Best Raul Ybarra Podcasts (2024)

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HVT-025 Fire Season 1:29:01

12d ago1:29:01

1:29:01

We are jumping right into the second book in the Star Kingdom series, this one titled Fire Season. This one’s a joint venture between David Weber and the now-familiar Jane Lindskold. Published by Baen, it came out at a comfortable 287 pages in October 2012. In the previous Star Kingdom novel, we met an 11-year-old Stephanie Harrington in part 1, th…

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HVT-024 A Beautiful Friendship 1:05:35

1M ago1:05:35

1:05:35

Well, we’re finally breaking into the Star Kingdom series, starting with the novel entitled A Beautiful Friendship. While they’re closely related to each other, don’t confuse this novel with the short story by the same name contained in the first anthology we discussed a while back (More Than Honor). The short story and this novel were both written…

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HVT-023 In Fire Forged 1:21:49

2M ago1:21:49

1:21:49

“In Fire Forged” is the fifth anthology in the Honorverse, containing three short stories and another technical writing. We see the return of two favorite co-authors: Jane Lindskold bringing us the short story “Ruthless” and Timothy Zahn who hits us hard with his short story “An Act of War”. David Weber brings us the third short story entitled “Let…

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HVT-022 Second Interview with David Weber 2:40:50

4M ago2:40:50

2:40:50

Although the timing wasn’t openly discussed, you all knew we had a second interview with David Weber in the works. Well, our calendars finally aligned, and we are excited to drop the second interview with the creator of the Honorverse into the feed. We covered somewhere between 15 and 20 questions, including quite a few listener questions. Even so,…

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HVT-021 Mission of Honor 2:13:58

4M ago2:13:58

2:13:58

Mission of Honor brings us back to the main series/sequence, as we look at the twelfth novel in that line of the Honorverse story. The events in this ~600-page gem occur between late 1921 through the middle of 1922 PD. Having developed the breadth and depth of some significant events in the overall storyline, David moves away from the technique he’…

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HVT-020 Torch of Freedom 1:28:47

5M ago1:28:47

1:28:47

As promised, here we are, back in the Crown of Slaves series talking about “Torch of Freedom”, another essential book assisting us in our passage through the Honorverse. This is the second of the novels that comprise the Crown of Slaves series or set of books within the Honorverse. As with the others in this set, Eric Flint was David Weber’s co-aut…

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HVT-019 Storm From the Shadows 2:12:30

6M ago2:12:30

2:12:30

Swinging back to the Saganami Island series, in this episode we discuss the second book entitled “Storm from the Shadows”. Similar to the previous novel, this is another of several that cover certain key events in the 1921 PD timeframe, but from a different perspective. This time a lot of what we see is through Admiral Michele Henke’s eyes. We made…

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HVT-018 At All Costs 1:49:23

8M ago1:49:23

1:49:23

We’re back in the “main series” to discuss the eleventh novel, “At All Costs”. While this is the eleventh of fourteen novels here, we’re only about halfway through all the Honorverse content. So, if you’re enjoying the podcast don’t worry, there’s lots more to come! The timeframe of this novel has us overlapping some of the events we saw in “The Sh…

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HVT-017 The Shadow of Saganami 1:34:52

9M ago1:34:52

1:34:52

We’ve already put out toes in the water of the Wages of Sin series (more commonly known as the Crown of Slaves series), and we’ll return to it soon enough. In this episode we discuss the first book in the Saganami Island series, entitled “The Shadow of Saganami”. Events in this novel overlap with and complement, to some extent, events we read about…

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HVT-016 Crown of Slaves (Wages of Sin #1) 1:30:26

10M ago1:30:26

1:30:26

With this series and novel, our adventure shifts away from the story featuring Honor Harrington as the main character or even seeing her as the focal point. Even so, she’s not gone and appears in the periphery quite often. Remember, this “related” storyline doesn’t mean we’re shifting away from the “main” storyline. As you’ll see, we are not. The W…

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HVT-015 The Service of the Sword 1:55:35

11M ago1:55:35

1:55:35

Here we are, already discussing the fourth Honorverse anthology entitled The Service of the Sword. This collection of six short stories written by six authors was originally published in April 2003 by Baen. While we’ll call them “short” stories, two of them are novella-length (or arguably longer), so if you haven’t read this collection yet, be awar…

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HVT-014 War of Honor 2:04:21

12M ago2:04:21

2:04:21

Here we are, already discussing the tenth novel in the Honor Harrington main series: War of Honor, and if you’re counting the overall number of books we’ve covered in the Honorverse, this would be the thirteenth. For those who read this in the past, you may remember what the rest of us new readers discovered: we thought the previous novel was lengt…

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HVT-013 Changer of Worlds 2:09:13

1y ago2:09:13

2:09:13

(Be sure to listen all the way through the closing credits. There may be a small surprise...) Time is flying as we work our way through the Honorverse! Here we are on the third anthology in the Worlds of Honor set: Changer of Worlds. It was first published in January 2001, comes in at 469 pages and contains four short stories. As with the previous …

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HVT-012 First Interview with David Weber 2:45:11

1y ago2:45:11

2:45:11

At the end of the last episode, we told you our next episode would be to discuss the anthology “Changer of Worlds”. Well surprise! What you’re about to hear is our interview with the man himself: Mr. David Weber. We had a list of questions of our own as well as some that several of you have submitted. In the interest of respecting David’s time, we …

1
HVT-011 Ashes of Victory 2:07:15

1y ago2:07:15

2:07:15

In this episode we discussed the ninth novel in the Honor Harrington main series: Ashes of Victory. It’s the direct follow-on to Echoes of Honor. And if you keep listening through the end credits you might find a bit of extra “Oops!” At 672 pages (the trade paperback edition), it’s slightly shorter than Echoes of Honor, but not by much and with no …

1
HVT-010 Worlds of Honor 1:30:14

1+ y ago1:30:14

1:30:14

This episode, we find ourselves reading and discussing the second anthology. This one is entitled Worlds of Honor. It was published in 1999 and contains five stories. Aptly named, these stories are as much tied to Honor’s worlds, as to the characters we read about. Through the pens of several authors, we travel to Sphynx, Manticore, Gryphon, and Sy…

1
HVT-009 Echoes of Honor 1:56:27

1+ y ago1:56:27

1:56:27

After our jaunt over to the first anthology in the Worlds of Honor set, we’re back to the main series and discussing book 8: Echoes of Honor. This seemed like two books that were woven together through the way this novel was assembled. At 718 pages, this is the largest novel yet in the series, and was published by Baen Books in September 1998—a yea…

1
HVT-008 More Than Honor 1:21:13

1+ y ago1:21:13

1:21:13

Here we are, with the first seven novels in the main Honor Harrington series already behind us and taking our first detour to read More Than Honor, the first anthology in the Honorverse. As a reminder, we’re doing this based on a volume of recommendations and with the understanding that this anthology was published between the seventh and eighth no…

1
HVT-007 In Enemy Hands 1:53:31

1+ y ago1:53:31

1:53:31

DEAR LISTENER: There were technical issues with portions of the recording quality. We considered re-recording the episode, but we would never be able to re-create the spontaneity that we got on this show. We hope the quality of the content will make up for the quality of the recording. The issues have been fixed and should not happen again. ===== W…

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HVT-006 Honor Among Enemies 1:46:54

1+ y ago1:46:54

1:46:54

Book 6 is the topic of our discussion today as we continue our journey through the Honorverse! “Honor Among Enemies” is a robust 544 pages, published by Baen Books in June 1996. In some ways we return to some of the events that happened in “On Basilisk Station”, specifically Honor’s actions against an enemy Q-ship. What’s a Q-ship, you ask? Well, i…

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HVT-005 Flag in Exile 1:37:03

1+ y ago1:37:03

1:37:03

Today our discussion turns to book 5 in the Honorverse. Let’s continue our journey! “Flag in Exile” is 443 pages, published by Baen Books in September 1995. I’m not sure it’s quite accurate to say Honor takes a break after her duel with Pavel Young. Our hero is forced into retirement from the Royal Manticoran Navy due to the political fallout and c…

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HVT-004 Field of Dishonor 1:33:31

2y ago1:33:31

1:33:31

Here we are, kicking off the discussion of the fourth book in the Honor Harrington main series. Let’s continue our journey into the Honorverse! “Field of Dishonor” is 416 pages of pure military adventure. It was published by Baen Books in late 1994. Events in this book take place shortly after the events in the previous novel. This book is reported…

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HVT-003 The Short Victorious War 1:30:30

2y ago1:30:30

1:30:30

Welcome to the third book in the Honor Harrington main series. Let’s continue our journey into the Honorverse! “The Short Victorious War” is 376 pages of pure military adventure. It was published by Baen Books in 1994. The events in this story take place approximately a year after the events that occurred in “The Honor of the Queen”. Of note, the t…

1
HVT-002 The Honor of the Queen 1:47:40

2y ago1:47:40

1:47:40

Welcome to the second book in the Honor Harrington main series of books. Let’s continue our journey into the Honorverse! The second book in the series is titled “The Honor of the Queen”. Like the first book, it was also published in 1993 by Baen Books. This one ran 422 pages. The events in this story take place approximately three years after the e…

1
HVT-001 On Basilisk Station 1:38:31

2y ago1:38:31

1:38:31

Our amazing journey through the Honorverse begins now! The first book in the series is titled “On Basilisk Station”. Published in 1993 by Baen Books, it ran 458 pages and leads a series that David Weber originally thought might only be five books or so. For those not familiar, it grew into a 14-book series, with a number of related, spin-off sets o…

1
HVT-000 Introduction 42:29

2y ago42:29

42:29

Welcome to the Honorverse Today podcast! We’re glad you found us. We’re excited to have you enjoy the adventures of Honor Harrington with us as we work our way through this 14-book series written by David Weber. Styled after the classic Horatio Hornblower series, we’ll experience the naval adventures of exploration, military service, and combat—all…

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BPP: Babylon 5 Short Stories Part 2 1:22:45

2y ago1:22:45

1:22:45

In this final episode of the Babylon Project Podcast, we discussed the second three of six short stories from the Babylon 5 universe: “Hidden Agendas”; “True Seeker”; and “The Nautilus Coil”. As with the previous episode, this one was particularly special because we were joined by our Producer, Troy Rutter to help us wrap things up. First, we discu…

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BPP: Babylon 5 Short Stories Part 1 1:12:36

2+ y ago1:12:36

1:12:36

In this penultimate episode of the Babylon Project Podcast, we discussed three of six short stories from the Babylon 5 universe: “The Shadow of His Thoughts”; “Genius Loci”; and “Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic.” All three were written by J. Michael Straczynski. The episode was particularly special because we were joined by our Producer, Tr…

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BPP The Passing of the Techno-mages #3: Invoking Darkness 1:18:31

2+ y ago1:18:31

1:18:31

Invoking Darkness was written by Jeanne Cavelos. The story takes place starting in August 2260 through 2261, covering just five months. As we discuss the third and final novel in the trilogy, it’s worth noting that the overarching story is tragic, alluded to by the collective title “Passing of the Technomages”. It’s noteworthy as well that the seco…

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BPP The Passing of the Techno-mages #2: Summoning Light 1:23:54

2+ y ago1:23:54

1:23:54

Picking up right where Casting Shadows left off, Summoning Light chronicles Galen’s assignment immediately after becoming a Technomage, focusing on the order’s assessments and preparations for the coming Shadow War. Driving the storyline here: the Technomages know their order is a risk of extermination and wrestle with whether to stand and fight (a…

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BPP The Passing of the Techno-mages #1: Casting Shadows 1:25:57

2+ y ago1:25:57

1:25:57

With Casting Shadows, we see a solid start to the third and final trilogy of books written in the Babylon 5 universe. As with the other trilogies, this set of books is considered canon and was based on an outline provided by JMS. As you’ll recall, the Psi Corps trilogy was really Bester’s story; the Technomage Trilogy is Galen’s. Those familiar wit…

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BPP Legions of Fire #3: Out of the Darkness 1:31:16

2+ y ago1:31:16

1:31:16

The third book of the Legions of Fire trilogy was phenomenal. We don’t know how the conclusion of the story, written in Out of the Darkness, could have been any better. As with the second novel, this one carried the reader into a new set of scenes, and a new set of perspectives as smoothly as a scene change in a great film. It was masterful. Out of…

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BPP Legions of Fire #2: Armies of Light and Dark 1:23:43

2+ y ago1:23:43

1:23:43

We rolled right into the second book of the Legions of Fire trilogy: Armies of Light and Dark, and we weren’t disappointed! This book flows seamlessly from the first, with the story shifting from focusing on Londo to putting Vir center stage. Armies of Light and Dark was written by Peter David and based on a script written by JMS. The story opens i…

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BPP Legions of Fire #1: The Long Night of Centauri Prime 1:33:57

3y ago1:33:57

1:33:57

If you were with us when we reviewed the stand-alone novels, you’ll remember each novel seemed to be a roll of the dice. Would it be good, bad, a mixed bag? We never really knew until we dove in. Well, we finished the Psi Corps trilogy (which was powerful!) and now we’ve moved to the Legions of Fire (aka the Centauri) trilogy, but with no concerns.…

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BPP Psi Corps #3 – Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester 1:41:07

3y ago1:41:07

1:41:07

Here we are, ready to discuss the third novel in the Psi Corps trilogy. As with the other two, Final Reckoning: The Fate of Bester was based on a script written by JMS, and are considered canon, and written by J. Gregory Keyes. As the story ends, we pick up with Mr. Bester approximately in the year 2250, and follow him until approximately 2281, aro…

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BPP Psi Corps #2 – Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant 1:46:56

3y ago1:46:56

1:46:56

With the second book in the “Psi Corps Trilogy” under our belts, we’re back to discuss the continuing story as captured in Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant. As mentioned previously, this set of books was based on a script written by JMS, and are considered canon, and all three were written by J. Gregory Keyes. The second novel in the set begins i…

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BPP Psi Corps #1 – Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps 1:25:20

3y ago1:25:20

1:25:20

We’re back again, this time starting the first trilogy of novels, collectively called the “Psi Corps Trilogy.” This set of books were based on a script written by JMS, and are considered canon, and all three were written by J. Gregory Keyes. In this first novel, we learn Bester’s backstory, and see just how the Psi Corps began. The novel starts in …

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BPP Novel 9: To Dream in the City of Sorrows 1:20:48

3y ago1:20:48

1:20:48

This time we’re looking at the final novel in the set of nine (what people call) standalone novels: the much-anticipated To Dream in the City of Sorrows, by Kathryn M. Drennan. With what we already knew about this book, there was little concern about how good it was rumored to be. It was everything we’d expected and hoped for and/or remembered. Tow…

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BPP Novel 8: Personal Agendas 1:18:29

3y ago1:18:29

1:18:29

Here we are, looking at the second to last standalone novel Personal Agendas, by Al Sarrantonio. We approached this one with cautious optimism, since it follows a very well written novel that brought us home to the Babylon 5 universe we all love so much. Turns out we weren’t let down; the book warranted our optimism. There were highs and a few lows…

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BPP Novel 7: The Shadow Within 1:22:55

3+ y ago1:22:55

1:22:55

We’ve arrived at the seventh and much-anticipated standalone novel The Shadow Within, by Jeanne Cavelos. And it was worth the wait! The story takes place just before the Babylon 5 television series pilot episode “The Gathering” and was clearly well researched, and also presumably informed by the author’s familiarity with the characters as we know t…

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BPP Novel 6: Betrayals 1:23:29

3+ y ago1:23:29

1:23:29

The sixth standalone novel we’re discussing is Betrayals, by S.M. Stirling. Raul offered a very useful way to view this book: as an anthology composed of two short stories and a novella. Taking this view helped frame or structure what we read. We all agreed this was a far better than the last two books—combined—even though, like the last several, t…

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BPP Novel 5: The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of your Name 1:12:38

3+ y ago1:12:38

1:12:38

Next up, we read The Touch of Your Shadow, the Whisper of Your Name, by Neil Barrett, Jr. This is the fifth of nine stand-alone novels. Given how the first four weren’t that great, we were hopeful this one might shine a little, but ultimately we were disappointed. While not as bad as Clark’s Law, this book felt like a short story crammed into a ful…

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BPP Novel 4: Clark’s Law 1:05:47

3+ y ago1:05:47

1:05:47

The next stand-alone novel we read and reviewed is Jim Mortimore’s Clark’s Law. This is the only novel he wrote within the B5 universe, although he has writing credits for novelizations within the Dr. Who universe. The print copy was published by Dell in February 1996, and ran 288 pages. The story takes place in 2259, at the end of Season 2 and occ…

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BPP Novel 3: Blood Oath 57:33

3+ y ago57:33

57:33

The third stand-alone novel is Blood Oath, written by John Vornholt. This is his second and final B5 novel. The print copy was published by Dell in September 1995, and ran 256 pages. The story takes place in 2259, sometime prior to “The Coming of Shadows” (Season 2, Episode 9). This book is not considered canon. We liked this book, quite a bit. The…

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BPP Novel 2: Accusations 1:18:48

3+ y ago1:18:48

1:18:48

The second novel we read in the “set” of stand-alone novels is Accusations, written by Lois Tilton. This is her only B5 novel. Accusations was 278 pages and published by Dell in April 1995. Like Voices, this story occurs in 2258, during Season 2 of the original B5 series, and is also not officially considered canon. There were some interesting simi…

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BPP Novel 1: Voices by John Vornholt 1:22:46

4y ago1:22:46

1:22:46

As we dive into the first of the novels associated with the Babylon 5 universe, we read and discussed Voices. Written by John Vornholt (his first of two B5 novels), published by Dell in 1995, this story takes place sometime between the Season 2 episodes “Points of Departure” (Episode 1) and “A Race Through Dark Places” (Episode 8). This is the firs…

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BPP – The Lost Tales 1:58:47

4y ago1:58:47

1:58:47

NOTE: For this special 2-hour episode of the Babylon Project Podcast, we have a brand new intro using narration from the past 6 years of podcasts. It gives us chills so we hope you enjoy it and the rest of our discussion! Also, from now on we will be switching to the first Monday of every month for the next podcast releases as we go through each an…

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BPP Crusade 113 – Each Night I Dream of Home 1:17:20

4y ago1:17:20

1:17:20

We’ve reached the end of Crusade. When we began the series, we felt even though this was JMS and a deliberate follow-up to Babylon 5, the writing seemed off and the characters seemed awkward. For our friends who listened along, we all learned (or were reminded) that what JMS wrote was not presented by TNT in the order he originally intended. This e…

1
BPP Crusade 112 – Visitors from Down The Street 1:07:11

4y ago1:07:11

1:07:11

This was a playful Crusade-based version of the popular show X-Files. A little campy (on purpose), it was a fun episode to watch, even though it wasn’t totally a filler or throw-away episode. There was perhaps, at least one very traditional use of the Sci Fi genre to make a strong social statement. The episode opens up with the crew noticing someth…

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BPP Crusade 111 – The Needs of Earth 1:11:26

4y ago1:11:26

1:11:26

This would have been the third episode to air if JMS had his way., but we’re seeing it as the eleventh episode. Once again, we talk about things seem disconnected here (such as the relationship between Max and Dureena) based on “earlier” episodes, – but they really aren’t. One thing all three of us intend to do at some point is go back and rewatch …

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