To Honor You Call Us (Man of War Book #1) by H. Paul Honsinger

Science Fiction/Space Opera

From Goodreads:

"The Terran Union is engaged in a vast interstellar war against the Krag Ruthless aliens intent on exterminating humankind. In 2315, the wily Max Robichaux is given command of the USS Cumberland, a destroyer with state-of-the-art capabilities but a combat record so bad, she's known as the Cumberland Gap. Capt. Robichaux's first mission: to take his warship to the Free Corridor, where the Krag have secretly been buying strategic materials, and to seize or destroy any ships carrying enemy cargo. Far from the fleet and under enforced radio silence, Max relies only on his determination and guile and the support and friendship of his chief medical officer, the brilliant Dr. Sahin. Because even as he deals with the ship's onboard problems and the stress of carrying out her risky assignment, Max and the doctor discover that the Cumberland and her misfit crew are all that stands in the way of a deadly Krag attack that threatens to end the war?and humanity once and for all. A far-future story in the tradition of ships of wood, men of iron.  To Honor You Call Us and the Man of War series combine the adventure of exploration, the excitement of war, and the dangers of the unknown through the eyes of a ship and her crew."

To Honor You Call Us is a must read for any Military Science Fiction fan.  Honsinger takes some familiar themes and gives them a new twist.

To Honor You Call Us starts with our hero, Max Robichaux, leading a successful raid against the enemy and ending up the senior officer left alive on his spaceship making him the acting Captain.  Fast forward another chapter and Max is given command of the Cumberland, a problem ship that when faced with action against the enemy was noted to come, see and run.   Certainly a theme that has been used before. 

What makes this a good read is that after that the book develops its own voice and becomes a unique story. 

There is great world building worked into the story and plot.  Part of the world building is done with information dumps but they are kept to a paragraph or two and do not run pages and pages. I also like the explanation of why there were no women on the ships and how they felt it was a loss to the Navy that they were no long part of the space going service.

The characters are interesting and very well developed.  Expect the unexpected from some of the characters.  The roles they play are flexible and unique adding to the depth of the story line.

Then there are the aliens.  Look for a big surprise about the enemy about 2/3 of the way through the book.

The plot is set up for a series. Max and crew are successful at their mission but their mission is only a small part of the war.  That leaves the ending up in the air with a lot of room for the action in the next book.

I liked the writing.  As I said there were some information dumps but not enough to interfere with the flow of the story and all had information that was needed.  I found it very easy to read and keep up.  The writing was very much in an active voice and kept my attention throughout the book.  Pick up To Honor You Call Us for an enjoyable read.  Book Two, For Honor We Stand, is already out in one addition and will be released again by 47 North on March 11, 2014.

47 North published To Honor You Call Us by H. Paul Honsinger in 2013.