I would like to start by saying that I am a huge David Weber fan. For those of us who like our space operas long, convoluted, unpredictable and packed with lots of technical jargon and fantastically human characters (and especially for those of us who like happy endings), Weber delivers time and time again. Having said that I do have a confession to make – unlike many Weber fans who go straight out to the shop to buy the latest instalment in hardback and dive straight back into Honorverse, I am guilty of buying what I think is the latest instalment in paperback (several times in some instances) and then putting it on the shelf and looking at it for a couple of months. This isn’t because I don’t want to read it – not at all. It’s more that Weber has now created such a successful and long-running series that I feel almost obliged to go back to the beginning and remind myself all over again who these fabulous characters are that people such a fascinating universe.

This is what happened with Weber’s last venture into the core strand of Honorverse; At All Costs. Even worse, moving constraints meant that it had to be boxed away without even being read! Therefore, when I came to the latest paperback in the series; Storm From the Shadows, I hadn’t read up on what had happened previously and therefore various events came as a huge shock to me (noticeably Thomas Theismann’s invasion of the Manticore home system). This should have been annoying and off-putting and made me go and dig At All Costs out of the attic before getting sucked into STORM. However I didn’t – and this is the genius of Weber: however long his books, however convoluted his plots, however many primary and secondary characters there are populating however many systems and worlds, he still has the most extraordinary ability to suck you into his world and refuse to let you off the roller-coaster ride until he kicks you out at the end of his book desperately wanting to know What Happens Next?!

Storm From the Shadows is no exception. The viewpoint shifts from Honor Harrington to Michelle Henke in this title, and the action focuses on the machinations being played out in the Talbott Cluster. Not only does this give the reader the chance to get to know one of Weber’s regular characters in more depth (and it’s good to see the point of view from another interesting and complex character like Mike Henke), but it allows Weber to take us more deeply into some of the internal workings of what has previously been the largely enigmatic and outwardly disinterested monolith of the Solarian League. The protagonists are many and as usual I was easily confused by who’s doing what, on which world and in which system. But again the strength of Weber is that even if you can’t remember exactly what went before or which side the character you’re reading about is on, you’re still eager to keep reading. Moreover Weber is sophisticated enough a writer (as he should be after so many successful books!) to be able to string along his reader with tantalising hints and still be able to surprise you on a regular basis. However, the main thrust of this story is clearly recognisable and it is a mark of the author’s experience that he can allow the reader to know reasonably early on where this story arc is headed (Manticore vs. the Sollies) while at the same time beautifully dove-tailing in all sorts of twists and hitherto only hinted at opponents.

So here I am, desperately wanting to know What Happens Next and waiting avidly for the next instalment, when I hope the Mesan Alignment will finally be uncovered. In the meantime I guess this is a good moment to go dig around the attic for the previous instalments I’ve missed, before the next episode makes it into paperback…

Bookmark to