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Honor Harrington #9
Ashes of Victory
The People's Republic of Haven made a tiny mistake when it announced the execution of Honor Harrington. It seemed safe enough. After all, 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 lies 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.
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First published March 1, 2001
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About the author
David Weber
322 books4,551 followersDavid 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 is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
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 is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
October 23, 2014
If you read my review of the previous book, Echoes of Honor, I mentioned it was an awesome basic story hampered by some real annoyances. Well, the annoyances are the same, but much worse. The basic story is still great & the ending is, again, just awesome. (It doesn't star Honor, either!)
Info dumps - There are too many of them & he's expanding beyond the necessary - an ugly trend that has gotten way worse - adding in details & back story that I don't much care for. I just don't see where it helps the story beyond padding it. This time we're talking half a dozen pages on communication. Please! I realize that an author has to do a butt load of research for even a fictional book, but I really, really don't want to read even the condensed version unless it really helps the story along. This didn't.
Good point - my skimming skills are increasing under Weber's tutelage. I can skim an info dump for the high points at warp speed.
;-)
This was a 2 star book because of all the annoyances, but I'm giving it 3 because the basic story is excellent as is the ending. More, I'm going on to the next book, War of Honor, because his universe has expanded nicely in several ways - if you like politics. I never cared for them before, but I'm more in the mood for them this time.
Info dumps - There are too many of them & he's expanding beyond the necessary - an ugly trend that has gotten way worse - adding in details & back story that I don't much care for. I just don't see where it helps the story beyond padding it. This time we're talking half a dozen pages on communication. Please! I realize that an author has to do a butt load of research for even a fictional book, but I really, really don't want to read even the condensed version unless it really helps the story along. This didn't.
Good point - my skimming skills are increasing under Weber's tutelage. I can skim an info dump for the high points at warp speed.
;-)
This was a 2 star book because of all the annoyances, but I'm giving it 3 because the basic story is excellent as is the ending. More, I'm going on to the next book, War of Honor, because his universe has expanded nicely in several ways - if you like politics. I never cared for them before, but I'm more in the mood for them this time.
October 1, 2014
Honor Harrington is back from Hell - the Havenite prison planet - along with a few hundred thousand prisoners she rescued along the way. The folks back in the Manticore system thought she was dead, and they're really, really glad to see her. They spend the first 150 pages of this book showering her with honors while she blushes and protests feebly. It's almost unbearably corny and saccharine. But eventually Weber gets on with the story, and I enjoyed the rest of the book. His last 100 pages were as thrilling as usual. I'm eager to find out where the story goes from here, but I find that I enjoy these novels more if I put some space between them.
Weber's prose is very readable, but he overuses a few favorite phrases, and I don't understand why his editor doesn't do something about it. Out of curiosity I downloaded the free electronic copy of this novel and did a word search. The word "chuckled" is used 72 times. Some form of the word "grin" is used 79 times. No fewer than five different characters pinch the bridge of their nose when they're feeling tired.
Surely his editor could catch this kind of repetition? He or she could take measures, like limiting Weber to no more than two uses of the phrase "smoothing out the rough edges" per novel, and perhaps suggest some other mannerisms for the characters to exhibit when they are tired or stressed: there is entirely too much rubbing of chins and noses in this book.
Weber's prose is very readable, but he overuses a few favorite phrases, and I don't understand why his editor doesn't do something about it. Out of curiosity I downloaded the free electronic copy of this novel and did a word search. The word "chuckled" is used 72 times. Some form of the word "grin" is used 79 times. No fewer than five different characters pinch the bridge of their nose when they're feeling tired.
Surely his editor could catch this kind of repetition? He or she could take measures, like limiting Weber to no more than two uses of the phrase "smoothing out the rough edges" per novel, and perhaps suggest some other mannerisms for the characters to exhibit when they are tired or stressed: there is entirely too much rubbing of chins and noses in this book.
May 9, 2011
April 4: A third of the way through the book and the only thing that's happened is that Honor has returned home to her family. Almost every chapter so far is two people sitting down having a conversation about either what happened while Honor was gone, what does it mean now that Honor is back, and what schemes to put into place. Since the POV for each chapter switches between the "good guys" and the "bad guys" (at least two sets of "bad guys" and multiple sets of "good guys"), this is turning out to be a chore to read. If it doesn't get some action soon, I may have to skip to the next book in the series. Yuck.
April 18: Still plodding along. There are a lot of interesting things that happen in this book, but it's like the author ws too tired to actually write them so all the characters do is sit around and talk about what happened. I'm continuing this one in the hopes that the next one will be better, and from a flip-through it does look like it will be better (more action, less talking). The thing is, I won't know what happened in this book unless I read it. Or find a Cliff Notes version somewhere. And given all the references to things that have happened in other books that I've forgotten about, it may be important to know these things. Or not. I won't know until the next book.
May 9th: It ended the way I thought it would--the last 20 or so pages were quite exciting, leading up to the ending I expected, although he did have me thinking it would end differently. And got me so excited about finding out what happened next that I started the next book--and immediately regretted it as it doesn't tie up the story from this book, it just moves on. Really annoying.
April 18: Still plodding along. There are a lot of interesting things that happen in this book, but it's like the author ws too tired to actually write them so all the characters do is sit around and talk about what happened. I'm continuing this one in the hopes that the next one will be better, and from a flip-through it does look like it will be better (more action, less talking). The thing is, I won't know what happened in this book unless I read it. Or find a Cliff Notes version somewhere. And given all the references to things that have happened in other books that I've forgotten about, it may be important to know these things. Or not. I won't know until the next book.
May 9th: It ended the way I thought it would--the last 20 or so pages were quite exciting, leading up to the ending I expected, although he did have me thinking it would end differently. And got me so excited about finding out what happened next that I started the next book--and immediately regretted it as it doesn't tie up the story from this book, it just moves on. Really annoying.
September 8, 2019
I had a higher degree of unsettlement with Ashes of Victory than any of the previous eight novels in this series. It felt like more of a holding action despite the variety and impact of activity which occurred. Distractions kept breaking off my reading whereas my attention had been glued to the previous stories.
A bit untimely on my part, but I finally remembered to mention the leader of the 'Peep' Republic, Rob S. Pierre. Who just happens to be based in Nouveau Paris. I think it's safe to assume Weber is influenced by the French Revolution and the Committee of Public Safety when he started handing out names and titles to his Citizen Admirals, etc.
I do enjoy the fun Weber has with warship names...the William T. Sherman for instance in this novel for instance. And anyone with an interest in signing will enjoy the experiment in teaching treecats a true two-way communication with their persons.
A bit untimely on my part, but I finally remembered to mention the leader of the 'Peep' Republic, Rob S. Pierre. Who just happens to be based in Nouveau Paris. I think it's safe to assume Weber is influenced by the French Revolution and the Committee of Public Safety when he started handing out names and titles to his Citizen Admirals, etc.
I do enjoy the fun Weber has with warship names...the William T. Sherman for instance in this novel for instance. And anyone with an interest in signing will enjoy the experiment in teaching treecats a true two-way communication with their persons.
June 7, 2010
Review: Ashes of Victory
I think I've just given up and decided to attempt and catch up with David Weber's Honor Harrington series. All the way up. That means I'm currently working on Ashes of Victory, and it's impossible not to notice the books are getting longer as the series rolls on.
And in this case, it's not just longer in page-length, but in exposition, political maneuvering, and copious droning. Compared to Echoes of Honor, this is almost an unremitting snooze-fest. Echos is one of the most action-packed of the series, so holding every book up to that standard would be immensely unfair, yet writing this a few days after finishing the book, I'm having trouble remembering what actually transpired. It's like my eyes glazed over and refused to transmit the words to my balking cerebral cortex.
Yet it didn't have to be this way! This is the long-awaited novel where everything hits the fan. Saint-Just decides to move on his perception of McQueen's ambition; Haven enters yet another series of regime-swapping antics; Manticore finally launches an offensive against Haven using all the nifty new weapons they've developed; Honor hires a linguist to teach the treecats sign language for God's sake. That's not even mentioning everyone coming to terms with Honor's return, the repair of her face, and replacement of the arm she lost in In Enemy Hands. There is a ridiculous amount of material, but it all gets lost in the too-long pacing and tooth-grindingly glacial setup for each minuscule maneuver and implied, contextually-important discussion.
This is the first time I've mentally implored for an edited copy of a book, not because of syntactical errors, but due to the sheer amount of unnecessary brain vomit it contains. This is not due to Weber painstakingly describing a room, ship, or battle in exacting detail, but because every single thought and loosely-related tangent of even minor characters is explored like an architectural dig. Pages and pages are devoted to introducing a character, the context of their presence, what they ate for lunch last Tuesday, and what the implications may be for Manticore. I've noticed this about Weber occasionally, but this time he was in rare form, and looking back on the previous novels, I have to wonder what changed.
Since I've read a bit of War of Honor already, I can safely say he cut back drastically on irrelevant details, so I'll call this novel a fluke. It's still good, just a huge departure from the quality of previous entries.
I think I've just given up and decided to attempt and catch up with David Weber's Honor Harrington series. All the way up. That means I'm currently working on Ashes of Victory, and it's impossible not to notice the books are getting longer as the series rolls on.
And in this case, it's not just longer in page-length, but in exposition, political maneuvering, and copious droning. Compared to Echoes of Honor, this is almost an unremitting snooze-fest. Echos is one of the most action-packed of the series, so holding every book up to that standard would be immensely unfair, yet writing this a few days after finishing the book, I'm having trouble remembering what actually transpired. It's like my eyes glazed over and refused to transmit the words to my balking cerebral cortex.
Yet it didn't have to be this way! This is the long-awaited novel where everything hits the fan. Saint-Just decides to move on his perception of McQueen's ambition; Haven enters yet another series of regime-swapping antics; Manticore finally launches an offensive against Haven using all the nifty new weapons they've developed; Honor hires a linguist to teach the treecats sign language for God's sake. That's not even mentioning everyone coming to terms with Honor's return, the repair of her face, and replacement of the arm she lost in In Enemy Hands. There is a ridiculous amount of material, but it all gets lost in the too-long pacing and tooth-grindingly glacial setup for each minuscule maneuver and implied, contextually-important discussion.
This is the first time I've mentally implored for an edited copy of a book, not because of syntactical errors, but due to the sheer amount of unnecessary brain vomit it contains. This is not due to Weber painstakingly describing a room, ship, or battle in exacting detail, but because every single thought and loosely-related tangent of even minor characters is explored like an architectural dig. Pages and pages are devoted to introducing a character, the context of their presence, what they ate for lunch last Tuesday, and what the implications may be for Manticore. I've noticed this about Weber occasionally, but this time he was in rare form, and looking back on the previous novels, I have to wonder what changed.
Since I've read a bit of War of Honor already, I can safely say he cut back drastically on irrelevant details, so I'll call this novel a fluke. It's still good, just a huge departure from the quality of previous entries.
March 14, 2016
I've very much enjoyed the previous Honor Harrington novels. I couldn't finish this one. It's a terrible read. It's chapter after chapter of nothing happening. Just two people talking as an excuse for exposition. One writer's credo is "show, don't tell". Well, Weber is all "tell" and no "show" here. So disappointing considering how much I enjoyed previous books in this series. I don't know that I'll return to this book or the series again.
July 17, 2014
I dropped the rating on this one because some of the expository sections put me to sleep. Mostly about politics or finance.
October 17, 2025
David Weber really knows how to write an entertaining story. He also knows how to cram too much into a book. This makes it really difficult to provide a rating for a book that is part amazing and absolutely fantastic and partially dull and boring.
This book works the best when it's focused on Honor Harrington herself and the immediate people around her. The triumphant return of Honor from "Hell" is an absolutely great story, and Honor's difficulties returning to public life is fascinating.
I loved seeing the political fallout from her return. Not just the military changes, but also the political changes on Grayson and the political changes on Manticore. The political storyline on Manticore in this book was riveting.
We also see what has changed with her parents, Admiral Hamish Alexander (who is becoming a favorite character of mine in the series), and Honor's staff. Whenever any of them were the POV characters of a chapter, it was entertaing and top tier storytelling.
I thought we might be past all of the "Horatio Hornblower" and Napoleonic Era similarities in the series, but there are some events/plotlines here that not only feel like they come out of the Horatio Hornblower series, but they also feel very similar to major historical events (which I really liked, I LOVE when Weber pulls from these inspirations).
However...
there is so much in this book from the perspective of the Havenite leadership, and there were a few moments that were cool (the reaction to Honor's survival in the beginning and the Napoleon-esque coup-d'etat at the middle/end). But the majority of the Haven storyline felt too bloated and too slow moving. I really wanted Weber to focus his writing and cut out the superfluous stuff.
I've said before in reviews and I'll say again, this series works best as a 400ish page novel with an intense focus on Honor Harrington and our main cast. When that focus breaks and the story gets longer and longer, it becomes too bloated and boring in parts.
I am happy with a lot of the book, but I'm also unsure if I'll continue to "War of Honor" as its a 900+ page tome, and it doesn't appear as if David Weber has learned the lesson yet. Still, I did enjoy this book as a whole, and the parts I did enjoy were top tier. 7 out of 10.
This book works the best when it's focused on Honor Harrington herself and the immediate people around her. The triumphant return of Honor from "Hell" is an absolutely great story, and Honor's difficulties returning to public life is fascinating.
I loved seeing the political fallout from her return. Not just the military changes, but also the political changes on Grayson and the political changes on Manticore. The political storyline on Manticore in this book was riveting.
We also see what has changed with her parents, Admiral Hamish Alexander (who is becoming a favorite character of mine in the series), and Honor's staff. Whenever any of them were the POV characters of a chapter, it was entertaing and top tier storytelling.
I thought we might be past all of the "Horatio Hornblower" and Napoleonic Era similarities in the series, but there are some events/plotlines here that not only feel like they come out of the Horatio Hornblower series, but they also feel very similar to major historical events (which I really liked, I LOVE when Weber pulls from these inspirations).
However...
there is so much in this book from the perspective of the Havenite leadership, and there were a few moments that were cool (the reaction to Honor's survival in the beginning and the Napoleon-esque coup-d'etat at the middle/end). But the majority of the Haven storyline felt too bloated and too slow moving. I really wanted Weber to focus his writing and cut out the superfluous stuff.
I've said before in reviews and I'll say again, this series works best as a 400ish page novel with an intense focus on Honor Harrington and our main cast. When that focus breaks and the story gets longer and longer, it becomes too bloated and boring in parts.
I am happy with a lot of the book, but I'm also unsure if I'll continue to "War of Honor" as its a 900+ page tome, and it doesn't appear as if David Weber has learned the lesson yet. Still, I did enjoy this book as a whole, and the parts I did enjoy were top tier. 7 out of 10.
July 28, 2017
The Honor Harrington series has been pretty smooth sailing since some annoying lapses of realism in the earliest books. Now they're back with a vengance.
Generally the book is a bit slower paced than predecessors, but has many of their qualities (4 stars). What struck me as extremely annoying is
So I end up with a two-star rating, eyeing the one star rating, and seriously considering whether this series deserves more attention.
Generally the book is a bit slower paced than predecessors, but has many of their qualities (4 stars). What struck me as extremely annoying is
So I end up with a two-star rating, eyeing the one star rating, and seriously considering whether this series deserves more attention.
March 12, 2009
It got a four only because of the quote on the back of the book, which is:
"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
If that isn't cheesy space opera, I don't know what is.
"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
If that isn't cheesy space opera, I don't know what is.
July 22, 2018
The padding begins. Interesting stuff happens. But there’s no reason this book need be thicker than a steak.
March 21, 2021
2018 re-read. Things really heat up in this novel, both militarily, and politically. A very good read!
October 28, 2016
Honor is great!
Honor is grand!
Let's sing about Honor while we stand on our hands!
And that is what is wrong with this. Honestly, I debtated, am still debating whether to give one or two stars. The Honor worships was so over the top, it wasn't even funny. I can't even write this review without treecats telling me what they think of Honor.
BLEEP!
See?
Yet the bits with the Havenites, god that was good. I wanted more of that. Take out are the pages, pages, pages, and pages (be quiet White Haven! I know you love her, even though you cheat on your wife, it's honorable because it's just sex, which is why you feel you can't have Honor, pluze), pages of Honor worships, and you have a really good book.
Shorter though.
Way shorter. So short!
The problem is that constantly being told by every character (except the baddies and we know they're baddies because they don't tell us) that Honor is wonderful and then Weber telling us again sounds really stupid. Of course, Honor doesn't want the money because she has never wanted for anything in her life anyway. And poor Honor, having to walk by a statue in her honor. And the whole school thing, don't even get me started. Look Honor is humble! Look Honor is a great teacher! Look once her face is fix Honor will be beautiful again! Look, Weber, is Honor going to ascend? Cause otherwise, Rappicinni's Daughter. That's all I got to say (and stop with the infro dumping)
What really gets me annoyed is that the Honor worship takes away from the other characters. In a society where children are needed are Miranda and Andrew married to anyone? If not, why, considering Grayson? What about the Honor's family?
More importantly, the whole business with Haven, extremely intersting and beautiful was totally like subsumed into this Honor worship vortex. I would have loved to see more of the politics there because that is where Weber can really, really write. Truly. And that's why I am so annoyed at the Honor worship because it ruined what should have been a good book.
Honor is grand!
Let's sing about Honor while we stand on our hands!
And that is what is wrong with this. Honestly, I debtated, am still debating whether to give one or two stars. The Honor worships was so over the top, it wasn't even funny. I can't even write this review without treecats telling me what they think of Honor.
BLEEP!
See?
Yet the bits with the Havenites, god that was good. I wanted more of that. Take out are the pages, pages, pages, and pages (be quiet White Haven! I know you love her, even though you cheat on your wife, it's honorable because it's just sex, which is why you feel you can't have Honor, pluze), pages of Honor worships, and you have a really good book.
Shorter though.
Way shorter. So short!
The problem is that constantly being told by every character (except the baddies and we know they're baddies because they don't tell us) that Honor is wonderful and then Weber telling us again sounds really stupid. Of course, Honor doesn't want the money because she has never wanted for anything in her life anyway. And poor Honor, having to walk by a statue in her honor. And the whole school thing, don't even get me started. Look Honor is humble! Look Honor is a great teacher! Look once her face is fix Honor will be beautiful again! Look, Weber, is Honor going to ascend? Cause otherwise, Rappicinni's Daughter. That's all I got to say (and stop with the infro dumping)
What really gets me annoyed is that the Honor worship takes away from the other characters. In a society where children are needed are Miranda and Andrew married to anyone? If not, why, considering Grayson? What about the Honor's family?
More importantly, the whole business with Haven, extremely intersting and beautiful was totally like subsumed into this Honor worship vortex. I would have loved to see more of the politics there because that is where Weber can really, really write. Truly. And that's why I am so annoyed at the Honor worship because it ruined what should have been a good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2012
Wow. This book is over 600 pages long, and my experience of the first half and the second half was completely different. In fact I would have given the first half 2 stars and the second half 4 stars so I've compromised on 3.
I started reading this book not having been overly-thrilled with the previous one. And once again there were loooong conversations that started with one person turning to the person next to them and saying "As you already know, EXPOSITION!!". In fact, my friend and I managed to summarise one ten-page conversation into two sentences. I'm all for world building, the writing just seems really lazy. When the author stops asking "what situation shows this?" and instead asks "which character can drift off and think about the past and present political and financial implications of this before being recalled to the fact they were mid-conversation by someone coughing?" then I have to wonder if they aren't just phoning it in a little.
But the second half of the book was brilliant! Things happened! People did things! And the last scene was perfect.
If you had told me I would be eager to start the next book when I was a quarter of the way through this one, I would have said you were nuts. But the last half, and particularly the last 100-odd pages, reminded me exactly of the reason I loved these books in the first place.
I started reading this book not having been overly-thrilled with the previous one. And once again there were loooong conversations that started with one person turning to the person next to them and saying "As you already know, EXPOSITION!!". In fact, my friend and I managed to summarise one ten-page conversation into two sentences. I'm all for world building, the writing just seems really lazy. When the author stops asking "what situation shows this?" and instead asks "which character can drift off and think about the past and present political and financial implications of this before being recalled to the fact they were mid-conversation by someone coughing?" then I have to wonder if they aren't just phoning it in a little.
But the second half of the book was brilliant! Things happened! People did things! And the last scene was perfect.
If you had told me I would be eager to start the next book when I was a quarter of the way through this one, I would have said you were nuts. But the last half, and particularly the last 100-odd pages, reminded me exactly of the reason I loved these books in the first place.
November 28, 2011
Twice as many pages, but the same amount of story.
A fun read, but these get more formulaic with each installment. The formula: first third recapitulates and explores ramifications of the previous book's climax, second third develops side threads and massive dumps of philosophy (thinly disguised as internal and external dialogue), then the final third develops the new climax and gives just enough details of the aftermath to create a hook to the next novel.
Weber's a good writer and its all very fun, but more back story is required with each new book, increasing the portion of dead weight.
Better maps and diagrams than previously.
A fun read, but these get more formulaic with each installment. The formula: first third recapitulates and explores ramifications of the previous book's climax, second third develops side threads and massive dumps of philosophy (thinly disguised as internal and external dialogue), then the final third develops the new climax and gives just enough details of the aftermath to create a hook to the next novel.
Weber's a good writer and its all very fun, but more back story is required with each new book, increasing the portion of dead weight.
Better maps and diagrams than previously.
June 19, 2016
2.5 stars at best.
Long-winded and repetitive. Was he paid by the word when this was published?
Again, 2-3 space battles, depending on how you count. Lots of noses rubbed, pinched and blown off. Lots of blushing *facepalm*
Again, lots of long, in depth descriptions of new characters who are then never seen again.
Some very clever moments, padded out to (it seems) 800 pages.
2/3 of this book is just fluff. And the stupidity of one of the sub-plots beggars belief. Jeez.
Long-winded and repetitive. Was he paid by the word when this was published?
Again, 2-3 space battles, depending on how you count. Lots of noses rubbed, pinched and blown off. Lots of blushing *facepalm*
Again, lots of long, in depth descriptions of new characters who are then never seen again.
Some very clever moments, padded out to (it seems) 800 pages.
2/3 of this book is just fluff. And the stupidity of one of the sub-plots beggars belief. Jeez.
July 29, 2016
3.5 stars.
So it appears that Mr Weber likes to add an extra 200 pages on each new installment. The last book had 600+ pages, this one had 800+ pages and a check of the next goes to 1000+ pages!!! He's definitely training me how to skim pages!!
A pretty good story once you get rid of all the lectures - but I really wish his editor had told him to distill his information into broad strokes instead of writing dissertations! It's getting to be more and more impossible for someone who's only after a good read. Need to take a long break before I read anymore of this series!
So it appears that Mr Weber likes to add an extra 200 pages on each new installment. The last book had 600+ pages, this one had 800+ pages and a check of the next goes to 1000+ pages!!! He's definitely training me how to skim pages!!
A pretty good story once you get rid of all the lectures - but I really wish his editor had told him to distill his information into broad strokes instead of writing dissertations! It's getting to be more and more impossible for someone who's only after a good read. Need to take a long break before I read anymore of this series!
February 26, 2024
Not very good
So, I started off liking this book for the first 140 pages or so. From there, it was hit or miss, but for the most part, it was miss.
Firstly, the exposition dumps were absolutely God awful, there are multiple chapters where the majority of them are just giant exposition dumps in between two characters sentences, extending put for sometimes as long as 6+ pages and by that time you forget what the characters were actually talking about. If you took out all of the ridiculous exposition dumps, you'd probably be left with a book that's 200 pages long.
Secondly, there were a few continuity errors, the biggest being that Weber said the peep pods shot 12 missiles per one of their pods, when it has long since been a fact that peep pods shoot 16 missiles.
***spoilers from here on***
And then, there's the battle of Barnett and the few campaigns that follow it. All of which probably have a combined page time of only a chapter or two in which the Manties are basically given a mcguffin in terms of project ghost rider and the super LACs. If Weber went into detail and SHOWED us in depth on how they actually worked instead of exposition dumping all the info on us I would probably have actually enjoyed it. Yes there was the battle of hannock (however you spell it) but again, that hardly got any page time.
Next, in the battle of Barnett White Haven has something like 70 ships of the wall pulling pods and another 17 Harrington/Medusa class missle pod super dreadnoughts. That's the biggest fleet we've seen in action so far, and based on past battles, a fleet that size with pods should easily be able to shoot out 10k-20k missiles in a Salvo. We've seen the peeps do it in the past with a much much smaller fleet (13k I believe it was) and we saw the manties do it in the battle of basilisk (I believe it was 16k then) so why on earth would Weber say they fired "more than 3000"? Like I get ghost rider is powerful, but the Harrington/Medusas could do that by themselves. If it was simply to show how powerful ghost rider is then Weber has literally done the cardinal sin of sci fi and given the manties a wonder weapon that has no equal. That just makes it plain boring.
So yeah, I didn't like the book and since the end of the 4th one I've been liking the series even less. I have no idea where the series could possibly go from here since there like 6 books or something left.
So, I started off liking this book for the first 140 pages or so. From there, it was hit or miss, but for the most part, it was miss.
Firstly, the exposition dumps were absolutely God awful, there are multiple chapters where the majority of them are just giant exposition dumps in between two characters sentences, extending put for sometimes as long as 6+ pages and by that time you forget what the characters were actually talking about. If you took out all of the ridiculous exposition dumps, you'd probably be left with a book that's 200 pages long.
Secondly, there were a few continuity errors, the biggest being that Weber said the peep pods shot 12 missiles per one of their pods, when it has long since been a fact that peep pods shoot 16 missiles.
***spoilers from here on***
And then, there's the battle of Barnett and the few campaigns that follow it. All of which probably have a combined page time of only a chapter or two in which the Manties are basically given a mcguffin in terms of project ghost rider and the super LACs. If Weber went into detail and SHOWED us in depth on how they actually worked instead of exposition dumping all the info on us I would probably have actually enjoyed it. Yes there was the battle of hannock (however you spell it) but again, that hardly got any page time.
Next, in the battle of Barnett White Haven has something like 70 ships of the wall pulling pods and another 17 Harrington/Medusa class missle pod super dreadnoughts. That's the biggest fleet we've seen in action so far, and based on past battles, a fleet that size with pods should easily be able to shoot out 10k-20k missiles in a Salvo. We've seen the peeps do it in the past with a much much smaller fleet (13k I believe it was) and we saw the manties do it in the battle of basilisk (I believe it was 16k then) so why on earth would Weber say they fired "more than 3000"? Like I get ghost rider is powerful, but the Harrington/Medusas could do that by themselves. If it was simply to show how powerful ghost rider is then Weber has literally done the cardinal sin of sci fi and given the manties a wonder weapon that has no equal. That just makes it plain boring.
So yeah, I didn't like the book and since the end of the 4th one I've been liking the series even less. I have no idea where the series could possibly go from here since there like 6 books or something left.
April 7, 2024
Three and one-half stars. (Actually I should say 2 stars for the first half, which was a bit of a snooze fest, and 4 stars for the second half.) Ashes of Victory was a better read the second time through, but that might be because I was able to skim/speed-read through the many data dumps this time and get back to the story. (David Weber is a very good story-teller, but I do wish sometimes that he would spend more time on story editing. But then he would be less prolific, I suppose. Sigh.)
In this the ninth book in the direct Honor Harrington story line, Honor is in surgery and rehab to repair the very serious injuries she suffered in previous stories. But, that doesn't mean she is idle; much the opposite. However, others have to carry on Weber's trademark big-fleet actions.
This book pushes forward the story lines of the Manticore-Haven war, Honor's positions as a "great-lady" and leader in both Manticore and Grayson, and the human-treecat relationship. There is quite a bit of intrigue and suspense mixed in with the data dumps, and the final chapters are very strong. Overall, though flawed, this book is a must-read for those who enjoy the Honor Harrington series.
In this the ninth book in the direct Honor Harrington story line, Honor is in surgery and rehab to repair the very serious injuries she suffered in previous stories. But, that doesn't mean she is idle; much the opposite. However, others have to carry on Weber's trademark big-fleet actions.
This book pushes forward the story lines of the Manticore-Haven war, Honor's positions as a "great-lady" and leader in both Manticore and Grayson, and the human-treecat relationship. There is quite a bit of intrigue and suspense mixed in with the data dumps, and the final chapters are very strong. Overall, though flawed, this book is a must-read for those who enjoy the Honor Harrington series.
August 21, 2024
The ninth novel in the Honorverse series serves as a conclusion to a three-book arc in the series that begins with In Enemy Hands, continues with Echoes of Honor, and concludes here. Honor Harrington is alive, and well and has returned home with half a million prisoners from the Havenite Prison Planet known as Hell.
Ashes of Victory is the story of her triumphant return home. I would say the first third of the book or so is centered around just Honor coming to grips with having been declared/believed to be dead. She has an emotional reunion with her parents (her mother had given birth to twins, which satisfied the requirement Grayson had for an heir to her Steading) and her cousin Devon has inherited her Manticoran title (Honor is amused by this, as she can imagine his horror at the news-- while we don't meet him, he's described as a bookish/Professorial type who would very much not interested in things like a title.) She also has to face the facts: the extent of her injuries is going to keep her from active naval duty for at least a couple of years since she'll need reconstructive surgery.
There's a heart-wrenching moment for Nimitz as well-- as the extent of his injuries becomes clear and the humans realize he has lost his ability to communicate with his fellow Treecats, though his bond with Honor remains intact and as strong as ever. It's unclear if he recovers some ability to communicate with his fellow Treecats, but what Honor does is manage to help prove that Treecats are as intelligent as humans and full communication starts to become possible thanks to sign language systems.
Honor gets her battlefield promotion confirmed (and becomes Admiral) and, since she's out of the fighting for a bit, starts teaching at the Saganami Island Naval Academy to shape the minds of future generations of naval officers-- not just from Manticore, but from Grayson as well.
Hey, remember Steadholder Mueller? He was sort of kind of involved in a plot to overthrow Protector Benjamin that got somebody else beheaded and he frantically threw everyone he possibly could under the bus to avoid being implicated himself? (Flag In Exile, fifth book of the series.) Well, he's back and he's been biding his time and martialling his power and he's emerged as the leader of the Opposition on Grayson. He doesn't know it, but he's also under investigation but before that can come to fruition, his conspirators are revealed to be agents of Masada. There is unease on Grayson- especially when rumors start flying that annexation into the Star Kingdom is being discussed. (It's not precisely that: the famously independent San Martin has joined, but it's... kind of a commonwealth situation? They maintain their autonomy but also have representation of some kind in Manticore's Parliament?) Poor Mueller is in over his head and doesn't realize until it's too late.
Meanwhile, on Haven, things are going great, and by great I mean that Rob Pierre is dead. Admiral McQueen tries to launch a coup. Oscar Saint-Just detonates a hidden nuke underneath the Octagon and decimates McQueen, her forces, and a hefty amount of the military leadership to boot. Admiral Theisman is recalled to take charge of the Capital Fleet. Admirals Tourville and Giscard are believed to be next on the list of Admirals to go (i.e. be shot) and the military situation collapses on them. They are on the verge of utter defeat thanks to Manticore's new offensive and technologies to boot.
But, a surprise assassination attempt on the combined leadership of Manticore and Grayson fails- but kills Manticore's Prime Minister which leads to a change of government. The opposition comes in and demands a halt to the fighting, believing Haven to be defeated. Queen Elizabeth is fucking pissed about it but has no choice. A ceasefire follows along with negotiations and Admiral Theisman launches a coup of his own, killing Oscar Saint-Just.
Y'all...
I am not sure how to feel about this book. The first third to half of it is just about perfect. Pays off so many plot lines laid down in the previous two books of this arc. There are great character moments as Honor returns home and is reunited with friends and family and faces up to the cost of her injuries and time on Planet Hell. (The weird awkward romance between her and White Haven is touched upon, but we don't get back around to that-- I'm thinking we will at some point though.)
But the ending to this one leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's... awkward. To his credit, Weber acknowledges that he had to make a mild retcon in an afterword. Basically, eagle-eyed readers noted that in an earlier book, the Prime Minister of Manticore must command a majority in the Commons. Weber tweaked that here to make it the House of Lords. That change is small, but significant and explains how the Opposition was able to force a change in government-- and, it turns out that Monarchs of Manticore are required to marry a commoner. I am assuming that this will be paid off in future volumes... somehow. But a political short-circuit on Manticore's part also covers up for the fact that Haven is a hot mess.
How can any polity survive such instability? It's all coups and counter-coups and counter-counter-coups and nukes going off and just randomly killed a million people or so. I don't see how you can have that instability without some kind of popular unrest breaking out.
I mean, on the one hand, I get it: the Honorverse train keeps on rolling. But on the other hand: this is kind of a wet fart noise of an ending to a really excellent three-book arc to this series. (Also, there's a lot of really technical exposition in this one-- maybe more than in previous novels, I don't know. And yes, it's military sci-fi, so what did I expect, but it slows this book down in parts in ways I did not like.)
Overall: Starts strong, but the ending is not particularly satisfying-- however, these three book-arc have sold me on keeping on keeping on when it comes to the Honorverse, so I guess we'll see what's next. My Grade: *** out of ****
Ashes of Victory is the story of her triumphant return home. I would say the first third of the book or so is centered around just Honor coming to grips with having been declared/believed to be dead. She has an emotional reunion with her parents (her mother had given birth to twins, which satisfied the requirement Grayson had for an heir to her Steading) and her cousin Devon has inherited her Manticoran title (Honor is amused by this, as she can imagine his horror at the news-- while we don't meet him, he's described as a bookish/Professorial type who would very much not interested in things like a title.) She also has to face the facts: the extent of her injuries is going to keep her from active naval duty for at least a couple of years since she'll need reconstructive surgery.
There's a heart-wrenching moment for Nimitz as well-- as the extent of his injuries becomes clear and the humans realize he has lost his ability to communicate with his fellow Treecats, though his bond with Honor remains intact and as strong as ever. It's unclear if he recovers some ability to communicate with his fellow Treecats, but what Honor does is manage to help prove that Treecats are as intelligent as humans and full communication starts to become possible thanks to sign language systems.
Honor gets her battlefield promotion confirmed (and becomes Admiral) and, since she's out of the fighting for a bit, starts teaching at the Saganami Island Naval Academy to shape the minds of future generations of naval officers-- not just from Manticore, but from Grayson as well.
Hey, remember Steadholder Mueller? He was sort of kind of involved in a plot to overthrow Protector Benjamin that got somebody else beheaded and he frantically threw everyone he possibly could under the bus to avoid being implicated himself? (Flag In Exile, fifth book of the series.) Well, he's back and he's been biding his time and martialling his power and he's emerged as the leader of the Opposition on Grayson. He doesn't know it, but he's also under investigation but before that can come to fruition, his conspirators are revealed to be agents of Masada. There is unease on Grayson- especially when rumors start flying that annexation into the Star Kingdom is being discussed. (It's not precisely that: the famously independent San Martin has joined, but it's... kind of a commonwealth situation? They maintain their autonomy but also have representation of some kind in Manticore's Parliament?) Poor Mueller is in over his head and doesn't realize until it's too late.
Meanwhile, on Haven, things are going great, and by great I mean that Rob Pierre is dead. Admiral McQueen tries to launch a coup. Oscar Saint-Just detonates a hidden nuke underneath the Octagon and decimates McQueen, her forces, and a hefty amount of the military leadership to boot. Admiral Theisman is recalled to take charge of the Capital Fleet. Admirals Tourville and Giscard are believed to be next on the list of Admirals to go (i.e. be shot) and the military situation collapses on them. They are on the verge of utter defeat thanks to Manticore's new offensive and technologies to boot.
But, a surprise assassination attempt on the combined leadership of Manticore and Grayson fails- but kills Manticore's Prime Minister which leads to a change of government. The opposition comes in and demands a halt to the fighting, believing Haven to be defeated. Queen Elizabeth is fucking pissed about it but has no choice. A ceasefire follows along with negotiations and Admiral Theisman launches a coup of his own, killing Oscar Saint-Just.
Y'all...
I am not sure how to feel about this book. The first third to half of it is just about perfect. Pays off so many plot lines laid down in the previous two books of this arc. There are great character moments as Honor returns home and is reunited with friends and family and faces up to the cost of her injuries and time on Planet Hell. (The weird awkward romance between her and White Haven is touched upon, but we don't get back around to that-- I'm thinking we will at some point though.)
But the ending to this one leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's... awkward. To his credit, Weber acknowledges that he had to make a mild retcon in an afterword. Basically, eagle-eyed readers noted that in an earlier book, the Prime Minister of Manticore must command a majority in the Commons. Weber tweaked that here to make it the House of Lords. That change is small, but significant and explains how the Opposition was able to force a change in government-- and, it turns out that Monarchs of Manticore are required to marry a commoner. I am assuming that this will be paid off in future volumes... somehow. But a political short-circuit on Manticore's part also covers up for the fact that Haven is a hot mess.
How can any polity survive such instability? It's all coups and counter-coups and counter-counter-coups and nukes going off and just randomly killed a million people or so. I don't see how you can have that instability without some kind of popular unrest breaking out.
I mean, on the one hand, I get it: the Honorverse train keeps on rolling. But on the other hand: this is kind of a wet fart noise of an ending to a really excellent three-book arc to this series. (Also, there's a lot of really technical exposition in this one-- maybe more than in previous novels, I don't know. And yes, it's military sci-fi, so what did I expect, but it slows this book down in parts in ways I did not like.)
Overall: Starts strong, but the ending is not particularly satisfying-- however, these three book-arc have sold me on keeping on keeping on when it comes to the Honorverse, so I guess we'll see what's next. My Grade: *** out of ****
May 28, 2022
Going back to one Ive read a few times, Its a solid entry in the Honor Harrington series. It still has all the problems of a Weber book with massive multipage exposition dumps but its still a phenomenal space opera particularly at this point in the series before it got stuck in that massive quagmire that was the end of the series to date.Going back to one Ive read a few times, Its a solid entry in the Honor Harrington series. It still has all the problems of a Weber book with massive multipage exposition dumps but its still a phenomenal space opera particularly at this point in the series before it got stuck in that massive quagmire that was the end of the series to date.
September 16, 2015
Serien börjar bli lite utdragen, speciellt eftersom den verkar vara en roman som väntar på att nästa bok ska ta vid och mer intressanta saker ska börja utspela sig. Uppbyggnaden är ganska frånvarande när allt kommer hastigt med en ganska snabb upplösning.
July 12, 2014
This is the last one I´ll ever read. Weber is totally off track, too much annoying stuff going on.
July 17, 2023
I'll first have to admit that I am starting to get confused on where one episode starts and the next ends by the time I finish each volume in the series. However, it appears that the individual stories are stand alone stories that are enhanced if you have read the history in the previous stories. That is a good point.
In this story, Honor moves more to a political role, rather than a military one. And, there is plenty of politics in both Peep and Manty spheres. Now, as Duchess Honor, she is becoming more intimate with leaders in Manticore and Grayson. Her fighting role in the military, of both systems, is on hiatus while she recovers from various injuries along with Nimitz, her treecat. Her wealth continues to expand faster than she can spend it, even while economic problems plague the alliance. She makes new contacts in the military academy as an instructor, both among leadership and the students. Even with the turmoil in both belligerent governments, particularly after some decisive battles, the ending is satisfying yet incomplete.
I suppose this second reading turned out to be more of a project than I expected in the lead up to reading #14 for the first time, but these are good stories with a deep background in a world of imagination that seems somewhat parallel to contemporary earth. The technology is reasonable, it's advancement is natural, and the political interaction of it's use is fascinating. I don't even remember what the synopsis of #14 is about as I plod forward in re-reading this introductory material.
In this story, Honor moves more to a political role, rather than a military one. And, there is plenty of politics in both Peep and Manty spheres. Now, as Duchess Honor, she is becoming more intimate with leaders in Manticore and Grayson. Her fighting role in the military, of both systems, is on hiatus while she recovers from various injuries along with Nimitz, her treecat. Her wealth continues to expand faster than she can spend it, even while economic problems plague the alliance. She makes new contacts in the military academy as an instructor, both among leadership and the students. Even with the turmoil in both belligerent governments, particularly after some decisive battles, the ending is satisfying yet incomplete.
I suppose this second reading turned out to be more of a project than I expected in the lead up to reading #14 for the first time, but these are good stories with a deep background in a world of imagination that seems somewhat parallel to contemporary earth. The technology is reasonable, it's advancement is natural, and the political interaction of it's use is fascinating. I don't even remember what the synopsis of #14 is about as I plod forward in re-reading this introductory material.
June 23, 2017
23.6.2017 - 4,5*
Předchozí dvě knihy jsem byla často pobavená autorovým stylem psaní a jeho inteligentním, kousavým humorem. A i když tam byly scény u kterých mi do smíchu nebylo, stále to bylo "veselé" čtení.
Větší část této knihy byla stejná.
A pak přišel konec. Ach ano, teď rozumím názvu knihy dokonale a, pokud to tak můžu napsat, mám odpornou pachuť v puse. Smekám autorovi, že podobný efekt dokázal vytvořit.
edit (cca 5 min poté):
bohové. Jsem z toho konce tak rozházená, že když na mě vyskočila kniha "Náhradní kluk" a já si přečetla tu hloupoučkou anotaci, rozhodla jsem se, že to je jako komfortní čtení opravdu to pravé ořechové.
Weber mě zničil.
Předchozí dvě knihy jsem byla často pobavená autorovým stylem psaní a jeho inteligentním, kousavým humorem. A i když tam byly scény u kterých mi do smíchu nebylo, stále to bylo "veselé" čtení.
Větší část této knihy byla stejná.
A pak přišel konec. Ach ano, teď rozumím názvu knihy dokonale a, pokud to tak můžu napsat, mám odpornou pachuť v puse. Smekám autorovi, že podobný efekt dokázal vytvořit.
edit (cca 5 min poté):
bohové. Jsem z toho konce tak rozházená, že když na mě vyskočila kniha "Náhradní kluk" a já si přečetla tu hloupoučkou anotaci, rozhodla jsem se, že to je jako komfortní čtení opravdu to pravé ořechové.
Weber mě zničil.
August 31, 2025
Ashes of Honor (Honor Harrington Book 9
Wow! Really good story Honor once again in the hot seat! The Peeps once again are poop heads. The change of government with Manticore, almost like what's happened currently, here. Not going to mention names or anything else, to depressing.
Again thanks to the author for keeping Honor alive and her adventures entertaining everyone.
Wow! Really good story Honor once again in the hot seat! The Peeps once again are poop heads. The change of government with Manticore, almost like what's happened currently, here. Not going to mention names or anything else, to depressing.
Again thanks to the author for keeping Honor alive and her adventures entertaining everyone.
May 23, 2020
Another book of the adventures of Honor Harrington Stead holder and Space Navy ranking officer of two separate Naves. Good SF reading with plenty of things happening in this fat paperback
March 19, 2020
I truly wish I had read this series years ago, but I cannot complain too hard when I get to enjoy each action packed novel back-to-back. While another worthy addition to this series, the twist at the end was upsetting. Not because I did not agree with it, but I realized that the series was far from over. I just had politicians that are out to enrich themselves...too common by far.
May 3, 2025
Another foray into the Honor-verse. This one takes a long while to pick up steam - it was page 384 before the first moments of action occur, with the usual mix of intrigue, lots of personality descriptions and technical/military explanations.
The plot itself is fine and the ending twists manage to partially surprise, but this book is much slower than previous entries in the series and seems to be mostly set-up for the next few novels.
The plot itself is fine and the ending twists manage to partially surprise, but this book is much slower than previous entries in the series and seems to be mostly set-up for the next few novels.
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