''The Service of the Sword'', published in 2003, was the fourth anthology of stories set in the

Honor Harrington The Honorverse is a military science fiction book series, its two subseries, two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. They are centered on the space navy career of the principal protagonist H ...

universe or

Honorverse The Honorverse is a military science fiction book series, its two subseries, two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. They are centered on the space navy career of the principal protagonist Honor ...

. The stories in the anthologies serve to introduce characters, provide deeper more complete

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative o ...

and flesh out the universe, so claim the same canonical relevance as exposition in the main series. David Weber, author of the mainline Honor Harrington series, serves as editor for the anthologies, maintaining fidelity to the series canons. The book contains the following stories: ; "Promised Land" by

Jane Lindskold Jane M. Lindskold is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels. Early life Jane M. Lindskold was born on 15 September 1962, and grew up in Washington, D.C., and the Chesapeake Bay area. Jane is the first of fo ...

: Michael Winton, brother of Queen Elizabeth III and

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

of Manticore, embarks on his "snotty" cruise following his studies at Saganami Naval Academy. Determined to prove that he can be more than the Heir to the Throne, Michael requests to be assigned to a ship on patrol deployment instead of a "safe" posting in the Manticoran home system. He is assigned to the light cruiser ''Intransigent'', which is sent to the planet Masada on a diplomatic mission. :Meanwhile, Judith, a young Grayson girl captured by Masadan

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s and forced to marry their leader, becomes the greatest hope of a secret sisterhood of Masadan women who are plotting their escape from the religious fanatics of their world. ; ''With One Stone'' by

Timothy Zahn Timothy Zahn (born September 1, 1951) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. He is known best for his prolific collection of ''Star Wars'' books, chiefly the ''Thrawn'' series, and has published several other series of sci-fi and f ...

: The People's Republic of Haven tests a secret weapon. Bad news for them: their intended victim turns out to be

. Good news for Manticore: Honor's solution to the problem gives them a secret weapon of their own. ; "A Ship Named Francis" by

John Ringo John Ringo (born March 22, 1963) is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several ''New York Times'' best sellers. His books range from straightforward science fiction to a mix of military and political thrillers ...

and Victor Mitchell : Sean Tyler, a

corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician ( ...

in the Royal Manticoran Navy, thought that a stint as a loaner in the explosively-growing Grayson Space Navy would boost his career. So, when there was a slot vacant on board the cruiser ''Francis Mueller'', his wish was granted. Unfortunately for Corpsman Tyler, no one told him that almost everybody on board the ''Francis''—from the clueless captain to the psychotic XO and the panicky chaplain—had been sent there because no one else in the entire Grayson Space Navy wants them. ; "Let's Go to Prague" by

: A pair of Manticoran special forces operatives discover that a holiday can be even more fun if it involves spoiling StateSec's day. ; ''Fanatic'' by

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are Alternate history (fiction), alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. ...

: When the senior People's Commissioner assigned to a backwater sector of the People's Republic of Haven is found murdered,

Oscar Saint-Just This is a list of fictional characters appearing in the stories set in the Honor Harrington universe or Honorverse, a best-selling series of over twenty military science fiction novels and anthologies invented and written by David Weber. The stori ...

, now the dictator of Haven, sends a young and idealistic StateSec officer by the name of

Victor Cachat This is a list of fictional characters appearing in the stories set in the Honor Harrington universe or Honorverse, a best-selling series of over twenty military science fiction novels and anthologies invented and written by David Weber. The stori ...

to investigate. Confronting and terrorizing both Navy and StateSec personnel with his ruthlessness, Cachat orders broad reorganizations in the sector's military and security forces which may have more than "cleaning the house" in mind. But Cachat may be the right man in the right place at the right time when news of Saint-Just's overthrow reach his sector. Background for ''

Crown of Slaves ''Crown of Slaves'' is a 2003 novel by David Weber and Eric Flint set in the Honorverse; it has been billed as the first in the ''Crown of Slaves'' series, spun off from the main Honor Harrington series. It features Honor herself only in a c ...

''. ; ''The Service of the Sword'' by

David Weber David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nove ...

: Abigail Hearns, the daughter of a prominent Grayson Steadholder, has grown up idolizing

ever since she witnessed her defense of Abigail's homeworld from the Masadans. Out of sheer determination, she attended Saganami Naval Academy to become the first Grayson midshipwoman. She is sent for her "snotty" cruise on board the heavy cruiser HMS ''Gauntlet'', commanded by an irritating Manticoran nobleman who may be more than what he seems. But when ''Gauntlet'' is sent to investigate the disappearance of several ships in a backwater region of space, Abigail discovers that the Peeps are definitely not the only bad guys out there: background for '' The Shadow of Saganami''.

External links

* An excerpt of ''The Service of the Sword'' is available for download or reading online at the Baen Free Librarybr>here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Service of the Sword, The Science fiction anthologies Honorverse books 2003 books