Uncompromising Honor

Honor Harrington, Book 14

De: David Weber

Narrado por: Allyson Johnson

First new Honor Jarrington novel in five years!

New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and international best-selling phenomenon David Weber delivers book 14 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Honor Harrington series, the first new Honor Harrington novel since 2013's Shadow of Freedom.

The Solarian League's navy counts its superdreadnoughts by the thousands. Not even its own government knows how enormous its economy truly is. And for hundreds of years, the League has borne the banner of human civilization, been the ideal to which humanity aspires in its diaspora across the galaxy.

But the bureaucrats known as the "Mandarins," who rule today's League, are not the men and women who founded it so long ago. They are corrupt, venal, accountable to no one...and they've decided the upstart Star Kingdom of Manticore must be destroyed.

Honor Harrington has worn the Star Kingdom's uniform for half a century and served her monarch and her people well. In the course of those years, the woman the newsies call the Salamander has grown from a tactically brilliant but politically naïve junior officer to supreme fleet command and a seat on the highest military and political councils of the Grand Alliance.

Very few people know war the way Honor Harrington does. Very few have lost as many men and women, as many friends, as much family as she has. Yet despite that, hers has been a voice of caution. She knows the Mandarins and the Solarian League Navy are growing increasingly desperate as the truth of their technological inferiority sinks home, but she also knows the sheer size of the League. And she knows how its citizens will react if the Grand Alliance takes the war to the League, attacks its star systems, destroys its infrastructure...kills its civilians. Today's victory, bought on those terms, can only guarantee a future war of revenge against a resurgent Solarian League and its navy.

The League is sliding toward inglorious defeat as it steadily loses ground in the Protectorates and the Verge. As its central government teeters toward bankruptcy and even some of its core systems opt to secede in the face of the Mandarins' corruption. As the Solarian Navy finally realizes it cannot face an Alliance battle fleet and win.

But the Mandarins have embraced a desperate new strategy, and in pursuit of that strategy, the SLN has committed atrocities such as the galaxy has not known in a thousand years. The League have violated its own Eridani Edict against mass civilian casualties, violated the Deneb Accords prohibition on war crimes.

And they have finally killed too many of the people Honor Harrington loves.

Hers is the voice of caution and compromise no longer, and the galaxy is about to see something it has never imagined.

The Salamander is coming for the Solarian League, and Hell is coming in her wake.

©2018 Words of Weber, Inc. (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

it has been a great 25 years in the telling

I have followed the series since book 1 was first on the shelves and have been eagerly waiting for every book since. I've read the series multiple times over the years. The ending leaves me feeling almost empty as this series has come to a end.

Let's be about it!

So, I just finished book 14. I've listened to the main line in order, starting with book 1.

On one hand, if you like space battles this is a much better book than the previous three or four volumes, on the other hand Weber makes it hard to suspend disbelief due to the failure of anyone in the honorverse to overlook obvious flashing warning signs of disaster ahead, on the third hand the 'Other Guys' thousand year evil plot and incredible super powers are overdone, on the fourth hand the audio book early on starts with an exciting two hour space battle instead of ten hours of meetings like some of the books in this series.

On the other other hand I really think this is best book of the series so far, but on the other other other hand Weber does have a lot of verbal ticks that are shared by everyone in the universe. These kind of grate after a while.

The first thing noticed in this book is the correction of one of my pet peeves about Weber's prior writing. Web loves meetings and dialogs. He often shifts viewpoints from one meeting or conversation to another. In prior novels these shifts were usually not explicitly announced in the text, so you get strings of dialog like this:

Leia: I love you Hans
Hans: I know.

[not even a pause in the audio version]

Bad guy #5348 We have a big surprise thing for Manticore!
Bad guy #5349 HEHEHEHEHE

Reader: Wait, I thought we talking about Hans and Lea, who are these guys?

The prior novels expect the reader to remember the names of all 89631 named characters in the novel. I can't believe that even Mr Weber can do this without notes. As good as she is, Ms Johnson only has four or five distinct voices, not 89631 voices.

In this book everything is way better. In prior HH audio books the Audible chapters were not connected with the actual book chapters at all.

In #14 the Audible chapter numbers tell you exactly where in space we are, and when the location changes the chapter title changes with it. So you get chapter meaning full chapter names like "Hillary Indrakashi Enkateshwara Tower, City of Old Chicago, Solarian League".

These meaningful chapter names really help keep the listener from losing context in the book. Well done Dave and Audible!

On one hand We do have here some really interesting and intricate space battles, but on the other hand there are still lots of meetings, on the other other hand they are not as long nor as boring as some of the previous books.

Book 12, if I recall correctly, is hours and hours of meetings with very little actual events to drive the plot forward.

There are some good plot twists to keep interest high.

I have not read any of the spinoff books, and the last couple of novels clearly are intended to bring many subplots from the spinoffs back into the main timeline. I found the Honorverse wiki to be very helpful to clarify things like 'what is this Audubon Ballroom and why is everyone going on and on about it'.

Honor is as always the Ultimate Mary Sue, literally worshiped by her many subjects, hanger ons, and Honor's BFF, the Queen, excuse me Her Highness the Empress. You get used to it.

There is an interesting afterward by Dave Weber that you definitely want to listen to.

Warts and all, this excellent book is your reward for slogging through some of the prior HH novels.

One of the most outstanding female military leaders of all time!

A lot of my military friends enjoy the Honor Harrington series and spinoffs. The series is very entertaining to those of us who like this genre. So, it is with mixed feelings that I end this review by saying "Fair Winds and Following Seas" . It is a traditional naval blessing and farewell to friends (for now...)

Great series!

The best sci-fi series I've ever read!
Many interesting characters and tecnological miltary situations that imerse you fully in the Honorverse. Thank you David Weber. I hope the Honorverse lives on.
I agree Honor and Hamish and Nimitz and Samantha deserve their retirement.

Outstanding

In my mind one of if not the best of the novels in the series and I love the fact that David did not kill Honor off. We may see her again or as David said not the end of the “Honorverse”!

verbose - typical for Weber

The early Harrington books were tightly plotted. I fell asleep listening to this one for a couple of hours and didn't need to go back to catch anything. Subplots that cover dozens of pagepagesd with new characters that only pay off in one short scene have become the norm.

The main story line has been adequately wrapped up. That's good. I actually finished this book. More than I can say for the last Honor book.

Ms. Johnson did her usual fine job with the narration.

End of an arc, continuing in greatness.

Mr Weber has always excelled with his characters and story continuity. This story holds to his high standards. We have been dreading the shift in the story away from or beloved HH but like any long career things have and will change. I look forward to see the series continue to mature and grow. No more the Cpt, Adm, now we'll see...what we'll see. The best of our nature setting an example for us.

This has been a great story all the way from book #1.

I can't adequately express my love for the Honorverse except to say I'm on my 2nd reading of all the books in that verse.

25 years of Honor

The story moved more confidently than some previous ones, the reader made fewer mistakes (back to her normally excellent work) and the summation was long awaited. No spoilers here, just a “Thank you “ to David Weber and company for all of the great stories.

David Weber continues Honor's story with detail, complexity, and some surprises.

If you have been waiting for this book over the last 6 years, then you will be rewarded. It is a worthy contribution to the Honorverse.

Honor Harrington books read like CS Forrester novels: detailed, exciting, and complex. It also feels wonderful to catch up on our favorite space naval officer.

This book is perfect for fans of SF naval combat.