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Honor Harrington #11
At All Costs
What price victoryThe war with the Republic of Haven has resumed . . . disastrously for the Star Kingdom of Manticore. Admiral Lady Dame Honor Harrington, Steadholder and Duchess Harrington, the single victorious Allied commander of the opening phase of the new war, has been recalled from the Sidemore System to command Eighth Fleet. Everyone knows Eighth Fleet is the Alliance's primary offensive command, which makes it the natural assignment for the woman the media calls ''the Salamander.'' But what most of the public DOESN'T know is that not only are the Star Kingdom and its Allies badly outnumbered by the Republic's new fleet, but that the odds are going to get steadily worse. Eighth Fleet's job is to somehow prevent those odds from crushing the Alliance before the Star Kingdom can regain its strategic balance. It's a job which won't be done cheaply. Honor Harrington must meet her formidable responsibilities with inferior forces even as she copes with tumultuous changes in her personal and public life. The alternative to victory is total defeat, yet this time the COST of victory will be agonizingly high.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).
1093 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 25, 2005
428 people are currently reading
2046 people want to read
About the author
David Weber
322 books4,549 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 236 reviews
June 8, 2011
Somehow after reading several Neal Stephenson novels, Weber's verbosity has become More irritating, not less. Stephenson's critics complain that he needs a good, strong, editor, but after reading the Quicksilver series I really don't know what I'd cut. On the other hand, it would be simplicity itself to scale back a Harrington novel by 30% or more. Seriously, do we Really need a blow-by-blow on a signed treecat conversation?!
The other traditional complaints apply as well: Harrington is more than a little too perfect, to the point of a more than occasional wince from the reader, and a good number of the characters are just too good to be true as well - too honorable, too honest, too understanding...
And yet, after I waded through the first 50 or 75 pages, I was hooked and kept reading eagerly all the way through the Battle of Manticore. And I just placed holds on a couple other anthologies in the series so I could figure out what actually happened on Torch / Verdant Vista.
(Which, of course, brings me to another complaint. The Honorverse has fractured considerably by this point, and simply reading all of the books in the Honor series itself is going to leave a reader in the dark about a few minor (or not so minor) points. It'd been a year since I read the Honor book before this one, and I spent a long time wondering if I'd simply forgotten a whole series of plot points. Turns out I hadn't: they're covered in spin-off series. But even reading through the Honorverse Wiki doesn't entirely simplify the task of figuring out in which order to read everything... I think the books themselves need to be published with a good, solid "key.")
But for all these complaints, the plot is Really quite good. It takes a good author to make you care almost as much about an "enemy" character's death as one of the "good guys," and it really is fascinating to see how two relatively honorable, non-evil societies can find themselves battling to the death even though (almost) no-one actually wanted it.
The other traditional complaints apply as well: Harrington is more than a little too perfect, to the point of a more than occasional wince from the reader, and a good number of the characters are just too good to be true as well - too honorable, too honest, too understanding...
And yet, after I waded through the first 50 or 75 pages, I was hooked and kept reading eagerly all the way through the Battle of Manticore. And I just placed holds on a couple other anthologies in the series so I could figure out what actually happened on Torch / Verdant Vista.
(Which, of course, brings me to another complaint. The Honorverse has fractured considerably by this point, and simply reading all of the books in the Honor series itself is going to leave a reader in the dark about a few minor (or not so minor) points. It'd been a year since I read the Honor book before this one, and I spent a long time wondering if I'd simply forgotten a whole series of plot points. Turns out I hadn't: they're covered in spin-off series. But even reading through the Honorverse Wiki doesn't entirely simplify the task of figuring out in which order to read everything... I think the books themselves need to be published with a good, solid "key.")
But for all these complaints, the plot is Really quite good. It takes a good author to make you care almost as much about an "enemy" character's death as one of the "good guys," and it really is fascinating to see how two relatively honorable, non-evil societies can find themselves battling to the death even though (almost) no-one actually wanted it.
October 30, 2025
*** 4.39 ***
This book was brutal! I found myself multiple times wishing the author had gone for some miraculous saves, but as always, he chose the more realistic route... Which is tough to swallow... So many people dead! Kind of broke my heart...
This book was brutal! I found myself multiple times wishing the author had gone for some miraculous saves, but as always, he chose the more realistic route... Which is tough to swallow... So many people dead! Kind of broke my heart...
August 20, 2014
FBC rv from 2010 which for some reason I completely forgot to add here:
INTRODUCTION: At All Costs is the 13th chronologically and the 11th and probably the last mostly-Honor novel from the Honorverse since it essentially ends the original series that started with On Basilisk Station and featured in the first two volumes the last three years of the decades old cold war between Manticore and Haven, while from volume three on we have seen the two actual naval wars spanning some 18 years of the series.
Mission of Honor which is the next novel that features Honor in a main but not solely-principal role and is the 16th one chronologically is the "dot the i's and cross the t's" end of the original series, but the action has already moved fast and in a different direction that follows from the events of The Shadow of Saganami and Storm from the Shadows.
Also At All Costs has one of the most emotional endings of any novel I have ever read and it still almost makes me cry when I get to the "Fly! Fly, Phoenix!" ending where - as seen on the cover - the author has Honor reading to her household kids from the novel David and the Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd.
"The ancient story's imagery touched her. It always had, but this time, it was different.
"It was the Phoenix," she heard herself read, "it must be the Phoenix!
But it was a new and different Phoenix. It was young and wild, with a fierce amber eye; its crest was tall and proud, its body the slim, muscular body of a hunter, its wings narrow and long and pointed like a falcon's, the great beak and talons razor-sharp and curving. And all of it, from crest to talons, was a burnished gold that reflected the sun in a thousand dazzling lights.
"The bird stretched its wings, shook the ash from its tail, and began to preen itself. Every movement was like the flash of a silent explosion. "'Phoenix,' David whispered. 'Phoenix.'"
Honor saw **** in the Phoenix, heard herself in the ancient David. Heard the yearning, the hunger, the need for the rebirth of all she'd lost, all that had been taken from the universe. "
Before the powerful ending of which I gave just a taste above, we have lots of battles, dastardly assassinations and assassination attempts, a first look at the main villains to come in the "new" series, high stakes intrigue and diplomacy as well as more mundane stuff like pesky journalists, kids, marriages and family life, all in a novel that due to the complete story sub-arc that starts and ends the war narrative - what turns out to be Operation Beatrice - has also the feel of a standalone too despite its "essentialness" in the series.
ANALYSIS: At All Costs is in many ways a typical David Weber tapestry novel with 800+ pages, lots of characters with "speaking parts", maps, Glossary, list of characters, a cd with tons of goodies - eg all previous Honor novels and most if not all of the author's Baen output to the date of the novel in various electronic formats - in the hardcover edition and even an afterword about David and the Phoenix, while in content it features the exquisite worldbuilding that is the trademark of the author, the expected technical info-dumping, action to power two novels as well as a definite ending, but there is one important difference, which crudely put is that for once the bad guys win at least temporarily.
And they do it in quite a subtle way too since in At All Costs the new re-birthed Republic of Haven takes its place fully in the "good guys" corner, while the evil manipulations of the villains from the shadows and the logic of statecraft and war lead to the huge pummeling that Haven and Manticore do to one another here.
So while At All Costs is still a Weberian novel with clear definite sides, it manages also to be a darkly ambiguous one and that was one of the main reasons I consider it the best novel of the series and a top five sf novel of the 00's.
Another reason I loved the novel so much was the ratcheting of tension and stakes throughout and at all levels. While War of Honor was noted for its intrigue and (badly played by authorial intent of course) poker diplomacy rather than action for most of its bulk, its ending was (literally) explosive and it carried through to At All Costs which directly follows it, so we already have the large-scale picture set.
But also in the smaller threads - Honor's secret romance, the unexpected babies, the mystery of the forged diplomatic correspondence or the strangely "conditioned" assassins - the suspense rises inexorably until we arrive to satisfactory resolutions at least in some of this sub-threads, though of course all stands hanging under the shadow of war to the knife with the most powerful fleets known to humanity as firepower and combat effectiveness go, unless somehow diplomacy and reason prevail as it seems possible midpoint through the book...
Overall, At All Costs (A++) is David Weber at his best in a multi-layered tale of intrigue, politics and war, but also love, families and desire for normality, in a universe that while seemingly at the tail end of a brutal but local war is actually on the brink of violent and unexpected total change, though neither Honor, nor Queen Elizabeth, President Eloise Pritchart, or any of our heroes know it yet. However the agents of that change are starting to creep out from the shadows...
INTRODUCTION: At All Costs is the 13th chronologically and the 11th and probably the last mostly-Honor novel from the Honorverse since it essentially ends the original series that started with On Basilisk Station and featured in the first two volumes the last three years of the decades old cold war between Manticore and Haven, while from volume three on we have seen the two actual naval wars spanning some 18 years of the series.
Mission of Honor which is the next novel that features Honor in a main but not solely-principal role and is the 16th one chronologically is the "dot the i's and cross the t's" end of the original series, but the action has already moved fast and in a different direction that follows from the events of The Shadow of Saganami and Storm from the Shadows.
Also At All Costs has one of the most emotional endings of any novel I have ever read and it still almost makes me cry when I get to the "Fly! Fly, Phoenix!" ending where - as seen on the cover - the author has Honor reading to her household kids from the novel David and the Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd.
"The ancient story's imagery touched her. It always had, but this time, it was different.
"It was the Phoenix," she heard herself read, "it must be the Phoenix!
But it was a new and different Phoenix. It was young and wild, with a fierce amber eye; its crest was tall and proud, its body the slim, muscular body of a hunter, its wings narrow and long and pointed like a falcon's, the great beak and talons razor-sharp and curving. And all of it, from crest to talons, was a burnished gold that reflected the sun in a thousand dazzling lights.
"The bird stretched its wings, shook the ash from its tail, and began to preen itself. Every movement was like the flash of a silent explosion. "'Phoenix,' David whispered. 'Phoenix.'"
Honor saw **** in the Phoenix, heard herself in the ancient David. Heard the yearning, the hunger, the need for the rebirth of all she'd lost, all that had been taken from the universe. "
Before the powerful ending of which I gave just a taste above, we have lots of battles, dastardly assassinations and assassination attempts, a first look at the main villains to come in the "new" series, high stakes intrigue and diplomacy as well as more mundane stuff like pesky journalists, kids, marriages and family life, all in a novel that due to the complete story sub-arc that starts and ends the war narrative - what turns out to be Operation Beatrice - has also the feel of a standalone too despite its "essentialness" in the series.
ANALYSIS: At All Costs is in many ways a typical David Weber tapestry novel with 800+ pages, lots of characters with "speaking parts", maps, Glossary, list of characters, a cd with tons of goodies - eg all previous Honor novels and most if not all of the author's Baen output to the date of the novel in various electronic formats - in the hardcover edition and even an afterword about David and the Phoenix, while in content it features the exquisite worldbuilding that is the trademark of the author, the expected technical info-dumping, action to power two novels as well as a definite ending, but there is one important difference, which crudely put is that for once the bad guys win at least temporarily.
And they do it in quite a subtle way too since in At All Costs the new re-birthed Republic of Haven takes its place fully in the "good guys" corner, while the evil manipulations of the villains from the shadows and the logic of statecraft and war lead to the huge pummeling that Haven and Manticore do to one another here.
So while At All Costs is still a Weberian novel with clear definite sides, it manages also to be a darkly ambiguous one and that was one of the main reasons I consider it the best novel of the series and a top five sf novel of the 00's.
Another reason I loved the novel so much was the ratcheting of tension and stakes throughout and at all levels. While War of Honor was noted for its intrigue and (badly played by authorial intent of course) poker diplomacy rather than action for most of its bulk, its ending was (literally) explosive and it carried through to At All Costs which directly follows it, so we already have the large-scale picture set.
But also in the smaller threads - Honor's secret romance, the unexpected babies, the mystery of the forged diplomatic correspondence or the strangely "conditioned" assassins - the suspense rises inexorably until we arrive to satisfactory resolutions at least in some of this sub-threads, though of course all stands hanging under the shadow of war to the knife with the most powerful fleets known to humanity as firepower and combat effectiveness go, unless somehow diplomacy and reason prevail as it seems possible midpoint through the book...
Overall, At All Costs (A++) is David Weber at his best in a multi-layered tale of intrigue, politics and war, but also love, families and desire for normality, in a universe that while seemingly at the tail end of a brutal but local war is actually on the brink of violent and unexpected total change, though neither Honor, nor Queen Elizabeth, President Eloise Pritchart, or any of our heroes know it yet. However the agents of that change are starting to creep out from the shadows...
August 1, 2011
Interesting book. Creative, well-written... and very frustrating. Mainly because a lot of the plot developments stemmed from decisions that were out of character for lots of characters, in the interest of making things very dramatic, but totally unnecessary. First, the idiotic war that the sane, sympathetic, extremely intelligent people kept going for no good reason. At the very least, the last battle should've been turned into a demand for peace talks instead of attempted annihilation. Add to that the mix of polygyny/polyamory/feminism that the brilliant "solution", orchestrated by the clergy, that was arranged FOR her. Well, dramatic it was, but I say boooooo to the ending and the romance. I get what he was going for, both with his unconventional marriage and, more broadly, with his phoenix metaphor for Honor, taking her life to ashes so she could emerge stronger, but it didn't work. Weber would've done better to develop the complications of the outsiders (Detweiler & Co.) and bring some resolution to what he introduces about them, rather than making the smart, honorable characters do crazy things that really don't jive with their characters up to that point.
Another quibble--the reversion to "ancient" traditional religion. There was so much potential to develop a really interesting faith that suited Honor and her beliefs, and that potential was just lost. Instead we get a 2 page Catholic baptismal recitation. Which I have no problems with in real life, it just seemed superfluous to the story, and that was after all the other religious reversions that fell flat.
This book will probably curb my enthusiasm for reading any more of the Honorverse, even though I've enjoyed all the previous books, despite quibbles with the first one too. I didn't really expect to have a likable series bookended with both a problematic start and finish.
Oh, and she should've ended up with Alistair. White Haven? Really? It would've been more interesting and believable for her flame for White Haven to subside and for her to move on, especially after all that time and the unworkableness of the relationship. Alistair would've been a better match up in many ways and I was sorry that Weber didn't go there.
Another quibble--the reversion to "ancient" traditional religion. There was so much potential to develop a really interesting faith that suited Honor and her beliefs, and that potential was just lost. Instead we get a 2 page Catholic baptismal recitation. Which I have no problems with in real life, it just seemed superfluous to the story, and that was after all the other religious reversions that fell flat.
This book will probably curb my enthusiasm for reading any more of the Honorverse, even though I've enjoyed all the previous books, despite quibbles with the first one too. I didn't really expect to have a likable series bookended with both a problematic start and finish.
Oh, and she should've ended up with Alistair. White Haven? Really? It would've been more interesting and believable for her flame for White Haven to subside and for her to move on, especially after all that time and the unworkableness of the relationship. Alistair would've been a better match up in many ways and I was sorry that Weber didn't go there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2010
The story is good and the writing is on par with the other books.
But I cannot overlook what I feel is a complete betrayal of both his characters and his readers. Towards the end, a group of recurring and main characters are suddenly remarkably stupid and completely contrary to how they have acted in the last TEN books. Maybe.../maybe/....in Weber's mind there really was a reason for Elizabeth's friends & advisors to suddenly become imbeciles. If there was, it should have been in the book...as long as the book was, surely *something* else could have been replaced to make their actions not a complete mockery. To me, it reads like Weber had a place he wanted the story to go and consistent character behavior be damned. Elizabeth and Honor are the only two of the group that seem to retain their "true" selves in that section.
But I cannot overlook what I feel is a complete betrayal of both his characters and his readers. Towards the end, a group of recurring and main characters are suddenly remarkably stupid and completely contrary to how they have acted in the last TEN books. Maybe.../maybe/....in Weber's mind there really was a reason for Elizabeth's friends & advisors to suddenly become imbeciles. If there was, it should have been in the book...as long as the book was, surely *something* else could have been replaced to make their actions not a complete mockery. To me, it reads like Weber had a place he wanted the story to go and consistent character behavior be damned. Elizabeth and Honor are the only two of the group that seem to retain their "true" selves in that section.
October 17, 2019
Eleventh in the Honor Harrington military science fiction series (and thirty-fourth in the Honorverse), revolving around two war fronts.
And that title just ain't kiddin'! It was all costs in this installment. A Grayson-style marriage, assassinations and deaths from battle (I'm still crying over three of 'em!), births..it's got 'em all. Reverend Sullivan does a nice end run in this one...hee-hee-heeeee.
The Shadow of Saganami takes place during the action in this one. That Oversteegen sure gets around...
And the battle to end all battles...but who has won in the end...?
And that title just ain't kiddin'! It was all costs in this installment. A Grayson-style marriage, assassinations and deaths from battle (I'm still crying over three of 'em!), births..it's got 'em all. Reverend Sullivan does a nice end run in this one...hee-hee-heeeee.
The Shadow of Saganami takes place during the action in this one. That Oversteegen sure gets around...
And the battle to end all battles...but who has won in the end...?
April 4, 2021
2018 re-read. Very good!
October 1, 2014
I admire this series and the universe Weber has created, but I was sadly disappointed in this book. It was frustrating to watch a conflict not between good and evil, not even between peoples with clashing values or goals, but between two sets of rational, peace-desiring governments goaded into war by the actions of a malicious third party. It was incredibly annoying that the origins and motivations of this third party come from a companion series (which I haven't read) and are only shallowly explored in this book. The body count in the end was nauseating, and the resolution of the final battle was extremely unsatisfying.
I suspect that reading both of the companion series is crucial to the full enjoyment of these last couple of Honor Harrington books, and that seems unfair to the reader.
The drama in Honor's personal life was no more mawkish than usual. I'm still not feeling the romance between Honor and White Haven, which makes me less invested in her happy ending.
When I finished the book immediately before this one I was anxious to continue with the series. At this moment I'm not sure I'll ever read another Weber book.
I suspect that reading both of the companion series is crucial to the full enjoyment of these last couple of Honor Harrington books, and that seems unfair to the reader.
The drama in Honor's personal life was no more mawkish than usual. I'm still not feeling the romance between Honor and White Haven, which makes me less invested in her happy ending.
When I finished the book immediately before this one I was anxious to continue with the series. At this moment I'm not sure I'll ever read another Weber book.
March 15, 2016
Right. I have invested the time to read ten books in this series. I have loved it. Yes, it is cheesy. Yes, Honor has everything - maybe she's too capable, too perfect. That has been irrelevant. The Honorverse has been a lovely place to spend time. I even bought that her new planet would have a population of people living plural marriages.
However. Whatever you may feel about plural marriage, the character that Mr. Weber has created is a strong, independent woman. She has a strength and focus as strong as any leader. Her loss of Paul Tankersley was real and painful for her and the reader.
The idea that she would fall for Hamish Alexander was even believable. But, Weber lost me when he tried to convince me that she would ever share a man - that she would be willing to play a subjugated role. A secondary sister-wife. It doesn't jibe with Honor's character. This U-turn was enough for me to quit the series.
He may as well have have killed her.
However. Whatever you may feel about plural marriage, the character that Mr. Weber has created is a strong, independent woman. She has a strength and focus as strong as any leader. Her loss of Paul Tankersley was real and painful for her and the reader.
The idea that she would fall for Hamish Alexander was even believable. But, Weber lost me when he tried to convince me that she would ever share a man - that she would be willing to play a subjugated role. A secondary sister-wife. It doesn't jibe with Honor's character. This U-turn was enough for me to quit the series.
He may as well have have killed her.
August 18, 2016
Yes! This is what we want. Weber has abandoned history and gone back to storytelling. And a very good story it is.
He fills in just enough back story to fill in the new reader, but generally avoids multipage data dumps. The characters have enough depth to be engaging. The action is believable, even if the scale is overwhelming.
The pregnancy issue was too easily and too early resolved, perhaps because it would have distracted from the main plot, but like is messy like that. And, yes, Murphy’s Law is given its due.
All the conflicted nations are human: earth origin, drawing from the same history and culture. And they manage to misread or reject each others thinking all the time. Imagine how it’d be with alien peoples?
He fills in just enough back story to fill in the new reader, but generally avoids multipage data dumps. The characters have enough depth to be engaging. The action is believable, even if the scale is overwhelming.
The pregnancy issue was too easily and too early resolved, perhaps because it would have distracted from the main plot, but like is messy like that. And, yes, Murphy’s Law is given its due.
All the conflicted nations are human: earth origin, drawing from the same history and culture. And they manage to misread or reject each others thinking all the time. Imagine how it’d be with alien peoples?
January 20, 2012
Of all the Honor Harrington books, this is the one that most makes me want to IMMEDIATELY pick up the next book. I cannot grasp the repurcutions that will be explored in the next book...
December 12, 2009
David Weber had a great thing going...
Horatio Hornblower in space. If you have never read any CS Forester, stop and go get some.
Through many adventures and battles we have seen our heroine evolve. But now it has gone too far. The war, the background politics, the enemies and the adversity. All have been a great part of the series. Treecats and their powers have been fascinating. But Honor is now super goddess. There is no other like her. She shall never die, and anything good that can happen will happen to her.
We had books where this was not the case, but now we find that the superwoman can further enrich her own life without consequence or drama. And that is the heart of why this book has lost so many stars in my estimation. You know from page one Honor will survive.
You knew that Hornblower would live also. But that was a much more chancy thing, and certainly Hornblower did not become the greatest admiral of the fleet, nor the confident of the king, nor the lover of the king's chief minister (his later marriage to the sister of Wellington gave him little advantage while Honor's triangular entanglments makes her one of the most powerful members of the nobility in addition to the best naval officer in the universe.) Honor has been given too much Honor. With the concept of ProLong, she will be top of the Heap for a long time...
This series had been doing great. It even looked like we were going to see the identification of a true evil enemy to target our vitriol against, as the short stories developed and had worked into the main canon. Manpower can definitely be the focus for several books to come. But if you have to saddle this series with babies, crippled lovers whose emotions wring completly false only to further allow Honor her heroic ascendance, then why bother. Just do as the Romans, call Honor a God Emperor and be done...
So hopefully not too many spoilers in this review. But you should know that the battles are getting fewer, the politics less important, but Honor is everything. That is what I find fault with.
As for the battles we have come to expect a new twist from Weber on how he destroys the various fleets and again he has it this time. I must agree with another reviewer that at a certain point counting how many missiles are travelling at what velocity and cet defeated by so many counter missiles and defenses, each and every volley, is disconcerting. Certainly in the early Starfire books, if memory serves, these conflicts did not go on for so many pages or for so much nit-picking detail.
Horatio Hornblower in space. If you have never read any CS Forester, stop and go get some.
Through many adventures and battles we have seen our heroine evolve. But now it has gone too far. The war, the background politics, the enemies and the adversity. All have been a great part of the series. Treecats and their powers have been fascinating. But Honor is now super goddess. There is no other like her. She shall never die, and anything good that can happen will happen to her.
We had books where this was not the case, but now we find that the superwoman can further enrich her own life without consequence or drama. And that is the heart of why this book has lost so many stars in my estimation. You know from page one Honor will survive.
You knew that Hornblower would live also. But that was a much more chancy thing, and certainly Hornblower did not become the greatest admiral of the fleet, nor the confident of the king, nor the lover of the king's chief minister (his later marriage to the sister of Wellington gave him little advantage while Honor's triangular entanglments makes her one of the most powerful members of the nobility in addition to the best naval officer in the universe.) Honor has been given too much Honor. With the concept of ProLong, she will be top of the Heap for a long time...
This series had been doing great. It even looked like we were going to see the identification of a true evil enemy to target our vitriol against, as the short stories developed and had worked into the main canon. Manpower can definitely be the focus for several books to come. But if you have to saddle this series with babies, crippled lovers whose emotions wring completly false only to further allow Honor her heroic ascendance, then why bother. Just do as the Romans, call Honor a God Emperor and be done...
So hopefully not too many spoilers in this review. But you should know that the battles are getting fewer, the politics less important, but Honor is everything. That is what I find fault with.
As for the battles we have come to expect a new twist from Weber on how he destroys the various fleets and again he has it this time. I must agree with another reviewer that at a certain point counting how many missiles are travelling at what velocity and cet defeated by so many counter missiles and defenses, each and every volley, is disconcerting. Certainly in the early Starfire books, if memory serves, these conflicts did not go on for so many pages or for so much nit-picking detail.
March 6, 2015
Another good instalment of the sci-fi story that never ends! (Pro-long... the drug that grants spacers long life... and apparently the books that go with them.)
I like it and, it is more of the same that I like. The story moves forward but does not conclude and things blow up! What else do you need from a sequell?
I like it and, it is more of the same that I like. The story moves forward but does not conclude and things blow up! What else do you need from a sequell?
August 1, 2011
The latest book in the Honor Harrington series falls flat. With the emergence of Honor's pregnancy, her complicated love life, and the uneasy status of war and peace, it is overly complicated and far removed from the original feeling of the series itself.
August 2, 2020
In this episode, Manticore is at a serious disadvantage. Haven has had a number of military victories which have destroyed much of the industrial infrastructure that was building units for the Manticoran Navy. The Manticorans have always had fewer people than Haven but they made up that disadvantage by having much better military hardware. Now the odds are even more in Haven's favor.
But Haven isn't really interested in pursuing military victory. Their new government only went to war in the hopes of forcing the Manticorans to the peace table. This is even more important now that they have learned that their former Secretary of War manipulated the messages passing back and forth between Haven and Manticore in order to keep the pressure on and for his own political advantage. But they don't have proof - just really strong suspicions.
Haven has proposed a meeting between President Pritchard of Haven and Queen Elizabeth of Manticore to discuss a possible peace treaty. After much convincing, Elizabeth has agreed to meet on neutral territory - the newly organized planet of Torch which was founded by ex-genetic slaves and is now ruled by Queen Berry who is the daughter of Anton Zilwicki.
However, there is a mysterious organization who doesn't want a better relationship between Haven and Manticore. They have developed some nanotech that turn people into unwilling assassins. They have used it on Earth to kill the Manticoran Ambassador and they have used an assassin to try to kill Queen Berry but she was saved at the cost of the lives of her bodyguards. They have also tried to assassinate Honor Harrington by using their nanotech on her young flag lieutenant. They have also tried to make it look like Haven was responsible for all the assassinations and assassination attempts and Queen Elizabeth is more than willing to blame Haven.
So Manticore withdraws from the peace process and goes back to war against Haven. Because of their disadvantages, Honor is given control of the eighth fleet and tasked with making raids on Havenite planets with the goal of damaging their industrial infrastructure. They also have the advantage of two new weapons which level the playing field some. But the new weapons aren't in large enough supply for anything more than the eighth fleet.
Haven needs some military victories in order to force Manticore back to the peace table and come up with an audacious plan to bring the war to Manticore's home system.
While all this war stuff is going on, lots is also happening in Honor's personal life. Through a medical error, she finds herself pregnant which really couldn't come at a worse time. Her political enemies on Manticore and Grayson are eager to use this unmarried pregnancy to do her harm. Luckily, she still has powerful friends and family who are determined to manage things for her. Thus, this is the book where Honor marries both Hamish and Emily Alexander and becomes the mother of a son.
This was a great story with lots of things happening. At over 30 hours of listening there was time for a lot of detail both about Honor's personal life and about the politics between Haven and Manticore.
But Haven isn't really interested in pursuing military victory. Their new government only went to war in the hopes of forcing the Manticorans to the peace table. This is even more important now that they have learned that their former Secretary of War manipulated the messages passing back and forth between Haven and Manticore in order to keep the pressure on and for his own political advantage. But they don't have proof - just really strong suspicions.
Haven has proposed a meeting between President Pritchard of Haven and Queen Elizabeth of Manticore to discuss a possible peace treaty. After much convincing, Elizabeth has agreed to meet on neutral territory - the newly organized planet of Torch which was founded by ex-genetic slaves and is now ruled by Queen Berry who is the daughter of Anton Zilwicki.
However, there is a mysterious organization who doesn't want a better relationship between Haven and Manticore. They have developed some nanotech that turn people into unwilling assassins. They have used it on Earth to kill the Manticoran Ambassador and they have used an assassin to try to kill Queen Berry but she was saved at the cost of the lives of her bodyguards. They have also tried to assassinate Honor Harrington by using their nanotech on her young flag lieutenant. They have also tried to make it look like Haven was responsible for all the assassinations and assassination attempts and Queen Elizabeth is more than willing to blame Haven.
So Manticore withdraws from the peace process and goes back to war against Haven. Because of their disadvantages, Honor is given control of the eighth fleet and tasked with making raids on Havenite planets with the goal of damaging their industrial infrastructure. They also have the advantage of two new weapons which level the playing field some. But the new weapons aren't in large enough supply for anything more than the eighth fleet.
Haven needs some military victories in order to force Manticore back to the peace table and come up with an audacious plan to bring the war to Manticore's home system.
While all this war stuff is going on, lots is also happening in Honor's personal life. Through a medical error, she finds herself pregnant which really couldn't come at a worse time. Her political enemies on Manticore and Grayson are eager to use this unmarried pregnancy to do her harm. Luckily, she still has powerful friends and family who are determined to manage things for her. Thus, this is the book where Honor marries both Hamish and Emily Alexander and becomes the mother of a son.
This was a great story with lots of things happening. At over 30 hours of listening there was time for a lot of detail both about Honor's personal life and about the politics between Haven and Manticore.
May 11, 2018
Read for the Military Spec-Fic Reading Challenge, the Read the Sequel Challenge, and the Space Opera Challenge.
This book is a lot of things at once. The first half of it is a romance novel. Which is excellent; after all, fans of the series have been following Honor's relationship for maybe four or five books now, so it's nice to see where it might go. Also, gotta give kudos to Weber; obviously United Methodism is a lot less antiquated than some other forms of Protestantism, because this former lay preacher manages to write an amazing, committed polyfidelitous trio that is ethical, honourable, and works (note for the polyamorous people who might be reading this review.)
The second half is concerned mostly with the politics of the war, punctuated with skirmishes as Honor leads Eighth Fleet (a cobbled-together raiding force) to attack the Republic of Haven and keep them busy in the hopes that it will give the Manticoran Star Kingdom and their allies enough time to build the fleet they don't have to fight the Peeps. What the kicker is about this is that Haven didn't really want to go to war, but they felt they had no choice but to resume hostilities; and they now realize that both they and Manticore have been manipulated into fighting each other though the actions of an unknown third power, but since they can't prove it, they have no way of stopping the war through diplomatic means.
The end result is a lot of escalation, and people being forced into difficult positions that force them to act against their desires or instincts. And I can't give you any more without enormous spoilers, so I won't do that to you.
A lot of things remain up in the air at the end of the book. And I will do this much - I'll warn you that Weber is not afraid to break some eggs to make his omelet. It's tear-jerking stuff at some points; hard to do in a high-action, military sci-fi novel.
A great edition to the series, and a turning point. The only reason it didn't get five stars from me is that once again, I find some of the text to be heavily bogged down in the info-dump details; but again, it won't deter me from reading the next one.
This book is a lot of things at once. The first half of it is a romance novel. Which is excellent; after all, fans of the series have been following Honor's relationship for maybe four or five books now, so it's nice to see where it might go. Also, gotta give kudos to Weber; obviously United Methodism is a lot less antiquated than some other forms of Protestantism, because this former lay preacher manages to write an amazing, committed polyfidelitous trio that is ethical, honourable, and works (note for the polyamorous people who might be reading this review.)
The second half is concerned mostly with the politics of the war, punctuated with skirmishes as Honor leads Eighth Fleet (a cobbled-together raiding force) to attack the Republic of Haven and keep them busy in the hopes that it will give the Manticoran Star Kingdom and their allies enough time to build the fleet they don't have to fight the Peeps. What the kicker is about this is that Haven didn't really want to go to war, but they felt they had no choice but to resume hostilities; and they now realize that both they and Manticore have been manipulated into fighting each other though the actions of an unknown third power, but since they can't prove it, they have no way of stopping the war through diplomatic means.
The end result is a lot of escalation, and people being forced into difficult positions that force them to act against their desires or instincts. And I can't give you any more without enormous spoilers, so I won't do that to you.
A lot of things remain up in the air at the end of the book. And I will do this much - I'll warn you that Weber is not afraid to break some eggs to make his omelet. It's tear-jerking stuff at some points; hard to do in a high-action, military sci-fi novel.
A great edition to the series, and a turning point. The only reason it didn't get five stars from me is that once again, I find some of the text to be heavily bogged down in the info-dump details; but again, it won't deter me from reading the next one.
September 14, 2025
At All Costs (Honor Harrington book 11)
Well, quite a ride! War! Love! Death! Birth! Introducing (A little deeper), the Mesan Alignment......
Honor, eh, I can't expound on what exactly goes on without giving it away. It will be better if the readers experience this ride for themselves. It will be well worth it!
Well, quite a ride! War! Love! Death! Birth! Introducing (A little deeper), the Mesan Alignment......
Honor, eh, I can't expound on what exactly goes on without giving it away. It will be better if the readers experience this ride for themselves. It will be well worth it!
July 6, 2017
Czyta się wciąż nieźle, ale marysueizm przeraża.
September 1, 2024
Love this series and this one is such a treat! Massive climax of many of the storylines that have been developing for a long time. Lots of fun and very engrossing.
October 8, 2008
These are more comments and ramblings instead a thought out review.
One thing that I never really bought was the romance between Honor and Hamish Alexander. It always felt rather shallow for me. It could be the fact that he loves his wife, Emily (the token martyr sue in this scenario - beautiful, talented, beloved and crippled), but still has this 'passion' for Honor. I don't know, as a romance reader, it's not the polyamory that feels like a stretch, but the way it's written. Honor seems to have more chemistry with other characters like Alistair or Andrew. Heck, her tragically short with Paul felt more real than this 'great romance' with Hamish.
Because I've had a hard time buying the romance, it has marred this otherwise epic space opera. It feels so flatly written that when it shows up in the story telling, I feel resentful for it's intrusion. That's gotta say something. When a romance reader gets annoyed by the intrusion of the romantic storyline in the overall plot, something ain't right.
It's also fascinating what I'm willing to put up with in this universe. Weber is breaking a ton of rules: massive info dumps, cast of thousands that can be hard to keep up with, telling verses showing, and technospeak that is brain numbing. Yet, the universe is so awesome and overall the plot keeps me interested despite the obvious issues. I firmly think that Weber could use some tighter story editing. The way things are going, he's either going to have to kill off his main character or something equally drastic because just throwing Honor into battles either with Haven or the Sollies will not be enough to continue to carry this series. And I hated that Weber killed off one of my favorite characters, so my rambling commentary might have something to do with that :).
One thing that I never really bought was the romance between Honor and Hamish Alexander. It always felt rather shallow for me. It could be the fact that he loves his wife, Emily (the token martyr sue in this scenario - beautiful, talented, beloved and crippled), but still has this 'passion' for Honor. I don't know, as a romance reader, it's not the polyamory that feels like a stretch, but the way it's written. Honor seems to have more chemistry with other characters like Alistair or Andrew. Heck, her tragically short with Paul felt more real than this 'great romance' with Hamish.
Because I've had a hard time buying the romance, it has marred this otherwise epic space opera. It feels so flatly written that when it shows up in the story telling, I feel resentful for it's intrusion. That's gotta say something. When a romance reader gets annoyed by the intrusion of the romantic storyline in the overall plot, something ain't right.
It's also fascinating what I'm willing to put up with in this universe. Weber is breaking a ton of rules: massive info dumps, cast of thousands that can be hard to keep up with, telling verses showing, and technospeak that is brain numbing. Yet, the universe is so awesome and overall the plot keeps me interested despite the obvious issues. I firmly think that Weber could use some tighter story editing. The way things are going, he's either going to have to kill off his main character or something equally drastic because just throwing Honor into battles either with Haven or the Sollies will not be enough to continue to carry this series. And I hated that Weber killed off one of my favorite characters, so my rambling commentary might have something to do with that :).
May 26, 2012
I had a hard time deciding how I felt about this installment of the series.
While my relationship with this series has its ups and downs, I can't quit it. I already have #12 on the Kindle and I'll be tuning back in to see what happens.
While my relationship with this series has its ups and downs, I can't quit it. I already have #12 on the Kindle and I'll be tuning back in to see what happens.
March 22, 2017
It's the big climax to the Havenite wars and it doesn't really disappoint. Even though it's rather slow moving at points (there's a lot of pointless conversations about stuff the readers already know) and the Weber infodump machine is in overdrive (honestly, we don't need you to show us the math every time somebody fires a missile) this is still one of the better books in the series. Why, given those negatives? Well, mostly because of the emotional payoff. You can call it cheaply manipulative if you want, but Weber does know how to go for the feels when he really wants to. So there are some major, life changing events in store for Honor in this book.
The other reason this book satisfies is because it's fairly decisive. (Looking ahead to newer books, that won't last). At the end of the book, the war may not be over, but there seems to be a pretty clear winner and loser. This is a pretty profound contrast to Ashes of Victory or War of Honor where each book ended with everything pretty much up in the air. And it's an even greater contrast to the newer books where every seeming victory ends up amounting to pretty much nothing (though there are some solid reasons for that, it's still less than completely satisfying).
The other reason this book satisfies is because it's fairly decisive. (Looking ahead to newer books, that won't last). At the end of the book, the war may not be over, but there seems to be a pretty clear winner and loser. This is a pretty profound contrast to Ashes of Victory or War of Honor where each book ended with everything pretty much up in the air. And it's an even greater contrast to the newer books where every seeming victory ends up amounting to pretty much nothing (though there are some solid reasons for that, it's still less than completely satisfying).
September 15, 2017
Another in the Seemingly unending number of books in the Honor Harrington/Honorverse books. For me when this series started it was good Pulp Sci-Fi. A nice, easy and quick read that was very enjoyable. As the series has gone on it has grown to the point were it is attempting to work in complex political issues with a number of characters the come up again and again in different places and positions of power. This aspect of the series doesn't bother me to any great extent, but the authors seeming need to explain, mathematically, how the weapons and the speed of the ships works to an extent that starts to cause my eyes to cross I can do with out. If not for the investment he built up in the Characters in the earlier books, I would most likely not move on to the end. As it is, my ability to read these books has slowed quite a bit.
If it goes on to much longer though I would think that Honor would have to have a red cape added to her uniform. Might just be me though.
If it goes on to much longer though I would think that Honor would have to have a red cape added to her uniform. Might just be me though.
April 18, 2009
Change from my previous comment... "was a complex story". Until the last that is...
After 800+ pages of building tension towards either an accidental peace between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven, David Weber chose instead a rather rushed and anti-climatic final battle where destroyed 4 space fleets a couple of semi-major supporting characters and several million unknown crew members from both sides all within a less than tidy 40 page Ultimate Showdown.
Probably NOT my most favorite of the "Honorverse" but heck I rode it out through all the previous books to this (one assumes) the closing chapter for Honor Harrington.
A happily married threesome with 2 newborns all in the very same >900 page tome? Alexander-Harrington WAS NOT a hyphenated name I needed to read repeatedly for 300+ pages. How very steadholder of her?
:)
After 800+ pages of building tension towards either an accidental peace between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven, David Weber chose instead a rather rushed and anti-climatic final battle where destroyed 4 space fleets a couple of semi-major supporting characters and several million unknown crew members from both sides all within a less than tidy 40 page Ultimate Showdown.
Probably NOT my most favorite of the "Honorverse" but heck I rode it out through all the previous books to this (one assumes) the closing chapter for Honor Harrington.
A happily married threesome with 2 newborns all in the very same >900 page tome? Alexander-Harrington WAS NOT a hyphenated name I needed to read repeatedly for 300+ pages. How very steadholder of her?
:)
January 23, 2014
As I've been re-reading this series (and then moved on to the books I hadn't read before like this one), I've noticed that they have gotten longer, and the plot considerably more complicated. In some ways, this is a good thing, but there has been somewhat less of the sort of "Hornblower in Space" experience that I first loved about the series. While this book is a good installment, and certainly had more excellently written battle scenes, I also felt that not having read the books outside the "main" storyline, I was missing details of the plot. Characters seemed to just jump out of nowhere, and it was obvious the reader was expected to be familiar with them, which I was not. So, the plot complication of this novel and the one before it rather caught me cold.
August 22, 2013
Dropping down to a two - the whole thread about the baby and the 3-way marriage was pointless. In fact, in the 'next book' Honor seems to spend more time swimming laps than being with her kid. It just didn't fit.
Plus both Queen Elizabeth and Haven President Pritchart both act like idiots, condemning millions to death by being selfish ... better they either both resign, or dress in a bikini and engage in a mud-wrestling match.
Plus the military action is dishonorable - like kicking your enemy's little sister because she is weaker than your enemy. Disgraceful. Anyway, the story was I guess a new permutation.
Plus both Queen Elizabeth and Haven President Pritchart both act like idiots, condemning millions to death by being selfish ... better they either both resign, or dress in a bikini and engage in a mud-wrestling match.
Plus the military action is dishonorable - like kicking your enemy's little sister because she is weaker than your enemy. Disgraceful. Anyway, the story was I guess a new permutation.
February 11, 2015
This book takes everything you have been secretly hating about the series and tosses it into the spotlight.
I actively hate 50% of the content of this book. You will regret reading this book. You will want to take a hatchet to half the cast.
Let's be honest, though, if you've made it through the first 10, you'll grin and bear it. Half the book isn't terrible. And in the next few books, the parts you hate are gradually phased out to lower levels, where you can almost ignore them.
Then you'll come back and give this book a 1 star review, because nothing will feel better.
I actively hate 50% of the content of this book. You will regret reading this book. You will want to take a hatchet to half the cast.
Let's be honest, though, if you've made it through the first 10, you'll grin and bear it. Half the book isn't terrible. And in the next few books, the parts you hate are gradually phased out to lower levels, where you can almost ignore them.
Then you'll come back and give this book a 1 star review, because nothing will feel better.
August 16, 2021
Good golly! It's 27 discs! This could take a while, and it did!
Parts of this book are terrific, specifically the battle sequences, Honor's personal relationships, and the general scope of history. That being said, there are far too many characters, events, and endless expostulations--especially politics.
There was a time when Weber wrote interesting, focused fiction. Mutineer's Moon and On Basilisk Station are two good examples. Now too often his novels are ponderous and unwieldy, both Manticore and Safehold. Oh well, Mission of Honor just moved way down my list.
Parts of this book are terrific, specifically the battle sequences, Honor's personal relationships, and the general scope of history. That being said, there are far too many characters, events, and endless expostulations--especially politics.
There was a time when Weber wrote interesting, focused fiction. Mutineer's Moon and On Basilisk Station are two good examples. Now too often his novels are ponderous and unwieldy, both Manticore and Safehold. Oh well, Mission of Honor just moved way down my list.
May 16, 2014
It's a torture to read. The crazy number of pages and the recycle of plot and dialogues. Everyone speaks the same stuff (literally the same dialogues), does the same boring things. There is not much of world building, the pages are wasted in and around the God Like character Honor has become. The focus is on her weird family and not on the universe.
Only the last 150 pages save the novel for me. They were what i had started reading the series for- simple military action.
Only the last 150 pages save the novel for me. They were what i had started reading the series for- simple military action.
May 31, 2016
Some the sub-plots that are ongoing seem to distract from the main plot at times leaving the series feeling a bit stale. I actually rate this between 3 & 4 but not close to the latter. The personal side-bar aspects are not engaging enough to truly add to the book while some of the intrigue isn't highlighted enough to really bring enough tension. I did enjoy the action but wanted to see more of espionage to better build on all the political decisions.
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