David Weber interview - examining the Honorverse

Best selling author David Weber talks about his novel Storm from the Shadows, published in 2009 as part of his immensely popular "Honorverse" book series. He discusses the challenge of managing all the characters and events of the sprawling storyline in the Honorverse. He also talks about how the series changed when he decided not to have the character of Honor die in the Battle of Manticore, as originally planned.
You can find information about all of David Weber's books at his current website: www.davidweber.net.
This interview was recorded on and originally shown as part of episode 222 of Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction.

[@LuzarioBarns]

Wau, i have never seen an interviewer that is so informed on the specifics of a very large chain of books. Hats off to him! Im really impressed and this was a joy to watch!

[@kubel83]

domhr I have never read the books. But after this interview I think I should dive in to it. Sounds like a cool sci-fi.

[@johnnemesh5459]

@@kubel83 Careful! I started reading this series and ended up binging the entire series! It's a LITTLE tough getting through "Short Victorious War"...not because it's BAD, but it does take a while getting things set up for the rest of the series. After you get through that book, the rest can't come fast enough!

[@kubel83]

John Nemesh thanks for the heads up brother😅👍

[@gregoreder8205]

I love his books especially the Honorverse.

[@kubel83]

I have never read the books. But after this interview I think I should dive in to it. Sounds like a cool sci-fi.

[@na3044]

Only 5 to 8 books he says. Lovely interview, thanks for uploading. Also Long live the Republic of Haven!

[@dusanradin5868]

Will it ever be seen on tv or in films? Honor Harrington is my favourite character .

[@wheelzwheela]

Hearing him speak, he reminds me of Orson Scott Card.

[@khadijagwen]

So, I need help. I read what was the whole Honorverse at the time and the last book was the one where she and her crew escaped the prison planet. I think the last line in that book was, "I'm sorry we're late." Life got in the way of my continuing to read your work but I could pick it up now if I knew where to start. Can you tell me where to start?

[@seanheath4492]

On the off chance you haven't figured this out yet, the last one you read was Echoes of Honor, and the next book is Ashes of Victory.

[@khadijagwen]

Thank you. Just returning from the dark planet, so will have time to re-read Echoes of Honor and onto the next.

[@chrisfitzchrisfitz5182]

Every book has a page (somewhere) showing the complete series.

[@orion2250]

David Weber is the shit!

[@mattosullivan9687]

Was Lord Pavel Young based on Prince Andrew?

[@Andreas-gh6is]

He could have been based on any other entitled asshole. That he has a noble family background seems to be rather incidental.

[@russell5078084]

Don't kill Honor!

[@russell5078084]

after everything you have put her through, she deserves to get her revenge on the masan, alliance and have her live a full life after manticor's, ultimate victory.

[@kubel83]

I have never read the books. But after this interview I think I should dive in to it. Sounds like a cool sci-fi.

[@russell5078084]

@@kubel83 it is.

[@paulalbamonte4756]

Get him back on . Enogh time has passed

[@benjaminodonnell258]

It seems to me that a more descriptive name for the Star Empire of Manticore would be the "Wormhole Empire". The Manticorean Alliance is increasing becoming a wormhole junction that owns all its terminii.

[@khadijagwen]

There are so many "Mormon" terms used in this series ... well it is just odd, but OK as far as I am concerned.

[@tomitiustritus6672]

Ok, that's too much bloat for me then. Gotta cut my losses instead of now having to keep up with all the spin offs in addition to the increasing amount of bloat in the main line. I'm signing off. All good things have an end. Things that don't invariably stop being good at some point and i'm afraid that point has come to the honorverse.

[@idahobeef]

I was really disappointed when Weber turned the evil Peeps into sympathetic characters. I also look forward to more info from the Beowulf clone weirdos. Lets see MORE Honor!

[@davidball5774]

Oh really so did we always view the French as our enemy ?After the revolution..

[@seanheath4492]

So... 'round about book 2, when they introduce Yu and Theisman?

[@Andreas-gh6is]

He doesn't look healthy... even 9 years ago. I hope he survives long enough to either finish the series or let others carry it onwards. Eric Flint already died...

[@Cap7171]

Reading Basilisk right now. It's garbage.

[@tomitiustritus6672]

Get's worse from there. I was hooked a while on the naval fiction vibe (as an Alan Lewry and Aubrey-Maturin reader), but it gets only more bloaty, more repetitive, Honor becomes a literal superhuman Mary Sue more and more, an obscene amount of the pagecount is comitted to friend and foe fawning about Honor for pages and pages. And the navies who start the series with an actual drive for self preservation just shrug and throw tens of thousands of lifes, hundreds of starships, including themselves and their friends away, knowing it's inconsequential and tactically useless. Like, there is a fleet there. An enemy fleet surprisingly jumps in at the edge of the system and is vastly outnumbering, outgunning and outmaneuvering them. They know, and openly talk about, how throwing themselves at them is not even going to buy time for an evacuation. The system will be occupied no matrer what and the enemy is NOT genocidal. What do you do? Accellerate the opposite way, bring an entire battlefleet with 50.000 sailors and their battleships home to fight another day? Use the retreating ships to reinforce the fleet that retakes the system? No. Of course you charge head first and get massacred to the last ship. The characters in the book don't even flinch at that. In Basilisk and the second book they at least still behave like human beings. They are in awe of such a charge and stunned it works out for Honor. They are horrofied by the carnage and casualties of it. As soon as the books move towarda fleet battles, the suicide charge just becomes standard tactics. Now everyobody is Honor Harrington minus plot armor. The plot armor is what makes Honors suicide charges work usually.