A Beautiful Friendship (Honorverse: Stephanie Harrington, #1)

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A Beautiful Friendship (Honorverse: Stephanie Harrington #1)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 1,144 ratings · 149 reviews

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...more 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 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

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Hardcover, 361 pages

Published October 4th 2011 by Baen

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Oct 18, 2011 Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011_release_read, genre-sf, read_2011, t1_recommended_2011, review_fbc, series_dropped

I got and read in a sitting the YA Honorverse A Beautiful Friendship, based on the story with the same name and recounting the first contact between treecats and humans on Sphinx; the first part which was the story expanded was great as the original story was, the second which continues after the first contact was more conventional - various moneyed and powerful interests do not like treecats or the idea of treecats being protected and "given" vast pieces of land said interests want, others want...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Sandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, sci-fi

Stephanie Harrington - a very distant, early relative to Honor Harrington, is the focus of this book. Sphinx, a new colony world, has been decimated by plague, so Stephanie's parents decide to help fill the gap and settle this new world. While there, Stephanie manages to discover a sentient species that she calls Tree Cats. These telepathic creatures watched the humans colonize their world and stayed hidden until now. Though accidental, Climbs Quickly does not really regret revealing himself to...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Michael Birks rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm a bit leery when an author goes back and expands on a previous work. Sometimes it's unnecessary - See Weber's "In Fury Born" for a perfect example - but "A Beautiful Friendship" shows that it can be made to work.

(For those of you familiar with the Honorverse short stories, this expanded version of ABF refers to and surrounds Linda Evans' story "The Stray" from Worlds of Honor)

If you've read the original short, there are some jarring differences in ths reworked version here, especially when s...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, high-school-books, middle-school-books, science-fiction

Other than the age of Stephanie Harrington (12 - 14 years old), and the relative lack of complexity in the presentation of its theme, this book doesn't seem particularly juvenile. It read to me like other adult science fiction books. Like Ender, Stephanie is both smarter and more mature than other children her age. When she tries to solve the mystery of the disappearing celery plants, she discovers a sentient native species on her new home of Sphinx. These six-limbed, cat-like, arboreal, telepat...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Stephanie A. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-and-dystopia, girl-protagonists

I am pretty DO NOT WANT when it comes to science fiction, preferring to keep things contemporary, but I do like animal stories, so when a friend recommended this I agreed to give it a go. My biggest fear was that the animals being sentient would take away all the qualities that make animals so enjoyable to read about in the first place, but one chapter from Lionheart's POV and that was gone; I was in love with treecats. And so the babble mode begins:

For starters, Stephanie was an immediately lik...more I am pretty DO NOT WANT when it comes to science fiction, preferring to keep things contemporary, but I do like animal stories, so when a friend recommended this I agreed to give it a go. My biggest fear was that the animals being sentient would take away all the qualities that make animals so enjoyable to read about in the first place, but one chapter from Lionheart's POV and that was gone; I was in love with treecats. And so the babble mode begins:

For starters, Stephanie was an immediately likable character. Every other author should take notes on how to write an independent and adventurous female character I can love.

Thanks to the style of writing some parts from adult perspectives, I immediately became super attached to her parents as well. That was an excellent writing choice and part of what made the whole book so engaging; it was really refreshing to see perspectives outside the Harrington household and kept my interest piqued.

But most of all, I LOVED the near instant bond between grown-up treecat and young girl. To be fair, seriously injuring a character is the fastest way to make me love her. Injure some(thing) else trying to protect the first person, and I will bond with them for life. The only thing I'm mad about is the huge time jump from that point to 2 years later; I wanted to see more of their early days with each other!

The only time my interest would start to drift was when it came to politics or explanation of how this planet/nearby planets differed from our Earth or similar "how stuff works in the future" detail. Whenever this happens in sci-fi, my eyes start crossing and my brain tunes out the mumbo-jumbo. Yes, yes, I'm sure you've created a very complicated universe full of backstory and specialized creations but BLAH BLAH TALK AT ME ABOUT THE CHARACTERS AND EMOTIONS AGAIN. I will only grudgingly allow that I have never read any other books by David Weber, and since I haven't, I should probably appreciate getting a condensed summary of everything a newcomer might need to know.

Forty pages from the end, I was sucked up by the action and suspense, couldn't wait for more and I was praying it wouldn't end on a cliffhanger. Fortunately, it doesn't - the story here is nicely concluded, which is such a genuine rarity in sci-fi series I don't know what to do with myself - yet it still leaves me hungering for more adventures, as it feels like we've barely gotten started. It is rare for me to think that any book has enough material to keep going for even one more novel, but this one definitely has a whole series in it. Or at least a couple of sequels.
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Oct 07, 2012 Dale rated it 4 of 5 stars

Perhaps the Beginning of a Beautiful Series?

Published in 2011 by Baen

So, David Weber decided to make a Young Adult (YA) series.

Yes, a sci-fi author known best for his highly-descriptive military sci-fi works characterized by very long conversations is entering a field where too much violence and too much conversation are both problematic. Well, I thought, this should be interesting.

Weber expanded a short story that first appeared in an short story collection More Than Honor from 1998 as part of...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Sally rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

I got a printed copy of this book originally to send to my grand daughter for her 11th birthday. I thought she might like it because of favorable reviews I had read, because it was a YA book, because of the "tree cat" characters (she likes the Owls of Ga'Hoole books) and because the main human character is 11 years old (although she ages to 14 during the story). However, knowing that my grand daughter's parents like to know what kinds of books she is reading, I decided to get an audiobook versio...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Jon rated it 3 of 5 stars

First of a YA series All About Treecats. The first half is expanded from the short of the same name in More Than Honor, and it's infected with the same stretch-it-out bug that's bee plaguing the Honorverse lately. The second half is more interesting, for at least it's new. It still drags a bit, though. There are some long bits of back-and-forth dialogue wherein the characters VERY EXHAUSTIVELY lay out their thought process. "I get it already, can we just move on?". I'm not sure if I'd say it doe...more

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May 25, 2012 Monica! rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: you-go-girl, robots-and-rockets-and-scifi-oh-my, read-in-2012, but-wait-theres-more, ust-ftw, one-dog-woof

I am so ashamed of myself, friends.

If you were to ask me, “Hey Monica! What’s your favorite genre?!” do you know what I’d say?

Science fiction.

Hands down.

But if you followed up with, “Wow, that’s amazing! So what good science fiction have you read lately?” do you know what my response would be?

“Well, I really liked… no, wait, Daughter of Smoke and Bone was fantasy. Oh, I thought… no, Unthinkable is nonfiction… Um… I was pretty in love with Anna Dressed in--shit, no, that’s fantasy too.”

Oh my God...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Zachary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

First off, I must confess, I love Weber's Harrington universe and all the books in them. So I was slightly disposed to enjoy this book from the time I cracked open the first page. And I will say, it did not disappoint. I think the most awesome part about this book is that, despite the fact that it is categorized as Young Adult, Weber doesn't dumb it down any. The universe Stephanie Harrington is born into is quite complex, with all the scientific advances as well as political situations. Weber s...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Elektra rated it 5 of 5 stars

David Weber is an exceptionally well-known writer among those who read science fiction, most particularly for his military science fiction series featuring Honor Harrington. The series spans Honor’s career in the Royal Manticoran Navy from midshipman to Grand Duchess and Admiral. And wherever Honor went, she was accompanied by her treecat, Nimitz, usually riding on her specially-padded shoulder.

Honor was born on Sphinx, a planet in the Star Kingdom of Manticore–a world settled by colonists from...more David Weber is an exceptionally well-known writer among those who read science fiction, most particularly for his military science fiction series featuring Honor Harrington. The series spans Honor’s career in the Royal Manticoran Navy from midshipman to Grand Duchess and Admiral. And wherever Honor went, she was accompanied by her treecat, Nimitz, usually riding on her specially-padded shoulder.

Honor was born on Sphinx, a planet in the Star Kingdom of Manticore–a world settled by colonists from Earth. Treecats were the native sentient species on Sphinx, six-legged, telepathic, and looking something like domestic cats with very long prehensile tails. Treecats and humans sometimes formed an empathic lifelong bond.

A Beautiful Friendship is the story of Stephanie Harrington, one of Honor’s ancestors, and the colonist who made first contact with the treecats. This is a coming-of-age story, showing interactions between human and treecat even as Stephanie is growing up and trying to figure out what to do with herself and her future. It’s a colonization story, set on a pioneer planet that still holds many dangers, with people exploring and learning about their new home. And it’s also a classic “first-contact” story, handling the complicated twists and turns that occur when the colonists realize that they share the planet with another sentient species–and that species was there first!

Most of the story is told from Stephanie’s point of view–this is her story, make no mistake. Occasional scenes and chapters fill in gaps using some of the adults as viewpoint characters where absolutely necessary to the plot. The other main viewpoint character is Lionheart, Stephanie’s treecat, or as he is referred to by his clan, Climbs Quickly. The chapters from his point of view, explaining treecat society and motivations is a real treat. The treecats find “two-legs” very confusing. For those familiar with Carole Nelson Douglas’s Midnight Louie mysteries, these chapters are a similar read to those from Louie’s viewpoint (a Las Vegas private eye with four black paws–see here for a review of Midnight Louie’s latest).

While Stephanie is an exceptionally bright girl, she is also quick-to-anger, and fiercely protective of those she loves. When she is in trouble, she looks for a logical solution to the problem, and really tries to think outside the box. But sometimes there isn’t an easy or quick solution, and she ended up frustrated, but that made the book a more satisfying read as she worked her way through more complex and layered problems.

I particularly enjoyed the insight into treecat society and their description of human activities–“Why should they need a nest place so large?” I also enjoyed the brief forays into the economics of colonization, and the concept of aided immigration: paying for your passage to the colony and earning the right to vote sooner versus having the government cover your passage and then paying taxes for several years before you voted in planetary elections.

While clearly aimed at and marketed as a young adult book, A Beautiful Friendship is suitable for people of all ages, most especially those who have shared a special relationship with a feline at some point in their lives.

A Beautiful Friendship is based on a short story of the same title, which appeared in the anthologies More Than Honor and Worlds of Weber.
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Dec 21, 2011 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, science-fiction, juvenile-fiction

This book is right at the border of juvenile and young adult, in reading level. The central character is about 14 for most of the book, and I think that middle school kids will find it to be readable. Older teens and adults who like adventure SF will also enjoy it. Part of the book was originally printed in an anthology, but the fleshed-out version here is superior and worth reading, even if you have read the original.
Set in the same universe as the Honor Harrington stories, this takes place muc...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Jenny Schwartzberg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction

Baen Books just posted an interview with David Weber on his views on YA storytelling and this book which is apparently the beginning of a new series in the Honorverse: http://www.baen.com/interviews/intweb... This prodded me into picking up this book. I'd been ambivalent since I stopped reading the Honor Harrington series at the Crown of Slaves book since it was getting too grim and close to total war. I'm a fan of most of his other books, except for his most recent books which are too focused o...more

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Oct 11, 2011 P.M. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Stephanie Harrington is bored and annoyed. Those two qualities lead her into taking dangerous chances on the frontier planet Sphinx. When her hang glider crashes and she is attacked by a hexapuma, she is saved by Climbs Quickly, a sapient "treecat" who has bonded with her because of her strong "mind-glow". Both are severely injured but their bond enables them to survive and flourish. Xeno-biologists from all over converge on the planet to study the cross-species friendship. Of course, a villain...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Kathy Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a great science fiction story that should appeal to both boys and girls. Stephanie Harrington comes to the planet Sphinx with her parents. She is twelve. She is disappointed to leave her home planet of Meyerdahl but is eager to explore her new home. However, her parents aren't so eager for her to explore because Sphinx is largely a wilderness with at least two major predators - hexapumas and peak bears - who would find Stephanie very tasty.

Climbs Quickly is a member of an intelligent n...more This was a great science fiction story that should appeal to both boys and girls. Stephanie Harrington comes to the planet Sphinx with her parents. She is twelve. She is disappointed to leave her home planet of Meyerdahl but is eager to explore her new home. However, her parents aren't so eager for her to explore because Sphinx is largely a wilderness with at least two major predators - hexapumas and peak bears - who would find Stephanie very tasty.

Climbs Quickly is a member of an intelligent native species. They have been watching the newcomers to assess their level of threat but haven't exposed their existence. His people are divided between wanting to make contact and wanting to flee deeper into the unexplored interior to get away from the strange two-legs. They are a telepathic and empathic, tool-using species. They also have a weakness for celery.

When Stephanie's mother puts her on the case of the celery thefts she is hoping to distract her from her desire to explore the dangerous wilderness. But Stephanie unexpectedly discovers Climbs Quickly and somehow bonds with him.

Later he rescues Stephanie from attack by a hexapuma after her glider crashes into the forest and she is badly hurt in the crash. In fact, they save each other from the hexapuma as they must fight it off until his clan arrives. In the fight, Climbs Quickly is badly hurt. Stephanie manages to contact her father - a veterinarian - who manages to save Climbs Quickly.

The story is filled with wonder as these two intelligent species try to learn to communicate with each other. They also have to deal with a lot of politics. There are many who don't want to admit the existence of an intelligent species on the planet because it would ruin their plans to sell the land. There are others eager to capture these new creatures either to sell to zoos and private collectors or to dissect to see if they can learn the secrets of their telepathy. Stephanie and her parents need to gather allies to keep their new friends safe from the dangers.

This was an exciting story. Stephanie is a smart and strong character. It is also fascinating to see the human invaders through the treecat's perceptions. I think students who like adventure will like this story. They will also be led to Weber's Honor Harrington series which deals with one of Stephanie's descendants and also has treecats.(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult

I picked this book up at Half Price Books because I wanted something with more substance than the books I've been reading lately. I was tired of young adult books and I wanted some grown up science fiction. The joke's on me. A Beautiful Friendship could definitely be read by young adults because Stephanie Harrington is only 12-14 years old through the course of the book.

I love the Honorverse. I especially enjoy the relationship between Honor and her treecat, Nimitz. I really was looking forward...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Leons1701 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf

A minor rework of the novella of the same name from More than Honor plus a sequel to bring it to full novel length. The account of the first meeting between humans and treecats still works in the new form and the second adventure of Stephanie Harrington and Climbs Quickly (aka Lionheart) is quite solid. Although this is being pitched as a YA book, I'm not sure how well the average young reader will tolerate Weber's infodumps. Fortunately, there isn't as much of that here as in his more adult wor...more

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May 26, 2012 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, scifi

"A Beautiful Friendship" is a young adult science fiction adventure novel. I liked David Weber's early novels in his Honor Harrington series. His later novels were very slow paced with most of the action happening "off screen," so I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel. While I'm pleased that this novel didn't suffer from the same problems, the second half was a bit more slow-paced than I think most young adults would tolerate. The book also felt a little disjointed. Weber basically took p...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Joshua Mandell rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've already read Fire Season, to which this was the sequel. Although I knew that I was probably going to be missing some things, I just needed something to read at the time and my brother had a copy with him. Besides that, it provided enough back story that I could guess quite a few things about the plot of this book, if not in great detail. I still had no clue who Speaks Falsely was supposed to be, which confused me a little.

Now, reading this book, Fire Season seems to make a whole lot more se...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Benjamin Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult, advanced-reading-copy

David Weber's "Honorverse" currently consists of 12 novels in the Honor Harrington series (with the next one due to be published in 2012) plus 5 short story collections published in the "Worlds of Honor" anthologies. That huge amount of material is a great backstory with which to work and this first entry in a new Young Adult series starring one of Honor's ancesters takes full advantage.

Don't worry if you've never read any of the other books though. I've only recently read a couple and have enj...more

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Sep 22, 2012 J. Lynne rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I picked up this book, I expected to open the page to a more traditional, or worldly, science-fiction adventure. The only reason this book falls under the science-fiction category is because, technically, it does take place on a planet other than Earth. However, I was dismayed upon reading that neither Stephanie nor any of the main characters participate in interplanetary travel (except for a brief mention in the beginning). Neither did the plot center around technology. The science aspect...more

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Aug 04, 2011 William Bentrim rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber

Let me preface this by giving you my prejudice right up front, I am a major fan of David Weber and of anthropomorphism.

Anyone who has read the Honor Harrington books will recognize the name: Treecat. This book is Weber’s entry into the Young Adult genre and it details first contact with the Treecats.

Weber may quantify this book as YA but it certainly reads as well and as interesting as all of his books. The characters are well defined and evoke positive emo...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, kids

This was a fun read about Stephanie Harrington, Honor's ancestor who first formed a bond with the treecats when she was about 13. It covers about 1.5 years, maybe 2 of her life in 3 separate story arcs, although they look like one novel. If you enjoyed reading about Honor & Nimitz, you'll probably like this because only the names & the age have changed. Even the parents & friends seem pretty similar in most ways.

The story all takes place on Sphinx & ~~Nimitz~~ is about the same. ~~Hon~~...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read

I've read a fair amount of David Weber's stuff this year set in his Honorverse and following Honor Harrington, the heroine of the main series. Now we have the release of A Beautiful Friendship, the first in a new prequel teen series that focuses on one of Honor's ancestors, Stephanie Harrington. I'd heard about this a while back, but I hadn't read any of the Honorverse books at that time so I didn't pay it much attention. A bit of a mistake! Once I knew how much I enjoyed Weber's novels I got my...more I've read a fair amount of David Weber's stuff this year set in his Honorverse and following Honor Harrington, the heroine of the main series. Now we have the release of A Beautiful Friendship, the first in a new prequel teen series that focuses on one of Honor's ancestors, Stephanie Harrington. I'd heard about this a while back, but I hadn't read any of the Honorverse books at that time so I didn't pay it much attention. A bit of a mistake! Once I knew how much I enjoyed Weber's novels I got my order in for this straight away. My only real concern was whether or not I would be able to fully enjoy it knowing that it's the latest book written in such a large setting despite the prequel nature of the story. As is usually the case when I have these concerns there was no need at all. In fact, this is just about the perfect starting point...

Stephanie Harrington and her parents have recently moved to the Star Kingdom of Manticore, specifically the planet Sphinx within the binary system. Already the recipient of some genetic altering to live on a heavier gravity world, the Harrington family settles their homestead on the low populated frontier world. With a keen interest in the outdoors Stephanie is desperate to get out and about, but with Sphinx's native deadly species, such as the massive Hexapuma, her parents are not very keen on her venturing out on her own. Knowing that Stephanie won't disobey them, and trying to keep her mind active, they set her on the problem of the disappearing celery from human settlements around the planet. It isn't long before Stephanie discovers the mysterious thieves, and the possibility that Sphinx may already have its own sentient species in the treecats...

A Beautiful Friendship is partly based on the short story of the same name that appeared in one of the Honorverse anthologies and, while slightly amended, forms the first part of this new novel. I've not read the original story so I really didn't know what to expect other than a planet-based story focusing on a young main character. What struck me within the first few chapters was just how well it worked, how strong and interesting a character Stephanie is, and just how much I didn't know about the treecats!

Climbs Quickly is the main treecat character and it's through his eyes that we learn much about the history of human settlement on Sphinx and the way the treecats avoid and spy on the humans. We learn about their society, just how intelligent they are and, more importantly, just what they think of the humans, but this is an aspect that Climbs Quickly doesn't entirely agree with. Tasked to watch the two-legs we know as the Harrington’s, he ponders many things while in discussion with his clan mates and while alone, and it helps the story immensely. It's when, after a trap set by Stephanie, he is caught trying to take celery that the story really gets into gear.

The treecats of Sphinx are telepathic, and while they can talk to each other in this manner they can't do so with humans, although a strong bond can form between two of them, much like it does between mated treecats. It's interesting because it is a two-way bond, the human can also feel the treecat, although this does increase with time and is never full telepathy, more like empathy. The climax of the first part of the novel is down to this aspect and is thoroughly enjoyable, setting the scene for all that is to come.

While the human/treecat relationship is one of the larger focuses of the story, so is the possibility, from the humans point of view, of them being sentient. But it's an aspect that Stephanie, her parents, and the others close to treecats wish to take slowly and carefully, not wanting a repeat of the mass-slaughter that occurred when another human-settled planet discovered they may not be the rightful owners.

It's during these aspects of the story that I found it was confused with just what it wanted to be. A Beautiful Friendship is marketed as a teen series, and while having the lead character a young female lends itself to that area, the writing is not really suited. Sometimes it works well and flows nicely, but at other times Weber shows his usual style of info-dumping and getting into more adult and complex themes. Stephanie herself seems a little too old for her age because of this, and it does effect the overall enjoyment of the novel. Had it simply been marketed as a prequel to the Honorverse there would have been little issue, although the uneven pacing does stand out.

Overall I did thoroughly enjoy A Beautiful Friendship, but it's not without its faults. I've only read a few of the Honorverse books so I felt relatively comfortable with both the setting and Weber's style, although this is a clear departure from the military themes of the Honor Harrington novels. I think it's a perfect starting point for anyone new to the Honorverse, but is it representational of the other books? No. However, if you know this going in I can't see any reason why A Beautiful Friendship shouldn't be enjoyed to the maximum!(less)

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Aug 27, 2011 Lolly's rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine, young-adult, science-fiction

A dynamic action-adventure yarn featuring a precocious heroine and introducing a beguiling new animal companion. I came into this novel unaware and unfamiliar with David Weber's "Honorverse." Happily, I realized that wouldn't be a problem, as A Beautiful Friendship is whole unto itself, a novel one can read without needing an extensive grounding in the author's previous works.

Concerning the exploits of young Stephanie Harrington, precociously intelligent and occasionally irritatingly irrepressi...more A dynamic action-adventure yarn featuring a precocious heroine and introducing a beguiling new animal companion. I came into this novel unaware and unfamiliar with David Weber's "Honorverse." Happily, I realized that wouldn't be a problem, as A Beautiful Friendship is whole unto itself, a novel one can read without needing an extensive grounding in the author's previous works.

Concerning the exploits of young Stephanie Harrington, precociously intelligent and occasionally irritatingly irrepressible (to her parents, that is, who constantly try to keep her out of trouble, a usually futile experiment), and her bond with a member of the extraordinary species which shares her planet, a treecat by the name of Climbs Quickly, the book has a slow but steady build, leading to a satisfying climax and a not-too-dangling opening for future books. While occasionally the language could seem a bit...clunky, it was understandable considering it was coming from a perspective of a culture trying to describe human items using non-human terms. At other times, the narrative seemed a bit wordy, but for the most part the story moved along at a brisk clip, introducing characters and concepts in a steady pace. The villain was suitably villainous without being overtly so (no cackling, no mustache-twirling) and he had a satisfying comeuppance at the end of the tale. The best part of the story was, while Stephanie was clearly described as a young adult, a preteen at the beginning of the story, she is represented in a positive way, intelligent, determined, with a clear moral compass and sense of duty. Yes, she occasionally whines and pouts and she occasionally rebelled against her parents' restrictions--if she didn't, she wouldn't be realistic. However, that wasn't her whole character. The relationship between her and Climbs Quickly, though, is at the heart of the book and in it is where Stephanie truly blossoms into a fully-fleshed human being, not just a character who happens to interact with a cute and quirky new animal. From Climbs Quickly is where Stephanie, never a waffling sort of person, gets her sense of purpose: To protect the newly discovered species from the conflicting and potentially deadly interests of the many powerful political and private groups both on planet and off. Which gives us our second plotline of the book and a continuing thread of a story for any sequels.

In the end, although I'm not the demographic towards which this book is aimed, I still enjoyed it and found it to be a delightful introduction to Weber's Honorverse.(less)

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May 18, 2013 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Part of the reason I delve into YA fantasy and science fiction is that there is, at times, more variety, something at least a little different from what clogs the adult science fiction and fantasy book shelves. Oh, both are overrun with angst filled vampires etc. but I have discovered some fine authors via YA such as Ben Jeapes, Tamora PIerce, and Scott Westerfeld and Kenneth Oppel.

Which is part of the reason I decided to try David Weber's first attempt at a YA novel. I am familar with his popul...more Part of the reason I delve into YA fantasy and science fiction is that there is, at times, more variety, something at least a little different from what clogs the adult science fiction and fantasy book shelves. Oh, both are overrun with angst filled vampires etc. but I have discovered some fine authors via YA such as Ben Jeapes, Tamora PIerce, and Scott Westerfeld and Kenneth Oppel.

Which is part of the reason I decided to try David Weber's first attempt at a YA novel. I am familar with his popularity, and I've read one of his books, amusingly, not a Honor Harrington novel. I wanted to see how he handled the move from being primarily a military sci-fi author to a YA story.

Weber handles it well, not perfectly but well. While looking at some online reviews while reading the book, I understand this was, at least in part, a fix-up of short stories previously published about Honor Harrington's ancestor Stephanie Harrington.

Fourteen year old Stephanie is not pleased with her parents over their move to the relative new colony world of Sphinx. At the least it will stunt her desire to become a forest ranger, and she is an ill fit with others her age. The ill fit comes from her knowing that she is smarter than just about everyone in her peer group.

Events lead her to meeting a Sphinxian treecat, whom she names Lioneheart. The treecats are fully sentient and telepathic. Lionheart, Climbs Quickly as he is known among his people, is curious about the humans and wishes to find a way to communicate with them.

The hyper competence of some of the characters harkens back to an Asimov or Brin fault as writers (Neal Stephenson too come to think of it). Stephanie herself should realize that she had the advantage of more schooling than most of her Sphnxian peers as she came form an older colony world.

There are some pieces of politics in the book. If anything I think Weber, who at times sounds like a conservative in the book is also a proponent of preserving wildlife and ecology. Go figure.

To compare this to a Heinlein YA would not be inaccurate. So if you like those Heinlein books you'll likely enjoy this.(less)

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Feb 12, 2012 Jayna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Beautiful Friendship was an enjoyable listen (or read). It was definitely lighter than David Weber’s other novels, as you would expect for a YA book, but it still had the depth of history and politics behind it that you find in his adult books.
Stephanie Harrington (the protagonist) is an extraordinarily gifted and mature young woman, sometimes a bit much so for her age, although the book spans several years. She does have a few moments of impulsiveness, deviousness, and generally young adult...more

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Oct 12, 2012 TheBookSmugglers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction-awesomeness

Originally reviewed on Kirkus' Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog

Stephanie watched the intruder vanish with a sense of wonder which only grew as the creature disappeared. It was small, she thought—no more than sixty or seventy centimeters long, though its tail would probably double its body length... The celery snatcher might look like a teeny-tiny hexapuma, yet that net was proof the survey crews had missed the most important single facet of Sphinx. But that was all right. In fact, that was jus

...more Originally reviewed on Kirkus' Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog

Stephanie watched the intruder vanish with a sense of wonder which only grew as the creature disappeared. It was small, she thought—no more than sixty or seventy centimeters long, though its tail would probably double its body length... The celery snatcher might look like a teeny-tiny hexapuma, yet that net was proof the survey crews had missed the most important single facet of Sphinx. But that was all right. In fact, that was just fine. Their omission had abruptly transformed this world from a place of exile to the most marvelous, exciting place Stephanie Harrington could possibly have been, for she’d done something tonight which had happened only eleven other times in the fifteen centuries of mankind’s diaspora to the stars.

She’d just made first contact with a tool-using, clearly sentient, alien race.

Stephanie Harrington, the many-times over great-grandmother of Honor Harrington, is 12-terran-years-old and frustrated. Her family has freshly relocated from the major planet of Meyerdahl to the relatively uninhabited planet Sphinx in the Manticore system—well, uninhabited by humans, but home to a number of species of dangerous alien wildlife. Sphinx’s relatively small human population wouldn’t be a problem if Stephanie were allowed to explore the woods surrounding her new home or if her parents weren’t so busy working all the time, but alas, she’s placed under house arrest alone.

Left to her own devices, Stephanie decides to tackle a seemingly innocuous mystery—celery stalks are disappearing from greenhouses all over the planet—and takes it upon herself to catch the intrepid thieves. What she finds, however, will change everything: an intelligent, tool-wielding, feline species. More than that, this new ‘treecat’ species is eloquently telepathic and can form bonds with humans—like the one that forms between Stephanie and her celery thief, a treecat whom she names Lionheart (but is known as Climbs Quickly to his kind).

Stephanie’s discovery, though marvelous, comes with dire consequences for the treecats. The hotly contested creatures are pursued by greedy politicians, unscrupulous scientists and humans who mistakenly think of the ‘cute’ treecats as pets and not a sentient species. Climbs Quickly’s clan is also wary of the two-legs that have taken over their planet and the danger they could present for the treecat population overall. It is up to Stephanie, her family, Climbs Quickly and his allies within the treecat clan to define the bond between the two species protect the future for generations to come.

I have a major confession to make: I have never read an Honor Harrington book. Before A Beautiful Friendship, in fact, I’d never read a David Weber title. This is a horrid deficiency in my SFF reading, worthy of gasps of indignation and chucked rotted produce. BUT, fellow science fiction fans, let me assure you this is a deficiency that I intend to rectify immediately because Weber’s A Beautiful Friendship, the first in a new prequel series set in the Honorverse, is freakin’ fantastic.

I can safely say that A Beautiful Friendship is an excellent crossover science-fiction yarn that offers something for everyone—adventure-seekers, fans of political and military science fiction, animal lovers, young readers yearning for a central pair of awesome heroes. Weber gives precocious heroine Stephanie and treecat hero Climbs Quickly strong voices that are as fantastically engaging as they are clearly distinct—Stephanie with her impetuousness and passion, Climbs Quickly with his more seasoned and wary instincts. I love that A Beautiful Friendship shows not just the human side of the ensuing tensions, but treecat politics and interactions as well. The different treecat clans, customs and mores are all fascinating; for all that Climbs Quickly and his ilk are six-legged telepaths, treecats are not that different from the two-legged humans who have taken to their home planet. As the stakes get higher over the course of this first novel—with a whole universe of books involving the descendents of Stephanie and Climbs Quickly spanning distant star systems to come—I cannot wait to see where Weber steers this pair of unlikely friends next.

Even though I’m just discovering the Honorverse, I can safely say that Stephanie and Climbs Quickly are wholly deserving ancestors of Honor and Nimitz. Bring it on, Fire Season.

In Book Smugglerish, a resounding 8 out of 10.(less)

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Jan 18, 2012 Claudia rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

This is a real rip-off. The short story (that this was developed from?) is better, but still pretty lame.

So we've got colonists on a new world that's still a bit undomesticated. Nifty. But then why do they grill steaks and eat baked potatoes? Given the banal menus, why does the author spend so much time on the uninspired food? This isn't "world building", it's "world borrowing" of an incredibly obvious and lazy level.

Big chunks of this read as weapons porn. Maybe 'the kids today' have really ch...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars

Really loved this story even though it was targeted at the younger reader market. The "prequel" for the entire world of Honor Harrington Series. The description of the beginning of humanities relationship with the previously unknown telepathic Sphynxian Treecats is a fantastic precursor to the two dozen stand alone stories and full length novels making up what is euphemistically known as the "Honorverse"

David Weber created a fantastic set of engaging characters for us to enjoy and look forward t...more

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About David Weber

David 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...more

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Books by David Weber

On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington, #1)

The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington, #2)

The Short Victorious War (Honor Harrington, #3)

Field of Dishonor (Honor Harrington, #4)

Honor Among Enemies (Honor Harrington, #6)

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“She didn't know a lot about politics – yet – but she'd learned enough in her history classes to know politics could always be counted on to make a bad situation worse.” — 4 people liked it

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A Beautiful Friendship (Honorverse: Stephanie Harrington #1)

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