A Call to Arms

This is the second book in the Manticore Ascendant series and follows the further adventures of Travis Uriah Long. Travis has been sent to further schooling and is now a Lieutenant JG in the Navy. He goes through various problems on a couple of ships when he insists that people under his command follow the rules no matter who their relatives are. Travis hasn't learned to balance rigid rule following with people skills.

Meanwhile, a large Solarian corporation is eyeing Manticore because of the potential wormhole that might exist in the system. They have sent out their spy Jeremiah Llyn to manipulate events to learn about the possible wormhole and plan for a conquest of the Manticore system which must definitely leave their name out of it show more while still letting them ultimately take control.

From the murder of one of the captured pirates held in Havenite prison to the murder of a dictator is exile and his supporters to hiring a mercenary space fleet, the spy is busy trying to acquire Manticore for his masters. Most of his activities are well below the radar of anyone on Manticore except for a few people in the Navy who just gets a quick look at his activities but can't find him.

But on Manticore politics is proceeding as usual with a faction wanting to stop what they see as the financial drain of the Royal Navy from eating the budget. Of course, Earl Breakwater wants to divert assets from the Navy to MPARS (Manticore Patrol and Rescue Service) which is under his control and which he and his supporters feel are certainly enough to protect Manticore. Among his strongest supporters is Baron Winterfall who happens to be Travis Long's half-brother.

The book is filled with complicated political maneuvering and space battles which brings a lot of action to the story. It was an entertaining story to listen to even though some of the transitions were a bit jarring as locations and characters changed from one sentence to the next. show less

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 show more 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. show less

This is the second book in the Manticore Ascendant series and follows the further adventures of Travis Uriah Long. Travis has been sent to further schooling and is now a Lieutenant JG in the Navy. He goes through various problems on a couple of ships when he insists that people under his command follow the rules no matter who their relatives are. Travis hasn't learned to balance rigid rule following with people skills.

Meanwhile, a large Solarian corporation is eyeing Manticore because of the potential wormhole that might exist in the system. They have sent out their spy Jeremiah Llyn to manipulate events to learn about the possible wormhole and plan for a conquest of the Manticore system which must definitely leave their name out of it show more while still letting them ultimately take control.

From the murder of one of the captured pirates held in Havenite prison to the murder of a dictator is exile and his supporters to hiring a mercenary space fleet, the spy is busy trying to acquire Manticore for his masters. Most of his activities are well below the radar of anyone on Manticore except for a few people in the Navy who just gets a quick look at his activities but can't find him.

But on Manticore politics is proceeding as usual with a faction wanting to stop what they see as the financial drain of the Royal Navy from eating the budget. Of course, Earl Breakwater wants to divert assets from the Navy to MPARS (Manticore Patrol and Rescue Service) which is under his control and which he and his supporters feel are certainly enough to protect Manticore. Among his strongest supporters is Baron Winterfall who happens to be Travis Long's half-brother.

The book is filled with complicated political maneuvering and space battles which brings a lot of action to the story. It was an entertaining story to listen to even though some of the transitions were a bit jarring as locations and characters changed from one sentence to the next. show less

Very good, very rich. Travis' arc isn't quite as meteoric as Honor's was - he's having to climb in a Navy that's barely holding on against Parliament, not Honor's ready-for-war one. But similar sorts of - he's in the right place at the right time, with the right answer. Though he seldom gets any (official) credit for it. Winterfall is interesting - he keeps almost waking up, and then going right back to his complete focus on politics. Nice to see there's more to Ensign Locatelli than Travis gave him credit for. And there's a big spoiler in the royal family tree in the front papers - it should have been accurate to the beginning, not the end of the book. Fascinating watching Manticore develop the concepts and attitudes that infused the show more Navy in Honor's time. Next, please! Oh - and I'm very glad I reread the first book before reading this. I remembered many parts, but I'd have been confused - especially about people - if I hadn't done the reread. Chomps, Lisa, Metzger, etc.
Reread - I was still a little confused on people, but I remembered enough I didn't need to reread the first book again. Reading in prep for reading the third - and it was necessary. show less

A "Long" Saga... but where and when is #3 coming?!?

Travis Uriah Long's career continues, along with the struggles of Manticore's royal navy. Facing a mysterious foe - a mercenary force aimed at toppling the royal house - the odds are not good. Lots of action and intrigue. As a fan of the Vorkosigan saga, I'm used to "good" mercenaries (i.e. Miles's Dendari), so it was interesting to follow the planning and attacks of the force hired to take over Manticore.

A good read (and listen - I had it paired ebook/audio)... but when does the next one come out?

Weber, David, Timothy Zahn, and Thomas Pope. A Call to Arms. Honorverse: Manticore Ascendant No. 2. Baen, 2015.
In A Call to Arms, the second novel in the Honorverse spinoff series Manticore Ascendant, Travis Long is now an officer. As in the first novel, his character is defined by two seemingly incompatible traits: a penchant for following rules and an unusual ability to “think outside the lines.” These qualities are keys to the character dynamics in the novel and the theme that people are not always what they seem at first glance. Combine that with some political skullduggery, some space pirating, and an epic space battle and you have the makings of a more than usually satisfying space war story.

The second book in the series continues with following Travis Long’s career but it also keeps tabs on other people you meet in the previous book. Travis has the same problems with his desire to always stick to the rulebook no matter what and that hurts him both professionally and personally. I actually preferred the other characters in this book to him. Hopefully at some point in the future he will actually see what he is doing to himself with this desire to always play by the rules. The politics are still there in this book and that both Travis and his brother don’t really think about the connection they have to one another in their day to day lives everyone is very happy to take advantage of it and get even with one or the other show more by sabotaging stuff where they can. Maybe later books will have them getting in better contact with each other to the betterment of both.

Physical review copy provided by the publisher. show less