An excellent preamble/precursor for this real good series. ( )

Great background stories on early Honorverse characters. Lots of details on the Navies, ala Janes. ( )

I skipped the parts about uniforms and development of naval strategies. The parts I liked best were the histories of Manticore & Grayson. Would like to know more Haven & verge history.

The opening section - the piece by Weber - is excellent (not sure if it's officially a novella, novelette, novel...it's not much smaller than On Basilisk Station, I don't think). The beginning of the war with Haven - Prince and then King Roger III, and his mother Queen Samantha II, building up the navy and starting Manticore on the path to the R&D powerhouse it becomes during Honor's story. And the petty squabbles with the Parliament to do it. It makes me want to read the first few books again, to see what Honor - at the time, relatively rank and file in the Navy - knew about all this new stuff being worked on (aside from the grav lance!).
The rest of the book...is a good bible for the series, which makes it quite boring to read. The first part of the Companion is an overview of the Star Empire of Manticore - physical setup, then history. The history is written very much as a textbook - it states events and dates (and I have problems with some of the dates, but can't figure out the cross-check yet), while carefully avoiding any indication of the people or emotions actually involved. I've "been there" - in Honor's books - for several of the episodes described here, and...I wouldn't have believed you could make the defense of Grayson against the Masadans (among other stories) boring, but they achieved it. I got most of the way through the People section - short biographies - before bogging down entirely. I'll probably read more, but I'll definitely do it in small chunks. And I may skip the ship stuff entirely - I don't even enjoy that when it's Weber writing it.
So - very good story, very...thorough...examination of the history and structure of Manticore, and the details of ships and arms in the Manticorian armed forces. I'd keep it just for the story, but I may find the references useful as well. ( )

House of Steel
By David Weber and BuNine
Publisher: Baen
Published In: Riverdale, NY, USA
Date: 2013
Pgs: 565

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
This is a compendium of errata on the Honorverse including a short novel chronicling the rise of King Roger and his reign.

Genre:
fiction, science fiction, space, militaria

Why this book:
I have a deep love for David Weber’s writing. I’ve, also, always been fascinated by the Honor Harrington books though I’ve never cracked the spine of one. I’ve been more in on the Starfire novels that he wrote.

This Story is About:
duty, courage, doing the right thing, sadness, family

Favorite Character:
Crown Prince, re: King, Cmdr Roger Winton

Least Favorite Character:
The stick in the mud Admirals and Space Lords who replayed the role of many in the British Navy prior to World War One.

The largely faceless Peeps, re: People Republic of Haven

Character I Most Identified With:
Cmdr Roger Winton

The Feel:
Duty, honor, and the determination to not leave what you love helpless before the wolves.

Favorite Scene:
When the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth of Manticore shows her steely resolve in the face of her familial tragedy. Wish she could have more directly taken vengeance.

Settings:
Planet Manticore, the royal grounds, the halls of government

Pacing:
The pacing is awesome as expected from Mr. Weber’s writing.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Not that I found.

Last Page Sound:
This is tempered by the errata and worldbuilding detail included in the compendium following the short novella. But still cool. I love this kind of crap.

Author Assessment:
More. I want more.

Editorial Assessment:
Very well edited.

Did the Book Cover Reflect the Story:
The collage quality of the image covers both the story and the errata in good fashion.

Hmm Moments:
When the Queen exposits to Uncle Jonas about what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. Woof!

Knee Jerk Reaction:
really good book

Disposition of Book:
Irving Public Library, Irving, TX

Why isn’t there a screenplay?
Without a huge series of Honor Harrington movies, I doubt this one will ever be made. Though, I doubt that movie could hold a candle to the stories told here and in the Harrington series.

Casting call:
N/A

Would recommend to:
genre fans, people who read and liked the Starfire books should give this a try. ( )