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Honorverse: Star Kingdom #2
Fire Season
Fire in the forest–and a cry for help from a trapped and desperate alien mother! Unfortunately, this is one cry no human can hear. Stephanie Harrington, precocious fourteen-year-old Provisional Forest Ranger on the planet Sphinx, knows something is wrong from the uneasy emotion that is flooding into her from her treecat friend, Climbs Quickly. But though Stephanie’s alien comrade shares a tight bond with his two-legs, whom he knows as Death Fang’s Bane, he cannot communicate directly to her the anguished call from one of his people.
Still, their strong and direct bond of feeling may be enough. Stephanie and fellow ranger Karl Zivonik respond to Climbs Quickly’s rising waves of distress. Fire season on the pioneer world of Sphinx has begun. But there are those who want to use the natural cycle of the planet for personal gain –and to get rid of the one obstacle that stands in the way of acquiring even greater land and power on Spinx: the native treecats.
Now it’s up to Stephanie, Climbs Quickly along with their friends, family, and allies to prevent disaster and injustice from befalling a treecat clan. But in the process Stephanie must be certain to preserve the greatest secret all. It is the knowledge that the treecats of Sphinx are not merely pets or servants, but are highly intelligent in their own right–that they are a species fully deserving of rights, respect, and freedom. And keeping the secret that will allow the treecats time to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with humankind.
It all begins with the friendship of a girl and her treecat.
Still, their strong and direct bond of feeling may be enough. Stephanie and fellow ranger Karl Zivonik respond to Climbs Quickly’s rising waves of distress. Fire season on the pioneer world of Sphinx has begun. But there are those who want to use the natural cycle of the planet for personal gain –and to get rid of the one obstacle that stands in the way of acquiring even greater land and power on Spinx: the native treecats.
Now it’s up to Stephanie, Climbs Quickly along with their friends, family, and allies to prevent disaster and injustice from befalling a treecat clan. But in the process Stephanie must be certain to preserve the greatest secret all. It is the knowledge that the treecats of Sphinx are not merely pets or servants, but are highly intelligent in their own right–that they are a species fully deserving of rights, respect, and freedom. And keeping the secret that will allow the treecats time to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with humankind.
It all begins with the friendship of a girl and her treecat.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2012
91 people are currently reading
1183 people want to read
About the author
David Weber
322 books4,547 followersDavid Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
August 2, 2012
A disappointing sequel to A Beautiful Friendship; three main reasons why - most important there is little trace of David Weber's writing here as opposed to the first book which was all Weber; it may be an early Honorverse, set on Sphinx and featuring Stephanie but it does not matter if the writing magic is not there; second and related to this, the book morphs into pretty much standard YA fare and lacks the suspense and the intrigue of the first volume; third nothing much happens by and large
Overall a 2 1/2 star book and I hope the next installment will have much more Weber as otherwise I predict a massive drop off in interest across the board after the success of the A Beautiful Friendship
Overall a 2 1/2 star book and I hope the next installment will have much more Weber as otherwise I predict a massive drop off in interest across the board after the success of the A Beautiful Friendship
February 16, 2018
2018 re-read. Exceptionally good.
November 2, 2020
This is the second adventure featuring Stephanie Harrington and the treecat she calls Lionheart but who calls himself Climbs Quickly. This time a study team has come to the planet Sphinx to study the treecats to determine their intelligence. Along with the team comes the son of the team leader - Anders Whittaker. Stephanie develops her first crush on him which the team leader wants to encourage in the hopes that she will share more with the team than she has shared in the past.
Stephanie is also concerned about getting her provisional air-car license and her role as a junior ranger in the Sphinx Forest Service. Her parents are concerned about her lack of friends her own age but Stephanie is slowly learning that all the kids her age are not "blackholes." She has always been friends with fellow junior SFS ranger Karl Zivonik but now she is getting to know some other kids - Toby, Jessica, Christine and Chet.
When the expedition including Anders goes missing (because of the arrogance of his father Dr. Whittaker), Stephanie is very concerned about locating them. The concern gets even higher when lightning-strike fires occur. Stephanie and Karl and their friends have to rescue a clan of treecats that are in the way of the fires and stumble on and rescue the scientists at the same time.
The story was entertainingly told both from Stephanie's and Climbs Quickly's points of view. We could see Climbs Quickly's frustration that the two-legs just didn't understand what the treecats were trying to tell them. He also had to try to understand the volatile emotions of Stephanie as she grows from child to woman.
I recommend this book and the first book in the series - A Beautiful Friendship - to all young science fiction fans.
Stephanie is also concerned about getting her provisional air-car license and her role as a junior ranger in the Sphinx Forest Service. Her parents are concerned about her lack of friends her own age but Stephanie is slowly learning that all the kids her age are not "blackholes." She has always been friends with fellow junior SFS ranger Karl Zivonik but now she is getting to know some other kids - Toby, Jessica, Christine and Chet.
When the expedition including Anders goes missing (because of the arrogance of his father Dr. Whittaker), Stephanie is very concerned about locating them. The concern gets even higher when lightning-strike fires occur. Stephanie and Karl and their friends have to rescue a clan of treecats that are in the way of the fires and stumble on and rescue the scientists at the same time.
The story was entertainingly told both from Stephanie's and Climbs Quickly's points of view. We could see Climbs Quickly's frustration that the two-legs just didn't understand what the treecats were trying to tell them. He also had to try to understand the volatile emotions of Stephanie as she grows from child to woman.
I recommend this book and the first book in the series - A Beautiful Friendship - to all young science fiction fans.
January 13, 2013
Still debating between a 3 and a 4, as like with any series, my fervor has already cooled. Maybe there wasn't enough from Lionheart's POV, maybe it was the way the continued focus on treecats having six legs (which I never envisioned before) started to creep me out, or maybe I just got bored with Anders in 5 minutes when Karl was obviously so much more appealing (admittedly, the former does seem like a genuinely nice person, but...he's ice potatoes and Karl is cluster stalk; you can't expect me to focus on the bland staple when I can see something divine waiting for me at the end).
I really don't think a love triangle is what I should be thinking about when there are treecats and threatening forest fires to go around, do you? That's what tips me back towards a 3, if those failed to dominate the storyline. But judging by special science-fiction standards, it didn't flame out in its second outing and I STILL want to continue reading this series (I liked the new 'cats we met and the new human-bond formed at the end), so I think I will wait for the hypothetical third book. If it's better I'll downgrade this without guilt; if it's worse I'll let it hold steady.
I really don't think a love triangle is what I should be thinking about when there are treecats and threatening forest fires to go around, do you? That's what tips me back towards a 3, if those failed to dominate the storyline. But judging by special science-fiction standards, it didn't flame out in its second outing and I STILL want to continue reading this series (I liked the new 'cats we met and the new human-bond formed at the end), so I think I will wait for the hypothetical third book. If it's better I'll downgrade this without guilt; if it's worse I'll let it hold steady.
August 28, 2017
My Thoughts:
I'm not sure why this second book in the Stephanie Harrington series got an additional author in it, but there you go. However, it doesn't seem to make any difference to the quality of the book. It is still the same very good read! The world building and the character development has been established in book one already and continued on in this book. And maybe I've just gotten used to the voice of the author or gotten more immersed in this world, that this book seems to go faster than the last one. Or maybe, this book is just more fast-paced than the first one. Either way, this book was a quick read. I still love the narration and gives it 5 out of 5! The only down side to this book is the cliffhanger ending, even though it did end the plot in the book. I just do not like cliffhangers! Other than that, this book is a wonderful follow-up to A Beautiful Friendship.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 4.5
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I'm not sure why this second book in the Stephanie Harrington series got an additional author in it, but there you go. However, it doesn't seem to make any difference to the quality of the book. It is still the same very good read! The world building and the character development has been established in book one already and continued on in this book. And maybe I've just gotten used to the voice of the author or gotten more immersed in this world, that this book seems to go faster than the last one. Or maybe, this book is just more fast-paced than the first one. Either way, this book was a quick read. I still love the narration and gives it 5 out of 5! The only down side to this book is the cliffhanger ending, even though it did end the plot in the book. I just do not like cliffhangers! Other than that, this book is a wonderful follow-up to A Beautiful Friendship.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 4.5
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
July 18, 2017
While it's a great book and I usually prefer David Weber's stories I was disappointed in the grammar. For a "Big 5" publisher they need to find a better editor.
For my clean readers:
Contains violence, teen drug use, and language.
For my clean readers:
Contains violence, teen drug use, and language.
September 13, 2019
Good story! I liked how the two legs and the People worked together!
April 6, 2023
I am greatly enjoying this series. Book 2 is a terrific and exciting addition!
March 24, 2013
Fire Season by David Weber and Jane Lindskold
FUN YA SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
(very minor spoilers)
This is the second novel about Stephanie Harrington and her treecat companion, Lionheart, set on the fascinating treecat home world. I hadn’t read the award winning first book, A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber, and came to this novel as I’m a fan of author Jane Lindskold’s short fiction and her novels (Through Wolf’s Eyes, Thirteen Orphans). You don’t need to read the first book in this series, A Beautiful Friendship, to understand this one, as I was never lost, but I’m sure it would be good to start at the beginning.
If you’re a reader of David Weber’s Honor Harrington novels, I think you’ll enjoy this prequel novel series. Fire Season is set a few hundred years before Honor was born, and this is not a space opera with lots of the big battles Mr. Weber is famous for. It’s a coming of age novel, mostly written to appeal to teenaged readers (12 and older), about a brilliant young woman growing up on an alien planet, who just happens to be the first person to ever bond with a treecat. The telepathic, empathic, six-legged (hexapedal) catlike creatures with long tails—two of their six legs have actual hands on them—are the stars of the book.
I found the most fascinating aspect of Fire Season to be the relationship between fifteen-year-old Stephanie and the treecat who adopted her. Lionheart is what Stephanie calls him, but his true name among the People (the treecats think of themselves as The People), is Climbs Quickly.
The treecats are telepathic with each other and empathic with humans, so communicating with humans is quite difficult for them, though they can read human emotions very easily and affect them in some minor ways. The treecats think that humans make all sorts of funny mouth sounds, use hand gestures, and isn’t it sad they can’t speak to each other with their minds and have to rely on such poor communication methods?
It was hilarious and awesome when two treecats were communicating telepathically with each other and one treecat noted how well the human (Stephanie Harrington) had been trained by Climbs Quickly. The big question in this book is if the treecats are intelligent enough to be considered sentient by the human scientists.
Climbs Quickly can read Stephanie’s emotions and enjoys her “mind-glow” very much. I loved reading the chapters from Climb’s Quickly’s point of view, and it was fascinating how the human scientists are trying to determine if the treecats are a sentient race, while the treecats are trying to understand if they should avoid the humans who have come to their world, or if they should interact with them more.
The book has the feel of an un-contacted tribe of native Americans first coming into contact with a highly civilized group of Europeans. That would be Europeans who are not trying to enslave or destroy them. What a concept. There are a lot of great messages in this book that will get younger and older readers thinking.
Fire Season is naturally set during the dry season when forest fires often rage across the mostly tree-covered world. Stephanie Harrington, and her big brother friend Karl, are provisional rangers with the forestry service, and they participate in watching out for fires and sometimes fighting them, and of course rescuing animals caught in the path of the flames.
Much of the book is dedicated to Stephanie becoming an adult. She has to learn to interact with kids her own age, a very difficult thing for a genius introvert, and of course deal with her well-meaning but socially clumsy parents. I think teens will easily connect with Stephanie, as she’s a very well drawn character.
I highly recommend this book to teen animal lovers—especially young women—and to fans of the Honor Harrington series who want to see where the treecats came from. This is a good starting point for younger readers, and I think this would be a great gift to a friend or relative that you wanted to expose to science fiction. It kept my interest throughout, had a good conclusion that wrapped up nicely, and I’m excited to read the sequel, Treecat Wars.
Highly Recommended, 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Paul Genesse
FUN YA SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
(very minor spoilers)
This is the second novel about Stephanie Harrington and her treecat companion, Lionheart, set on the fascinating treecat home world. I hadn’t read the award winning first book, A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber, and came to this novel as I’m a fan of author Jane Lindskold’s short fiction and her novels (Through Wolf’s Eyes, Thirteen Orphans). You don’t need to read the first book in this series, A Beautiful Friendship, to understand this one, as I was never lost, but I’m sure it would be good to start at the beginning.
If you’re a reader of David Weber’s Honor Harrington novels, I think you’ll enjoy this prequel novel series. Fire Season is set a few hundred years before Honor was born, and this is not a space opera with lots of the big battles Mr. Weber is famous for. It’s a coming of age novel, mostly written to appeal to teenaged readers (12 and older), about a brilliant young woman growing up on an alien planet, who just happens to be the first person to ever bond with a treecat. The telepathic, empathic, six-legged (hexapedal) catlike creatures with long tails—two of their six legs have actual hands on them—are the stars of the book.
I found the most fascinating aspect of Fire Season to be the relationship between fifteen-year-old Stephanie and the treecat who adopted her. Lionheart is what Stephanie calls him, but his true name among the People (the treecats think of themselves as The People), is Climbs Quickly.
The treecats are telepathic with each other and empathic with humans, so communicating with humans is quite difficult for them, though they can read human emotions very easily and affect them in some minor ways. The treecats think that humans make all sorts of funny mouth sounds, use hand gestures, and isn’t it sad they can’t speak to each other with their minds and have to rely on such poor communication methods?
It was hilarious and awesome when two treecats were communicating telepathically with each other and one treecat noted how well the human (Stephanie Harrington) had been trained by Climbs Quickly. The big question in this book is if the treecats are intelligent enough to be considered sentient by the human scientists.
Climbs Quickly can read Stephanie’s emotions and enjoys her “mind-glow” very much. I loved reading the chapters from Climb’s Quickly’s point of view, and it was fascinating how the human scientists are trying to determine if the treecats are a sentient race, while the treecats are trying to understand if they should avoid the humans who have come to their world, or if they should interact with them more.
The book has the feel of an un-contacted tribe of native Americans first coming into contact with a highly civilized group of Europeans. That would be Europeans who are not trying to enslave or destroy them. What a concept. There are a lot of great messages in this book that will get younger and older readers thinking.
Fire Season is naturally set during the dry season when forest fires often rage across the mostly tree-covered world. Stephanie Harrington, and her big brother friend Karl, are provisional rangers with the forestry service, and they participate in watching out for fires and sometimes fighting them, and of course rescuing animals caught in the path of the flames.
Much of the book is dedicated to Stephanie becoming an adult. She has to learn to interact with kids her own age, a very difficult thing for a genius introvert, and of course deal with her well-meaning but socially clumsy parents. I think teens will easily connect with Stephanie, as she’s a very well drawn character.
I highly recommend this book to teen animal lovers—especially young women—and to fans of the Honor Harrington series who want to see where the treecats came from. This is a good starting point for younger readers, and I think this would be a great gift to a friend or relative that you wanted to expose to science fiction. It kept my interest throughout, had a good conclusion that wrapped up nicely, and I’m excited to read the sequel, Treecat Wars.
Highly Recommended, 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Paul Genesse
November 25, 2012
A rare piece of excellent science fiction. I highly enjoyed reading this book, and I'm glad that I happened to notice my brother had finished reading it and needed something to read while waiting for morning to come in the train, because it was a great read. It managed to earn five stars from me for several reasons.
1 - The characters were well developed and varied, and actually were believable. I hear a lot of people saying that most F&SF novels are flat, with little character development and plot. If so, I have just been really, really lucky with those that I have picked out, and among all of the F&SF novels that I have had the pleasure of reading, this is definitely pretty high up there in terms of character development.
2 - It's a fiction book which both entertains and carries a serious message. I like books that can both give pleasure and also give a message that's important in the real world, at the same time. This one provided several.
3 - Simply put, I liked the style of the prose. It moved forward well and kept me anticipating the next page.
If you're a fan of F&SF or even if you're just vaguely willing to read something of the genre, go out and get this book next time you get a chance. You won't be sorry that you did!
1 - The characters were well developed and varied, and actually were believable. I hear a lot of people saying that most F&SF novels are flat, with little character development and plot. If so, I have just been really, really lucky with those that I have picked out, and among all of the F&SF novels that I have had the pleasure of reading, this is definitely pretty high up there in terms of character development.
2 - It's a fiction book which both entertains and carries a serious message. I like books that can both give pleasure and also give a message that's important in the real world, at the same time. This one provided several.
3 - Simply put, I liked the style of the prose. It moved forward well and kept me anticipating the next page.
If you're a fan of F&SF or even if you're just vaguely willing to read something of the genre, go out and get this book next time you get a chance. You won't be sorry that you did!
October 15, 2012
I usually recommend people read a series in order to avoid spoilers and better appreciate character development. In this particular case though Fire Season would work quite well as an entry-point to the series.
It's a little odd to see such a short book from Weber; I thought he'd lost the ability to be concise. *grin* But Fire Season is just the right length. The plot moves along at a good pace but doesn't sacrifice character development. Weber does an unusually good job at creating female characters for a male writer and provides a mixture of adult and teen voices here.
I think Fire Season would work well for early teens on up to adults. And I'm eagerly looking forward to reading more about Stephanie, Anders and the others.
It's a little odd to see such a short book from Weber; I thought he'd lost the ability to be concise. *grin* But Fire Season is just the right length. The plot moves along at a good pace but doesn't sacrifice character development. Weber does an unusually good job at creating female characters for a male writer and provides a mixture of adult and teen voices here.
I think Fire Season would work well for early teens on up to adults. And I'm eagerly looking forward to reading more about Stephanie, Anders and the others.
January 6, 2014
Blergh. If I wanted to listen about some girl make a fool over some lad, I'd watch some tacky soap opera. I wanted treecats and spaceships, for goodness sake!
If I had the paperback, I could've just skimmed through and probably would've finished the book. But I really don't like listening to this sort of thing - even when I was a 15 year old girl it wasn't my thing at all. Disapointing.
If I had the paperback, I could've just skimmed through and probably would've finished the book. But I really don't like listening to this sort of thing - even when I was a 15 year old girl it wasn't my thing at all. Disapointing.
January 16, 2016
Since i had to wait a whole year to read it, my interest was on the low side. I had nothing else to read so i picked it up and read it in one sitting. It was definitely a wise choice to get over my reluctance. This too was worth my time and money.
July 2, 2012
It's a teen book but until the next Harrington book I will settle to read about her ancestor. Light reading for a Saturday afternoon.
December 6, 2015
Strictly mediocre.
November 10, 2015
Second in the Honorverse: Stephanie Harrington science fiction fantasy for young adults. The Honorverse is an overall label for stories and series that are offshoots from the Honor Harrington space opera series. In this case, the label is telling us that the series is about Stephanie and is part of the overall Honor Harrington Universe. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of the Honorverse books on my website.
My Take
Unlike Tamora Pierce, I didn't find it thrilling or edge-of-my-seat, but it was a good read and provides more insight into Stephanie's life as she's growing into her partnership with Lionheart.
One of the things I love about the entire Harrington Universe is the virtues that Weber's characters display. Well, the good guys anyway! Fire Season is no exception with the officials of an entire world more interested in protecting treecats than in soliciting favor with others.
There are some good moral lessons for the kids in this. Consideration for others' feelings and handling charitable concerns. Reality is different from a video game. The responsibility that comes with wanting independence. That being different does not mean less. The benefit of knowing some first aid. Turns out that Mom was right about socializing. Doing something stupid doesn't negate a species' sentience. I did like Dr. Emberly's point about sharks!
It was just so fascinating and frustrating to read each specie's thoughts and ideas and know how Honor and Nimitz figure out how to communicate in more than just an exchange of emotions in the HH series. That it will be so far in the future before treecats and humans can communicate with each other. Still, reading Lionheart's thoughts about the mouth sounds, the markings they make, and the hand waving that humans use to somehow communicate is just too funny. And makes me think of how important communication is. How different what one culture takes for granted can be from what another thinks is normal.
In this story, Sphinx is trying to get treecats officially acknowledged as a sentient species and Weber/Lindskold use the dangerous fire season to help demonstrate their abilities and "humanity". It also provides the treecats the opportunity to see that humans are as varied in their character as individual treecats are.
In the story, there is a mention of Eric Flint, an author with whom Weber has partnered in other books.
The Story
Probationary rangers for the Sphinxian Forestry Service, Stephanie and Karl are overflying the forest near home when Lionheart gets agitated and insists they follow his direction. A couple of treecats are in danger, and while the Damp Ground Clan can't save them, they still don't trust those humans.
Anders is thrilled that his dad wants to take him along on his treecat mission. Until he finds out why. Still, it's an opportunity for Anders to learn much about himself.
The Characters
Stephanie Harrington, a.k.a., Death Fang's Bane*, is Honor's ancestress and almost fifteen in this story. She's also the first human to befriend a treecat, Lionheart, a.k.a., Climbs Quickly* and they've been together for three T-years. Richard, a.k.a., Healer, and Margery/Marjorie Harrington are her parents. Her dad is a vet and her mother is a botanist developing hybrids that can survive and thrive on Sphinx.
The Bright Water clan is…
…Lionheart's treecat clan. Sings Truly is Lionheart's sister and a memory singer for the Bright Water Clan. Other members include Twig Weaver and Stone Biter, a clan elder and not as conservative as Broken Tooth.
Karl Zivonik, a.k.a., Shadowed Sunlight, is sixteen and Stephanie's only real friend, more of a big brother really. He's hoping to be taken on as a provisionary ranger in the Sphinxian Forestry Service. Most of his family died in the Plague, and he now lives with his Aunt Irina Kisaevna who is married to Scott MacDallan, the only other living human adopted by a treecat, Fisher. Nadia and Anastasia are his little sisters.
The Sphinixian Foresty Service (SFS)
Rangers Frank Lethbridge and Ainsley Jedruskinski have the largest role while there is a mention of Chief Ranger Gary Shelton. Dr. Sanura Hobbard is the "official head of the official Crown inquiry into treecat intelligence" for Manticore.
"Dr." Tennessee Bolego was a fraud and has forced changes in the Star Kingdom's approach to treecats.
Kids within Stephanie's age group include:
Trudy Franchitti is a year older than Stephanie and definitely NOT one of her friends. Her whole family is quite snobbish about their pioneer status on the planet. The two of them have a hot feud going on. Stan Chang is Trudy's boyfriend and is frequently high. He's good friends with Frank "Outta Focus" Câmara. Becky Morowitz is part of Trudy's clique as well. Toby Mednick is younger and Stan and Frank frequently gang up on him. Jessica Pheriss/Pherris, a.k.a., Windswept, is new and has joined the hang-gliding club. Jessica is adopted by Dirt Grubber, also known by his human name of Valiant, when they each rescue each other. She has it kind of rough with six siblings she feels responsible for, as her mother, Naomi, works too hard. Christine. Chet/Chad.
Mayor Sapristos tends to favor the bad eggs because of their parents' status.
The Damp Ground Clan includes
Left-Striped and Right-Striped are mirror twin treecats caught by a sudden fire at the start of the story and play a major role later on. Brilliant Images is their skeptical senior memory singer.
The off-world anthropology team includes:
Anders Whittaker is the fifteen-year-old son of an obsessed scientist and an equally obsessed politician. He agitates to accompany his father on his mission as he's totally fascinated by Stephanie Harrington and her treecat. His mother has recently been promoted from being a senior representative to Cabinet Minister Whittaker for the Urako president. His father, Dr. Bradford A. Whittaker, is a xenoanthropologist who is absolutely fascinated by treecats. He's also "grasping, ambitious, and self-absorbed". Their son is not as important as their own careers.
Dr. Langston Nez just got his doctorate in cultural anthropology and has been Dr. Whittaker's senior assistant for years. Dr. Calida Emberly is the xenobiologist and xenobotanist and is looking forward to discussions about plants with Stephanie's mother; her mother, Dacey Emberly, is a painter and will handle scientific illustrations. Kesia Guyen is their colorful linguist and her husband, John Qin, is interested in setting up some kind of trade on or with Sphinx. Virgil Iwamoto is lithics (use of tools) and up-to-date on the latest field methods who just got married to Peony Rose partly because he was about to head out to Sphinx on this mission.
* Each treecat has two names: the one by which s/he is known among the People (the treecats) and the human name given by his/her partner. The treecats also give humans a treecat name. Treecats are a sentient species found only on the planet Sphinx. They are somewhat similar in appearance to housecats, but are longer, have six legs, and communicate empathically. The babies are called kittens and each clan of treecats is ruled by a memory singer, one who holds all the knowledge of past history.
Weber/Lindskold need to decide which names certain of their characters are using.
The Cover and Title
The orange, black, and greys cover is rather mournful with a pensive Stephanie slumped on her knees on the ground, wearing a black fire-suit, a counter-grav unit on her back, and cuddling Lionheart.
The title is short and to the point for it is Fire Season, and it causes all sorts of problems.
My Take
Unlike Tamora Pierce, I didn't find it thrilling or edge-of-my-seat, but it was a good read and provides more insight into Stephanie's life as she's growing into her partnership with Lionheart.
One of the things I love about the entire Harrington Universe is the virtues that Weber's characters display. Well, the good guys anyway! Fire Season is no exception with the officials of an entire world more interested in protecting treecats than in soliciting favor with others.
There are some good moral lessons for the kids in this. Consideration for others' feelings and handling charitable concerns. Reality is different from a video game. The responsibility that comes with wanting independence. That being different does not mean less. The benefit of knowing some first aid. Turns out that Mom was right about socializing. Doing something stupid doesn't negate a species' sentience. I did like Dr. Emberly's point about sharks!
It was just so fascinating and frustrating to read each specie's thoughts and ideas and know how Honor and Nimitz figure out how to communicate in more than just an exchange of emotions in the HH series. That it will be so far in the future before treecats and humans can communicate with each other. Still, reading Lionheart's thoughts about the mouth sounds, the markings they make, and the hand waving that humans use to somehow communicate is just too funny. And makes me think of how important communication is. How different what one culture takes for granted can be from what another thinks is normal.
In this story, Sphinx is trying to get treecats officially acknowledged as a sentient species and Weber/Lindskold use the dangerous fire season to help demonstrate their abilities and "humanity". It also provides the treecats the opportunity to see that humans are as varied in their character as individual treecats are.
In the story, there is a mention of Eric Flint, an author with whom Weber has partnered in other books.
The Story
Probationary rangers for the Sphinxian Forestry Service, Stephanie and Karl are overflying the forest near home when Lionheart gets agitated and insists they follow his direction. A couple of treecats are in danger, and while the Damp Ground Clan can't save them, they still don't trust those humans.
Anders is thrilled that his dad wants to take him along on his treecat mission. Until he finds out why. Still, it's an opportunity for Anders to learn much about himself.
The Characters
Stephanie Harrington, a.k.a., Death Fang's Bane*, is Honor's ancestress and almost fifteen in this story. She's also the first human to befriend a treecat, Lionheart, a.k.a., Climbs Quickly* and they've been together for three T-years. Richard, a.k.a., Healer, and Margery/Marjorie Harrington are her parents. Her dad is a vet and her mother is a botanist developing hybrids that can survive and thrive on Sphinx.
The Bright Water clan is…
…Lionheart's treecat clan. Sings Truly is Lionheart's sister and a memory singer for the Bright Water Clan. Other members include Twig Weaver and Stone Biter, a clan elder and not as conservative as Broken Tooth.
Karl Zivonik, a.k.a., Shadowed Sunlight, is sixteen and Stephanie's only real friend, more of a big brother really. He's hoping to be taken on as a provisionary ranger in the Sphinxian Forestry Service. Most of his family died in the Plague, and he now lives with his Aunt Irina Kisaevna who is married to Scott MacDallan, the only other living human adopted by a treecat, Fisher. Nadia and Anastasia are his little sisters.
The Sphinixian Foresty Service (SFS)
Rangers Frank Lethbridge and Ainsley Jedruskinski have the largest role while there is a mention of Chief Ranger Gary Shelton. Dr. Sanura Hobbard is the "official head of the official Crown inquiry into treecat intelligence" for Manticore.
"Dr." Tennessee Bolego was a fraud and has forced changes in the Star Kingdom's approach to treecats.
Kids within Stephanie's age group include:
Trudy Franchitti is a year older than Stephanie and definitely NOT one of her friends. Her whole family is quite snobbish about their pioneer status on the planet. The two of them have a hot feud going on. Stan Chang is Trudy's boyfriend and is frequently high. He's good friends with Frank "Outta Focus" Câmara. Becky Morowitz is part of Trudy's clique as well. Toby Mednick is younger and Stan and Frank frequently gang up on him. Jessica Pheriss/Pherris, a.k.a., Windswept, is new and has joined the hang-gliding club. Jessica is adopted by Dirt Grubber, also known by his human name of Valiant, when they each rescue each other. She has it kind of rough with six siblings she feels responsible for, as her mother, Naomi, works too hard. Christine. Chet/Chad.
Mayor Sapristos tends to favor the bad eggs because of their parents' status.
The Damp Ground Clan includes
Left-Striped and Right-Striped are mirror twin treecats caught by a sudden fire at the start of the story and play a major role later on. Brilliant Images is their skeptical senior memory singer.
The off-world anthropology team includes:
Anders Whittaker is the fifteen-year-old son of an obsessed scientist and an equally obsessed politician. He agitates to accompany his father on his mission as he's totally fascinated by Stephanie Harrington and her treecat. His mother has recently been promoted from being a senior representative to Cabinet Minister Whittaker for the Urako president. His father, Dr. Bradford A. Whittaker, is a xenoanthropologist who is absolutely fascinated by treecats. He's also "grasping, ambitious, and self-absorbed". Their son is not as important as their own careers.
Dr. Langston Nez just got his doctorate in cultural anthropology and has been Dr. Whittaker's senior assistant for years. Dr. Calida Emberly is the xenobiologist and xenobotanist and is looking forward to discussions about plants with Stephanie's mother; her mother, Dacey Emberly, is a painter and will handle scientific illustrations. Kesia Guyen is their colorful linguist and her husband, John Qin, is interested in setting up some kind of trade on or with Sphinx. Virgil Iwamoto is lithics (use of tools) and up-to-date on the latest field methods who just got married to Peony Rose partly because he was about to head out to Sphinx on this mission.
* Each treecat has two names: the one by which s/he is known among the People (the treecats) and the human name given by his/her partner. The treecats also give humans a treecat name. Treecats are a sentient species found only on the planet Sphinx. They are somewhat similar in appearance to housecats, but are longer, have six legs, and communicate empathically. The babies are called kittens and each clan of treecats is ruled by a memory singer, one who holds all the knowledge of past history.
Weber/Lindskold need to decide which names certain of their characters are using.
The Cover and Title
The orange, black, and greys cover is rather mournful with a pensive Stephanie slumped on her knees on the ground, wearing a black fire-suit, a counter-grav unit on her back, and cuddling Lionheart.
The title is short and to the point for it is Fire Season, and it causes all sorts of problems.
August 12, 2020
In the relatively young colony of planet Sphinx, the seasons are abnormally long = 15 Terran months. It is the fall and a prolonged drought has raised the fire danger substantially. Fire is dangerous, not only for the human inhabitants, but also for all the other species on the planet. The treecats, a possible sentient species (we know they are sentient, but the colony needs to have that proven) are in particular danger; they live in clan groups in mostly remote areas. If fire strikes, whole clans may be wiped out.
A new team from off-planet has arrived on Sphinx to study the treecats to determine if they are sentient and deserving of special protections. There are colonists who don’t care (humans first, after all) and the Forestry Service who maintain and protect large portions of the planet and are trying to give the treecats as much freedom and security as possible.
Fifteen year old Stephanie Harrington and her friend Karl Zionik are probationary rangers for the Forestry Service. Stephanie is also one of the few residents of Sphinx who has bonded with a treecat, Climbs Swiftly. When fire strikes, they are involved in tracking a secondary fire to report on its extent.
Simultaneously, the new team of scientists disappears off the grid. The search for them must be abandoned as all resources are turned to fighting the major fire. This installment of the Star Kingdom series offers multiple suspenseful threads: the fires, the clans trying to escape the fires, and the dangers faced by the scientific team, both within and without as the fire races toward them.
The young adults take center stage here. The adults are present but in the background except for the scientific team which deals with its own dangers. The suspense is palpable and multidimensional. The characters and their conflicts are appealing, and their peril is very real. This is a good addition to the series. If a reader has not read the first book, the beginning is a little confusing with treecat names and human names used interchangeably without much explanation. Adults and young adults will enjoy this exploration of life on a new world as opposed to many YA titles that deal with the disasters visited on the old. Recommended.
Readalikes:
Patrick Ness – The Knife of Never Letting Go; Phoebe North – Starglass; Beth Revis – Across the Universe; Belinda Crawford – Hero; Caryn Lix – Sanctuary; P.C. Cast – Moon Chosen; Joshua McCune – Talker 25; Bridget Tyler – The Pioneer; Isobelle Carmody – Ubernewtyn; Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series.
Pace: Fast-paced
Characters: Likable; complex; strong women
Story: World building
Writing style: Engaging; descriptive
Tone: Suspenseful
Frame: Planet Sphinx, Star Kingdom of Manticore; 1521
Theme: Space colonization
A new team from off-planet has arrived on Sphinx to study the treecats to determine if they are sentient and deserving of special protections. There are colonists who don’t care (humans first, after all) and the Forestry Service who maintain and protect large portions of the planet and are trying to give the treecats as much freedom and security as possible.
Fifteen year old Stephanie Harrington and her friend Karl Zionik are probationary rangers for the Forestry Service. Stephanie is also one of the few residents of Sphinx who has bonded with a treecat, Climbs Swiftly. When fire strikes, they are involved in tracking a secondary fire to report on its extent.
Simultaneously, the new team of scientists disappears off the grid. The search for them must be abandoned as all resources are turned to fighting the major fire. This installment of the Star Kingdom series offers multiple suspenseful threads: the fires, the clans trying to escape the fires, and the dangers faced by the scientific team, both within and without as the fire races toward them.
The young adults take center stage here. The adults are present but in the background except for the scientific team which deals with its own dangers. The suspense is palpable and multidimensional. The characters and their conflicts are appealing, and their peril is very real. This is a good addition to the series. If a reader has not read the first book, the beginning is a little confusing with treecat names and human names used interchangeably without much explanation. Adults and young adults will enjoy this exploration of life on a new world as opposed to many YA titles that deal with the disasters visited on the old. Recommended.
Readalikes:
Patrick Ness – The Knife of Never Letting Go; Phoebe North – Starglass; Beth Revis – Across the Universe; Belinda Crawford – Hero; Caryn Lix – Sanctuary; P.C. Cast – Moon Chosen; Joshua McCune – Talker 25; Bridget Tyler – The Pioneer; Isobelle Carmody – Ubernewtyn; Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series.
Pace: Fast-paced
Characters: Likable; complex; strong women
Story: World building
Writing style: Engaging; descriptive
Tone: Suspenseful
Frame: Planet Sphinx, Star Kingdom of Manticore; 1521
Theme: Space colonization
May 26, 2023
I'm SO sad I didn't love this one like I did the first book. The shining star of the first is the relationship between Lionheart/Climbs Quickly and Stephanie, and I felt like it took a bit of a backseat in this one. It's still fairly prominent, and still utterly beautiful and endearing; but it's lessened from A Beautiful Friendship. We spent less time with Lionheart and that diminished my enjoyment a lot.
I really could have done without the romance, or almost-romance-whatever between Anders and Stephanie. It kind of ruined this book for me, to be honest. Their relationship took over the story, as well as the xenobiologist crew's story line and the fires (which I totally get that it's called Fire Season, but there was more focus on the technicalities and fire-fighting aspect than all of the characters being in danger. Read: it was not exciting). Oh, and I outright haaaated Anders' chapters. I did a lot of skimming because they were just so insufferably boring. His dad sucked too, and I could not give two shits about that whole crew and how they were stuck in the forest because Anders' dad is a moron.
There's also a lot of focus on teenage stuff, such as Stephanie's hormones and getting her license. She was overwhelmingly annoying in this one (I don't remember her being like that in the first book). I get that she's a teenager - yeah, we were all young and stupid once - but she's so smart about so many other things (almost unbelievably so) that some of her decisions came off too young, even for her, and it irritated the shit out of me. It felt extremely young compared to the first book to the point that it almost felt like Middle Grade.
I did love the addition of some new Treecat members! Right-Striped and Left-Striped (although their names were stupid AF, sorry), the Damp Ground clan, and the Treecat that bonded with Stephanie's friend, both of whom I cannot for the life of me remember the name of. I loved that there were more new bonds!
Overall, I was rather bored with the majority of this book and just wanted it to be over. It felt quite long for being such a short book. It did pick up and finally get exciting in the last 25% or so, which rekindled my enjoyment of the series. I'll read the 3rd book eventually.
This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.
July 24, 2023
A long, hot, dry summer has brought new challenges to the colonists of Sphinx, wildfires keep breaking out on the densely forested planet. The discovery of treecats has brought a new team of scholars and scientists to study the Star Kingdom's newest intelligent species. Bradford Whitaker, his son Anders, and a whole team of academics were hired to ascertain whether the treecats apparent cleverness is animal cunning or something more. Unfortunately, Dr. Whitaker possesses far more ambition than common sense. This flaw quickly brings him and his team into conflict with the potentially harsh environment of Sphinx and the deadly fires. Once again, Stephanie Harrington and a growing troupe of friends, must save the day, the doctor and his handsome young son.
I found myself enjoying Fire Season more than I did A Beautiful Friendship, Stephanie is maturing (and a co-author was brought in) which seems to be taking the rough edges off of her personality. This time around she seems less insistent on her own intelligence and superiority and is willing to make some friends. She still suffers from bouts of hormone-driven, adolescent psychosis, but didn't we all? There were moments when the dialogue dipped into pedantry (someone put a lot of research into forest fires and it shows) but that's not entirely uncommon in the genre. I noticed the same thing when I was reading The Murk by Robert Lettrick, the overtly informative narration puts me in mind of an after-school special, but it's forgivable if the story is good, or if there are fuzzy aliens.
I did notice in this book the POV stuck to Stephanie, Anders, and Climbs Quickly for the most part, which I thought was a good choice. In the previous book, Weber couldn't help but zip from character to character. It was easier to introduce secondary characters that way, but I question the stylistic choice of writing from a parent's POV in a YA novel. I overlooked it, knowing that Weber is a prolific writer of science fiction for an adult audience and A Beautiful Friendship was his first YA novel. Jane Lindskold seems to be a grounding influence and I look forward to reading the next installment in the saga of the Star Kingdom.
I found myself enjoying Fire Season more than I did A Beautiful Friendship, Stephanie is maturing (and a co-author was brought in) which seems to be taking the rough edges off of her personality. This time around she seems less insistent on her own intelligence and superiority and is willing to make some friends. She still suffers from bouts of hormone-driven, adolescent psychosis, but didn't we all? There were moments when the dialogue dipped into pedantry (someone put a lot of research into forest fires and it shows) but that's not entirely uncommon in the genre. I noticed the same thing when I was reading The Murk by Robert Lettrick, the overtly informative narration puts me in mind of an after-school special, but it's forgivable if the story is good, or if there are fuzzy aliens.
I did notice in this book the POV stuck to Stephanie, Anders, and Climbs Quickly for the most part, which I thought was a good choice. In the previous book, Weber couldn't help but zip from character to character. It was easier to introduce secondary characters that way, but I question the stylistic choice of writing from a parent's POV in a YA novel. I overlooked it, knowing that Weber is a prolific writer of science fiction for an adult audience and A Beautiful Friendship was his first YA novel. Jane Lindskold seems to be a grounding influence and I look forward to reading the next installment in the saga of the Star Kingdom.
August 5, 2020
Hlavná línia príbehu sa naďalej venuje Stephanii, stromomačke "Climbs Quickly" a jej priateľom. V tejto časti pribudlo aj viacero prvkov typických pre YA knihy - čo sa dá robiť, keď hlavná hrdinka je puberťáčka a nadpriemerná inteligencia ešte nezaručí, že sa jej typické tínedžerské problémy vyhnú celkom. Našťastie sú v miere, ktorá sa dá prežiť :D
Pre nás starších je druhá línia zaujímavejšia. Aká vysoká je inteligencia stromomačiek? Sú to len šikovné zvieratá, alebo sa v ich hlavách skrýva intelekt porovnateľný s ľudským? Zdanlivo jednoduchá otázka. Sfinx je zatial len málo kolonizovaná planéta, ktorá hlavnú vlnu osídlencov ešte len očakáva, a práve to môže odpoveď na úvodnú otázku výrazne ovplyvniť. Ochrana pôvodných obyvateľov a ich kultúry by kolonizáciu určite obmedzila.
Táto línia príbehu sa zaoberá medzinárodným, teda skôr medziplanetárnym tímom odborníkov, ktorí prileteli na Sfinx posúdiť stromomačky. Ale nie každý z vedcov má záujem o pravdu, ľuďom s predkupnými právami na pozemky by viac vyhovovalo, ak by to boli len obyčajné zvieratá.
No a aby to nebolo také jednoduché, všetko sa skomplikuje rozsiahlym lesným požiarom, takže dej pekne odsýpa. Môžem len odporúčať.
Pre nás starších je druhá línia zaujímavejšia. Aká vysoká je inteligencia stromomačiek? Sú to len šikovné zvieratá, alebo sa v ich hlavách skrýva intelekt porovnateľný s ľudským? Zdanlivo jednoduchá otázka. Sfinx je zatial len málo kolonizovaná planéta, ktorá hlavnú vlnu osídlencov ešte len očakáva, a práve to môže odpoveď na úvodnú otázku výrazne ovplyvniť. Ochrana pôvodných obyvateľov a ich kultúry by kolonizáciu určite obmedzila.
Táto línia príbehu sa zaoberá medzinárodným, teda skôr medziplanetárnym tímom odborníkov, ktorí prileteli na Sfinx posúdiť stromomačky. Ale nie každý z vedcov má záujem o pravdu, ľuďom s predkupnými právami na pozemky by viac vyhovovalo, ak by to boli len obyčajné zvieratá.
No a aby to nebolo také jednoduché, všetko sa skomplikuje rozsiahlym lesným požiarom, takže dej pekne odsýpa. Môžem len odporúčať.
September 23, 2013
Fire in the forest–and a cry for help from a trapped and desperate alien mother! Unfortunately, this is one cry no human can hear. Stephanie Harrington, precocious fourteen-year-old Provisional Forest Ranger on the planet Sphinx, knows something is wrong from the uneasy emotion that is flooding into her from her treecat friend, Climbs Quickly. But though Stephanie’s alien comrade shares a tight bond with his two-legs, whom he knows as Death Fang’s Bane, he cannot communicate directly to her the anguished call from one of his people.
Still, their strong and direct bond of feeling may be enough. Stephanie and fellow ranger Karl Zivonik respond to Climbs Quickly’s rising waves of distress. Fire season on the pioneer world of Sphinx has begun. But there are those who want to use the natural cycle of the planet for personal gain –and to get rid of the one obstacle that stands in the way of acquiring even greater land and power on Spinx: the native treecats.
Now it’s up to Stephanie, Climbs Quickly along with their friends, family, and allies to prevent disaster and injustice from befalling a treecat clan. But in the process Stephanie must be certain to preserve the greatest secret all. It is the knowledge that the treecats of Sphinx are not merely pets or servants, but are highly intelligent in their own right–that they are a species fully deserving of rights, respect, and freedom. And keeping the secret that will allow the treecats time to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with humankind.
It all begins with the friendship of a girl and her treecat.
This second book in the series picks up shortly after the end of A Beautiful Friendship. Again it has David Weber's characteristic style, but this time it is temper by the addition of the talented Jane Lindskold. Together the two continue the creative world building started by David in the first book. As the characters continue to learn the planet's native flora and fauna so to do we, which is enjoyable since everything is just as much a surprise and discovery for the characters and the readers. And as we don't have the inside track on what will happen next it is that much more exciting and that much easier to relate to the responses of each character to their various situations.
Climbs Quickly can tell that this autumn is going to be a fire season, for like all treecats, once you've lived through even just one fire season you never forget that odor. Though mildly worried about his family, the Bright Water Clan, he knows he would hear from one of them should anything should happen. Climbs Quickly spends time with two injured treecats recoveringing at the freehold and realizes just how much he misses being with his own People, regardless of how deeply he loves Stephanie. In a scene that stuck in my mind for days Climbs Quickly consults with his sister and other clan members regarding his confusion over Stephanie's recent increased moodiness, getting some excellent advice from his family. Once again the differences and similarities between the People and humans is illuminated, and done in such a way to show how extreme the similarities are in some areas.
A new team of scientists have been dispatched from the Star Kingdom to study treecats, and due to circumstance the head of the team ends up bringing his teenage son Anders on the expedition with him. Ander's arrival signals new changes and growth for Stephanie, and he becomes the object of her first crush. Experiencing her first crush puts her at sixes and sevens with herself, unsettling her as she is so used to knowing her own mind. Additionally, watching her begin to form friendships with some of the former 'nulls' and 'zorks' from town is entertaining. The authors really capture the inner turmoil and confusion that comes with growing up and maturing, not too mention the feelings that come with noticing members of the opposite sex and never being sure just how to behave around them. Added to this are Stephanie's general growing pains as she repeatedly tests the boundaries in her life, most specifically with her parents. These scenes are so well written that I see my own youth echoed in Stephanie's experiences, especially all the intense emotional drama (at least it is intense from Stephanie's perspective).
Anders does some serious maturing of his own when he ends up placed in a situation where he must step up and essentially become the leader of the group of people he is with. This ultimately creates serious friction with his father, friction that goes unresolved. During this time Stephanie is torn between her duty to the Sphinxian Forest Service (SFS) and her almost all-consuming desire to continue the search for Anders. Luckily for Stephanie her good friend Karl is with her and helps talk her through the ramifications of her actions should she follow her heart rather than her head. Again the scenes during this section of the book are written so well that I was there with the characters, feeling the physical and emotional sensations right along with them, visually seeing everything in intense detail, down to the smallest blade of grass. Rich detail and vivid imagery are rife throughout the series, but for me these scenes standout in detail for me.
Take all these wonderful characters and their complex relationships and add a liberal dose of action and you get one heck of a read. The action takes several forms for the characters; selfless to selfish, logical and orderly contrasted with insane and reckless, patient and helpful versus stubborn and intractable. Then there is the purely physical action that occurs in times of grave danger, and in times of teenage posturing/bullying. This book is like a well-loved recipe, containing a dash of this and a pinch of that, ultimately creating a legendary dish loved by all. As a sequel this book withstood the test and came through with flying colors, a challenging feat for a sequel. I rate this book 3.5 stars, but as that is not an option I was forced to chose between 3 or 4 stars and it was just a hair shy of 4 stars for me.
May 21, 2021
It was okay, but the writing felt a little stiff in this one, and it got bogged down a bit by Stephanie hitting boy-crush puberty and paying too much attention to all the other girls' curves. Yes, teen girls to compare their bodies to others', but it felt awkward and a tad over-emphasized here. The social dynamics within the group of researchers and their obsessive boss was interesting but I felt wasn't satisfactorily wrapped up. Maybe they're saving that for the next volume, but if so it felt a bit clumsily done, not clearly and compellingly leading the reader somewhere. Overall not as strong as the first book, though readers who got attached to the main characters in vol.1 might enjoy revisiting them and seeing the human/treecat relationship creep forward a bit.
December 1, 2024
While I was delighted to return to the treecats and to the Harringtons’ defense of them, this sequel feels more YA than book one. There’s tiresome crushing and pining and even a nascent love triangle. No thank you.
On the other hand, some of the YA strife is appropriate and well done: Stephanie chafing at the reasonable boundaries her parents establish, struggling to befriend other kids, and navigating jealousies. Though I could live without hearing so much about her failure to develop curves along with the other girls…
I did appreciate the different form villainy took this time. It doesn’t have to be cackling evil to cause great harm. And the story does a good job laying out the complexities and stakes for the treecats’ future.
On the other hand, some of the YA strife is appropriate and well done: Stephanie chafing at the reasonable boundaries her parents establish, struggling to befriend other kids, and navigating jealousies. Though I could live without hearing so much about her failure to develop curves along with the other girls…
I did appreciate the different form villainy took this time. It doesn’t have to be cackling evil to cause great harm. And the story does a good job laying out the complexities and stakes for the treecats’ future.
Read
November 28, 2023This continues the story of Stephanie Harrington and Lionheart (Climbs Swiftly). Complications arise with visiting anthropologists who have sympathy for the idea of Treecat intelligence who get trapped during fire season. The authors have a good knowledge of fire based ecology. As a Californian I found the fire information and information about fire fighting to be right on. The characters are interesting and show growth. This is a nice addition to the world that Honor Harrington is set in. You do not need to have read any of the other Honor Harrington books. I do recommend reading A Beautiful Friendship first
November 15, 2012
Well, i was in love with the first book of this new - more teenager oriented - series by David Weber and so my spirits soared high when the publication date came closer and closer.
And it is a worthy continuation of Stephanie Harrington's life story and the tale of how the first girl on Sphinx bonded and lived with her famous treecat "Lionheart". It's been almost a year since the incident with the Hexapuma that sealed their bond and brought Stephanie to the attention of the Sphinxian Forestry Service. Stephanie and her friend Karl are still probationary Rangers in a kind of Internship program. While the seasons are changing and after a long summer the autumn is rolling over the giant world bringing with it draughts and the danger of forest fires.
In this situation a scientific team from offworld is brought to Sphinx to evaluate the intelligence and cultural ablities of the Treecats witht he ultimate goal to ensure their protection from poachers and other miscreants that want to treat them like mere beasts. While Dr Whittaker the head of this expedition is stubborn, proud and moody Stephanie is excited to get to know his teenaged son Anders who under the nomadic lifestyle has matured more than their other contemporaries, which naturally appeals to the precocious Stephanie, who always was a bit of a loner because of her difficulties to connect with the other kids of her age. An attempt by her parents to change this almost ends in desaster as her birthday party for the very important 16th birthday (as she is finally allowed to get a driving licence for the aircars that connect the widely strewn settlements on the newly settled world) turns into an aerobatics fly-off and on the ground the hen fight continues. A slight competition with the snobbish Trudy Franchitti ensues, but as the fronts between the "in" and the "out" kids get formed, Anders finds himself at Stephanies side (the "out" kids) which in turn frustrates Karl who finds himself without chance to win Ms Harrington's heart.
But all this is forgotten when Anders and his father start visiting treecat settlements and other places of interest in the rich woods of Sphinx and Stephanie gets drawn into the fire fighting effort by the SFS. When Dr Whittaker tries to outsmart the Rangers of the SFS and seeks out a treecat village that was declared offlimits for him the scientists get cut off when their airvan sinks into a bog and their communication equipment turns out to be faulty. Just then the Rangers have got no time to search for annoying scientists as the first larger fire breaks out and threatens to get out of control fast. Stephanie and those kids from the hanggliding club that still hang around with her are taken as volunteers to observe a tongue of fire that is blwon in another direction than the main firefront. Here they stumble over a treecat settlement which was not fast enough to leave and bring themselves to save ground so the "two-legs" stay and fight for the 'cat's sake. During these efforts one of Stephanie's newest friends, Jessica, is almost buried by a burning tree that fell on her and bonds with another treecat she calls Valiant, because he saved her by throwing both into a river where Jessica in turn kept the cat warm and dry by shoving it in her firesuit.
This determination convinces the cats to let those strange beings help them evacuate and they return to their last living grounds... the same place where the group of scientists is cut of from civilisation. The returning treecat clan is able to fight off a swamp predator that had stalked the clueless humans and after the kids returned the scientists to the SFS headquarters Dr Whittaker has some explaining to do, but as the treecats were glad for the help from Stephanie and her friends the assessment mission is allowed to continue... under strict surveillance by the probationary Rangers and with tracking devises showing their every step...
I was completely in love with the first volume and so i looked towards this continuation with a certain anxiety. Sadly it's only for the largest part a worth sequel, as i could not care less for the teenagey hormones raging high and the romantic manyfold relations unravelling which even led to a month long break right in the middle of the reading as i just couldn't take it anymore. Luckily the "good" parts continued after this interruption and the emphasis was once more put on the human-cat relationship not on human-human interactions. With the fire burning and the scientists stumbling over this "Sphinxian bog siren" it even became kind of thrilling for a good time of the rest and i can very well live with the balance both of the books themes took at the very end.
What i noticed was that this book even more than the last one left away the technical descriptions that the author is elsewise known for employing so heavily... And it's not even missing when the rest of the writing is in the okay sector. Which was given for almost all of the book with the small exception of said birhtday party around the middle where the teen angst was streaming out of every character on every page.
The treecat lore is pushed forward a big step with the forth known bonding between a human and a treecat as well as with telling a lot new stuff about their living grounds and when they will change one hunting range to another. If this will continue through the run of the series, it will end up as a long and interesting handbook for the 'cats livestyle and abilities. Which is probably the best focus i could imagine for these books ^_^
And it is a worthy continuation of Stephanie Harrington's life story and the tale of how the first girl on Sphinx bonded and lived with her famous treecat "Lionheart". It's been almost a year since the incident with the Hexapuma that sealed their bond and brought Stephanie to the attention of the Sphinxian Forestry Service. Stephanie and her friend Karl are still probationary Rangers in a kind of Internship program. While the seasons are changing and after a long summer the autumn is rolling over the giant world bringing with it draughts and the danger of forest fires.
In this situation a scientific team from offworld is brought to Sphinx to evaluate the intelligence and cultural ablities of the Treecats witht he ultimate goal to ensure their protection from poachers and other miscreants that want to treat them like mere beasts. While Dr Whittaker the head of this expedition is stubborn, proud and moody Stephanie is excited to get to know his teenaged son Anders who under the nomadic lifestyle has matured more than their other contemporaries, which naturally appeals to the precocious Stephanie, who always was a bit of a loner because of her difficulties to connect with the other kids of her age. An attempt by her parents to change this almost ends in desaster as her birthday party for the very important 16th birthday (as she is finally allowed to get a driving licence for the aircars that connect the widely strewn settlements on the newly settled world) turns into an aerobatics fly-off and on the ground the hen fight continues. A slight competition with the snobbish Trudy Franchitti ensues, but as the fronts between the "in" and the "out" kids get formed, Anders finds himself at Stephanies side (the "out" kids) which in turn frustrates Karl who finds himself without chance to win Ms Harrington's heart.
But all this is forgotten when Anders and his father start visiting treecat settlements and other places of interest in the rich woods of Sphinx and Stephanie gets drawn into the fire fighting effort by the SFS. When Dr Whittaker tries to outsmart the Rangers of the SFS and seeks out a treecat village that was declared offlimits for him the scientists get cut off when their airvan sinks into a bog and their communication equipment turns out to be faulty. Just then the Rangers have got no time to search for annoying scientists as the first larger fire breaks out and threatens to get out of control fast. Stephanie and those kids from the hanggliding club that still hang around with her are taken as volunteers to observe a tongue of fire that is blwon in another direction than the main firefront. Here they stumble over a treecat settlement which was not fast enough to leave and bring themselves to save ground so the "two-legs" stay and fight for the 'cat's sake. During these efforts one of Stephanie's newest friends, Jessica, is almost buried by a burning tree that fell on her and bonds with another treecat she calls Valiant, because he saved her by throwing both into a river where Jessica in turn kept the cat warm and dry by shoving it in her firesuit.
This determination convinces the cats to let those strange beings help them evacuate and they return to their last living grounds... the same place where the group of scientists is cut of from civilisation. The returning treecat clan is able to fight off a swamp predator that had stalked the clueless humans and after the kids returned the scientists to the SFS headquarters Dr Whittaker has some explaining to do, but as the treecats were glad for the help from Stephanie and her friends the assessment mission is allowed to continue... under strict surveillance by the probationary Rangers and with tracking devises showing their every step...
I was completely in love with the first volume and so i looked towards this continuation with a certain anxiety. Sadly it's only for the largest part a worth sequel, as i could not care less for the teenagey hormones raging high and the romantic manyfold relations unravelling which even led to a month long break right in the middle of the reading as i just couldn't take it anymore. Luckily the "good" parts continued after this interruption and the emphasis was once more put on the human-cat relationship not on human-human interactions. With the fire burning and the scientists stumbling over this "Sphinxian bog siren" it even became kind of thrilling for a good time of the rest and i can very well live with the balance both of the books themes took at the very end.
What i noticed was that this book even more than the last one left away the technical descriptions that the author is elsewise known for employing so heavily... And it's not even missing when the rest of the writing is in the okay sector. Which was given for almost all of the book with the small exception of said birhtday party around the middle where the teen angst was streaming out of every character on every page.
The treecat lore is pushed forward a big step with the forth known bonding between a human and a treecat as well as with telling a lot new stuff about their living grounds and when they will change one hunting range to another. If this will continue through the run of the series, it will end up as a long and interesting handbook for the 'cats livestyle and abilities. Which is probably the best focus i could imagine for these books ^_^
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2020
The romance was unnecessary, poorly done, and detracted from the whole story. The book would have been better served by either setting up the romance better (no insta-love PLEASE, especially when it does match the character personality!) or just making it a friendship instead. Outside of that crap, the story wasn't bad. But honestly the relationship and the way it turned the MC into an idiot ruined this for me. I barely finished book 2 and don't intend to read book 3.
Book one can stand alone and that's what I would recommend readers treat it as.
Book one can stand alone and that's what I would recommend readers treat it as.
October 15, 2024
Continuing in the early days of Stephanie's life on Sphinx, this time there is a new group that wants to study the treecats. Coupled with fire season, a dry and storm prone time, the story unfolds as we watch the team protecting both the treecats and eventually rescuing the other group that was threatened because they were not where they were supposed to be. Good story that continues from where A Beautiful Friendship ended. We learn more about the People (treecats) and watch one pair up with another human (two legged).
January 12, 2025
This is a B grade book. Definitely YA. I feel that this is better than MOST YA books. Still, the assumptions that a planet which is in pioneering stage, barely settled, would have the same expectations as America currently has, might SELL the book, but it is unrealistic. I grant that they have the main character very slightly more mature, but overall, it's just the same old YA themes. I did not see the level of maturity I would expect. And it was generally dull. Yeah, a TINY bit of excitement in the fire fighting scene. But meh, is all i can say.
January 28, 2021
For a middle book, this is well done. The action moves the story along well, and the ending satisfies nicely. The characters continue to grow and evolve, as does the setting.
I re-read this because I realized while listening to Treecat Wars, I had missed something. Turns out I somehow messed up my iPod, and never heard the second half of this one. Glad I went back, since some things now make better sense.
I re-read this because I realized while listening to Treecat Wars, I had missed something. Turns out I somehow messed up my iPod, and never heard the second half of this one. Glad I went back, since some things now make better sense.
April 27, 2024
#2 in the Honorverse: Star Kingdom series. Continuing the story of Stephanie/Death Fang's Bane and Climbs Quickly/Lionheart on the colony planet Sphinx. Stephanie deals with teen conflicts during Fire season on the planet and a visit from an off planet group of anthropologists who want to see if the treecats are sentinet. Interesting view of a new world with some action scenes.
(giveaway at library's Mini Comic-Con)
(giveaway at library's Mini Comic-Con)
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