Rating: 
Summary: An Interesting Period
Review: War of Honor is the tenth novel in the Honor Harrington series. In the prior volume, the People's Republic of Haven has been defeated, the Committee of Public Safety has fallen, and the new Republic of Haven is talking peace. The Manticoran government has passed to a unholy coalition of Conservatives, Liberals and Progressives, with strong Independent support, that are determined to mine the Peace dividend. Honor is teaching at the academy, but most of the other fighting Admirals are on the beach at half pay.The Imperial Andermani Navy has mounted piracy suppression patrols in the Silesia Confederacy while the Star Kingdom was busy elsewhere, but now the IAN has increased its presence and displays strong new capabilities; evidently they have territorial ambitions in Silesia. The Republic has just about cleaned out all the Peep holdouts and have also covertly increased their Naval capabilities, but they still have domestic problems; they are determined to establish a lasting peace, but are frustrated by the arrogance, indifference and obstructive tactics of the High Ridge government. Moreover, Grayson, Erewhon and the other Manticoran allies are also becoming frustrated by the High Ridge government. Earl High Ridge and his cronies are mostly happy about their place at the public trough, but are looking for ways to counter the expiration of the emergency income tax in the near future. They make plans to rake off even more of the Naval budget. Realizing that Honor and Earl White Haven will be their most effective political opponents, and having little love for either one, the High Ridge gang manufacture a scandal about the pair's "love affair". Since Honor and White Haven are really in love, even though their relationship has been chaste, they are deeply hurt by the public opprobrium, especially for the pain the scandal will cause to White Haven's wife, Emily. Moreover, it causes them to acknowledge to themselves, and each other, the deepness of their love. As the Andermani provocations in Silesia become more overt, High Ridge decides to send Honor to the Sidemore to command RNS forces in the Confederacy area. They hope that the mission will backfire on her and reduce her popularity. Honor accepts the necessity of the mission, but is also grateful for the chance to distance herself from White Haven. Meanwhile, Arnold Giancola, the Republic's Secretary of State, is fanning the embers of war among the Havenites, building his opposition to the President of the Republic, Eloise Pritchart. The truce with the Star Kingdom still holds, but patience is thinning. Many have compared Weber with C.S. Forester and, as he freely admits, rightly so. However, few have considered the reasons both authors, and others such as Patrick O'Brian, have chosen the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars as the background to their stories. As many historians have noted, that period was a major watershed in European, and World, political realities. Moreover, it is one of the best documented naval wars in history. It was an interesting time in many ways; the life of a brilliant, capable and lucky young naval officer of that time, Horatio Nelson, has fascinated naval historians and ordinary persons for centuries. What a great story! Nevertheless, the Honor Harrington series is only loosely based on the life of Horatio Nelson. The international scene of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was much more complex than the background of this series; as a minor example, consider the lack of the newly independent colonies, such as the United States, and the friction that lead to the War of 1812. While the Polish -- i.e., Silesian -- issue is portrayed in this novel, the other wars, revolutions, coups, etc., occurring in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere are mostly absent. Moreover, the technology development in this series was never so great in the real world. In this novel, the situation in the Star Kingdom reflects real history after mid 1795. The British government had mostly dismantled its fleet, with many ships either mothballed or sold off, many of the naval officers retired or on half pay, and most of the sailors let go to the merchant marine or back to farming. In France, the period following the overthrow of Robespierre lead to the Ninth Thermidor, the restoral of traditional borders, and the creation of a constitution. This volume corresponds to the Directory period, which was overthrown by Napoleon in 1799. In this novel, Weber does not follow these events in any strict fashion, but rather simplifies much of the turmoil and conflict. Still, the next book could portray the rise of a Napoleon. I hate waiting!!! Recommended to Honor Harrington fans, military SF readers, and anyone who enjoys both SF and historical fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Bleh.... Not the best, not the worst
Review: Sad to say but this was not up to the standards I expected from D. Weber based upon his other Honor books. Some parts were very long, almost minute-to-minute, other parts you'd skip over whole weeks/months and have to readjust where you were in the timeline. When I finished I was suprised at how many pages there were, over 800, and yet I barely felt like I had acutaly gotten to the true climax.
Did not feel any of the breathless excitment or heated emotions that I've come to expect of the Honor series. Purely an investment for the continuation of the series. Not something I'd read again.
Rating: 
Summary: is ten too many?
Review: Nope. This book i liked a great deal more than one or two others in the series. This book balaned the tech and the politics very well. Many of the things long predicted by various online fans came in to being but the book was hardly predictable. For a book approaching ponderous in size, it kept the pace moving along pretty well and while there were only a two or three characters that emerged as new names in this one we did get to see quite a few old friends.
Rating: 
Summary: A long read but worth the effort.
Review: This book was a pleasant surprise and a disappointment at the same time. In the final analysis this was first and foremost a bridge book. First, the Honoverse CD included with the book makes purchasing this book a must. That aside, it is clear that David Weber wanted to bring some depth to many of the characters in the Honorverse. Of all of the books in the series, this would be a most difficult read for readers who had not read any of the books that preceded "War of Honor." To be sure there are surprises along the way. There are subplots involving Honor's love life, the discovery of a new terminus, the intentions of the Aderman Empire, the Earl of White Haven's adoption by a treecat, the suppression of slavery, and the ultimate identity of a primary villain. What struck me most about the story are its parallels to today's headlines. There was plenty of evidence for all to see that another war would be disastrous for all. The central theme running through the story concerns how easy it is to start a war when all involve claim maintaining the peace as their goal. All sides involved truly wanted peace, and how personal egos of a select few can quickly lead to misinterpretations and war. Narrow minded people on both sides who were more interested in advancing their own political agendas end up with a war that no one wanted. Political realpolitik is the watchword of day as all sides try to grapple with the realities of the situation. Those of us who expect lots of space battles were more than disappointed with the relative lack of action. Most of the action occurs off-scene except for the final battle that occurs in the last 50 pages of the book. Those who criticize the book because of the endless series of scenes of people sitting around engaged in political discussions have a point. But upon closer inspection those discussions provide insight to secondary characters while advancing the continuing storyline. Overall I give it 3 stars. Weber has set the stage for future books.
Rating:
Summary: Slow, but a good set-up
Review: This book moved slowly, but I enjoyed it fairly well. Further development of complications between White Haven and Harrington were engrossing, as well as galaxy-level political maneuvering. I'm really looking forward to the next book - he spent quite a while getting everything into place for a war of epic proportions! The main thing that frustrated me about the book was the huge amounts of time Weber spent on the councils of the "evil liberals." Woo hoo, the villains are villains. How is that entertaining? I also didn't much appreciate his jabs at liberals in general as being hypocritical, corrupt, and stupid, and his subtle racism in having the only character with an Arabic name (in the entire series, as far as I'm aware) be the one responsible for a Manticoran star system being lost through his own incompetence and laziness. (My charitable sweetheart points out that this could have been thrown in by an editor rather than the man himself.) Sure, Weber can do what he likes with his world, but it certainly didn't enhance my enjoyment of the book. I gave it three stars because I couldn't figure out where Weber was going with the plot, it sucked me in, and there wasn't anything glaringly wrong with it. But it's definitely not the best of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Long, but solid
Review: First, oldreader from GA and several others seem to have not read this book at all. The statement that "nothing was resolved" is preposterous. The subplots resolved and intertwined beutifully in the end, and Weber took so long to do it because his editor gave him a little leeway in which to work! The time he spent developing the side-stories gave the whole thing a wonderfully complete feel. It is a long story. Nevertheless, the whole Honor Harrington series comes in at well over 5000 pages; what's 800 in one book? I believe that the space Weber was given was well used to work his craft. Bravo to David Weber, and I can't wait until the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: boring
Review: Quite unlike earlier books, this one is just boring. Sorry David Weber, but this goes back to store. If I wanted endless politic talks I would rather be watching CSPAN. It is less shallow.
Rating:
Summary: Long winded rehash of the not much of anything
Review: After ten books, the Honor Harrington series seems to have run out of steam. Weber takes 864 pages to move the plot forward about a short stories worth. All the characters spend their time telling each other everthing that has gone before, and it's not until the last 100 pages or so that anything of substance actually happens! I've enjoyed a lot of Weber's other books, but this one is just one too many for this heroine.
Rating:
Summary: A long one in the series
Review: I enjoyed this continuation of the Honor Harrington Saga.
I learned more about many secondary characters.
That said this one focussed more on politics than military action
and I was disappointed that Honor does not get a new love interest.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I love the Honor Harrington series with the exception of this book. 127 pages into it, I was bored stiff and still trying to find a plot. If the plot hadn't been described on the jacket, I wouldn't have known there was one. After another 127 pages it picks up a little bit in that we have some slander in the news media. The rest of the first 250 pages can be summarized as "things are bad due to the...government." If you're expecting the usual, action, dramatic tension, and warm characters, this is not the book for you. It's almost entirely filled with political machinations of the sort that filled the book in which Honor served on the new technology comittee. The only action doesn't occur until the very end. Honor herself has a lesser role and Nimitz hardly appears at all. My personal opinion is that this entire book should have been at most about 50 pages at the beginning of the next book. I would rather throw it out entirely because it sets up the Havenites to continue to be the enemy and doesn't leave an opening for that to change. We've already had 9 volumes of the Havenites as enemies. Is there anything new that hasn't already been done in nine volumes? You'ld think we would have a new enemy and if the Manticorans were forced into an alliance with Havenites that would be not only be different but would provide lots of opportunities for conflict. I'm afraid this series is getting a bit shopworn.
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