Publishers Weekly
Weber, the bestselling creator of the Honor Harrington books, digs into prequel territory with this series launch starring Stephanie Harrington, Honor's ancestress. While Weber's adult fanbase will find much to enjoy, teenage readers may find the expository writing and adult politics off-putting. An only child and a prodigy, Stephanie is 11 when the story begins, isolated and bored on the newly colonized planet Sphinx. The colonists are unaware they are under surveillance by a race of sentient, six-legged felines until someone notices small thefts. Stephanie decides to catch the thief, but instead establishes a strange, empathic link with the marauding "treecat," Climbs Quickly. Stephanie deals with interstellar politics and local bigotry as she develops her connection with Climbs Quickly. There's a strong whiff of 1950s Heinlein to this story, especially in the roles allotted to women: though Stephanie gets older, she does not mature, nor does she apparently experience puberty, and her increasing self-control is largely attributed to Climbs Quickly's influence. Nevertheless, the profound connection between Stephanie and her treecat will likely maintain readers' interests through the more challenging aspects of Weber's world-building. Ages 12�up. (Oct.)
A Beautiful Friendship (Star Kingdom Series #1)
by David WeberView All Available Formats & Editions
Stephanie Harrington always expected to be a forest ranger on her homeworld of Meyerdahl . . . until her parents relocated to the frontier planet of Sphinx in the far distant Star Kingdom of Manticore. It should have been the perfect new home —- a virgin wilderness full of new species of every sort, just waiting to be discovered. But Sphinx is a far more
… See more details belowOverview
Stephanie Harrington always expected to be a forest ranger on her homeworld of Meyerdahl . . . until her parents relocated to the frontier planet of Sphinx in the far distant Star Kingdom of Manticore. It should have been the perfect new home —- a virgin wilderness full of new species of every sort, just waiting to be discovered. But Sphinx is a far more dangerous place than ultra-civilized Meyerdahl, and Stephanie’s explorations come to a sudden halt when her parents lay down the law: no trips into the bush without adult supervision!
Yet Stephanie is a young woman determined to make discoveries, and the biggest one of all awaits her: an intelligent alien species.
The forest-dwelling treecats are small, cute, smart, and have a pronounced taste for celery. And they are also very, very deadly when they or their friends are threatened . . . as Stephanie discovers when she comes face-to-face with Sphinx’s most lethal predator after a hang-gliding accident.
But her discoveries are only beginning, for the treecats are also telepathic and able to bond with certain humans, and Stephanie’s find —- and her first-of-its kind bond with the treecat Climbs Quickly —- land both of them in a fresh torrent of danger. Galactic-sized wealth is at stake, and Stephanie and the treecats are squarely in the path of highly placed enemies determined to make sure the planet Sphinx remains entirely in human hands, even if that means the extermination of another thinking species.
Unfortunately for those enemies, the treecats have saved Stephanie Harrington’s life. She owes them . . . and Stephanie is a young woman who stands by her friends.
Which means things are about to get very interesting on Sphinx.
About A Beautiful Friendship:
“It’s rare to find teen science fiction that strays beyond popular dystopian fare. The environmental messages, human-animal friendship, humor, action, and inventive technology will make this series starter an easy hit. . . .”—Booklist
About David Weber and the Honor Harrington series:
“. . .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
Editorial Reviews
School Library Journal
Gr 6�9—Weber's first YA novel stars Stephanie Harrington, who shares the intelligence and determination of her descendant, Honor Harrington, from the author's adult series. To divert Stephanie from entering the woods that harbor dangerous beasties, her mother sets her the problem of discovering how something is poaching celery, of all things, from human farms. The teen is remarkably successful, not only discovering the culprits to be the smallest known sapient species, heretofore unknown to humanity, but bonding with one as well. She conceals her treecat's existence from everyone until a disaster brings Lionheart's clan and her parents to the rescue. Flash forward two years and Stephanie is walking a fine line between cooperating with xeno-anthropologists who want to study the creatures and concealing as much about them as possible for their protection. She has a few allies beyond her parents, including Scott MacDallan, the only other human bonded to a treecat. Then a "scientist" who the animals and their human allies instinctively distrust appears on the scene. There is a quality to Weber's novel that recalls young adult science fiction from decades ago with its earnest protagonists and complete absence of cursing that mixes strangely with some of the technical elements like handgun specs. Even if non-dystopian sci-fi weren't extremely scarce though, Weber's likable heroine, empathic aliens, and quick pacing make this a worthy addition.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WIProduct Details
- ISBN-13:
- 9781451638264
- Publisher:
- Baen
- Publication date:
- 09/04/2012
- Series:
- Star Kingdom Series, #1
- Edition description:
- Original
- Pages:
- 384
- Sales rank:
- 101,875
- Product dimensions:
- 5.64(w) x 8.04(h) x 1.06(d)
- Age Range:
- 12 - 17 Years
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