For Honor We Stand

Man of War, Book 2

By: H. Paul Honsinger

Narrated by: Ray Chase

Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

In 2315, the Earth Union is losing a 30-year-long war with the Krag Hegemony.

Having encountered the Krag before, Space Commander Max Robicheaux now faces daunting challenges aboard the USS Cumberland: The dangers from the enemy without…and clashes with crew and superiors within.

Meanwhile, Doctor Sahin receives a coded message summoning him to a secret meeting which aims to forge an alliance that could change the balance of power in Known Space. But first, he must circumvent the fighter ships and heavily armed troops of the traitorous emir bent on killing him before he reaches the negotiating table.

Both men must call upon their developing skills and growing friendship to bear the burden of carrying between the Krag Hegemony and the Earth Union a fateful ultimatum and the shocking answer: An answer that could spell eternal slavery, or even extinction, for all humankind.

The second novel in the Man of War series, For Honor We Stand continues the galactic naval adventures of Robicheaux and Sahin.

©2013 H. Paul Honsinger (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Sing-song?

I've enjoyed the story, but the way the narrator reads the story in this lilting, sing-song voice, drives me a little crazy. Does he think people talk like that? If he was reading poetry or something like that, he's voice would be perfect, but he's not. He is speaking for men on a war ship.

Terrible Narration Performance

I read the first book and it wasn't bad. Pretty by the book military sci-fi, with a heavy borrowing of Master and Commander. This was probably just as good a read, but the audible version was so distractingly bad I couldn't tell. Easily the worst performance I've ever heard in an audio book. This guy wasn't narrating. He was reciting the book like it was poetry. The beats we're all wrong, and he sounded like English was a second language he had mastered the accent for, but hadn't learned to sound natural speaking. Seriously save this for actual reading. And don't buy any book read by Ray Chase.

Max Robicheaux - A Leader of Men

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This book and its predecessor just zipped along. I had a chunk of fun just sitting there as my mind followed the story. The Krag are the perfect enemy - heartless and genocidal, bent on the total liquidation of all things human.

I learned a bunch of eclectic things about space, space travel and naval tradition and customs even though this book is set over 300 years in the future.

What did you like best about this story?

How Commander Robicheaux interacted with his crew, especially the little tykes like Park. Commander Robicheaux was a fount of knowledge when it came to thinking up new ways to turn those rat - headed bastard Krag into twitching corpses.

If I was on a space frigate zorching through some god forsaken intergalactic backwater patrol sector and Krag ships popped up on the view screen, I would basically give my left testicle to be on Robicheaux's ship in any capacity up to but not including window washer. Robicheaux finds a way every day to stay one step ahead of humankind's mortal enemy.

Which scene was your favorite?

I think it was when Commander Robicheaux was talking to his junior midshipmen cadets and the legend of that boy who hid for 27 days in the ship captured by the Krag came up. The internal and spoken dialogue was quite moving. If hadn't made the big slouch from pissed off pessimist into soul scarred cynic two and a half weeks ago I would not have been averse to getting all choked up.

Ray Chase did his standard performance - 10.0 out of 10.0 again, especially in this scene.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Refer to the above typed response for the same answer to the same basic question.

Hey Audible, you only have to come up with 4 types of questions for us to answer. Is it asking too much for the mono-browed morons who shake that 8 ball to get the topics to give me a chance to do as good a review as possible for a book that totally deserves huge props?

Any additional comments?

Absolutely worth the small pile of $$$$. You will be entertained by a very well written book narrated by a bona fide pro in Ray Chase - his voices are diverse and unique to each character. I hope this dynamic duo keep their partnership going into the near and not so near future.

This series is screaming for at the very minimum 16 more sequels. Commander Robicheaux has at least 50 more productive service years left to chase those evil rodents out of our galaxy cluster. Keep them coming!

Great Book! Even better than the first!

Would you listen to For Honor We Stand again? Why?

I would listen to it again because it was very enjoyable and the performance by Ray Chase was also great.

Any additional comments?

If anyone has ever read any of the Aubrey Maturin series or seen and enjoyed Master and Commander Far Side of the World, they would also enjoy this. Great pacing, plot, character development, and I'll definitely be listening to this one and the first book in the series. My only disappointment in listening to it was that at the time I thought there had already been several more books written in the series and I would have spaced out the listening more. Instead I blew through it in 2 days and now will have to wait for the sequels.

More of the same and even better

What did you love best about For Honor We Stand?

The characters! and in addition the story is good, somewhat foreseeable but every now and then that is refreshing to!

What other book might you compare For Honor We Stand to and why?

Well..in addition to the first book in the series there is Star Carrier series and The lost fleet series. They all put seemingly experienced leaders into situations they deal handle with their leadership style rather than being superior in a specific field themselves.

What about Ray Chase’s performance did you like?

I found him very good at different characters, and change of tone to enhance my situational awareness throughout the book

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh! The Admiral

Outstanding!

Edit: 16:19 Thursday November 19 2020

How tragically ironic that H. Paul Honsinger perished from the effects of the Corona Virus in August 2020. Ironic because it was just a few months prior to the announcement of a Vaccine by Pfiser in partnership with BioNtech. BioNtech and it’s technology for developing the vaccine was founded by a Doctor with the same last name as one of Honsinger’s beloved characters - Ugur Sahin and his wife Özlem Türeci,

We’re going to miss you Paul. I’m sure there were a lot more adventures in store for the gallant crew of the Cumberland if only you had lived.


And if you listen to these books you'll understand the Headline. Equal or exceeds Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet Series without all the male - female interaction. This is definitely a guy's series. Think of it as a Submarine in Space. Good characters and excellent plot. If you like hard Sci-Fi mixed with space battles then this is for you.

At first I thought Ray Chase sounded a little like Scott Brick but it is soon apparent that he is Brick's equal in all respects. Story flow is excellent and the character's voices are also very well done.

Go ahead. Spend your credit. you won't be disappointed.

Great New Series!

This was a worthy follow-up to the first book, and even exceeds it in pretty much every way. For anyone who likes military space action, this is one you'll probably enjoy. It has a feel of the best traits of Jack Campbell's "Lost Fleet" series or David Feintuch's "Hope" series, but does stand way out on its own with some very nice and original ideas.

Although you will almost immediately recognize this world because of common traits you've seen before, there is something refreshing about this series that really makes it stand out. Part of it is a very well realized world that doesn't waste time on extraneous detail. The series has a mission-by-mission feel that really draws you into the world and makes you feel like you're there. It brings back memories to me of games like Wing Commander, where you're on one ship that is part of a much larger war, but you don't really see the big picture. It's definitely still there, but there's also a big sense of mystery about what's going to happen next. I also like the incorporation of truly varied alien races, with a very believable dynamic to them; in fact, this universe brings back memories of another of my favorite games of all time, Star Control II. There is a sense of many races out there each vying for their own interests, each at different technological levels, and both communication, trade, and territory is all mapped out very believably and interestingly.

Overall I would say any fan of adventure scifi will enjoy this series. It's definitely off to a good start and I could really see this story stretching out across many enjoyable books. I'm looking forward to the next volume.

This Is A Great Series

I loved it. In fact, I was in shock when it came to the end. I was sitting there waiting for the next part, and then here comes the Audible end of book message. If you love military scifi, you'll love this one. The author writes with a great sense of humor, which Ray Chase effectively delivers. I would love to hear the next book but not sure if the author wrote one. Anyway, this is a great series, but listen to the first book before you listen to this one.

Outstanding!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

By now, if you have listened/read the first book "To Honor You Call Us" then you should be well on your way to enjoying the second book. Honsinger continues to deliver engaging writing and characters and the plot expands ever outwards. If you want the short answer... YES!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Max Robichaux. Forgive me, as he is the main character. Max is human, he has flaws, strengths, prejudices, and he is a brilliant leader. The dialog of his internal narrative or his conversations hits all ranges from serious and thoughtful to sarcastic and witty. He fits my ideal of a commander of a warship, regardless of era.

What does Ray Chase bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ray Chase has an amazing voice and cadence. I found this book series by searching for other books he has narrated and was the sole reason I purchased. His ability to bring so many characters to life with different personalities is truly a gift.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

OUTSTANDING!

Any additional comments?

For Honor We Stand continues to dole out an excellent story, building on the events in To Honor You Call us. I find myself already impatient that I have to wait for the 3rd book of the series and hope to the stars that the audible book will release with Ray Chase at the narrative helm before the end of the year.

The Answer should have been "Nuts!"

I will entirely agree with a previous reviewer. This reads more exactly like a cross of Patrick O'Brian's Maturin/Aubrey series (21 odd book series starting with Master and Commander) and a number of other SciFi offerings from contemporary and similar authors such as Evan Currie and BV Larson. At first, I thought this may have been nearly a rip-off of that classic O'Brian series, but I think that was a misjudgement. This work stands on its own. In this case, substituting Age of Sail ships for their space equivalents was a nice touch and reminded me why I liked the other series. I had really thought, given the historical nuances the author was drawing from (blue water naval terminology and overall military history) I was really hoping that answer would have been something truly historic and poetic as I have suggested. Either way, I will happily gobble up any future book you write and if at all possible please keep the same narrator.