10-19-2022, 06:39 AM
Uncompromising Honor by David Weber
I haven't read a David Weber book for almost a decade, which is surprising given that at one point he was my favorite author. Honor Harrington was one of my favorite characters. I can't remember which led me to the other but the series is based on the Horatio Hornblower novels. I might have heard that Harrington was based on Hornblower and read Harrington because of that or the other way. As Weber points out, he's been writing Harrington novels for 25 years. And thought this is the 14th book in the direct series there are at least a dozen supporting books in the Honorverse that don't have Honor in the lead. I've read most of those two. But all seem pale without the presence of Honor Harrington. She is the character that drives the series.
The first four or five books in the series, starting with On Basilisk Station are supreme space opera. I couldn't read them fast enough. I should probably go back and read them again. I believe most are available to read for free at Baen Books. Since this is military Science Fiction Space Opera. There is a lot of talk about the technology involved. There are chapters devoted to how they transit interstellar space and how the various armaments work and so on. Over time this has grown from a few brief passage to what seems an unwieldy percentage of the book. It becomes tedious when you take a step back and realize none of it is real. I tend to gloss through the bits about the various types of missiles each type of ship has. It gets even better when the various space navies have their own versions of the missiles and Weber starts comparing the advantages and disadvantages each missile has compared to the other navies.
The one thing Weber likes most of all is to have a scene where a large group of characters is sitting around discussing the pros and cons of various situations. He likes to have the officers on the bridge talking. He likes to have politicians meeting for discussions. There are a lot of scenes set in corporate boardrooms. Nothing says dynamic like people talking.
As the main Harrington series has progressed there has been less and less Harrington in her own novels. She has risen in the ranks from captain to fleet admiral and she is too powerful for the books. Consequently she only pops up when things have really gone bad and you need the god to save the situation. But again she's the best character in the books and I want more of her than these secondary and tertiary characters.
At this point, the story and mythos is really dense. There are different star leagues. There are hundreds of various captains I'm supposed to keep track of. It's a lot of work to keep everything straight and even to remember who is who and what they are fighting against.
Which brings us to the latest book. All the weaknesses are there. For the majority of the book, Harrington is off stage. She's hanging out with her husband and wife. She's having quick meetings with the Queen of Manticore. But she really is in a holding pattern. Meanwhile the Solarian League is causing problems, mostly because they are being manipulated by a shadowy group called the Mesan Alliance who have been around causing trouble from the sidelines for a lot of books now. The tension is between the Solarian League and the Manticore Alliance which is a new group of Star Nations. There are plenty of scenes in boardrooms as the Solarians discuss how they are going to deal with Manticore. Meanwhile on Manticore everyone is discussing what they are going to do with Mesa. There are scenes on ships with people talking about upcoming battles. There are government meetings talking about rebellions. The Mesans talk about their nefarious plans. And we talk about weapon design in a lot instances.
It's hard work to get through it. Halfway through there is a really fun space battle as a small group of the Manticore Navy protects a planet from hundreds of ships from the Sol navy. The Manties know they are going to die but it's their job to protect. Top notch Weber.
The book drags on until the Solarians do something reprehensible aided by the nefarious Mesans and it's time to call in Harrington. And then the book goes to 11 for a couple of chapters as Harrington does what Harrington does. It's awesome. It's why I read the books. But then it's over. And it's back to mopping up and meeting in boardrooms to discuss what just happened.
There's also a lot of talk about treecats which a lot of people have including Harrington, but that is another Blog post entirely.
This book came out in 2018 so it's about time for another Harrington book although in the afterward Weber said he didn't know when or if there would be another book. I hope there is because there is still story left to tell. But it is a lot of work to get through them.
I haven't read a David Weber book for almost a decade, which is surprising given that at one point he was my favorite author. Honor Harrington was one of my favorite characters. I can't remember which led me to the other but the series is based on the Horatio Hornblower novels. I might have heard that Harrington was based on Hornblower and read Harrington because of that or the other way. As Weber points out, he's been writing Harrington novels for 25 years. And thought this is the 14th book in the direct series there are at least a dozen supporting books in the Honorverse that don't have Honor in the lead. I've read most of those two. But all seem pale without the presence of Honor Harrington. She is the character that drives the series.
The first four or five books in the series, starting with On Basilisk Station are supreme space opera. I couldn't read them fast enough. I should probably go back and read them again. I believe most are available to read for free at Baen Books. Since this is military Science Fiction Space Opera. There is a lot of talk about the technology involved. There are chapters devoted to how they transit interstellar space and how the various armaments work and so on. Over time this has grown from a few brief passage to what seems an unwieldy percentage of the book. It becomes tedious when you take a step back and realize none of it is real. I tend to gloss through the bits about the various types of missiles each type of ship has. It gets even better when the various space navies have their own versions of the missiles and Weber starts comparing the advantages and disadvantages each missile has compared to the other navies.
The one thing Weber likes most of all is to have a scene where a large group of characters is sitting around discussing the pros and cons of various situations. He likes to have the officers on the bridge talking. He likes to have politicians meeting for discussions. There are a lot of scenes set in corporate boardrooms. Nothing says dynamic like people talking.
As the main Harrington series has progressed there has been less and less Harrington in her own novels. She has risen in the ranks from captain to fleet admiral and she is too powerful for the books. Consequently she only pops up when things have really gone bad and you need the god to save the situation. But again she's the best character in the books and I want more of her than these secondary and tertiary characters.
At this point, the story and mythos is really dense. There are different star leagues. There are hundreds of various captains I'm supposed to keep track of. It's a lot of work to keep everything straight and even to remember who is who and what they are fighting against.
Which brings us to the latest book. All the weaknesses are there. For the majority of the book, Harrington is off stage. She's hanging out with her husband and wife. She's having quick meetings with the Queen of Manticore. But she really is in a holding pattern. Meanwhile the Solarian League is causing problems, mostly because they are being manipulated by a shadowy group called the Mesan Alliance who have been around causing trouble from the sidelines for a lot of books now. The tension is between the Solarian League and the Manticore Alliance which is a new group of Star Nations. There are plenty of scenes in boardrooms as the Solarians discuss how they are going to deal with Manticore. Meanwhile on Manticore everyone is discussing what they are going to do with Mesa. There are scenes on ships with people talking about upcoming battles. There are government meetings talking about rebellions. The Mesans talk about their nefarious plans. And we talk about weapon design in a lot instances.
It's hard work to get through it. Halfway through there is a really fun space battle as a small group of the Manticore Navy protects a planet from hundreds of ships from the Sol navy. The Manties know they are going to die but it's their job to protect. Top notch Weber.
The book drags on until the Solarians do something reprehensible aided by the nefarious Mesans and it's time to call in Harrington. And then the book goes to 11 for a couple of chapters as Harrington does what Harrington does. It's awesome. It's why I read the books. But then it's over. And it's back to mopping up and meeting in boardrooms to discuss what just happened.
There's also a lot of talk about treecats which a lot of people have including Harrington, but that is another Blog post entirely.
This book came out in 2018 so it's about time for another Harrington book although in the afterward Weber said he didn't know when or if there would be another book. I hope there is because there is still story left to tell. But it is a lot of work to get through them.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm