Book Review: Honor Harrington: Ashes of Victory SPOILERS!

In March 2000, David Weber penned another Honor Harrington novel, this time putting Honor to the side to focus on the war and a coup that will have repercussions of the entire war. Synopsis: REPORTS OF MY DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED . . . The People's Republic of Haven made a tiny mistake when it announced the execution of Honor Harrington. It seemed safe enough. After all, they knew she was already dead. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Now Honor has escaped from the prison planet called Hell and returned to the Manticoran Alliance with a few friends. Almost half a million of them, to be precise . . . including some who know what really happened when the Committee of Public Safety seized power in the PRH. Honor's return from the dead comes at a critical time, providing a huge, much-needed lift for the Allies' morale, for the war is rapidly entering a decisive phase. Both sides believe that victory lie within their grasp at last, but dangers no one could foresee await them both. New weapons, new strategies, new tactics, spies, diplomacy, and assassination . . . All are coming into deadly focus, and Honor Harrington, the woman the newsies call "the Salamander," once more finds herself at the heart of them all. But this time, the furnace may be too furious for even a salamander to survive.

The novel opens with Honor Harrington in the galley of ENS Farnese's boat bay, musing on the escape from Hell. Hamis Alexander, on GNS Benjamin the Great's pinnace, boards Farnese and welcomes Honor home. He updates her on the situation in the Star Empire while taking her back to Grayson via Manticore in the GSN Honor Harrington. On Grayson, High Admrial Wesley Matthews and Protector Benjamin Mayhew IX greet Honor and Nimitz. Her father, mother and Samantha are there and Honor and Nimitz realize that his "transmitter" isn't working properly thanks to the State Security goons who clubbed him back on Enki (Honor Harrington: In Enemy Hands). On Haven, in the capital city Noveaux Paris, Secretary of War Ester McQueen, Chairman Robert S. Pierre, and Oscar Sanit-Just learn about Honor's survival from Hell and the war effort. Captain Michelle "Mike" Henke escorts Honor to Queen Elizabeth III. The Queen foists the title of duchess on Honor and a duchy in the Westmount Crown Reserve on Gryphon because she refused to take the Parliamentary Medal of Valor. The PMV is instead given to Horace Harkness.

Admiral Thomas Caparelli tells Honor that she'll be the commandant of Saganami and head the Advanced Tactical Course as well as help the new income of Grayson students mold with the Manticoran students; she's also been promoted to the full rank of Admiral. Saint-Just voices his concern about McQueen to Pierre. Honor asks disgraced Commander Andrea Jaruwalski to help her make changes to the outdated bits of Tactical Training just to poke Santino in the eye even though he's died because of his incompetence. Queen Elizabeth III learns that the Republic of San Martin of Trevor's Star want annexation with the Star Empire of Manticore because their Senate voted and approved it in a closed session in less than two weeks after Jesus Ramirez let slip a casual remark that he agreed with it. Allison Harrington tells Honor that she may have come up with a way for Nimitz to communicate with treecats again: sign language. It'll give them a way to talk with each other and with humans. Honor convinces Dr. Adelina Arif to help her, especially after Nimitz demonstrates that he does understand what Honor's saying by nodding his head. Honor hosts a diner with Rear Admiral of the Red Jackson Kriangsak, Andrea, Mike, and six other officers and nineteen midshipmen, including Abigail Hearns from Grayson, to help the midshipmen further learn more about tactics. The war goes on.

Saint-Just reminds Pierre that McQueen can't be trusted. McQueen, meanwhile, makes preparations to launch Operation Bagration. Saint-Just has Thomas Theisman recalled from the front to lead the Havenite home fleet. At a party, Honor and Nimitz and Samantha (but mostly the treecats) sign to Elizabeth and her treecat Ariel, wanting to teach them to communicate. Arriving at Haven, Theisman and Denis LePic learn that Pierre is dead and McQueen's coup failed; Saint-Just is now the chairman and lets Theisman have control of the home fleet with LePic remaining his commissioner. Theisman informs Saint-Just that it would be unwise to execute Lester Tourville and Javier Giscard now as he's rebuilding the navy's trust in the chairman. Benjamin Mayhew invites Elizabeth to a formal head-of-state meeting on Grayson. During that, the Havenites attack and kill Allen Sumervale, Duke of Cromarty, and his people because Honor can only stop one missile and saved Elizabeth and Benjamin. Baron High Ridge and the senior leaders of the Opposition Party refuse to back Elizabeth because they finally see a way to undermine her authority and government and wrest power away from the Crown and Loyalists. Saint-Just moves to have Tourville and Giscard executed while faking to want peace with the Star Empire of Manticore. Theisman launches his coup and kills Saint-Just.

All in all, a great novel that details heroes on both sides of the war and adds much needed depth into the political parties and structures of the Star Empire of Manticore. This is also the first time that Nimitz and Samantha communicate to the main cast (on the Manticoran/Grayson side, anyway). This book is the last appearance of Oscar Saint-Just, Rob Pierre, Ester McQueen and the Cromarty government, State Security, and the Committee of Public Safety. Great characterization, fantastic descriptions and details. This is a book that's hard to put down.

Book Review: Honor Harrington: Flag In Exile SPOILERS!

In September of 1995, David Weber published Honor Harrington: Flag In Exile, which features Honor and Nimitz on Grayson, exiled from Manticore, where they attempt to help build Harrington Steading while both the Havenites and religious zealots attempt to thwart her--the former doesn't even know she's there, and the latter are Graysonites who are too set in their ways and can't handle the idea of a woman in charge. Synopsis: Hounded into retirement and disgrace by political enemies, cut to the heart by the murder of the man she loved, and bereft of confidence in herself and her abilities, Captain Honor Harrington has retreated to the planet Grayson to take up her role as Steadholder while she tries to heal her bitter wounds. But the People's Republic of Haven is rising from defeat to threaten Grayson anew, and the newborn Grayson Navy needs her experience desperately. It's a call Honor cannot refuse, yet even as she once more accepts the duty whose challenges she fears she can no longer meet, powerful men who hate and fear the changes she's brought to their world are determined to reverse them. They have a plan ... and for it to succeed Honor Harrington must die. Two irresistible forces are rushing together to crush Grayson between them, and only one woman uncertain of her capabilities, weary unto death, and marked for murder-stands between her adopted planet and its devastation.Two irresistible forces are rushing together to crush Grayson between them. Only one woman--uncertain of her capabilities, weary unto death, and marked for murder--stands between her adopted planet and its devastation.

The novel opens with Adml White Haven, aboard HMS Queen Caitrin, under attack by Havenites. On Grayson, High Admiral Wesley Matthews tells Protector Benjamin IX that he wants Honor Harrington in the Grayson Space Navy for her battle experience by Mayhew doesn't believe that, even after nearly a year, that Honor's not recovered from losing Paul. In Harrington Steading, Honor attends a dedication of the city dome with her armsman Andrew LaFollet, treecat Nimitz, and her Regent Howard Clinkscales plus the Reverend Julius Hanks of the Church of Humanity Unchained. Brother Marchant, a member of William Fitzclarence--Lord Burdette's--Steading, disrupts the gathering and insults Honor because she's not a subservient woman or a member of the Church of Humanity Unchained; it goes too far and the Harrington Steaders descend on him. While her armsmen escort Marchant away, Hanks assures Honor that Marchant will be "dealt with." Marchant is expelled from the Church. HAdml Matthews visits Honor and asks her to accept the position of Admiral in the GSN on the Terrible with the entire First Battle Squadron. In Haven, Chairmen Robert S. Pierre of the Committee of Public Safety activates Operation Stalking Horse and Operation Dagger. Back on Grayson, Honor begins her duties as Admiral with Captain Alfredo Yu as her flag captain and Captain (Junior Grade) Mercedes Brigham. As Honor gets situated on GSN Terrible, Burdette plots with Marchant and Steadholders Mueller and Mackenzie to ruin Honor.

The Havenites are gearing up to attack the Yeltsin System. At a Grayson SkyDomes Ltd construction site, a dome collapses, killing dozens of workers and children. Honor is shocked by this especially when people begin to blame her for the incident and deaths. Adam Gerrick and a couple of his men find out the truth and inform Honor. As Honor, Adam, Reverend Hanks, LaFollet and Nimitz and Jared Sutton, in a pinnance, leave Terrible for Grayson for a special Keys meeting led by Mayhew IX, when it's attacked. Adam and a couple of armsmen die when the pinnance crashes. LaFollet searches the ship for survivors, assassins attack Honor, but kill Hanks when he throws himself in front of her to save her. One assassin is captured and confesses all. Mueller overhears about the affair and sends his armsmen to Burdette Steading to arrest Marchant while Second Elder Jeremiah Sullivan gets the truth from the assassin, Edward Julian Martin. Mayhew keeps the Keys in the Conclave and tells them what happened and demands to know how it came to this. When no one answers, Honor enters and names Burdette as the mastermind. He admits it and challenges Honor, Mayhew's champion, to a duel to preserve God's righteousness. Honor accepts, despite her woulds and slays Burdette in a sword duel. Immediately afterwards, she returns to the Terrible and Operation Dagger jumps in. After a brief battle, Honor destroys the first wave and chases off the second group of Havenites. She's honored again on Grayson; Mueller is scared of her and will bide his time, while putting on a cheerful and thankful face.

All in all, a decent novel that is the best in show-casing world building. The entire novel is focused on Grayson and the Grayson Space Navy as well as a male-dominated society with heavy  politics and religion intermixed together becoming exposed to someone like Honor Harrington.

Book Review: Honor Harrington: The Honor of the Queen SPOILERS!

In June 1993, David Weber produced his second novel in the Honor Harrington series: The Honor of the Queen. At a total of 422 (mass market paperback), this novel does not disappoint. Synopsis: Right Woman, Wrong Place. It's hard to give peace a chance when the other side regards war as the necessary prelude to conquest, and a sneak attack as the best means to that end. That's why the Kingdom of Manticore needs allies against the so-called "Republic" of haven--and the planet Grayson is just the right strategic place to make a very good ally indeed. But Her Majesty's Foreign Office had overlooked a "minor cultural difference" when they chose Honor Harrington to carry the flag: women on the planet Grayson are without rank or rights; Honor's very presence is an intolerable affront to every male on the planet. At first, Honor doesn't take it personally; where she comes from gender discrimination is barely a historical memory, right up there in significance with fear of the left-handed. But in time such treatment as she receives from the Graysonites does become wearing, and Honor would withdraw if she could--but then Grayson's fratricidal sister planet attacks without warning and she must stay and prevail, not just for Honor's honor, but for her sovereign's, for--The Honor of the Queen.

The novel starts off with Captain Honor Harrington at a party--something she dislikes as much as politics--when her former academy instructor, Admiral Raoul Courvosier, tells her about a diplomatic mission to the chauvinistic, male-dominated world of Grayson in the Yeltsin System where the Church of Humanity Unchained is the law and religious zealots appear to run the place while the women are property and have no vote within the Graysonite system. Grayson has problems with its fratricidal sister planet, Masada, in the Endicott System, problems that the Havenites are exploiting, trying to get Masada on their side--though they'd rather have Grayson. Reginald Houseman, a smug and cowardly politician who hates the military, is Courvosiers aide. Honor's role is to escort supplies past Grayson after a few days in the system. Houseman wants to screw the military mission and force Grayson and Masada to put aside their "silly religious difference" and trade with each other instead of fight, something that Honor points out is illogical with the animosity between the two planets. Matthew Simmons of Masada tells Havenite Captain Alfredo Yu about the Manticoran delegates arriving. In Yeltsin, High Admiral Bernard Yanakov greets Courvosier with respect and is repulsed by Honor being a woman in uniform. The Havenites try and exploit this for all its worth. Yanakov lets Benjamin Mayhew IX, Planetary Protector of Grayson, know how the direct view of Honor is blowing downwind.

Negotiations begin and, except for Houseman trying to raise his topic once to no avail, things seem to be going smoothly until the Masadans and their Havenite allies launch a surprise attack from Blackbird and destroy the ships Courvosier and Yanakov are on, killing them. Honor returns from her escort duties and learns of Courvosier's death, something that shocks Honor considering that Courvosier was like a second father to her. Houseman threatens Honor when she refuses to abandon Grayson and slaps him once (Houseman, for the rest of the series, continues to bitch about this). Honor demands to meet with Benjamin, something that doesn't sit well with his cabinet. Benjamin agrees and during their talks, a group of assassins working for someone called "Maccabeus" attempt to assassinate Benjamin and frame the Manticorans. Thanks to an early warning from her telepathic treecat Nimitz, Honor defeats them and ends up with a dead eye and broken face, things that will be fully repaired once she returns to Manticore. Grayson witnesses the events on the news and throws its support behind Manticore. It turns out hat Jared Mayhew, a cousin of Benajmin's, was Maccabeus and behind the whole coup attempt and has since been dealt with.

Admiral Matthews (Grayson) and Honor attack Blackbird and penetrate its defenses. During the roundup of Masadans, Honor, Lieutenant Scotty Tremaine, and Petty Officer Horace Harkness find survivors from the attack that killed Yanakov and Courvosier; the female survivors were all raped and tortured and some even dead. In anger, Honor tries to kill the Masadan base commander but Scotty manages to stop her, saying that Benjamin and therefore Grayson will handle the punishment. Alfredo Yu and a young officer named Thomas Theisman surrender and tell Honor that, though they knew things were bad, they didn't realize things were this bad. Simmons, meanwhile, has stolen a Havenite ship and imprisons the Havenites while taking the ship into battle. Honor faces off against him in space and destroys his ship while Admiral Hamish Alexander, White Haven, of Manticore arrives to help subdue Masada personally and Grayson signs the alliance with the Star Empire of Manticore. As a reward, Benjamin makes Honor a Steadholder of the new city called Harrington Steading and awards her the Star of Grayson. To match this, Manticore makes Honor a Countess, though it's significantly below the rank of Steadholder.

All in all, a great novel in the Honor Harrington series. Full of wonderful characterizations and prose and world building, it drives home the point that David Weber knows excellent sci-fi military drama.