Wow, Weber hits the target.

I love strong female characters, and I've been in and out of the Honor Harrington books for ages. They are good, but I've always been left a bit ho-hum.

Something drew me towards this one, as I've always been interested in the back story of the tree-cats joining with the humans outlined in honor harrington, but without exposition.

This tale is as powerful and as emotive as, "The Host," by Stephenie Merry. Another story that shook me to my roots.

The beauty of the relationship between the tree-cat and the two leg, balanced against the risks of surviving on such a dangerous fantasy science-fiction world is a thrilling, wonderful ride. I listen a lot when I'm walking for exercise, one day I was so engrossed I did two extra (1 mile) laps:)

Khristine Hvam doesn't get in the way of the narrative, and just tells the story. As a result, the listener is focused on the drama, not the voice. In my book, that's a perfect reading. Nice Job.

I really love this book, I cannot wait till book two is released in late 2012.


brendan

29 people found this helpful

First Weber novel...WONT be the last!!!!

I originally purchased a hard back copy of this for my 11 year old daughter...knowing her taste in writers I knew it would be a good fit...I purchased it on audio so once she was done reading it she could listen to it--she enjoys re playing books-- I usually pre read or read books along with her so I know what she is reading and we talk about characters--I was not prepared to enjoy this book on the scale that I do...about 1/2 way thru I began resarching the author and currently have 2 of his Honor series in my wish list--now I am eagerly awaiting credit time! Highly recommended for kids and mom's too (thinking dad's might like it as well)

I think it only fair to share the one negative--there are some awkward pauses in the recording (editing I believe) that are long enough that I checked to make sure I had not drained my battery...it is not terrible by any means...that is why the performance received only 4 stars..

27 people found this helpful

VERY ENTERTAINING

An excellent book to read in an afternoon. I'd highly recommend it. I've always enjoyed Weber's novels and he hasn't disappointed me this time. The reader is fabulous. My only complaint is when is the next in this series coming out. A definite read!

17 people found this helpful

Loved, Loved This Book! (Tree Cats Rock!)

This story was great. It was fun and fast paced enough to keep my attention. Weber created characters that are about as realistic as possible given the sci-fi universe in which they dwell. They are internally consistent, well developed, and multidimensional. No flawless goody-two-shoes in the Star Kingdom … and that includes the tree cats! Having already read the Honor Harrington books I have wanted to know more about these endearing creatures. A Beautiful Friendship does a great job explaining the beginnings of the human/tree cat relationship.

It is possible that someone reading this before any of the Honor series might have some difficulty understanding this universe, but I doubt it. I am glad I read the Honor books first, but I suspect starting with this book would be just as satisfying.

All in all, this is a very entertaining book. The narrator was very good. She gave different voices to the characters without the accents being too intrusive. I really liked the way she portrayed the tree cats. I think there might have been a risk of the cats seeming like childish “animals.” However, she managed to avoid that and depict them as very small adults.

I can't wait for the next book in this series.

23 people found this helpful

Great Book

This is a very good book. Unlike the Safehold series there is almost no action, however even an action fan liek me enjoyed this book. The character development is astounding, even in the treecat's view. My only issue is that it is relatively shorter than the Safehold series, but I would still put it very high on my top 10 list. The choice for a narrator is also great, she was also able to pull of the male voices with enough definition that if the next spoken line was also a guy you could tell it was different person. I believe this series will be very close to Safehold in my favorite series list, and that alone is complement enough.

14 people found this helpful

Painfully simplistic YA lit.

I recently listened to Fuzzy Nation by Scalzi. The subject matter is much the same--first contact with a lovable, sapient species faced with the potential predations of the sleazier elements in humankind. Scalzi managed to overcome my initial, strong resistance to the Ewok syndrome. He was scupulously careful about not violating his own descriptions of the problem of communicating with the new species. His dialogue was witty, entertaining, and believable. And even his villains had a certain amount of human ambiguity built into them. This book, on the other hand, had none of these strengths. Add to that the fact that a great deal of it is devoted to the very predictable and unimaginative preteen angst of a gifted, pristinely "good" 11-14 year old girl, and I was ready for the end long before the end.

I have read one of the Honor Harrington books and found it much better than this effort. This book might be great for a preteen girl (though I think either of my daughters would have been nearly as bored as I was), but unless you are adicted to cute or to re-examining the struggles of pre-adolescence, I would advise you to look elsewhere. Obviously I am in a distinct minority here, so you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt.

41 people found this helpful

The start of a very good series

If you liked the Honnor Harrington series, you will love this new series. The stars have different names but this is Honor as a teenager when she first met the tree cats. Many of the names are different, but the crossover's are along the same story line. For example: she calls her cat "Stinker". If you haven't herd the Honnor Harrington series I believe most will still enjoy this very much as it is a stand alone series. I am looking forward to and am sure I will purchase the rest of the series as they come out.

11 people found this helpful

A great listen that goes by too quickly

If you are not familiar with David Weber's work or Honnervers, this is a great place to start. I have to warn you, once your hooked you will be hook by the great writing and the wonderful plot lines of Honnervers and the story lines.

13 people found this helpful

A well-written introduction into the Honorverse

Where does A Beautiful Friendship rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would say that it ranks on the upper tier of my favorites.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Who else? Stephanie

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

She did an impressive job of imitating a young girl.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, not cry, but occasionally it made me laugh or listen intently to a specific part. One interesting thing about audiobooks- there's no stopping them. So when a moving part comes along, you just have to listen carefully.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth it, since I wanted to get a start in the Honorverse where it all began, and this book fulfilled that.

3 people found this helpful

Great story, well done

David Webber does it again. Easy to listen to, takes you away to a good place.

7 people found this helpful