Rating: 
Summary: Soap opera
Review: Unfortunately David Weber, like so many authors today seems to be writng for a TV mini series not a novel. The cast of characters is so large that it is hard to keep track of who did what and when. The scene changes so many that the modern TV producers will love it. Honor Harrington, the heroine is conspicious by her absence. Like his last two novels about her, 80% of the book is about other people. Also, it should have been called the "Battle of Honor" as it is a lead-in to the sequel(s) that will have the war. I also didn't like his non-standard use of female pronouns to refer to people in general, it interrupted the flow and made me stop reading to try and figure out who he was talking about. Besides using bad grammer the book was poorly edited in general. I don't think I will be buying any more of this line.
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment
Review: Just who wrote this book? Unfortunately, it appears to be the David Weber who wrote the equally disappointing Ashes of Victory and not the author of the previous Honor Harrington volumes (or his other novels for that matter, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed). As with Ashes, virtually the entire book is nothing but characters sitting around a table talking about what has happened and speaking in excruciatingly bad dialogue. That is, when Mr. Weber does not digress for pages of mind numbing exposition that appears lifted from some future high school history text--and a dully written one at that. While I dearly miss the naval setting that attracted me to this series initially, I submit that a novel about these political events could be fascinating. Action stories or exploding space ships are not the only subjects that can hold my interest. But not when written in the clunky dialogue of Mr. Weber. While it was serviceable to move along a swiftly paced naval story, 800 pages of it with almost no dramatic action or tension of any kind is a narcoleptic of the first order.
Rating: 
Summary: Sophisticated
Review: I liked David Weber's style in this terrific book even more than his 9 preceeding books in the Honor Harrington series. There is so much to grasp and remember as the reader is involved in a tremendously complex interweaving of challenging, fascinating plot lines. Weber's baste 'em and blast 'em battles were top notch nail biters. The following comments are not intented to diminish this book in any way. First, based upon my own bottomless contempt for all things politic, I found myself overwhelmed by the excessive, overwrought political machinations of both the Star Kingdom and the Peeps. I was surprised to find Honor being diminished by her childish bad-mouthing the current Manticoran government of the, albeit, spineless, corrupt incompetents like Baron High Ridge, Descroix, New Kiev, Admiral Janascek, etc. Yes, they deserved it, but Weber has created Honor as a verbally elegant, sensitive and conscious iconic being whose very professional impartiality has always spoken volumes in itself. Weber has clearly outlined how politics continues to sabotage foreign and domestic relations, create both wars and strange bedfellows even in futuristic worlds that some of us have daydreamed would be free of the contamination of greedy, power drunk politicians with their corrupt agendas. The Peeps Secretary of State Giancola and his Machiavellian manipulation of President Pritchart represent a dark mirror image of the behavior of the Star Kingdom's High Ridge, et al. This is scary to contemplate and to extrapolate into a possible context of our own nation. It stimulates all sorts of questions and concerns that fairly leap to mind. Secondly, I think that Honor deserves a meaningful relationship in her life. According to the timelines of this book, she is in her 60 T-years, and despite Prolong, her tortured yearning for the Earl of White Haven seemed a bit adolescent as presented. I think that Andrew La Follett, who is clearly obsessed with her, would be a better option for her. Unless David finds a truly sympathetic way to eliminate Emily White Haven from the love triangle other than through her approval of a covert affair between her husband and Honor the story line will continue to be frustrating for some of us female fans who want Honor to either get the guy or getthehelloutathere, all issues of morality aside. I am glad that Weber has made the Andermani and the Star Kingdom colleagues in the War against the Peeps. Plus, the additional tantalizing plot lines like the discovery of a new Junction Terminus leading to Lynx and its inhabited Talbott Star Cluster will, hopefully, provide at least a dozen more books for us to scarf up. As a guess, the next story arch could begin a move toward the long hinted at beginning of a confrontation with the Sollies, once the Manticore and Andermani slug the Peeps back into line for a time. This 10th book tantalizes us with the idea of new conflicts with the ConFeds over the territorial and governmental issues surrounding the corrupt Sillies, Silesians; the newly formed alignment between the Peeps and Eherwonese and whomever else pops up into the mix of David's outstanding and exciting futuristic fantasy. I love this series. It is tha' best!
Rating:
Summary: Too much talk...
Review: I love the Honor Harrington series and have thoroughly enjoyed most of Mr. Weber's titles. This one was an exception... 400-600 pages of political manuevering was just too much for me. I don't demand epic space battles, but darn it, stop talking and do something! Some people are saying that we needed this to lay the groundwork for the future of the series, but I found it all obvious and more than a bit redundant. I think he could have accomplished the same thing in less than 200 pages if he tried. At the same time, it is a must have for any true Harringtion fan. If you dont read it, you will be lost by his next book, I am sure. And finally, if you get the hardcover, the Honorverse CD (which is packaged with the book) is a wonderful value. Lots of books (some still in hardcover) for free. I particularly like John Ringo's series and David Drake's / Eric Flint's collaboration under the heading "Friends of Honor". Concluding, a bit slow, and less engaging than the rest of the series, but still a good value if you are addicted to Honor and especially if you have a computer and are willing to read on the screen.
Rating:
Summary: Who wrote this book?
Review: This is a big disappointment in a series I haved loved for years. Although some recent editions have had 100, maybe 200 pages of introduction, this one has 800. As discussed in other reviews, lots of committees and talk, all leading to an obviously avoidable war. This is not worthy of Mr. Weber.
Rating:
Summary: People sitting around tables discussing politics
Review: "A Reader from Texas" already said everything I had planned to say. 600+ pages of people sitting around tables discussing politics. Only one full blown space battle and that was quickly over. Honor Harrington spends very little time "on camera". And while the overall plot of the series was perfectly poised to move on to fresh new story arcs at the end of "War of Honor" we seem to have taken a few steps backward.
A certain amount of monotony is the price we pay for Mr. Webers finely crafted stories. And I have no doubt that his attention to the fine details is why Honor Harrington is such a well loved character. But this is without a doubt the most tedious Sci-Fi novel I have ever read. I kept hoping it was going to get better, but it just kept dragging on and on. I can only hope that in the next book Mr. Weber pulls a rabit out of his hat and throws us some surprises and new directions.
Rating: 
Summary: Good politics, unbelievable misunderstanding
Review: The Manticore government, now under the control of the venial Conservative Alliance, has gutted the navy, refused to negotiate seriously with the rebuilding Havenite government, and generally made life for Honor and the man she is falling in love with--Admiral White Haven. When the Havenite Secretary of State decides to doctor official correspondence between Manticore and Haven, the political equation begins to heat dangerously--especially as the Havenites have secretly been developing a new navy based on the principles that Honor introduced into the Manticore navy and that led to the Havenite defeat. Most of WAR OF HONOR deals with the political background, both in Haven and Manticore, of the political incompetence that leads to a war that none of the parties really wants. The Conservative Alliance and its coalition allies have essentially no interest in peace because it will mean calling for elections and a reduction in the taxes that fund the programs that allows it to placate its members. Worse, the Manticore government has severely pissed off Grayson, the militaristic planet that has contributed so heavily to a number of Haven defeats over the course of the Honor series. Still, Grayson's loyalties to Honor and White Haven are strong--strong enough that Grayson's navy is assigned to protect Manticore without permission of the Manticore government. Given its futuristic setting, WAR OF HONOR is set on a terribly flawed premise. The idea that an official with both the political and military experience of an Eloise Pritchart would allow her Secretary of State to rewrite her messages and never learn about it is absurd. Especially as she knew that the Secretary was a political rival, she would have relied on a combination of encryption and a trusted personal envoy to ensure that the message got through. Allowing her nation to be plunged into a destructive war without doing so is consistent with the 18th century, but not the future. Too, the brilliant Admiral Theisman's plan involved sending a large part of his navy on a completely unnecessary diversion. Relying on Grayson to do nothing, especially when a large part of its fleet had disappeared, is the kind of mistake that Theisman should never have fallen into. Military fiction fans may complain that WAR OF HONOR concentrates its actual battle scenes into a few pages of this 850 (hardback) page opus. I, however, found the political maneuvers to be interesting and entertaining (except as noted in the previous paragraph.) Author David Weber spends too much time in backfill dialogue, but WAR OF HONOR is still an entertaining and enjoyable read. The C.D. that accompanies this novel is a powerhouse and makes the purchase a bargain. In addition to the e-book text of WAR OF HONOR, the C.D. includes e-book versions of all of the other Honor novels and short story collections to date, as well as about 20 additional novels by various authors including some as recent as 1633 by Weber and Freer.
Rating:
Summary: Actually 4 1/2 Stars
Review: I'm not one of those people who judge a book by the amount of pages there are. By the same token, I do expect a book with over 860 pages to be very "meaty". I was NOT dissappointed in this regard. The stage is set for further Harrington novels, loose ends are gathered up (notice that I didn't say snipped), and we even get some combat. It is that lack of more combat which took that half star away from the book. I admit it, I'm a dyed in the wool military SF fan, and while this book has some very satisfying combat scenes in it, there could be more. The only comparison I can think of is a Tom Clancy novel. You can wait for five or six hundred pages for something to happen, but when it does, it's worth the wait. The same holds true here for me. I felt that this was worth the read, and I reccomend it without reservation. And get ready for the follow-on books...
Rating:
Summary: If you like plausible science fiction...
Review: Honor Harrington is the best thing available. War Of Honor is an excellent book, maintaining the detailed universe of its predecessors and expanding upon it. The Peeps are back under a new name, with competent leadership this time, and things look grim for the star kingdom. Good, I say. I was sick and tired of watching the RMN kick the Peeps' butt all the time, it's time the field was levelled a bit. And Weber does it in such a plausible way, you don't even notice the full magnitude of the change until the last 100 pages, where... well, I'll let you find out. But anyway, read this book. Honor is different, more mature, more powerful, except for the rather lame romance bits. But I forgive that part, because it takes like 5 of the 800-some pages of goodness.
Rating:
Summary: Not so much about Honor
Review: I always look forward to the next installment of what has become to me, a favorite space opera.
This one is less about Honor, and more about the politics of the Star Kingdom. Never thought it would happen, but I spent a week and a half reading this.. when I usually DEVOUR Honor Books in a day.
Worth the read. But.. MORE ABOUT Honor in the next installment please!
And just an aside, but am I the only one that thinks teaching the treecats to sign is almost too cutesy???
| 
