A Call to Duty - Hardcover

by David Weber (Author), Timothy Zahn (Author)

NEW SERIES FROM NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHORS. Book #1 in Manticore Ascendant, a new series set in David Weber's best-selling Honorverse from multiple New York Times best seller David Weber and #1 New York Times best seller Timothy Zahn.

Growing up, Travis Uriah Long yearned for order and discipline in his life . . . the two things his neglectful mother couldn't or wouldn't provide. So when Travis enlisted in the Royal Manticoran Navy, he thought he'd finally found the structure he'd always wanted so desperately.

But life in the RMN isn't exactly what he expected. Boot camp is rough and frustrating; his first ship assignment lax and disorderly; and with the Star Kingdom of Manticore still recovering from a devastating plague, the Navy is possibly on the edge of budgetary extinction.

The Star Kingdom is a minor nation among the worlds of the Diaspora, its closest neighbors weeks or months away, with little in the way of resources. With only modest interstellar trade, no foreign contacts to speak of, a plague-ravaged economy to rebuild, and no enemies looming at the hyper limit, there are factions in Parliament who want nothing more than to scrap the Navy and shift its resources and manpower elsewhere.

But those factions are mistaken. The universe is not a safe place.

Travis Long is about to find that out.

About A Call to Duty:
"This exciting book marks the first collaboration of two powerhouses . . . fans of both writers should be quite pleased with the result. Like Robert A. Heinlein and Orson Scott Card, Weber and Zahn are telling a story about a teenage character but writing for readers of all ages."-Booklist

"A new series set in the universe of Weber's popular heroine Honor Harrington gets off to a solid start. . . . Cowriters Zahn and Weber do an excellent job alluding to events known to longtime fans. . . . [T]his astronautical adventure is filled with . . . intrigue and political drama."-Publishers Weekly

"VERDICT: The "Honor Harrington" books . . . get some backstory in this new series set in the early years of the Star Kingdom . . . [which] features the action and military details for which the "Honor" titles have long been known. Fans will want to get in on the ground floor of this series of prequels." - Library Journal

About the Honor Harrington series:
"Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection and a deep understanding of military bureaucracy in this long-awaited Honor Harrington novel...Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice to see Honor back in action."-Publishers Weekly

". . .everything you could want in a heroine .... Excellent ... plenty of action."-Science Fiction Age

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!"-Anne McCaffrey

"Compelling combat combined with engaging characters for a great space opera adventure."-Locus

"Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection . . . Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice . . ."-Publishers Weekly

About Timothy Zahn:
"Zahn keeps the story moving at a breakneck pace, maintaining excitement."--Publishers Weekly

"[Y]ou can count on Timothy Zahn for three things: clean, sparse prose; good pacing; and great action scenes. The first book in the Cobra War series hits all those marks in admirable style and makes for a quick, entertaining sci-fi novel." --Blogcritics

"[Conqueror's Heritage] is another finely wrought space adventure . . . [with] social, political and emotional complications, all of which Zahn treats with his usual skill."--Booklist

"Zahn paints every detail [in Angelmass] with gleamy realism . . . scientific dialogue that streams with starship hardware and military trooper talk . . . immensely appealing."--Kirkus Review

Author Biography

With more than eight million copies of his books in print and 33 titles on the New York Times bestseller list, David Weber is a science fiction powerhouse. In the vastly popular Honor Harrington series, the spirit of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander live on--into the galactic future. Books in the Honor Harrington and Honorverse series have appeared on 21 bestseller lists, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today. Additional Honorverse collaborations include the spin-off miniseries Manticore Ascendant with New York Times best-selling author Timothy Zahn; and with Eric Flint, Crown of Slaves, Cauldron of Ghosts, and To End in Fire contribute to Weber's illustrious list of New York Times and international bestsellers.

Best known for his spirited, modern-minded space operas, Weber is also the creator of the Oath of Swords fantasy series and the Dahak Saga, a science fiction and fantasy hybrid. Weber has also engaged in a steady stream of best-selling collaborations: the Starfire series with Steve White; the Empire of Man series with John Ringo; the Multiverse series with Linda Evans and Joelle Presby; and contributions to the Ring of Fire series with Eric Flint.

Timothy Zahn is a Hugo Award winner and the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller, Heir to the Empire, as well as the best-selling Star Wars: Thrawn series of novels. Born in Chicago, he earned a B.S. in physics from Michigan State University and an M.S. in physics from the University of Illinois. He sold his first story to Analog in 1978 and immediately attracted attention as a new writer of science fiction based on real, cutting-edge science. Baen published his popular Cobra trilogy in one volume. His other popular series include the Conqueror and Dragonback novels. With David Weber and Thomas Pope, he is the author of novels A Call to Duty, A Call to Arms, A Call to Vengeance, and A Call to Insurrection. Zahn has written more than 50 novels, including the recent Cobra Rebellion series entries Cobra Outlaw and Cobra Traitor.