Book Review: Challenges by David Weber

Challenges
Author: David Weber et al.
Series: Honor Harrington - Worlds of Honor (Book 8)
Publication: Baen Books (November 4, 2025)

Description: THE HOTTEST MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES OF ALL TIME CONTINUES WITH A COLLECTION OF TALES SET IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE STAR KINGDOM OF DAVID WEBER’S NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING HONORVERSE

In Honor Harrington’s day, the Star Kingdom of Manticore is the wealthiest star nation on a per capita basis in the entire galaxy. It is home to magnificent cities. Its planets’ oceans and seas—and skies—are open to its people, yet they have maintained the beauty and the magnificence of their natural habitats.

But that was not always true. Pioneers, especially interstellar pioneers, must be tough, smart, and self-reliant, and the people who built the Star Kingdom knew that. They prepared carefully for their enormous voyage, incorporated every measure they could think of, and even so, their new worlds did their best to kill them all. They very nearly succeeded, as the Plague Years pushed the human interlopers to the very brink of survival, forcing them to grow and change in ways they never could have anticipated.

In the process, they became the people who could one day produce Honor Harrington, Elizabeth Winton, and the remarkable people willing to stand in the path of the People’s Republic of Haven’s insatiable advance . . . and then to ally with the Republic, when both of them learned who their true enemy was. In many ways, that fortitude was the inevitable result of a star nation that learned early on that what truly matters is the way one faces the challenges the universe throws at one.These are the stories of people who learned that lesson, and met—and triumphed—over every challenge of their new homes.

All original stories by: David Weber, Marisa Wolf, Jacob Holo, Dan Butler, Thomas Pope, and Jane Lindskold.

My Thoughts: This eighth collection in the Worlds of Honor series includes five stories by a variety of authors who play around in the world created by David Weber including Weber himself.

One Controllable Step by Marisa Wolf -- In the very earliest years of settlement on Manticore a plague nearly wipes out the population. This is the story of some of the doctors sent from the planet of Beowulf who need to find a cure.

Deadly Delusions by Jane Lindskold -- This story also occurs early in Manticore's history. Stephanie Harrington has bonded with her treecat and another young woman is jealous of her and wants a treecat of her own. She and her sister play dangerous pranks at a nearby research station with different goals. The older sister is angry that they fired her after getting the plant set up; the younger believes the station is interfering with her beloved treecats. 

The Great Condiment Caper by Jacob Holo and Thomas Pope -- Even the greatest heroes of Manticore's history are ensigns at one time. This is the story of Ensign Edward Saganami on his first tour. He's assigned to Stores and needs to track down a missing case of barbecue sauce before Chicken Finger Friday is ruined. 

XO by Daniel Allen Butler -- This is another story about the younger days of a character seen later in the series. Lieutenant Commander D'Orville assumes command of a ship when her captain is disabled by a medical emergency. The mission is to keep track of bad actors in nearby systems. When she spots pirates attacking a slaver, she has to decide which orders to follow - the ones she swore an oath to when she was commissioned, or the ones given her by the politically driven command. 

Crystal Singer's Song by David Weber - This is also a story from the earliest years. In the early days of the Forest Service, a young woman is tasked with bringing emergency supplies to a remote homestead during a storm. Her ship goes off course and crashes into a remote island. There she discovers treecats and calls them treefoxes. She is marooned but not alone since the treecats befriend her. She spends the rest of her life there teaching the treecats to make effective tools, plant gardens, net fish and fire pottery. She would be lost to history if one of treecats' memory singers didn't recover that deeply buried memory and share it with Lady Dame Honor Alexander-Harrington, Duchess and Steadholder Harrington.

All of the stories were excellent. Crystal Singer's Song brought me to tears.

I bought this one November 4. You can buy your copy here.