By Schism Rent Asunder as a sequel

Having seen a hardcover copy of "By Schism Rent Asunder" at a bargain
price at a used bookstore a few days ago (I had found other
interesting books at that store as well, particularly including
"Flattening the Earth" by J. P. Snyder) I began reading it first, then
later buying a copy of "On Armageddon Reef".

I found that By Schism Rent Asunder read very well on its own without
having read the earlier book, although doing so later did fill in a
few details.

I've heard the opposite said in some places about By Heresies
Distressed; that if anyone tried reading _it_ first, they would be
lost, since it is really the second half of a two-volume novel, and is
strongly dependent on the events of By Schism Rent Asunder, which are
not recapitulated to any great extent therein.

Having read both of those books, of course, this won't interfere with
my enjoyment of BHD when I obtain a copy, having determined that it is
indeed as worthy of my attention as the Honor Harrington series... and
having determined that David Weber _really_ wants to follow in the
footsteps of C. S. Forester, this being the *second* series
(admittedly, in quite a different way) to recapitulate the naval
battles of "wooden ships and iron men".

John Savard