A Call to Duty

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-selling author Timothy Zahn. FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK.

Growing up, Travis Uriah Long yearned for order in his life . . . some 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.

Praise for 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

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

About the Author:

With over seven and a half million copies of his books in print and eighteen titles on the New York Times bestseller list, David Weber is the science fiction publishing phenomenon of the new millennium. In the hugely-popular Honor Harrington series, the spirit of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander lives on--into the galactic future. Books in the Honor Harrington and Honoverse series have appeared on twenty-one bestseller lists, including those of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA Today. While Weber is best known for his spirited, modern-minded space operas, he is also the creator of the Oath of Swords fantasy series and the Dahak saga, a science fiction and fantasy hybrid. Weber is has also engaged in a steady stream of best-selling collaborations including his Starfire Series with Steve White, which produced the New York Times bestseller The Shiva Option among others. Weber's collaboration with alternate history master Eric Flint led to the bestselling 1634: The Baltic War. His Honorverse collaborations with Flint in the Crown of Slave series are also highly popular, with latest entry, Cauldron of Ghosts, becoming a New York Times bestseller. His planetary adventure novels with military science fiction ace and multiple national best-selling author John Ringo includes the March to the Stars and We Few. Finally, Weber's teaming with Linda Evans and Joelle Presby produced the Multiverse series, including latest entry, The Road to Hell. David Weber makes his home in South Carolina with his wife and children.

Timothy Zahn is a Hugo award winner, and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Heir to the Empire. Born in Chicago, Zahn 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 magazine in 1978, and immediately attracted attention as a new writer of science fiction based on real, cutting-edge science. Other Zahn creations include the Conqueror and Dragonback series. His books for Baen include his popular Blackcollar and Cobra SF adventure series, with latest entry Cobra Outlaw, and now the Manticore Ascendant series, cowritten with David Weber. The Timothy Zahn author page on Facebook has received over 50,000 likes and can be visited at http: //www.facebook.com/TimothyZahn.