H. Paul Honsinger

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H. Paul Honsinger

8 Published BooksH. Paul Honsinger

H. Paul Honsinger is the author of the "Man of War" Trilogy, published by 47North Books and available worldwide in English from Amazon and also translated by major publishers in Japan, France, and Poland into those nations' respective languages. Approximately 150,000 copies have been sold to date.

All three volumes are available in Kindle eBook, paperback, and audio editions (from Brilliance Audio, narrated by top-drawer voice actor Ray Chase).

The story of Max Robichaux, Dr. Ibrahim Sahin, and the colorful personalities that populate the USS Cumberland will continue in the "Brothers of the Black Sky" trilogy. The first volume, "To Stations My Lads" is expected sometime in 2020.
Paul is also the author of the shorter works, "Deadly Nightshade," and "The Hunters of Vermin," a novella and a short novel respectively, which are prequels to the Man of War series, tracing the adventures of a teenage Max Robichaux on his first solo deep space mission.

Space and military history are H. Paul Honsinger's life long passions. Lacking the physical attributes to be an astronaut or a soldier, and not endowed with the mathematical ability essential to become an Aerospace Engineer or an Astronomer, he "settled" for a career in law. But, the study of space and war have always been a part of his life. He became an amateur astronomer, made himself an expert on the history of space exploration (if you ever tell him that the moon landings were a hoax, expect an argument; expect to lose), and never stopped studying the history and the art of war. He started reading science fiction at the age of seven (starting with "Between Planets" by Robert Heinlein) and has been a lifelong fan of the genre.

He also developed an interest in military history upon seeing the movie "Patton" on television in 1972 when he was twelve. He has spent years studying in detail the campaigns of Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, Lee, Grant, Jackson, Halsey, and Patton and--perhaps most significantly--thinking deeply and precisely about what it would be like if the stories about combat in space he read and saw on the screen were told in a way that made scientific and military sense.

He never thought he would be a fiction writer. His wife, Kathleen, one day pointed at his computer chair and said: "Sit. Start writing. Now." The result was the first draft of Chapter 1 of "To Honor You Call Us" (the Prologue was written later). Paul tremulously presented it to Kathleen and asked "am I wasting my time?" She said "no" and the rest of the novel followed.

Paul's goal is simple: to write military science fiction done right--stories in which the alien enemies are believable foes, fighting for a plausible reason, with weapons that don't violate the laws of physics, and where the tactics used by both sides make some sort of geometric and military sense. He wanted to bring to space the same kind of realistic adventure one finds on the sea in the novels of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester. Why not, he thought, tell realistic human stories against the background of a realistic military conflict that just happens to be set 300 years in the future? And why not try to evoke in the imaginations of readers vivid images of what the lives of these men would be like, fighting for the survival of mankind among the stars, thousands of light years from home?

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