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Archive-name: sf/david-weber
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Last-modified: 10 December 2001
Version: 1.5
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Copyright: (c) 1999, 2000, 2001 Cynthia Gonsalves/Daniel Bernstein
Maintainer: Cynthia Gonsalves
Going Up in a Ball of Plasma or
the alt.books.david-weber FAQ
Last Revision by: Daniel Bernstein (Deputy Mad Archivist)
Mirrors are available at:
http://weberfaq.thefifthimperium.com/ courtesy of Joe Buckley.
http://www.nimitz.net/weberfaq.html courtesy of Randy and Anne
Kaelber.
There is a non-US mirror site available with the generous
assistance of Mike Richards. The URL is:
http://www.z9m9z.demon.co.uk/weberfaq.htm.
Hi there and welcome to alt.books.david-weber!
Table of Contents
1) Introduction (history, partial cast of characters, general
guidelines)
2) Books, series, and other published miscellany
3) When, oh when, is the next book coming out?
4) Is David doing book tours?
5) In what order should I read his books (by series)?
6) Basic Netiquette or How to Save the Weapons for the Fictional
Enemy
7) The Thread that Cannot/Will Not Die: Casting the Honor
Harrington Movie
8) Spoiler Protection
9) Other Authors
10) Other DW Resources on the Net/Web
11) Miscellaneous Stuff
12) The Filks
13) The Great ABD-W Typo Hunt
14) Frogs and Buzzards and Tortoises, oh my!
15) ABDW Acronyms
16) Thanks/Acknowledgements for FAQ help
1) Introduction (history, partial cast of characters, general
guidelines)
* 1.1) History
I'm willing to court graser fire, missile pods and other
flamage and release a FAQ for the new recruits. Please feel
free to email me with suggestions and corrections at the
address given at the beginning of this article.
Through the benevolence of the Usenet Deities, abd-w was
formed in June of 1997 (June 12th to be exact, and the
person who initiated the ng creation was David Ball) so that
Weber fans wouldn't have to wade through the masses of
postings in rec.arts.sf.written looking for tidbits. Of
course, that hasn't stopped many of us from lurking and
posting in rasfw, but now we have a place in cyberspace to
call our own. It seems that abd-w is actually fairly high
traffic for a group in the alt.books hierarchy, we are a
chatty bunch, even when there's no new stuff out. Right now,
it happens to be one of the busiest groups on my watch list!
Also, abd-w has been blessed with the presence of the
Master of Honor's Universe himself (aka Big Wizard Dave,
Himself, MWW, HWKABSM (see ABDW acronyms), etc.) when he's
not working on his next anxiously awaited release. Other
members of Dave's family or friends have been known to post
as well, and are sometimes privy to and allowed to give out
tantalizing little news releases (news releases that aren't
allowed are a form of snerking (see section 14 for a link to
the ROMANCE web page, which explains the concept)).
1.2) Other Important People
Family and friends of David Weber who play in our
cybersandbox include:
o Mike Weber-yes, they're related. Mike's four years
older than David and doesn't let his younger brother
the author forget it.
o Sue Phillips-David's sister-in-law.
New recruits may wonder who Navbuoy was:
David Weber delurked briefly just after the release
of Echoes of Honor to tell us all that his good friend
Richard Maxwell, who used the screen name Navbuoy and
was a prolific contributor to abd-w, had been killed in
a skydiving accident on September 17th, 1998.
Richard had recently won an official red shirt when
his namesake character was killed off in Echoes of
Honor; David told us that Richard was laughing his butt
off in the spring when he saw the manuscript. He also
cheerfully bore the brunt of all the lawyer jokes
thrown at him for being our resident legal eagle and
gave us the background on how he earned the nickname of
the Man Who Dropped the Spanner in real life.
Richard also had done some postings on Baen's Bar,
but abd-w was his major hangout. Navbuoy's posts were
universally considered worth reading for their wit and
skill. His contributions to our portion of fandom are
sorely missed by all of us in the newsgroup as well as
by the denizens of Aegys' discussion board.
To absent friends, Richard! And his Ranger comrades
remind us that Rangers always lead the way....
* 1.3) General Guidelines
Discussion of the Weber books, especially when a book
comes out, can come at a fast and furious pace and often
features attention to minutiae. Some of us have found typos
to nitpick, and as a reward, it has been suggested that the
nitpickers get the proverbial red shirt (remember the
anonymous Classic Trek person who inspires the phrase, "He's
dead, Jim") and become part of the casualty list of the
inevitable death ride or shootout in the next book (a
practice also known as Tuckerization in fannish lore).
There's a section later on in the FAQ that has the most
egregious typos found to date. Happy hunting, hope you look
good in red!
* 1.4) Fanfic
Note to the newsgroup: A recent inquiry about the
implications of posting fanfiction and story ideas in the
group brought up some serious issues that needed to be
addressed promptly. David Weber himself was kind enough to
delurk at the behest of some of us and gave me a prompt
response to the ramifications of fanfiction and story idea
postings on his work. Since this comes from the author
himself, I believe that David's wishes ought to be respected
and that we should not post fanfiction and story ideas to
abd-w. Failure to abide by these guidelines could make it
more difficult for David to continue with the stories we all
enjoy so much and we would no longer have the pleasure of
his company when his schedule permits. Let it be written,
let it be so. Ken Nixon suggests that "In case someone
didn't read the FAQ, and DID post fanfic, I suggest that you
recommend that EVERYONE IGNORE IT! It will make it much
easier for DW to ignore it if there aren't 10 million
complaint posts from others....." Probably a good guideline
to work from, we haven't had a real problem yet, but it's
better to be safe.
David's message follows:
For general information (ie, YOU decide what to do
with the info, Oh Archivist), fanfic poses all sorts of
problems for an author, and not just of the "how dare
you publish in MY universe" sort of hurt feelings.
As Mike pointed out in his post, it leads to a
situation in which an author can be accused of "ripping
off" someone else's idea, which can both impugn his/her
honesty and even lead to ugly courtroom scenes as some
non-pro attempts to sue because his or her original
idea was "stolen" by a pro. (This has actually
happened.) It would also be possible for a pro actually
TO rip off an idea, perhaps without even realizing that
he or she has done so. (I have never seen any actual
documentation of such an event, but I HAVE seen a
couple of stories, by authors who shall remain
nameless, in which I personally suspect that that is
precisely what happened.)
Even more importantly, the publication (even in
electronic form) of fiction based on a writer's work,
without the specific, documented permission of said
writer (on a case-by-case basis) can void the writer's
copyright. This has actually happened, and does not
represent mere paranoid fantasy on my part. Nor am I
the only writer concerned about it. Misty Lackey, for
example, has a legal contract form drawn up which
anyone publishing fanfic in her universe(s) is required
to sign and return to her before they may use any of
her material. (I have a copy of it thumbtacked to my
wall for use as a model if I ever decide to go that
way.) Anyone who publishes WITHOUT said signed contract
is in violation of her copyright and she will, if it
comes to her attention, take legal action against them.
(Mind, I suspect many authors in such a position might
take some pains to avoid having the unapproved fanfic
come to his/her attention if he/she believes the fans'
intentions were pure, but there is a limit to how many
times someone can look the other way and still convince
a judge, at need, that his/her ignorance was genuine.)
I deeply regret that this should be the case, as
fanfic is often at least as imaginative and enjoyable
as anything the writer who created the
character/universe/whatever is likely to turn out. It
is also rather flattering to an author to know that
other people want to come over and play at his house,
as it were. Unfortunately, the situation has become
such that a writer cannot allow the free use of his
universe without risking the loss of his own rights to
it, and so I must regretfully ask that no fanfic appear
on this group. Should that happen, I would have only
two choices: (a) to take legal action (which I would
hate to do and would endeavor to make as painless as
possible for all concerned), or (b) leave the group and
not return, as the only way I could avoid taking legal
action NOW and still be in a position to defend my
copyright down the road at need would be to avoid
learning that the fiction was being published,
electronically or otherwise. Since I would like to lurk
and keep an eye on what's happening whenever projects
(and things like weddings and house buying expeditions)
allow me the time, I would very much appreciate it if
it didn't happen here.
Again, my sincere regrets at having to take this
position. I checked with my attorney when the matter
first came up for me a couple of years ago, however,
and he confirms what Baen, Misty, Roger Zelazny, Fred
Saberhagen, and several other pros had all told me on
previous occasions. With that much experienced opinion
on one side of the question, I see no choice but to
believe they know what they're talking about.
Take Care,
David
2) Books, series, and other published miscellany
David Weber's published books to date (all are available
through amazon.com or bug your local bookstore). Hardback
editions are specially flagged, all dates are for US/Canadian
releases only.
* 2.1. Book info
o 2.1.1. Honor Harrington
+ 2.1.1.1. On Basilisk Station (Baen, 04/1993, ISBN
0-671-72163-1, special paperback reprint 10/1998,
ISBN 0-671-57772-7(out of print as of 09/1999),
hardback release 02/1999, ISBN 0-671-57793-X)
+ 2.1.1.2. Honor of the Queen (Baen, 06/1993, ISBN
0-671-72172-0)
+ 2.1.1.3. The Short Victorious War (Baen, 04/1994,
ISBN 0-671-87596-5)
+ 2.1.1.4. Field of Dishonor (Baen, 10/1994, ISBN
0-671-87624-4, hardback special edition 10/1999,
ISBN 0-671-57820-0)
+ 2.1.1.5. Flag in Exile (Baen, 09/1995, ISBN
0-671-87681-3)
+ 2.1.1.6. Honor Among Enemies (Baen, hardback
06/1996, ISBN 0-671-87723-2, paperback 06/1997,
ISBN 0-671-87783-6)
+ 2.1.1.7. In Enemy Hands (Baen, hardback 08/1997,
ISBN 0-671-87793-3, paperback 10/1998, ISBN
0-671-57770-0)
+ 2.1.1.8. More Than Honor (anthology with David
Drake and S. M. Stirling, Baen, 01/1998, ISBN
0-671-87857-3)
+ 2.1.1.9. Echoes of Honor (Baen, hardback 10/1998,
ISBN 0-671-87892-1, paperback 10/1999, ISBN
0-671-57833-2)
+ 2.1.1.10. Worlds of Honor (anthology with Linda
Evans, Jane Lindskold, and Roland Green, Baen,
hardback 02/1999, ISBN 0-671-57786-7)
+ 2.1.1.11. Ashes of Victory (Baen, 03/2000
hardback, ISBN 0-671-57854-5, 03/2001 paperback,
0-671-31977-9)
+ 2.1.1.12. Changer of Worlds (anthology with Eric
Flint, 03/2001 hardback, ISBN 0-671-31975-2,
02/2002 paperback, 0-7434-3520-6)
o 2.1.2. Dahak/Fifth Imperium
+ 2.1.2.1. Mutineer's Moon (Baen, 10/1994 reissue,
ISBN 0-671-72085-6)
+ 2.1.2.2. The Armageddon Inheritance (Baen,
10/1994, ISBN 0-671-72197-6)
+ 2.1.2.3. Heirs of Empire (Baen, 03/1996, ISBN
0-671-87707-0)
o 2.1.3. The Lay of Bahzell Bloody-Hand
+ 2.1.3.1. Oath of Swords (Baen, 02/1995, ISBN
0-671-87642-2)
+ 2.1.3.2. The War God's Own (Baen, 05/1998
hardback, ISBN 0-671-87873-5, 02/1999 paperback,
ISBN 0-671-57792-1)
o 2.1.4. Path of the Fury (Baen, 12/1992, ISBN
0-671-72147-X)
o 2.1.5. Starfire (books written with Steve White)
+ 2.1.5.1. Crusade (Baen, 03/1992 reprint, ISBN
0-671-72111-9)
+ 2.1.5.2. Insurrection (Baen, 03/1993, ISBN
0-671-72024-4)
+ 2.1.5.3. In Death Ground (Baen, 05/1997, ISBN
0-671-87779-8)
+ 2.1.5.4. The Shiva Option (Baen, 02/2002 hardback,
ISBN 0-671-31848-9)
o 2.1.6. The Apocalypse Troll (Baen, 01/1999 hardback,
ISBN 0-671-57782-4, 01/2000 paperback, 0-671-57845-6)
o 2.1.7. The March Series (books written with John Ringo)
+ 2.1.7.1. March Upcountry (Baen, 05/2001 hardback,
ISBN 0-671-31985-X, 05/2002 paperback,
0-7434-3538-9)
+ 2.1.7.2. March to the Sea (Baen, 08/2001 hardback,
ISBN 0-671-31826-8, 08/2002 paperback, ISBN not
yet known)
o 2.1.8. The Excalibur Alternative (Baen, 01/2002
hardback, ISBN 0-671-31860-8)
o 2.1.9. The Warmasters (anthology with David Drake and
Eric Flint, Baen, 02/2002 hardback, ISBN 0-7434-3534-6)
o 2.1.10. Other Short Stories
+ 2.1.10.1. "Miles to Go" in Bolos anthology #3, The
Triumphant (Pocket, 09/1995, ISBN 0-671-87683-X)
+ 2.1.10.2. "The Traitor" and "A Time to Kill" in
Bolos anthology #4, Last Stand (Baen, 03/1997,
ISBN 0-671-87760-7)
+ 2.1.10.3. "The Captain from Kirkbean" in Alternate
Generals, (Baen, edited by Martin Greenberg,
Roland Green, and Harry Turtledove, 08/1998, ISBN
0-671-87886-7)
+ 2.1.10.4. "A Certain Talent" in The Williamson
Effect, (Tor, edited by Roger Zelazny, 1996, ISBN
0-312-85748-9, out of print as of 09/1999)
* 2.2. Subject header tags (got any better suggestions, let me
know!)
It's not always convenient to write out the entire title
when referring to a book. These are the abbreviations that
have been picked up by the members of the group. It has been
suggested that both the series number and title abreviation
be used for easier remembering, although where it's not
ambiguous, the title alone is usually used.
o 2.2.1. Honor Harrington
+ 2.2.1.1. HH1/OBS for On Basilisk Station
+ 2.2.1.2. HH2/HotQ for Honor of the Queen
+ 2.2.1.3. HH3/SVW for The Short Victorious War
+ 2.2.1.4. HH4/FoD for Field of Dishonor
+ 2.2.1.5. HH5/FiE for Flag in Exile
+ 2.2.1.6. HH6/HAE for Honor Among Enemies
+ 2.2.1.7. HH7/IEH for In Enemy Hands
+ 2.2.1.8. HH/MTH for the anthology More than Honor
+ 2.2.1.9. HH8/EoH for Echoes of Honor
+ 2.2.1.10. HH/WoH for the anthology Worlds of Honor
+ 2.2.1.11. HH9/AoV for Ashes of Victory
+ 2.2.1.12. HH/Changer or CoW for Changer of
Worldsfs
o 2.2.2. Dahak
+ 2.2.2.1. D/MM for Mutineer's Moon
+ 2.2.2.2. D/AI for The Armageddon Inheritance
+ 2.2.2.3. D/HoE for Heirs of Empire
o 2.2.3. The Lay of Bahzell Bloody-Hand
+ 2.2.3.1. O1/OoS for Oath of Swords
+ 2.2.3.2. O2/WGO for The War God's Own
o 2.2.4. Path of the Fury
+ 2.2.4.1. PotF or Fury-it's short, sweet, and to
the point
o 2.2.5. Starfire
+ 2.2.5.1. S/C for Crusade
+ 2.2.5.2. S/I for Insurrection
+ 2.2.5.3. S/IDG for In Death Ground
+ 2.2.5.4. S/TSO for The Shiva Option
o 2.2.6. The Apocalypse Troll
+ 2.2.6.1. AT or Troll for The Apocalypse Troll
o 2.2.7. The March Series
+ 2.2.7.1. M/MU for March Upcountry
+ 2.2.7.2. M/MttS for March to the Sea
o 2.2.8. The Excalibur Alternative
+ 2.2.8.1. TEA. Thirsty, anyone?
3) When, oh when, is the next book coming out?
* 3.1 All of the early HH books are being re-released in
hardback. Rumour (based on the December issue of Locus) has
it that the next one is The Short Victorious War, due in
June 2002.
* 3.2. The next HH book, tentatively titled War of Honor, is
rumoured to be coming out about July 2002.
* 3.3. David has said that the next book on his schedule will
be in Norfressa with Bahzell -- but he hasn't yet started
writing it, so he may get sidetracked. Let's hope he
doesn't...
4) Is David doing book tours?
* 4.1. The book tours happen when David isn't writing. David's
doing a lot of that now, so don't expect much.
* 4.2. David was the Guest of Honor (apt title, yes?) at
CopperCon in Scottsdale, AZ in September of 1999.
5) In what order should I read his books (by series)?
* 5.1. Honor Harrington
o 5.1.1. Order of publication seems to be the best way to
do this. This series really does need to be read in
order, because there are *tons* of references to past
events in the later books.
o 5.1.2. The anthology More Than Honor should probably be
read after In Enemy Hands, the 7th novel. Even though
there are no stories featuring Honor herself, one of
the stories (S.M. Stirling's) would be a spoiler for
parts of In Enemy Hands and the subject of Weber's
novella was first alluded to in Field of Dishonor.
o 5.1.3. The second anthology Worlds of Honor is less
spoilerish for the books, but perhaps waiting until
after Field of Dishonor would be best.
o 5.1.4. I wouldn't read the Changer of Worlds anthology
until after Ashes of Victory. One of the stories David
wrote there is a story that's skipped over in AoV, and
gives away significant events in that book.
* 5.2. Dahak/Fifth Imperium
o 5.2.1. I suggest reading them in order of publication,
Mutineer's Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance, then Heirs
of Empire.
* 5.3. Path of the Fury
o 5.3.1. There is just one book to date in this universe.
* 5.4. The Lay of Bahzell Bloody-Hand
o 5.4.1. Oath of Swords, then The War God's Own.
* 5.5. Starfire
o 5.5.1. Dan Cannata the Offog suggested that following
the chronology in this universe instead of publication
order is the way to go....makes sense to me, so here
goes: Crusade, In Death Ground, The Shiva Option, and
then Insurrection.
* 5.6. The March Series
o 5.6.1. March Upcountry, then March to the Sea.
6) Basic Netiquette or How to Save the Weapons for the Fictional
Enemy
* 6.1. Navbuoy was a master at wittily disagreeing with
people's points without resorting to personal attacks; we
can do well to honor Richard's memory by emulating his
style.
* 6.2. Kate Collins recommends visiting alt.callahans and
reading their FAQ on flamewars.
* 6.3. Flame War Prevention aka Do Not Feed The Trolls 101
o 6.3.1. Basic Definition
+ 6.3.1.1. Flame wars are nasty, brutish things.
They clog up the incoming message spool and
distort the meaningful signal to noise ratio
beyond recognition. Old friends get frustrated and
leave, possible new friends get scared away and
never come back.
+ 6.3.1.2. They are not to be confused with
spirited, yet polite, arguments. If we couldn't
debate various aspects of the Mad Wizard's works
or even have fun with off-topic discussions, what
good would the newsgroup be?
o 6.3.2 What characterizes a flame war?
+ 6.3.2.1. Most of the time, they are abetted by a
troll, who is a person who absolutely delights in
escalating responses to real or imagined slights
and insists that he or she absolutely, positively,
has to get the last word in edgewise.
+ 6.3.2.2. Often, the use of profanity reaches
critical mass, and even people who aren't usually
bothered by those words observe that things have
gone too far.
+ 6.3.2.3. In heated arguments, one participant
forcefully objects to another participant's
arguments and opinions. In flame wars, the insults
are directed at a person, rather than at a
person's opinions (thanks to the Wombat Woman for
this definition).
o 6.3.3. So, how do you put out a smoldering or worse
yet, rapidly burning flame war?
+ 6.3.3.1. Watch your language in your postings.
Some groups tolerate a certain level of profanity,
but abd-w since its inception has been a newsgroup
where George Carlin's seven words and other
related invective have not been put in play very
often.
+ 6.3.3.2. Unless you modify the header in your
message with something like "X-no-archive = yes",
your posting gets archived by DejaNews and/or
related search engines. Do you *really* want all
of cyberspace who's curious enough to search out
read your profile to note you as a person to be
avoided because your messages are so filled with
nastiness? Should electrons be diverted to
enshrine your incoherent screeds?
+ 6.3.3.3. If you're the recipient of flamage,
you've got a much harder job than the troll who is
wasting bandwidth in the attack. You've got to
*not* respond. Bite your lip. Sit on your hands.
Close your newsreader, turn off your computer, and
walk away if you have to. Trolls thrive on the
quickly dashed off response filled with emotion.
They aren't susceptible to elegantly reasoned out
appeals to amend their bad behavior.
+ 6.3.3.3.1. Think of this as a high-tech
adaptation of the Amish practice of shunning.
You ignore the offender until one of two
events occur. Either the troll moves on to
more flammable newsgroups, or somewhat less
likely (but a ethically superior event),
notices that its bad behavior has cost it the
companionship of its former comrades. If by
some happy chance, the recovered troll goes
back to posting interesting and enjoyable
messages, welcome it back by responding in a
similar fashion. It knows it crossed the
line, and it has paid the price.
+ 6.3.3.4. I've noticed several instances in my time
online where newcomers to groups do something that
violates the group's norms, get *plonked* by the
regulars, but sit back and figure out where they
messed up. They amend their styles and become
welcome members of the group.
+ 6.3.3.5. As for the unrepentant trolls, no big
loss if they leave. Really. They may or may not
get a clue, but you don't have to invest any
psychic, spiritual, mental, or electrical energy
on them. Only time will tell for them.
+ 6.3.3.6. Killfiles (if your newsreader supports
them) and marking the offending thread "to be
ignored" are good things. Use these features. If
you don't smell the smoke, you won't get upset and
fan the flames higher.
o 6.3.4. If you find yourself on the sidelines watching,
you've got to follow the guidelines in 5.3.3 too. If
you want to support the person or persons attacked, a
brief email off the group, especially if you respect
how the person is not making matters worse, will
probably encourage them and help them persevere.
Publicly taking sides against the troll ends up feeding
its sense of "me against a cold cruel world" and things
get worse.
o 6.3.5. Don't think that we are advocating mindless
conformity and sycophancy here, because we're not.
We've had truly free- wheeling discussions, and people
have been quite passionate in defense of their views.
The goal should be always to avoid personal attacks and
accept the fact that not every person in the group is
in complete alignment with your world view. We're all
brought together here because we enjoy the Mad Wizard's
works, and while we're on this common ground, we're all
welcome to pitch our tents and stay a while.
* 6.4. Wombat Flinging
o 6.4.1. In a past flame war, Wombat Woman flung herself
into the fray as a warning to the group that things
were going too far. Her commentary about this series of
events is as follows:
+ 6.4.1.1. I admit to a bit of concern about wombat
FLINGing. This is something that apparently
started in jest while I was off the NG for a
couple of weeks. My return and resulting discovery
of the thread coincided with the recent flame war,
and so the wombat was flung. Now what? While I
don't have an objection to playing referee, I'd
rather not become a NG nazi--or a self-righteous
troll.
+ 6.4.1.2. In the most recent situation, I did not
FLING myself into the fray until two separate and
non-flaming NG members suggested it. I limited
myself to a single posting in which I attempted to
define non-acceptable behaviour. I attempted to
inject a little bit of humor in hopes of dampening
the flame.
+ 6.4.1.3. *If* I ever resort to FLINGing again, I
will again wait until other NG members suggest it.
I will only post once. I will attempt to use humor
to defuse the situation. My purpose in posting
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