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War of Honor (Honor Harrington #10)

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 4,335 ratings · 98 reviews

NO ONE WANTED ANOTHER WARThomas Theisman didn't. After risking his life and a fresh round of civil war to overthrow the Committee of Public Safety's reign of terror and restore the Republic of Haven's ancient Constitution, an interstellar war was the last thing he wanted.

Baron High Ridge didn't. The Prime Minister of Manticore was perfectly happy with the war he had. No on...more

Hardcover, 869 pages

Published September 30th 2002 by baen (first published 2002)

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Jan 02, 2013 Curtis Edmonds rated it 1 of 5 stars

David Weber writes the Honor Harrington series, and the early books (those that I've read) were actually pretty good. It's high-quality space opera, starring a starship captain in the far-future version of the Royal Navy. The books are -- somewhat sketchily -- drawn from the same Napoleonic-era sources as the Aubrey-Maturin series, or the Hornblower series. (The lead bad guy in Nouveau Paris in the early books is named "Rob S. Pierre", get it?) Honor Harrington is a character in the Hornblower t...more David Weber writes the Honor Harrington series, and the early books (those that I've read) were actually pretty good. It's high-quality space opera, starring a starship captain in the far-future version of the Royal Navy. The books are -- somewhat sketchily -- drawn from the same Napoleonic-era sources as the Aubrey-Maturin series, or the Hornblower series. (The lead bad guy in Nouveau Paris in the early books is named "Rob S. Pierre", get it?) Honor Harrington is a character in the Hornblower tradition of audacity, competence, and awkwardness, and when Weber writes about her, it's done with brio and panache. Harrington's a natural leader, with the guts and energy needed for high command, along with an incapacity to suffer fools that gets her into frequent feuds with those selfsame fools.

I am reading the series somewhat out of sequence -- blame my service -- and wasn't a bit surprised that War of Honor was a letdown. The ninth or tenth volumes of any sci-fi or fantasy saga tend to be potboilers at best, unreadable at worst. I wasn't expecting anything really good or outstanding from War of Honor, just a quick read and then move on to the next target, er, book.

I regret to have to tell you that War of Honor is almost laughably bad. It is the sort of book that cries out for an editor, or maybe even an author. It is overstuffed, padded, and upholstered, but somehow not comfortable.

There are basically two problems with War of Honor, either of which could be fixed in about fifteen minutes with the editing features in Microsoft Word. It is not that the novel is too long. I would welcome -- I suppose -- a really long Honor Harrington novel if it were a novel about Honor Harrington. This is not that. Instead, War of Honor is about politics, and not in a good way. Weber falls into the common trap of being overly interested in his fantasy world, which is about as bad as being overly interested in your fantasy baseball team. It's important for me to know that I have Grady Sizemore and Hideki Matsui and Jason Bay in my fantasy outfield, but you could care less, and I wouldn't think to bore you about it.

So there's pages -- chapters -- whole sections of discussions of the political situation in the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven. There were similar chapters in previous books, mind you, but those chapters usually were pretty skinny, and they usually featured the politicians b!tching about poor Honor. Now, there's more stuff in the book -- by a factor of about eleven -- about the "High Ridge Government" and its nefarious deeds than there is about starships blowing up. This is unforgivable, and mean-spirited to boot.

Basically, all one would have to do would be to highlight the e-text of War of Honor, delete all the chapters about political matters, and stick to the story. However, that gets us into the second problem. The plot of War of Honor is recycled - hell, not even that. It's like it's been passed down through the generations like some heirloom, and brought out for special occasions. Yet again, the political operatives have stuck poor Honor out on the sharp end of the spear, putting her in an impossible position against superior enemy fire -- and she manages to fight her way through yet again, burnishing her reputation in the process.

But even with high-tech editing solutions, there really isn't much to be done with War of Honor. This is because Weber has lost sight of what made the prior books so fun -- not just space battles, but the character of Honor herself. So much of what happens in War of Honor has nothing to do with its title character, which is a mistake as large as the Manticore Junction. When she appears at the end of the book to save the day, it's almost an afterthought, and that's a shame. The trick to writing long series (the O'Brian books are exemplia gratia) is to make the books about the characters. War of Honor is not about Honor Harrington, at least not for large chunks of text, and that's why it fails. (less)

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Jun 03, 2012 ***Dave Hill rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: text

The next installment in the Honor Harrington series, this is, in some ways, the last Honor book -- as in the last of the series that focuses primarily on Harrington, vs. the ever-burgeoning cast.

The threat of war is upon the Kingdom of Manticore, but the current administration is too selfish, dimwitted, and conniving to realize it. Convinced that they have the Republic of Haven cowed by the new weapons unveiled at the end of the previous war, the Conservative/Liberal alliance is too busy fritter...more The next installment in the Honor Harrington series, this is, in some ways, the last Honor book -- as in the last of the series that focuses primarily on Harrington, vs. the ever-burgeoning cast.

The threat of war is upon the Kingdom of Manticore, but the current administration is too selfish, dimwitted, and conniving to realize it. Convinced that they have the Republic of Haven cowed by the new weapons unveiled at the end of the previous war, the Conservative/Liberal alliance is too busy frittering away allies, tech advantages, and time to see the harm they are doing, even as they seek to crush their political opponents, the centrist crown loyalists. One of whom is, of course, Honor Harrington.

There's a ton of talk-talk in this book, cutting between Manticore and Haven and different factions therein. There's a ton of soap opera around Honor, leading to her potential "expendable" assignment to Silesia (again) where the Aldermanii are beginning to rattle sabers at the same time ... and where the Havenites plan on striking a potential first blow in a new war, if it happens ...

While the book is long (very long), it's still enjoyable. First off, Weber pulls off the challenge of changing around sympathies for the various parties involved -- Manticore, rather than being the pillar of reason and nobility, has become nasty and petty and arrogant under the administration of the mustache-twirling Bad Politicians; Haven, on the other hand, is now ruled by reasonable, noble, earnest leaders who want nothing but peace but are prepared to fight if need be.

Weber also gives us behind-the-scenes views of how wars (sometimes) start -- not through intent, but by miscommunication, including miscommunication driven by political shenanigans.

Finally, he does a good job of beginning to set up the next series of conflicts beyond the Manticore / Haven axis, by putting in a newly-discovered wormhole from Mantacore to Solarian-fringe space ...

Enjoyable, but not great, in a way that makes the reader feel vaguely guilty for how much they're excited to read the next installment. Certainly not a volume to recommend to a first-time reader, but with enough pay-off to satisfy someone who's plowed through the many, many pages to date.(less)

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Jul 31, 2010 Chuck rated it 4 of 5 stars

46 out of 100 for 2010.

Let me warn you, this is a LONG book (over nine hundred pages). Took me more than a week to read, which is a long time for me.

That being said, it's one of my favorite in the series. In some ways, it's a more 'mature' book than earlier ones, because the book shows how good, reasonable people can do unreasonable things (like start wars) when misunderstandings occur, or people put political ideology over the best interests of their nations.

Political leadership has changed on...more

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Oct 14, 2009 JBradford rated it 4 of 5 stars

The thing that really hurts is the belated discovery (after I picked up this book at the library because it was the only Weber book on the shelf, when I was looking for the third book in the Armageddon Reef series) that this is in fact the tenth volume in the Honor Harrington series--which means, of course, that I either must buy the preceding nine books [yes, it is that well written:] or else order them one at a time through the interlibrary loan system. I am still unhappy with Weber’s proclivi...more The thing that really hurts is the belated discovery (after I picked up this book at the library because it was the only Weber book on the shelf, when I was looking for the third book in the Armageddon Reef series) that this is in fact the tenth volume in the Honor Harrington series--which means, of course, that I either must buy the preceding nine books [yes, it is that well written:] or else order them one at a time through the interlibrary loan system. I am still unhappy with Weber’s proclivity to use difficult-to-remember multiple names for people (Example: Commodore Lady Michelle Henke, Countess Gold Peak, which might be used to its full extent, as is often the case, but which also may be used piecemeal at random, such as Commodore Henke, Lady Henke, Michelle Henke, Countess Gold Peak, or even Gold Peak) … but I am absolutely fascinated by the complex interconnected grouping of worlds that Weber has created (one of which is Haven; can that be the same Haven that was the locale for the Armageddon Reef series? [In which case the trials and tribulations of the characters in that series seems to have been largely for naught, except that this cannot be, unless the Gbaba are to be met in still another series to come!:]) I cannot really think of the word for this, as there are at least five different groupings of interstellar civilizations, all interacting with each other, each with its own forms of government (each of which has two or more opposing political groups), and all hell-bent on coming out on top.

Lady Dame Honor Harrington, Duchess and Steadholder Harrington, in this book, is part of the government group that currently is out of power in the Star Kingdom of Manticore, as is her non-lover (so identified because both of them are too honorable to admit their love, because he has a crippled wife at home), Admiral Hamish Alexander, Thirteenth Earl of White Haven, who had succeeded in vanquishing the Anderman Empire fleet in their last skirmish, many years ago. The current political leader is High Ridge (I forget his given name), who is so busy oppressing the Adermanians that he does not notice that the Republic of Haven is beginning to threaten a smaller interstellar grouping that the Manitocoreans took over during that war … and who is completely unprepared for the results of opening a new wormhole egress point that will turn out to be inside the much larger Solarian League. Do you see what I mean about complexity? And keep in mind that each of these governments has at least two separate political factions, and people from each such faction are included in the book, expressing their different points of view, goals, etc. I think I was at least a third of the way through the 861-page book before I began to get all of these different groupings sorted out in my mind, and I had to review the interstellar maps provided at the front, as well as the voluminous glossary at the end, several times before that understanding came about.

Through it all, Weber displays a dazzling ability to create characters, make them multidimensional, and then kill them off as the overall story rolls out. If I have any real complaints, it is that the ending comes too quickly (I expected more detailed description of the final battle of the intergalactic fleets that clearly was being built up to throughout the book), with several of the intertwined issues being resolved too pat. On the other hand, this clearly will not be the last in the series, as several big issues are left too open-ended.

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May 21, 2012 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-space-opera

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Jun 27, 2011 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, science-fiction

This is the 10th book in the Honor Harrington series. It is extremely long (976 pages in paperback) and about 85% of it deals with politics. Those parts of these books have always moved the slowest for me so in some ways this was a bit of a slog, but I have to say Weber does a great job with his world building.

The plot of the book deals with the build-up to another war between Manticore and the Havenites. It is fascinating to watch the story unfold and see how two kingdoms who really don't want...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Ava Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: female-protagonist

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 28, 2011 Reepacheep rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started this book grudgingly, based on the laborious story-mining I felt I endured in the previous two or three books in this series and based on the daunting number of pages--I didn't look forward to trudging through over nine hundred pages to get a few hundred pages worth of story.

I am pleased to say that the ratio of story to the feeling I call "story-mining" was a vast improvement over the last several books. The drudgery that occupied pages or even whole chapters was limited here in most...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Laurel rated it 4 of 5 stars

At first I was hesitant that my favorite space opera series was focusing almost an entire book on interplanetary politics. I wanted to see Honor in battle. But, I quickly became hooked by the excellent side character development, as well as the storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed the behind the scenes intrigue, as much as the eventual offensive. As always, an excellent read!

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Aug 09, 2010 Brent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Honor Harrington series has always been a mixture of the “military sci-fi” and “space opera” sub-generas. This is hardly an uncommon combination and one that many people enjoy. However, as the series has progressed, the space opera aspects of the books have been increasing while the military aspects decrease. War of Honor is the clearest example (perhaps the apex) of this trend as the military events in the plot are dwarfed by politics, personal relationships and character introspection.

Nee...more The Honor Harrington series has always been a mixture of the “military sci-fi” and “space opera” sub-generas. This is hardly an uncommon combination and one that many people enjoy. However, as the series has progressed, the space opera aspects of the books have been increasing while the military aspects decrease. War of Honor is the clearest example (perhaps the apex) of this trend as the military events in the plot are dwarfed by politics, personal relationships and character introspection.

Needless to say, this is an unwelcome state of affairs for those who prefer the military aspects of the previous novels, and I believe that this change explains a fair percentage of the negative reviews found here.

It seems to me that the author had one major and two minor goals for this book.

Primarily, he wanted to accomplish a significant amount of world building and expand and enhance the mythology of the Honorverse. He set about accomplishing this goal by:

1. Shaking things up by having some changes in government such that the traditionally good side is playing the part of the villain and the traditional bad guys playing the part of the protagonists.

2. He wanted a story that demonstrates how lack of proper communication and the “fog of war” can result in the start of a war even when all of the parties involved do not desire it.

The author accomplished these goals, although he did not do it as well and I would have wished. As a fan of both military sci-fi and space opera, I enjoy reading extensive amounts of world and character building. Part of what I get out of these epic series is a sense of having experienced someplace new. The richer and more detailed the author makes the world, the more complete is that experience. As such I was not put off by either the size or the pacing of the book.

However I was put off by the narrowness of some of the villains. Weber had more than sufficient room in this book to build out character backgrounds and motivations. Too many of the characters were just evil for evil’s sake. Worse, however, was the lack of creativity in how he went about his world building. Some reviewers have commented that this is a book of staff meetings, and they have a point. An author as talented as Weber should have found a way to accomplish his world building in a manner other than narrating lengthy series of meetings.

If this book had to stand on its own, it would be a disaster. However, in its context as part of the larger series, it is going to be invaluable. I predict that War of Honor will serve as a foundation for the remainder of the series and its spin offs. The events of this book will be referenced extensively and provide a vivid backdrop for what is to come.

Even though the author did not accomplish his world building in a very creative way, the world building was still accomplished. The series as a whole will be better for it.
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Jun 06, 2012 Kathi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 28, 2010 Shaun Thomas rated it 4 of 5 stars

War of Honor isn't David Weber's latest by any means, but it is to me, who just started the series earlier this year. This, the tenth book in the series, isn't quite the perfect storm we got in Ashes of Victory, but is nevertheless chock full of everything short of Haven's total subjugation.

What does that mean? Well, Nimitz and Samantha freely use sign language to communicate with practically everyone, and on at least one occasion concerning Hamish's wife Emily, this is especially important. Why...more War of Honor isn't David Weber's latest by any means, but it is to me, who just started the series earlier this year. This, the tenth book in the series, isn't quite the perfect storm we got in Ashes of Victory, but is nevertheless chock full of everything short of Haven's total subjugation.

What does that mean? Well, Nimitz and Samantha freely use sign language to communicate with practically everyone, and on at least one occasion concerning Hamish's wife Emily, this is especially important. Why? Because Samantha has bonded with our good Earl White Haven! This happens early enough in the novel that I don't consider it a spoiler, but it also happens after High Ridge and his disreputable new cabinet launch a smear campaign implying that Honor and Hamish are lovers. Hamish himself has been benched as no longer necessary, since the current government considers the war over, ignoring the animosity between him and the new Lord of Admirality.

Then of course Eloise Pritchart and Thomas Theisman have teamed up spectacularly to turn around Haven's government. Reinstating the old constitution, even removing the 'People' from the Republic of Haven. If only Senator Jason Giancola, a previous member of the government who held together the economy, wasn't actively sabotaging peace talks to further his own career. This is important because Haven has finally developed and mass-produced a fleet of warships that end Manticore's dominance of the stars, especially since Janacek and his ilk have systematically dismantled the navy to free funding for their own self-serving projects.

Secondary to these primary events, the Andermani are actively pursuing Silesian territory, putting them in a direct antagonistic stance with Manticore. Presumably this is merely due to the past war with Haven reducing policing of pirates, so they're simply securing territory, but it almost becomes a full-scale conflict if not for the reassignment of Admiral von Sternhafen with the more sympathetic Admiral Rabenstrange. Even that is almost derailed by political posturing to avoid losing face, a recurring theme witnessed throughout the novel.

It's this last element that's most maddening. I'm glossing over a lot of the intrigue and maneuvering, because there's just so much of it. Unlike the issues I had with Ashes of Victory, there's very little elucidation wasted on various tangents, but that's only because everyone and his treecat has a finger in the pie. It seems as if each individual in High Ridge's government has mutually opposing goals, yet their tacit involvement in his power-grab creates a daytime soap-opera in space. Seriously, I re-read the cover to see if I'd inadvertently obtained an adaptation of All My Children. This has always been a part of the Honorverse, yet never so hilariously evident. I wanted to slap almost everyone in the book pretty much constantly.

Sadly, this could be a relevant observation of politics on Weber's part. Everyone has an agenda; everyone works to his or her own end; even mutually beneficial plans are often derailed by perceived necessity. And that is the true calamity here: these cartoonish self-serving idiots could be any existing government. Yell at the book all you want, they remain catastrophically stupid until finally and inevitably ousted by yet more backstabbing and intrigue. Things look good at the end of the novel, but we all know that can change in the space of a few pages. Now I need to go back and peruse the anthologies, since they apparently contain significant developments relevant to subsequent entries. Hopefully they're slightly less political; I need a rest.

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May 16, 2011 Cris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: futuristic-sci-fi, honor_harrington, military-sci-fi, science-fiction, space-travel, spies-intrigue, war-battles, space-opera

I was torn when rating this book because although it's well-written, with multiple story-lines that come together into a cohesive climax, I didn't *like* it very much. This was my third or fourth attempt to finish War of Honor, and for most of the middle of the book, about 300 pages, I was gritting my teeth and slogging my way through in the hopes that it would improve. Even though the pace picked up towards the end, by the end of the book, I just wanted to finish.

Some of my distaste actually st...more

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Oct 03, 2010 Kathy Davie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action, homey, military, sci-fi

There is something about Weber's Honor Harrington that I just can't read it fast enough. I need to find out what's going to happen next. Who's going to be affected. Will a character I adore be killed???

I guess...okay, so I'm a masochist...I also "enjoy"?? the stupid politicians and seeing them get their comeuppance however long it may take! I've always enjoyed the strategy of war and when combined with my love of gadgets...Honor Harrington is a perfect fit!

In War of Honor the tension ratchets ba...more

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May 18, 2012 Brook rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: didn-t-finish

This one finally killed my interest in this series. For the last several books, the story has revolved almost entirely around political wrangling and internal monolog, and not even very interesting wrangling. In fact, the result of all the wrangling is pretty obvious from about 1/4 of the way through the book. I've stayed with this because there were some great comeuppance moments in previous books, and the space battles were very engaging. But this book has 700-odd pages with neither of those t...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Genevieve's Human is currently reading it

Shelves: science-fiction, novel

I'm a bit over half-way through this book, and it's driven me to all sorts of procrastination. I'm reading it 1% at a time in palatable but unenthralled bites. It's not that it's bad; it's just dragging. Honor is still Honor, but the rest of the characters are beginning to feel a bit . . . recycled. The plot is entirely predictable, and the villains of today resemble yesterdays villains a bit too closely. Maybe I've just read too much Weber in the past two months. I started the first Harrington...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Steven Stanford rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: digitally-own

Just finished Honor Harrington book 10 a little while ago for the second time. This is the first HH book that left me feeling a little lacking. One, it's VERY long, and there is more political stuff than space stuff in it, and I like the space stuff and action more. Two, it feels very much like a transitional book. My feeling is that Weber kinda wrote himself into a corner where he was forced to write a book to deal with all the loose threads in the intermission between the interstellar conflict...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Hmmm. Tough one to call. I've loved the series up to this point but my affection is starting to slide.

It's not that there was anything wrong with War of Honor, it's just that this and story the last (Ashes of Victory) seem to be focusing more on the whole political side of the Manticore / Haven story more than anything else.

Don't get me wrong, it's a well written and intriguing story but it seems to have become a "soap opera" based on the power struggles between politicians and less of a "space...more

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Dec 28, 2010 Simeonberesford rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: military, space, opera, honorverse, science, fiction, ebook

Yes another Honor Harrington Story this one remarkable for its lack of battles.[return]The War between Manticore and the Republic should be ending all they have to do is negotiate the terms. Unfortunately there are too many self interested fools and traitors jockeying for position. I enjoyed this it has Good guys and bad guys on both sides the viewpoints of even the most deplorable are believable. Not however a big hit with most of his fans who prefer to read about lots of TLA's engaging in high...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Harry Lane rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a way, I think this book is the best of the series so far. While the battle scenes are climactic, the descriptions of the political maneuvering in advance of these are the baulk of the book, and they are well done. Also, Weber has more plot threads going in this book; some may see that as a downside, but I think it enriches the reading experience. And finally, Honor's role in the military action is quite restrained, and a welcome change of pace from the brilliant tactician we have seen in the...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, sf

First off I have to say that I've enjoyed the Honor Harrington books so far. Certainly they've gone from a fairly simple premise to a much more complex and complicated story, but the characters have been the thing that have kept me reading. They work because they feel as though they have lives.

Unfortunately, I think I'm experiencing a certain amount of burnout. The complexity of the books now means that the actual action that I started reading the series for takes a back seat to political intrig...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Like the other Harrington books, I truly enjoyed this installation. I don't think my 3 star rating is actually fair, but I can't give it a 4 in good conscience. There were too many new introductions, new tidbits of information, and switching of viewing between the Andermani, Peeps, Silesians, and Manties. Though this level of information isn't new for Weber, it wasn't as deftly pulled off as I am accustomed to.

I did love the treecat adoption of White Haven twist. That was pure catering to the f...more

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Nov 18, 2009 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

Another entertaining entry in the saga of Honor Harrington. I can't deny that some sections of this were slow to the point of tediousness, but the last 200 pages provided the usual riveting payoff. This series is pretty cheesy space opera but sometimes it hits the spot. I've already ordered the next one.

While this book evidently wasn't edited for length, someone has taken the trouble to reduce the word and phrase repetition that was so distracting in the previous book. There is also a great deal...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

The basic story was again 4 stars, but this book is even thicker than the previous ones due to a lot of extra information that knocked it back a star. It wasn't always bad. There were a lot of interesting back stories & the universe is filled in to a large extent. Unfortunately, either through LONG conversations or pages of explanation, every major point is thoroughly dissected & discussed in such gory detail that I was forced to conclude that Weber thinks his readers are idiots. I wound...more

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Dec 21, 2007 Christian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: junk, science-fiction

David Weber's writing is space opera pulp claptrap in the best sense. Larger-than-life characters with extraordinary luck thump their chests and bray about honor while cursing the nitwit politicians who keep sticking them in awkward situations. Of course, enough characters die in the meantime to make it seem compelling.

The hook: Weber blatantly strip-mines the golden classics of the Age of Sail. It's Hornblower in space. It's Aubrey without Maturin, crossed with Sir Walter Drake, carrying around...more

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Sep 04, 2007 Thomas rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lovers of political dialogue

Shelves: sciencefiction

1. I'm on page 114 and no one is on a frikkin' space ship!

2. A month later, I have finally finished this behemoth and I have some observations, not just on 'War of Honor', but on this Honorverse Mr. Weber has created.

The starships and technology are convincing and interesting. The space battles are fascinating and fast-paced, having a consistent interior logic that he follows unerringly.

The milieu is marvelous as well, there's a map (I love maps) and different political bodies born out of a p...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: space

Very long. I enjoyed the payoff in the last hundred pages or so, but the rest of the book was all buildup and politics; I'd have enjoyed it more if the pace had varied more throughout. Also, although it was generally readable, the entire 800 page plot buildup felt contrived - the Republic of Haven is now run by moral, principled people, so engineering a state of war between Haven and Manticore required an arcane and long-winded set of developments.

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Mar 08, 2011 Jordan Steinhoff rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

The political transition continues and is not gripping.

I understand that Honor is now an admiral and so every book cannot be about improbable space battles but these last 2 books have taken up far too many pages on character introspection. Talking to themselves about how clever they are rather than showing it to be so or not so.

An interesting opening to the next chapters of the Honorverse.

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Apr 29, 2012 Gustavo Noronha rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was my first read of the series. It's an excellent book, with deep, complex characters, enthralling plot which combines lots of my interests, including wars, space science fiction - with a lot of the usual handwavy "technology" solutions to hard problems such as how to keep people alive when a ship accelerates quickly to close to light speed, of course -, politics, and so on.

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Jul 06, 2009 Brian rated it 1 of 5 stars

Before this, I wouldn't have believed it was possible for David Weber to write a boring book. I was SO wrong.

I'll also note that if an editor cut out all the paragraphs where characters ponder to themselves about how gosh-darn great Honor Harrington is, they'd shorten the book by 100 pages. That would still leave an 800 page book where nothing happens, but it would be a start.

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About David Weber

David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.

Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.

One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name...more

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Books by David Weber

On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington, #1)

The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington, #2)

The Short Victorious War (Honor Harrington, #3)

Field of Dishonor (Honor Harrington, #4)

Honor Among Enemies (Honor Harrington, #6)

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War of Honor (Honor Harrington #10)

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