Ashes of Victory

By: David Weber

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson

Length: 25 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

A Note from Author David Weber
There's been some confusion—not to say, um, energetic debate, readers and fans being readers and fans—about the correct pronunciation of "Manticoran." The truth, alas, is that a stitch was dropped. An error occurred. A mistake was made… and it wasn't Audible's fault. It was mine. Before Audible recorded the very first Honor Harrington book, narrator Allyson Johnson and I not only corresponded by e-mail but actually spoke to one another by phone. She wanted to make absolutely certain she had the correct pronunciations for names, places, star nations, etc., and I tried to make certain all of her questions were answered. And so they were. Unfortunately, at some point in the process, I replied to one of her e-mails by telling her that "Man-ti-core-ahn" was pronounced "Man-tik-er-ahn." Exactly how this happened is more than I can say at this point, except to blushingly disclose that the original e-mail remains intact, confirming to all the world that it was, indeed, my fault. I can ascribe it only to a temporary mental hiccup on my part and crave your forgiveness. If, however, you must blame someone for the mix-up, that someone should be me and not Audible, who have done everything they could to get it right.

Listen to another Honor Harrington adventure.

©2001 David Weber (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"The new Honor Harrington novel is the longest yet, but justifies its length and complexity by greatly advancing the story of Honor and her universe. Honor has triumphally returned from Hades, at the head of a fleet of liberated POWs. Her reward is to become an admiral, a duchess, and a billionaire. She also becomes an elder sister of twins and, since Nimitz has lost some of his telepathy to war wounds, helps the ever delightful treecats learn signing, thereby proving they are fully sapient. But the war goes on, and the Star Kingdom's superior technology and training increasingly give it the advantage....Factor in Honor's personal and professional dilemmas, realistic R&D and procurement problems, spine-tingling action, and the series' usual dry wit, and it is clear that Weber has produced another mandatory acquisition." ( Booklist)

Ashes of Victory

I could not put this book down. Honor comes back from 2 years at a prison camp and rebuilds her life. She is moving from an battle action person, except at the end of the book to flag command. The interaction with her Mother and the increasing role with the Queen is interesting. Enjoyed the parts with the tree cats. Nemitz injury and all the cats learning to communicate by other than telepathy was great. The ending makes me want to start on the next book in the series right away.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Awesome story more challenges and more background

My favorite book so far. Great story getting together and seeing the main key players work together to fight for their lives. Glad to see the story show Honor in a more varied roles and interest and saving people at the right time and the right place.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

No battles for Honor

Honor is out of the battles for this one. Others are taking the war to the peeps.

This installment is the most tedious so far. There are some very nice sections, like teaching the tree cats to sign, the effects of the jump in technology, the assassination attempt. But it drags and parts.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Honor Harrington Universe Book 12

"10 years,war continues?"

Reconstruction surgeries took along time,
meanwhile Honor Became a teacher on Saganami island

While she is on a medical leave, Sonja Hemphill doesn't sleep.
New SDP's
New LAC's which have more defensive and offensive capabilities than old style destroyer
LAC Carriers
Multi-drive missile system with increased target envelope
EW Ghost Rider system
FTL Fire control system

8'th fleet is finally ready for Operation "Buttercup"

Everything else is as usual:

1.Revolutions in PRH
2.Shannon Foraker rocks!!!
3.Queen Elizabeth Visits Grayson
4.Question of treecat's intelligence is resolved

PS
Honor will have to make one of the hardest choices in her life, and that choice will decide the future of Manticoran Politics.


NEXT BOOK IS
"The Service of the Sword" Worlds of Honor book 4

8 of 12 people found this review helpful

Honor as a little girl??

What did you love best about Ashes of Victory?

I most enjoy the writing of David Weber. Sometimes he does get bogged down in the political, but that is what gives his writing depth and a clear understanding of the main character's actions.

What did you like best about this story?

Enjoyed the build-up to the climax, not knowing at all what the final outcome would be. The anticipation of knowing that something was still to break with Operation Hasan kept me wondering until the end. So the title 'Ashes of Victory' was appropriate.

What aspect of Allyson Johnson’s performance would you have changed?

I wish Allyson would have used a different voice for Honor Harrington. I know she is described as having a soprano, but in the audiobook, many times she sounds like a teenager. It also seems that the tone of voice used in some cases is not appropriate to the context.

David has decided you need a break.

Story:
Dear god in heaven. This was the longest book in the series (so far). And it seemed to go no where. The series main character is shuffled off to a weak side plot (maybe she need the vacation). The manipulation that takes place to put her back in the story is the story weakest point, not that there aren't a few of those. While the story is moved along at a snail's pace and does eventually allow some of the myriad of plot lines to reach at least some resolution David doesn't take us on a roller coaster to get there. It is a carriage ride through the park. Page after page of endless character thought processes that make you wish someone would take a pulser dart to the head. And the epic space battles are no longer even epic, they are depressing. Simple and bleak forays into violence. That leave you feeling simply wishing it were over and at the same time longing for a shadow of the previous stories of foes battling with wit and daring. Not in this book. What you get is a carriage ride with layers of political maneuvering with a dose of brutality.

Performance:
I have always enjoyed Allyson Johnson's portrayal of the characters in the series, but when did Allison Harrington become a Jewish mother from New York City (Pre-Diaspora)?

Unfocused

Good but less Honor and Nimitz then I would like. There were just to many side stories.

entertaining

narrator is incredible, she keeps so many voices separate and does so consistently! story is engaging

not really a Honor story

while in the honor universe. she is not in the book that much. really sad

Continuation of the epic

I've read and listened to all the Honor Harrington books at least twice and I continue to be pleased with the story and the reading performance. I certainly recommend this episode to anyone who has read the story. For anyone who hasn't started on David Weber's books I recommend they begin with the first in the series.

what a spectacular universe

I found myself having to stop and appreciate the incredible world building that has gone into this universe. Honor is who I want to be when I grow up. We must explore space and see if we can find actual treecats because #Goals . I just went through 2 books in this series back to back because of Whitehaven

1 of 1 people found this review helpful