Rating: Summary: Book desperately needed an editor Review: I appreciate the fact that Weber was interested in exploring Manticoran and Havenite politics in great depth. The fact that he likes going this deep with his background is one of his strengths as a writer. However, in the process he's losing sight of other writerly virtues, such as concision. This is an amazingly bloated book. There is much repetition and throughout the book its characters are made to wade through molasses-thick, endless and painfully obvious discussions of what is going on. Weber could have accomplished the same intricate and interesting setup in half the space. Because of its unnecessary length, the book became a drudge to read. Not the kind of exciting tale I expected from Weber.
Rating: Summary: Weber's worst Review: Sadly, unless you are a dedicated and brain washed member of the Weber cult, you will almost certainly find yourself skimming this over done nightmare of a novel, desperately hoping for the space battles and action that made the series worth reading in the first place - and when the action does come, you will find it sparse and unfullfilling.To date the series was characterized by excellent military action set against a believable political background. In this latest, most self indulgent, episode we are flooded by hundreds of pages of boring and over written petty politics, while the few battle scenes are dealt with in a few paragraphs - in short Weber has tragically reveresed the formula that made him a great military sci-fi author. The entire 800 page novel desperately needs to be cut down to about 250 pages, and Weber desperately needs to find an editor with the guts to get him under control and force him to return to the early style which made him worth reading in the first place.
Rating: Summary: War of Honor by David Weber Review: Nearly all of David Weber books are so good that you cannot put them down. His latest however is not in that category. Lenghty political discussions with petty and small minded characters do not require 700 pages, but 70. The remaining 100 being good. However the broad painting of this universe remain well written and not too boring if one reads fast.
Rating: Summary: War of Words Review: I am truly hesitant to say this because I have greatly enjoyed David Weber's 'Honor Harrington' series in the past, but it seems that Mr. Weber has jumped on the Robert Jordan bandwagon of 'fluffing' or writing for writings sake. Whether this is a conscious effort on Weber's part or in response from his publishing house to sell more pulp, the result, is in fact, more pulp. My anticipation for this book was great. But 800 pages of redundant diplomatic chit-chat later and my anticipation had turned to dread. Most of the novel revolves around the seemingly endless diplomatic back-and-forth between the Manticoran government, who are now, in a stunning plot twist (as if in a 10 book series EVERY other plot device hasn't been used), the bad guys, and the new and sympathetic Republic of Haven government. Chapter after chapter is filled with the endless interpretations of these messages by both the Manticoran and Haven governments. Throw in the Grayson point of view as well as Honor and her think tank and you have 600 pages of fluff and 200 pages of actual novel. The name of the book would lead the reader to believe that Honor Harrington is the main character. This is far from the truth. Honor has been relegated to a minor player who has reached such elevated political heights that she has been effectively insulated from the 'man in the trenches.' Honor is now an example of the impotent political animal that she so despised in the previous 9 books of the series. I realize that this was a transitional book, but at the prices publishers want for literature these days a 'transitional' book just doesn't cut it. Look. I could spend a lot of time trying to warn potential readers from buying this book. The truth is that it is well written. But the harder truth is that it is not worth spending the money on the Hardback version. I rated this novel 2 stars because this book is an example of the commercialization of serialized writing. Authors and publishing houses are increasingly producing this kind of fluff writing to take advantage of an established customer base. The idea works. I bought the book. I feel suckered. Don't make the same mistake. Wait for the paperback version, or better yet, wait until it hits your local library.
Rating: Summary: All work no fun Review: An avid fan of Honor Harrington and all of Weber's books I found War of Honor to be extremely disappointing. At times I found myself wondering why I continued to read since it ended up being work instead of fun. I kept waiting for Weber to finish laying the groundwork and get to the fighting...he does finally have a couple sparsely developed battles 95% of the way through the book...well below par for a David Weber book. A well written political intrigue that leaves you disappointed in how a few politicians set empires against each other and how the admission of one word will start a war... Other reviewers stated they thought this book was setting the stage for future Honor novels, unfortunately the development of both sides over the course of his 10 books leaves me wanting the Peeps and the Star Nation to make peace, not war...he needs to find a new enemy for them both.
Rating: Summary: Good Novel, GREAT deal Review: Ok, the book itself is only worth four stars. It's good, but not "Honor Among Enemies" or "Honor of the Queen" greatness. It is definitely worth reading in hardback and not waiting for paperback though. Honor is back. Unfortunately, so are High Ridge, Descroix and New Kiev, and all of their stench. War of Honor should probably be called "War of Stupidity", but I'll not spoil it for you. Just wait until you find out what Samantha does... And, if that were not enough, the included CD alone is worth the additional star to make this a 5-star book. The CD has all the Honor novels, plus dozens of other novels and partial novels by John Ringo, David Drake, Eric Flint and others. Sooo much goodness, so little time...
Rating: Summary: Would have been an OK 300 page book Review: unfortunately it was 800+ I've read all Webbers books (not just the Harrington series) and I think he's a wonderful author, but somebody needed to edit this effort drastically. There are some interesting developments in the first 100 pages and the last 100 sets up the next book(s) but the rest is way too long winded. This reminded me of some of Tom Clancy's weaker efforts, a small idea padded out to long book. It seems Webber may be setting up the rumored "Manticore becomes the expansionist bad guys but Honor is still duty bound to ..." I really hope this is not the direction that he takes because it certainly isn't what I'm looking for out of this universe. Very disapointing, and I don't think I'll be buying the next one in hardcover.
Rating: Summary: Not his best Review: I have been a fan of David weber for a long time now. This book is set in the honorverse but little of the book (less than 1/4 I would say had Honor in it. About half the book dealt with the Manticore government and the petty ( and frankly dull) stuff going on there. I only hope that this book is setting the ground for another book or two. It has the feeling of something that was writen to meet a contract rather than tell a story. The parts with Honor were good, but they were too far and few.
Rating: Summary: Weber Does It Again!! Review: David Weber is one of a very limited number of writers who delivers a consistantly high caliber story. Bernard Cornwell, John Connolly and, yes, Louis L'Amour are writers whose level of story telling never is less than excellent. But Weber just gets better. "War of Honor" is the 11th novel in the series (and there are three books of short stories edited by Weber) featuring Honor Harrington), and while this is a stand alone book, familiarity with the series, the central focus of which is a war between the Star Kingdom of Manticore ("Manties") and the People's Republic of Haven ("Peeps") is close to essential in fully understanding the characters and plot. Fortunately for computer friendly readers, Baen Books has provided ALL of the previous books on an enclosed CD-Rom, so that if one can read from the screen (I can't - too old fashioned, I guess: I like the book in hand thing), the whole series is there to read. And it is a magificent saga! This book, though is the best of the series. Why? Because Weber has continued to grow as a writer. In all of the details that make a great work of fiction, Weber is at his best. The plot is tightly drawn; the dialogue never falters, and the extent to which we get to understand character and motive is really profound. In fact, to me, it is the continuing growth of Harrington as a person that is one of this book's most enjoyable facets. Here, Weber has captured the woman, as well the career military officer, in greater detail than in the earlier works in this series. Comparing the first book, "On Basilisk Station" with "War of Honor" shows just how much Weber has "grown" his talent; the former is a well crafted space opera and military sci fi adventure. But the latter is simply a fantastic read. And it sets the stage for more to come. I don't intend to spoil a good story by discussing plot. But if you like a riveting story, in depth character development and fine writing, read this book. As a caveat though, you will either spend a lot more time in front of the monitor with the accompanying disc, or more money on the rest of the series.
Rating: Summary: Get this man an editor, please Review: I'm not sure why I'm even reading this book. Unlike the first three or five in the series, it's not a very fun read. I guess that after about a dozen books I have some interest in figuring out where Weber plans to take the storyline. I'm certainly not reading every word of the repetative dialogue. This book, like Ashes Of Victory, really needs some serious editing. The exposition is painful. For most of the book the characters simply stand around and tell each other things they already know. When they are not doing that, the evil and stupid characters scheme and plot, while the good and virtuous characters sit back and make knowing statements about how the evil characters will cause everything to fall apart. And pretty soon EVERY character who isn't certifiably evil will have a treecat companion. That used to be rare. Once again, the good Havenites are the only characters who seem to actually be three dimensional. They have internal conflicts and distinct personalities. On the Allied side that is impossible, because every character attribute is predetermined by whether the character worships Honor or despises her. [The above was written before I finished the book. The ending is much better-written than the first 80 percent of the book. When Weber finally remembers to write some plot it gets more interesting. I still think what he really needs is a good editor.]
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