Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Book Review: ‘Uncompromising Honor’ Regains Focus of Early Books
David Weber started the Honor Harrington series in 1992 with On Basilisk Station. The series now contains 14 mainline novels, six anthologies, and 15 spinoff novels. Enormously popular, series books have occasionally threatened to become an unconscious parody of the series, through Weber ending each novel with a battle bigger and more destructive than the climactic battle of the previous book.
“Uncompromising Honor,” by David Weber, is the 14th and latest novel in the mainline of the series. Instead, it may be one of the series’ most original books since the first three.
During the series, Honor Harrington has grown from the junior captain of On Basilisk Station to the senior fleet commander of the Star Empire of Manticore. Manticore is on the galaxy’s outer fringe from the core human worlds of the Solarian League of which Earth is the capital. Manticore had been fighting with another frontier power, the Republic of Haven, until both nations discovered their war was triggered by the genetic slavers of the mysterious Mesa Alignment.
Haven and Manticore are now allied against Mesa, but Mesa maneuvered the Solarian League into war against this Grand Alliance. Everyone believed the Solarian League invincible, but during the last few hundred years of its 900-year existence, the Solarians have grown corrupt and inept.
“Uncompromising Honor” picks up after Alliance victories reveal Solarian weaknesses. The unelected bureaucrats running the Solarian League, thinking themselves safe behind Earth’s defenses unleash barbaric retaliation against both Alliance member and neutral star nations alike, violating interstellar rules against targeting civilian populations. The book charts the Alliance’s response.
The book (thankfully) lacks the ever-larger and ever-bloodier final battle of earlier books, yet contains the stuff to delights Weber fans. There’s the battle-against-great odds (framed plausibly). Old enemies become new allies, a satisfactory end to the Solarian War occurs, and clues left for the series’ next book. The book regains the focus of the series’ early books, and is a ripping good space opera to those who have not previously encountered the series.
“Uncompromising Honor” illustrates what makes David Weber a best-selling author. It’s worth a read.
Thanks Seawriter, this is good to know. I was getting a bit fed up with the books.
And just in time for December birthdays and Christmas. Thanks!
I really liked this one. I was getting really tired of the ever-bigger climactic battle with another doll inside the previous one. This does not end that way.
I’m happy to hear Weber got his focus back. The early installments were fun military space opera, but I got lost about three books back, ended up skimming a library copy in an hour or so.
I personally don’t care at all about Honor’s personal life. I am not that interested in her children or her creepy three-way marriage. I just want to watch her command and kick butt.
There may not be a ever-bigger climactic battle, but this novel doesn’t skimp on the body count.
The book cover makes her look like a generic ex-wife.
I suggest a haughty smirk…and cleavage.
Yes, I’m a bad person.
If the ex is the Solarian League, I’d say it fits.
Thanks Seawriter! I was thinking of passing on this one, since I barely managed to slog through the last of the mainline books. You’ve renewed my interest, and I think I’ll pick it up.
My thought when I finished this one was “finally!” But I cannot tell too much because spoilers.
But it’s a “finally! We get a book that ends with a satisfying conclusion!” instead of a “finally! The slog is over.”
I look forward to more books in the side series that resolve the Mesa angle, but I’m hoping that Weber’s going to do a better job with books that have conclusions instead of books that feel like episodes of a continuous TV series. I don’t mind individual Game of Thrones episodes not completing the story, because I’ll see the next one the next week. This “multiple characters on cliff hangers” crap when there are years between books just doesn’t work.
This was my quicky Facebook review: “Finally read the latest Honor Harrington book “Uncompromising Honor.” For the first time since “At All Costs,” we actually get a story that resolves! Also, while yes, the dozen plot threads that have been spread across multiple books are relevant, we actually get them tied up in a reasonably neat bow, too! I still wish the treecats were more plot relevant — I like them, but I understand the complaint that they’re a distraction — but they’re definitely being set up to be much more relevant going forward.”
The new treecat is definitely my favorite treecat character in a long time, because he actually has some personality.
I liked it… but there weren’t enough missiles…
I laughed so hard when I read that. Unfortunately I was drinking something. You owe me a new keyboard.
BTW – The first couple of books in the series are in the Baen Free Library. On Basilisk Station & The Honor Of The Queen
Maybe I’ll get get back into the series. Weber lost me a few books back.
Seawriter, I hope you will forgive me horning in on your thread, but I reckon David Weber fans would like to know about this. Do any of you have any interest in attending a science fiction convention where Weber will be one of the big guests? Because a number of your fellow Ricochetti are going to SpikeCon next year, which is a merger of WesterCon 72 and the 2019 NASFiC. Besides David Weber; Laurell K. Hamilton, Eric Flint, Jim Butcher and other SF authors will be there. We will also have a Ricochet Meetup at the conclusion of the convention. Read all about it here.
I don’t mind. I’d go if I could afford it.
I wish you could. I’d love to meet you.