David Mark Weber American writer, satirist, science fiction writer. Date of Birth: 24.10.1952 Country: USA

1. Biography of David Mark Weber
2. Literary Specialization
3. Favorite Authors and Hobbies
4. The Honor Harrington Universe

Biography of David Mark Weber

David Weber is an American writer, satirist, and science fiction author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and studied history, English literature, political science, sociology, and comparative religion in college. Weber's early influences in science fiction came from the works of Edward "Doc" Smith and Jack Williamson, but he considers Henry Beam Piper, Keith Laumer, and Robert Heinlein to have had the greatest impact on his writing.

Literary Specialization

Weber's main literary specialization is military science fiction. He believes it is crucial to perceive war as something repugnant and cruel, and that there should be a damn good reason to start one. His first publication in science fiction was the novel "Insurrection" (1990), co-written with Steve White. Unlike his co-author, Weber does not have any real military experience, but he considers the destruction of human potential as one of the greatest tragedies of war.

Favorite Authors and Hobbies

Weber's favorite authors include Anne McCaffrey, David Drake, Tom Clancy, Melinda Sondgrass, Paula Anderson, and Mercedes Lackey. His hobbies include studying military history, a subject he has devoted nearly thirty years to, and his favorite pets are cats and dogs. Weber currently resides in Greensville, Southern California.

The Honor Harrington Universe

The Honor Harrington series is set in a distant future, roughly the 20th century of the Settlement Era (4000 BCE). Since the launch of the first starship in 2103, humanity has spread throughout the galaxy, forming numerous sovereign star nations. The main events of the series revolve around the character of Victoria (Honor) Harrington, a talented officer of the Star Kingdom of Manticore. The small but prosperous Star Kingdom finds itself on the path of expansion against the dangerous enemy, the People's Republic of Haven, whose rulers seek to conquer new territories to save their crumbling regime.

The use of hyperspace plays a significant role in Weber's universe. Hyperspace is a compressed projection of normal space, where each point in hyperspace corresponds to a specific point in normal space. The relative distances between points in hyperspace are smaller, allowing a ship traveling at speeds less than that of light to seemingly exceed the speed of light in normal space. Hyperspace has different "layers" with varying degrees of compression. For a long time, gravitational tides, bands of gravitational energy projecting mass from normal space into hyperspace, posed a significant danger in hyperspace, destroying any ship that encountered them. This restricted travel in hyperspace to only exploratory vessels. However, with the invention of Warshawski sails, the situation changed. Ships could now "ride" a gravitational wave and use its energy to accelerate, thereby conserving fuel. By the year 1900 of the Settlement Era, interstellar transportation (due to Warshawski sails and antigravity) became so cheap that it was economically feasible to transport even iron ore and food between star systems.