---
product_id: 30049663
title: "A Call to Duty: Book I of Manticore Ascendant"
brand: "timothy zahndavid weber"
price: "R327"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/30049663-a-call-to-duty-book-i-of-manticore-ascendant
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

# A Call to Duty: Book I of Manticore Ascendant

**Brand:** timothy zahndavid weber
**Price:** R327
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

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- **What is this?** A Call to Duty: Book I of Manticore Ascendant by timothy zahndavid weber
- **How much does it cost?** R327 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/30049663-a-call-to-duty-book-i-of-manticore-ascendant)

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## Description

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Popcorn
  

*by P***N on Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2023*

This book is empty calories for the brain, but it is very good empty calories. If you enjoy the Honorverse books, you will enjoy this one.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 3.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    A collaboration that, overall, delivers … but
  

*by D***B on Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2022*

Chances are that anyone pondering this series will already be familiar both with the authors’ work and with the ‘Honorverse’ in which it is set.Weber and Zahn have formidable bibliographies. The former not only has the 14 books of the Honor Harrington Series under his belt, but also the Star Kingdom YA prequels, the Safehold Series, the Dahak Series, the War God Series, and The Furies to name just a few. Zahn, for his part, can lay claim to the Dragonback Series, the Thrawn Series and assorted other Star Wars novels, together with graphic novels and numerous short stories. Both authors are known quantities and it’s no surprise that for the most part they deliver on this one. They are aided in their collaboration by Tom Pope the founder of the BuNine, a ‘literary consulting group’ which occupies itself contributing to the now rich detail of Weber’s Honorverse.Manticore Ascendant is set in the early years of that ‘world’, some 400 years  before the Havenite Wars and the events that brought Honor Harrington to popular notice. These are the Post Plague years, when the nascent Star Kingdom is taking faltering steps in a very uncertain universe. At risk from political gameplay within and aggressive ambition without, Manticore has before it, as Churchill said of Britain at the outset of World War Two, “an ordeal of the most grievous kind.”Enter Our Hero, Travis Long. Well drawn and rounded, Long is a man whose irritating passion for order and ‘the rules’ is offset by his bursts of lateral thinking and capacity to not only deal with chaos, but use it to advantage. There’s more than a touch of Horatio Hornblower about Long, which may not be a surprise given that it is Hornblower on whom Weber draws in part when animating the redoubtable Honor Harrington.Given to occasional bouts of introspection, Long’s rigidity, naivety and abiding sense of duty might annoy the reader as much as it does his protagonists. His willingness to sacrifice friendship to duty is as frustrating as it is commendable and makes him a hard man to like. But likeable he is and his ability to both think and act out of the box when required makes him an engaging character albeit an unlikely one.On the downside, while this is a reasonably solid and well assembled story, it suffered in its pacing. Weber and Zahn do like their detail and they are unsparing with it. The persistent and almost cartoonish political self interest underscoring attempts to undermine Manticore’s military capacity in the face of very real threats also strains credulity. That said, these machinations do set up antagonistic characters and plot lines for fans to revel in, so there’s that.And there we have it. A mostly solid piece of military sci-fi with the heavy servings of political intrigue that is a staple of the Harrington series. It’s well written if sometimes long on detail and short on action. Fans of the Harrington series won’t need persuading, although they should ready themselves for something not as good. Those who are new to the Honorverse should definitely give it a go. But, be warned: be prepared for a slog.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Good but not great addition to the Honorverse
  

*by K***R on Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2015*

Given the two authors of this book, David Weber and Timothy Zahn, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that this book is very well written. It is quite some time since I read a book by David Weber. I had gotten a bit tired of his gradually changed style which ended up in a lot of talk, talk and more talk in his books. Whether it is a balancing influence from Timothy Zahn or not, this book is much more balanced in that aspect than some of Weber’s other recent works in the Honorverse.In this book Manticore is not the power it is in the Harrington books. Rather the inverse, it is a poor struggling nation running a fleet of second hand ships, most of them mothballed. In this pre-Harrington universe we get to follow Travis Long as he enlists in the navy and rises through boot camp and his first assignments. Travis is intelligent, brave but also a stickler for rules. Something which of course causes some friction during the journey. Naturally there are some bad guys thrown into the mix although in this book we are not even close to the clash of empires that we have come used to in Harrington’s time.The book is, as I wrote above, very well written. Characters are well done, the plot is good and it is enjoyable to read about Travis and his adventures. Though I have to say that, when reading the first chapter at the beginning, when Travis is enlisting and we learn the circumstances around the events I was getting a wee bit worried. My was this guy stupid! Luckily both Travis and the book shaped up quite quickly after that.The book is not really slow but I would not say that it is fast either. Personally I think it has about the right pace. During the course of the book Travis manages to get through boot camp and his first assignments which included thwarting a few bad guys plans. However, he is still a green young navy guy and I would say that this book was more or less used as a “stage setter” for the series. An impression that was enforced by the fact that the last couple of pages was used to set up a pretty big cliffhanger involving what I would suspect to be a well-known element from the Harrington books. One which would have a profound impact on the future of Manticore.Now this is a good book but, for me, it was not a great book. The reason for this is the politics. In general I do not like prequel type of stories but that I could have lived with but something that irked me throughout the book was the political nonsense. When we are not reading about travis we are reading about dumb--s political a--holes who have nothing else on their agenda than to dismantle the navy and use their funds for shortsighted vote-buying. It is frustrating and infuriating. It is also reminds me of our current day dumb--s politicians who frequently do just that, especially in my home country. I would say that this is the main reason why I am not giving this book a full set of stars.It was a good read though and I am looking forward to the next instalment.

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*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-02-23*