• At All Costs

  • Honor Harrington, Book 11
  • By: David Weber
  • Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
  • Length: 32 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,910 ratings)

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At All Costs  By  cover art

At All Costs

By: David Weber
Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
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Publisher's summary

What price victory? The 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.

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.
©2007 David Weber (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about At All Costs

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To Avid Harrington Readers...

If, like me, you have enjoyed the series tremendously; if, like me, you have enjoyed the depth of the background stories in which surrounds even the minor characters; and if, like me, you wouldn't mind adding a few more books to the series if it will give you a greater depth and a fuller experience into the Honorverse; then I have some good news for you.

Before you start At All Costs, there are two other spinoff series you should be aware of. Each of these series consists of two books: Crown of Slaves and Torch of Freedom; and The Shadow of Saganami and Storm from the Shadows. While these two series do not deal directly with Honor Harrington, they do explain a lot of the back stories you will encounter in the primary series. And, to be honest, it is a bit refreshing to focus on someone besides the honorable Countess Harrington for a while.

The chronological order of the books is as follows: Crown of Slaves -> The Shadow of Saganami -> At All Costs -> Storm from the Shadows -> Torch of Freedom -> Mission of Honor -> A Rising Thunder.

It isn't a big deal with Crown of Slaves and The Shadow of Saganami, because both are somewhat separate from the main storyline of At All Costs, so the order isn't extremely crucial. But you will want to listen to Storm from the Shadows, Torch of Freedom, and Mission of Honor in that order, as there are some major revelations you will want to learn about in order.

I hope this will help you as you make your way through the series. Good listening.

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29 people found this helpful

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Honor Harrington Universe Book 18

"To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it,
to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling,
to be well-fed while the enemy is famished: —
this is the art of husbanding one's strength." Sun Tzu " The Art of War"

"Only a fool will try to put himself on the enemies sword"
Musashi Miyamoto " Book of 5 Rings"

"This is the way the "True War" supposed to be fought"
Carl von Clausewitz "On War"

PS
I wanted to write a quote by Niccolò Machiavelli but it sounded too much like a spoiler.

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At All Cost

Allyson Johnson is Honor Harrington would not want anyone else narrating this series. This is a great series and this book has lots of battle scenes and action. Honor becomes a wife and mother in this book and this only adds to the depth of her character. The one lesson that comes though in this story is the importance of sitting down and talking to opposing side. Put aside hate, fear and distrust and listen, it can not hurt and maybe it would save a lot of lives. The story of the Phoenix Honor read the children was a great image at the end. Great story can not wait to start the next book. I do hope that Audible will provide all the upcoming books and the side honor verse books as well. I can not get enough of this series.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great series

A short review.

I had a wonderful time listening to the entire series. It was a wonderful listen, and was very pleased. Allyson Johnson did a wonderful job with the voice. So much so that I could rely on the voices to keep track of busy scenes. The tone and feeling were there.

All together, a great series and narrated very well.

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    4 out of 5 stars

At All Costs

My review is not simply regarding this book but others in the series, Honor Harrington is really a very great character and once again I must say I enjoy how this character grows through the series. How she starts as a commander and becomes so much more, and how she is unsure of herself somewhat and overcomes that as wel as how her life touches others in her life. I also really like the characters around her, and how they help her become strong. One thing I must say this hold thing about the narrator is so unfair, Ms. Johnson voice works so well for this series please everyone give this a rest.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Another great book in the series, great narrator.

If you like Honor (and I do) you'll like this. Allyson Johnson brings a much appreciated consistency to this series. I agree with Jason's review that her distinctive characterizations helps to keep track of the action when things get busy. Enjoyable and recommended to fans of the genre and/or the series.

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On & On & On.....

Maybe it's because I've listened to these books back to back it's more obvious to me but, in each new book the descriptive narrative gets longer and more filled with wasted words..(One book actually had a whole chapter describing how they number their LACKS)..I've skipped whole chapters and not missed a thing! And these long drawn out battle scenes which bounce between the Manticorans & Havenite perspectives so fast I can't tell who's talking just get repetitive. Either that or they've gotten so boring my attention got lost.

Honor just seems to be getting a little too larger than life, too perfect and just TOO saintly. It's no wonder she didn't have a romantic or social life whatsoever. Who can live up to that? So now this relationship with Hamish & his wife Emily? It's a bit over the top, it doesn't fit in. However, they're about as Saintly as she has become...

Come on Mr Weber, give a little more dimension to your characters....People come in all shapes and sizes but nobody is this perfect.

As far as the narration goes, It's ok....it just seems to me that after 10 bks and everything she's been through she should start sounding like a woman of depth and maturity. Not a 12 yr old girl.

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Honor seems like a part of my family!

I absolutely love these Honor Harrington novels. I've spent my morning and evening drives for the past 9 months listening through the series. Weber has a way of creating characters you love to hate along with the ones you love to love. And when the bad guys finally get their due "rewards" ... it is SO sweet! I'm on book 11 so I look forward to the next several months as I finish the series. I highly recommend you join the Honor Harrington family!

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The Shark has been Jumped, couldn't finish it

I was very critical of the previous book. I got about 13 hours into this one and couldn't go any further. I had a pretty bad taste in my mouth after the contrived situation that led to resumption of hostilities in book 10. That, plus more lambasting of Republic of Haven forces with little or no causalties or damage really turned me off. Weber was in his element with space combat, but even that sucks now.

I hate this three way love story between Harrington, Alexander and Alexander's wife which culminated in a marriage and a baby. WTF?

I blew my top after the attempted assassination of Harrington on the bridge of her starship. A special agent came onboard to lead the investigation. He dismissed Harrington's assertion that the assassin was compelled. Now, we all know that Harrington is right, and the special agent was wrong. From his perspective, however, he was correct in his assumption that Harrington was distraught. Anyway she lambasts the special agent, and uses all her rank to get him fired. I found that to be impossible because any military agent/police will tell you that there is a difference between rank and authority. In this case, the special agent had clear authority. In the real world this guy would have told Harrington, "Your concerns are noted, now shut the f@ck up, I'm in charge."

Alas, that didn't happen.

Instead, husband Alexander shows up. And these two lame brains figure out the entire assassination plot. So Harrington has expanded her considerable expertise into the realm of military counter intelligence, and that was without any training. Now we get to chalk up another tally on Honor Harrington's list of amazing accomplishments.

Besides a boring storyline, Honor Harrington's list of amazing accomplishments has killed the series for me, because to me she is perhaps the most boring character in the history of literature. We need her to have a weakness, or at least have poop that actually stinks to make her somewhat resemble a human being.

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Good series -

Would you listen to At All Costs again? Why?

I love Honor and her world. This whole series is really a good listen. Weber tends to get a little bogged down in the technical details but the action is well worth the wait, he really knows how to write the drama into it and bring the reader into the scene.

Have you listened to any of Allyson Johnson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to the entire series and this reader is a superior performer!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cry pretty regularly and get absorbed into the characters mindsets.

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