the exact facets of what makes your enemy tick and how you can use that knowledge to your advantage and your enemies' disadvantage. It logically and consistently combines such military maxims as "Peace through superior firepower", "Taking an enemy intact without a fight is the achime of battle", "The First rule of battle is that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy", and "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".

The battle with the Malwa have almost reached its head. This story features the conclusion of the Byzantine politics in Rome, for better or for worse. Every facets that Belisarius can gather is being readied for the war with Malwa. Belisarius has succeeded in his "Oblique Approach" and has set up the environment necessary to beat his enemy into obliteration. The next step will be taken by Malwa, in the "Destiny's Shield".

I found both this book and the one preceding to be eminently enjoyable, despite certain liberties with the historical record (an earlier review referred to 'hecatontarch' vs 'centarch', which is a much more dicey point than it is represented to be), such as the personality of Antonina. On the other hand, a good story is more important than niggling details - and since it is alt-history, who cares anyhow? I particularly have enjoyed the thorough debasement of that "vile" creature Procopius. He deserves it... Perhaps Drake et al. will eventually get over the (wholly justifiable) fascination with Belisarius sometime, and present one of the other great Byzantines in the next series. We can hope...

Eric Flint and David Drake make a great team. I thoroughly enjoed this book. I have read the three previous books in this series and this one continued the story very well. It was worth waiting for.

I love the characters and the plot is fascinating. I have always been interested in this time period, and this series has brought the cultures of this time and place to life for me. I think that I have learned more about india and the people who lived there than I ever did in school. In addition, the authors do a good job of introducing modern military hardware (rockets and guns) and tactics while adjusting them for the capabilities of the period. The military, political and social details in this book add considerable background and depth to the plot.

The only problem was that the book did not hold my interest as intensely as the earlier books did. There were also a few places where I would have been happier with a more detailed build up to a scene. I wanted to know more about what happened to the characters on the way; I wanted richer descriptions. I would have been thrilled if the book had been a hundred pages longer.

This is not a serious problem. The series as a whole is still a rich and enthralling alternative history and I am looking forward to the nect book.

I have loved David Drake since I read the Hammers Slammers book. Eric Flint is new to me. Since I am unable to say where one starts and the other ends, this review is for both.

I bought the whole series to date in one shot when I learned of them, and read them all, one right after the other, though I had to fight my spouse for them. I enjoyed the stories completely, and had no trouble following the plot. The battle scenes are realistic, which I prefer, though other readers, I have noted have a little trouble with the descriptions of the bloodshed. Most likely the same people who think Braveheart was too bloody. My answer to that is, they are describing a war. War is NEVER pretty or humane, no matter how much you soften it.

I can't wait for the next book to see what happens to Belisarius and all his aids, associates, allies and friends. Throughout the series, I kept thinking, if the characters are this twisted, what are the authors like? I'd love to meet them. Keep it up! And please don't sacrifice your wonderful quality for speed. I can wait. (Oh, and I loved what happenned to Valentinian, and laughed at his message. That alone would have me anxious to read the next book.)

Let me begin by saying that I read a lot of books in many genres. I don't review most of them but I have to share my absolute pleasure in this series. Except for the Honor Harrington series, I don't read much military sf. I don't recall why I decided to try this series - my experience with Drake has been mixed - but I did. I can truly say that this series is fabulous! I can't remember the last time I finished a chapter in a book and said aloud "this is great stuff." There is hardly a flaw - even the history is accurate. The last time I knew I had something this enthralling was reading David Eddings. I am sure I'll be re-reading this series and sharing it with my friends.

In terms of this particular volume, I believe the authors handled their task well. The growing number of characters and their far-flung locations does slow the action a bit but makes up for it by introducing some interesting developments in terms of lives and romances. At my last count, we had 4 separate major action locations and plot lines. Frankly, that's enough or the books must be longer. This is a danger. As I said in reviewing another book, separate plot lines are fine, as long as they are plot lines and not sound bites. Otherwise, to the authors: keep up the good work and words! Wonderful Stuff! Read it. Now!

This novel is based on an interesting if completely implausible premise, and it has some strengths. Flint delivers some real history in colorful fashion. Most of his characters have some depth to their personalities. (A notable exception is the CEO character, a cartoonish stereotype that reflects the author's biases ' Flint is a proud union organizer and socialist.) The manner in which 17th Century Europeans react to American technology and culture almost makes the book worth recommending. Almost, but not quite.

Unfortunately, Flint has an annoying habit of hinting at events in great meandering detail before he finally zeroes in on the heart of each matter. Other passages have so many characters speaking to one another, it's nearly impossible to decipher who's referring to what.

Despite those major weaknesses, I can't say the book was boring or consistently difficult to read. But as hard as Flint tries, he's not in the same league as Michael Crichton, Robert Sawyer, or even Ben Bova. 1632 is a fun way to pass the time while you wait for the latest book from your favorite sci-fi novelist.

1632 is not my favorite "alternate history" "time travel" novel but it is one of my top 10! Mr. Flint does an excellent job getting the feel of the age onto the pages and a more than passable job of dealing with the language issue. (Dropping a small town full of modern day West Virginians into 17th century Europe causes many Language barriers!) The introduction of the United Mine Workers and having the Main character as the local Union Leader is a nice twist. Moreover, the author's treatment of History is excellent and his integration of "real world" historical figures into the story a pleasure to read! His battle scenes are clean and engrossing and the pace of the book is excellent. If I could voice one gripe about this book, I would ask it to be longer. (I tend to like more background story and deeper character development!) I recommend this novel if you are at all entertained by this sub-genre for Mr. Flint definitely delivers the goods!

If you enjoyed S.M. Stirling's "Island in the Sea of Time," you will enjoy this book!

Although I read a LOT of science fiction of all types (fantasy, military, and alternate history), I somehow had never read anything by Eric Flint before, but the idea of a whole town from modern-day West Virginia being transplanted into 1632 Germany -- in the middle of the 30 Years War -- intrigued me. I was afraid that this book was going to be yet another of those that trash West Virginia and her citizens, but I was happy to find I was wrong as well as vastly entertained for several hours.

Mike Stearns, along with most of the residents of Grantville, WV, was attending his sister's wedding reception in the cafeteria of the local high school when suddenly a brilliant, white light flashed through all the windows, the ground shook, and the power went off. Mike, his family members, friends, and colleagues naturally think there has been an explosion, but when they start looking around they are shocked to find they aren't in West Virginia -- or even the United States -- anymore; in fact, they aren't even in the same century! What happened? No one knows. Can they get back "home"? Probably not. What can they do? Survive.

Seventeenth-century Germany is a bloody battlefield where kings, princes, mercenaries, and peasants die by the thousands; unfortunately, though, it's the richest (not the best or even bravest) leaders who usually win. Murder, rape, religious persecution, rule by a hereditary nobility, and army induction at swordpoint are the way of life for the average person. (You've got to admit that "Join or die" is a VERY effective recruiting slogan.) The right to do as they are told is about the only right common people have -- much to the shock and dismay of their new neighbors from the future, who consider themselves "common people" as well. The term "culture shock" really doesn't cover the American's attitudes when exposed to the lifestyle the German peasants take for granted; it certainly doesn't even begin to cover the German's reactions when they are faced with the behavior and attitudes of these hard-working, stubborn, opinionated, patriotric, Bill-of-Rights-loving, coal miners from a small town in central West Virginia -- especially the behavior (and dress!) of the modern-day females. When these new neighbors -- with their "revolutionary" ideas of equality and tolerance and their modern weapons and medicine -- proceed to help the beleagured cities around them, well . . . history will never be the same again.

Although I wish the author had spent more time on the struggles of the citizens of Grantville to come to terms with their new situation and the formation of the "new" United States (with only the State of Grantville) and its government, I enjoyed this book so much that I went out and bought four more books by Eric Flint. By blending authentic historical figures with the fictional characters in this book, he makes the actions of ALL the people in this story -- improbable plot and all -- come alive with tales of bravery and cowardace, strategy and warfare, honor and dishonor, as well as romance and adventure. The fact that he does it with humor and WITHOUT continuing the sterotype of West Virginians as poor, ignorant, bigoted, narrow-minded, incestuous hillbillies makes it even better. BUY (don't borrow) this book -- this kind of writing should be rewarded!

Eric Flint is a very creative individual who, by all accounts is generous with his time and is not above helping young writers. My problem w/ everything that I've read of his thus far...(can't remember how many books that would be)....is I feel as though I've read half of a really great Science-Fiction story. In this particular novel, I am guessing that the author wants you to envision what is in store for the unsuspecting aliens a hundred or so years down the road when the human star-colonists and the friendly aliens (I am dumbing down/oversimplifying this explanation so that I'm not spoiling anything.) get their act together. I wanted to see that future. I felt cut off. Another beef I have with his writing style, (to be fair others disagree), is he puts you in every character's head. The reason I object to this is it slows the book down, to meet so many characters. I'm not denying that what you read won't be entertaining but to me reading Mother of Demons was a little like taking the girl of your dreams to the prom only to have her pass out on you before you get to dance. I'm not denying the skill and artistry of someone who excels at something that I can't do, but I want to fewer characters doing more and more action. Mr. Flint, if you do read this, I really do enjoy your books but the ones I have read, have left me wishing to see, what lies ahead.

I enjoy a good SF story... and there are only a few good _story tellers_ around these days. I've been reading Flint and Drake's Belisarus books with some enjoyment. I picked those up because of Drake's name. Flint's name didn't mean much to me, and when I saw the book in the store, it didn't impress me a lot. While at LibertyCon (an SF con in Chattanooga), I saw it on the freebie table as a promotion item. I picked it up, read it, and was hooked. It is entertaining space opera, told from both alien and human perspectives. It's not great literature - but it's a good read. I bought Flint's new book 1632 as a result and found that one very enjoyable as well. So I have added Eric Flint to my list of "buy on publication" authors. If you enjoy old-fashioned space opera and military SF, you'll enjoy Flint.

This book is an excellent read. Good plot, well thought-out, interesting characters and a good writing style make this story better than the average humans-stranded-on-strange-planet fare. The conclusion left enough threads to allow a sequel without being frustrating or unsatisfying. Eric Flint is a writer to watch.

Too often I've picked up what looked like a good novel, and have been disappointed. I remember a WWII novel covered with rave reviews, but started off as pureil trash and went downhill.

I picked up "Oblique Approach" expecting a David Drake type SciFi quick read, shallow and fun. Much to my surprise this book turned out to be much more than its cover or authors would indicate. This may well have been Drake's way of saying that he can do better than potboilers. It may be that he and Eric Flint are natural collaborrators.

Whatever the reason, this is a book chuck full of history, geography, culture, combat, intrigue, complex characters and good old fashioned SciFi and a great read. My only gripe is that now that I've read the first book, I've got to read the series.

I can easily imagine how this series got started: a couple of guys musing, "I wonder what would have happened if an ancient general had access to modern weaponry and tactics..."

The result is an engaging look at an alternate reality where Belisarius, a real-life general of antiquity, is contacted by a sentient "jewel" from the future. It shows him a horrific future in which the Indian Malwa dynasty conquers the world for the forces of darkness, and he immediately enlists to stop them. He is given knowledge about gunpowder and modern weapons, and he sets about gathering allies for the war that only he can see coming. The action is almost nonstop as Belisarius journeys to India with new allies to learn about his enemy and help the oppressed Indians begin a revolution from within.

Detractors will point out that Drake has done this before with S.M. Stirling, and that is true, up to a point. One major difference, though, is the fact that the sentient gem in this series is not all-powerful from the start; it grows and learns throughout the book, gradually becoming more self-aware and developing a personality. Another aspect that makes this book stand out is the cast of characters. Many of them are familiar from history lessons, and all are individual and interesting. The interplay between strong characters keeps the book from becoming just a dry series of battles and strategies.

To sum up, this book has all the fighting action to satisfy a fan of military SF, combined with an intriguing premise. It is skillfully written, and I am eagerly awaiting future installments of the series.

I missed this one when it came out, largely because David Drake's name on a book is a strong *NEGATIVE* recommendation to me. Drake's stories are usually nasty, and his characters people who, were they dying of thirst in the desert, I would not spit upon them lest the moisture help them live.

But *THIS*, this is Eric Flint's work I am sure, with Drake supplying, at most, an outline. I ran into Flint by reading his magnificent "1632" and, when I learned of this series, went out and got all the volumes. I'm working my way through them now.

There *are* parallels between this series and the Stirling/Drake "General" collaboration, but while Stirling's good, Flint is easily the master. The writing is strong and, in places, is pure poetry. I don't want to spoil anything, but just wait until you read "How the Monsoon Visited the Palace", and what it wrought there!

Flint writes superbly, bringing all his characters to full and vivid life. We see their loves, their hates, their dreams and their nightmares. Belisarius has a cause worth fighting for and an enemy that makes the MPAA, the RIAA, and the Nazis all rolled into one look like spiteful, spoiled children. I would deem it an honor to die guarding *this* Belisarius' back. Or I would follow him to hell. Judging by the vileness of the enemy, it looks like I'll have that privilege before the series is over.

Thank you, Eric. I don't find stuff this good very often. May all kindly Gods and Goddesses watch over you and your word processor!

Ok
Overall the alterantive history series is good, very good actually. In general I recommend it. But...

As each new volume is released the characters begin to act more like comedians and less like actual people. It appears that the authors are trying to milk as much $$$ out of it as possible

The intra character quips which were charming in the first series are wearing really thin. The plot is pretty much done, we know whats going to happen, and who will do it, no mystery here.
I really cant believe this volume doesnt finish it up.

It would have been a great 3 book series! You can easily pull out the hokey banter (10%) the repeated quips (10%) the repetitive story lines (10%) and the history lessons for those who havent read the previous volumes (20%)

Of course you can filter and distill the 6 books (1 still unpublished) into 3 so that your left with a darn good story. But filtering out 40%-50% is burdensome. It gets so bad at times that I start skipping pages!

Im tired of hearing how big one characters breasts are, or how "only the soul matters in the end" or how one character looks like a weasel, and being told over and over again about past episodes that occured in earlier volumes etc. etc. etc ad nauseum...Sheesh...

This series could have been a classic, but it's degrading itself with every new volume. I still recommend the series, but thats more in the way of how bad most other works are, and how good this one "Could have been"

This is the 5th in the series. You almost need to read the first four to really know what's going on. The hero Belisarius (a Roman) has a jewel (computer from the future) that helps him and he is fighting the Malwa (from Indus valley) that also have a computer from the future to help them. So we have armies from the Roman times fighting with battle concepts from modern times and constantly esculating new (for Roman times) weapons. Although the book does repeat a lot from the past books, I thought this one was better than the previous and moving the plot along and had interesting characters. I was hoping that we would resolve things but we have at least one more sequal to go.

Belisarius's Byzantine army, equipped with 17th century weaponry, has wiped out the Malwa invasion of Persia. Yet the Malwa Empire, led by the future intelligence of Link, remains larger and more powerful than the combined Roman and Persian might. Only by taking the war to the Malwa in India itself can the world have a chance at victory--and to eliminate the destruction that Link will surely bring if not stopped.

In THE TIDE OF VICTORY, the Indian rebel forces, the Persians, the Romans, and allies Ethiopia and Kungas combine to attack Malwa from the south, northwest, and southwest. The Malwa are slowly adopting more modern weapons and tactics. Belesarius and his allies will have to up their own skills if they are to survive, let alone achieve victory.

THE TIDE OF VICTORY continues this fine alternative history series featuring Belisarius, the great Byzantine general--here equipped with a crystal intelligence that gives him access to knowledge of the great generals of the musket period---Grant, Sherman, Lee, Wellington, and King Gustav Adolf of Sweden.

The highlights of this novel comes in Belisarius's military campaign toward the end of the novel (which is reminiscent of Lee's Peninsula campaigns during the American Civil War), and especially in the doings of the other characters. Minor characters from earlier in the series now have major roles to play themselves. Antoinia, Belisarius's wife, can be cloying with Belisarius, but seems heroic apart from him. Eon, the Ethiopian King, has grown from a boy to a man--and hero. I especially liked the development of Narses--another historically significant Byzantine who, here, has betrayed the Roman cause and is now struggling to create a world where he, an intelligent, scheming, amoral eunich, can thrive.

Authors Eric Flint and David Drake deliver exciting military action--intriguing alternate history matchups between late Roman cavalry and 17th century musketeers, and interesting characters.

Belisarius was one of the world's great generals and is an ideal candidate for alternative history. From the story-telling standpoint, however, he has become a little too successful. In particular, his clever adoption of a new technology just in time to meet the needs of battle is starting to get predictable. Link has been in control of the Malwa for a long time--why not make Belisarius use his genius against superior weapons--rather than simply adopt early-modern tactics to slaughter huge hordes of (admittedly mostly evil) Malwa?

CHANGER OF WORLDS includes four short stories and novellas set in Honor Harrington's universe.

Best of the four is FROM THE HIGHLANDS written by Eric Flint. A Manticoran captain joins with renegade Havenites, antislavery solarians, and a disgraced Manticoran noblewoman to rescue his daughter from kidnappers. To succeed, he must fight ethnic supermen, the Havenite SS, his own command chain dominated by the Manticore conservatives, and the local police. Excellent.

Honor fans won't want to miss Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington--the beginning of Honor's career and nearly the end of it as she must face a superior officer bent on destroying her as well as external enemies. Relying on her leadership and skills rather than on conveniently discovered superweapons, this is classic Honor Harrington on a small scale.

From a historical perspective, Nightfall is essential to the Honor continuity. It deals with the internal struggle between Admiral McQueen and Saint-Juste and defines the direction for the Havenite government.

Way below average is the title story--Changer of Worlds. The treecats are cute and smart and all but this entire short story is simply a dialogue between a bunch of cats. Nothing happens, no character development takes place. The story merely describes the 'cats' decision to send the new colony of 'cats to follow Honor. Yawn. Read it if you love those 'cats--it is thankfully short after all.

To those who haven't read any other Honor Harrington book, this book will give you four small and very different tastes of the Honor universe. You will probably decide that the other 9 novels and 2 short story collections are now on your wish list, but you don't need the history to enjoy these stories - they stand on their own (with the possible exception of Nightfall).

Fellow Honor fans, I recommend this - Honor's universe keeps getting bigger and better.

This books has four great short stories set in the Honor Harrington universe. I loved this book. I am waiting in eager anticipation for the sequel to Ashes of Victory, but this book is much more than filler in between novels. This collection adds depth to the Honor Harrington universe. The first story shows Honor early in her career, before the war started and before she was in a leadership position. The last story expands on an incident from the latest novel (Ashes of Victory) and shows the enemy from their own point of view. You get to see Honor and her universe from her Treecat's point of view in the second story. The third story by Eric Flint has characters who know of Honor only through news headlines but have her heart and drive.

Honor is the main character in only 1 of the stories, but don't let that deter you. Laughs Brightly, Golden Voice, Helen, Anton, Kevin Usher and Esther McQueen were introduced before but now we get to see them in depth and detail. Cathy, Victor, Virginia, Bachfisch, Shelton, and Branch Leaper are new to us and their relationships add spark and more diversity to the universe Honor inhabits. (and possibly foreshadow upcoming events in the next novel?)

Write, David, write! Write, Eric, write! (I hope you add another story in the next collection!) These characters show and make us want more of their drive for Honor!

I have read what is available of this book ...and all I have to say is this book looks wonderful. The book is a collection of short stories (three by David Weber and one by Eric Flint, I believe), and they cover both the early career of Honor Harrington and the exploits of several secondary characters mentioned a few books ago. Bravo to Mr. Weber for his wonderful stories. Bravo also to Mr. Flint for his short story (more like novella)! Now I just have to wait for the next book!Thank you!