''Crown of Slaves'' is a 2003 novel by

David Weber David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best-known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nov ...

and

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed on ' ...

set in the

Honorverse The Honorverse is a military science fiction book series, its two subseries, two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. They are centered on the space navy career of the principal protagonist Ho ...

; it has been billed as the first in the ''Crown of Slaves'' series, spun off from the main

Honor Harrington The Honorverse is a military science fiction book series, its two Spin-off (media), subseries, two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. They are centered on the space navy career of the principal p ...

series. It features Honor herself only in a cameo role: other characters from the novels and several short stories take centre stage. These include Captain Anton Zilwicki and his adopted daughter Berry, introduced in '' From the Highlands'', and Ruth Winton, introduced in ''

Promised Land In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

''. "Jeremy X", the

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

leader of the Audubon Ballroom, and Victor Cachat, one of the Republic of Haven's most capable agents, also appear.

Plot summary

The novel continues the events that happened on ''From the Highlands'', and is set over the background of the fight against genetic slavery. The story begins after the truce between Manticore and Haven. Captain Zilwicki, his adopted daughter Berry, Princess Ruth Winton and the slave-turned-professor W.E.B. Du Havel are sent as Queen Elizabeth III's (not the Manticoran government's) official representatives to the funeral of a notorious Solarian anti-slavery activist, which will take place in Erewhon, a disgruntled member of the Manticoran Alliance. Erewhon's location between Manticore, Haven and the Solarian League makes it a place where agents from the different star nations can play the intelligence game. From the first moment, Zilwicki, Berry and Ruth get entangled in a complex situation involving Havenite agents, ambitious Solarian Navy officers, violent Masadan mercenaries, the Audubon Ballroom and the powerful Mesan corporation Manpower Incorporated. Each faction has interests of its own, which collide with those of the others: the Manticorans want to salvage their relation with Erewhon (and upset the Prime Minister who allowed that relationship to sour). The Havenites intend to show support for the anti-slavery cause and improve their own relationship with Erewhon, with the unstated goal of breaking Erewhon away from Manticore. The Erewhonese want someone — ''anyone'' — to help them deal with a Mesan-owned planet which is a threat to their security. The Solarian officers work to further the interests of a powerful political patron who believes that the League is on the verge of collapse and wants to be prepared for that event. The Mesans want to stay out of the limelight and prevent all the other factions from attacking their major industry: slave trading, while the Audubon Ballroom simply wants to hit Mesa anywhere they can. And even the Masadan mercenaries employed by the Mesans have their own agenda: to force Manticore to free several of their imprisoned companions. The clash of interests comes to a head with an attempted kidnapping on Berry Zilwicki and Ruth Winton (who happens to be the sister of the leader of the Masadan mercenaries) aboard ''The Wages of Sin'', Erewhon's main civilian space station. After Manpower's involvement is discovered, a haphazard alliance between the Manticorans, Solarians, Havenites and the Ballroom is organized to launch an attack on the Mesan-owned planet Verdant Vista, popularly known as "Congo". The planet is taken from Manpower's hands, and it is decided to transform it into an independent nation of its own for escaped slaves, so that the conflict against Mesa may have a nation sponsoring it. The novel ends with Berry Zilwicki being crowned as Berry I, Queen of the new Kingdom of Torch.

Reviews

* Review by Rochelle Buck (2003) in ''Deep Magic'', #18, November 2003 * (Polish): ''Nowa Fantastyka'' 12/2005, p. 70

External links

* An excerpt of ''Crown of Slaves'' is available for download or reading online at the

Baen Free Library The Baen Free Library is a digital library of the science fiction and fantasy publishing house Baen Books where 61 e-books as of June 2016 (112 e-books as of December 2008) can be downloaded free in a number of formats, without copy protection. It ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crown Of Slaves American science fiction novels Novels by Eric Flint Novels by David Weber Honorverse books 2003 American novels