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Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington Series, Book 9)

Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington Series, Book 9)

List Price: $25.00
Your Price: $17.50
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: All talk, no action
Review: I stopped reading this book when, about a third of the way through, I realized that NOTHING HAD HAPPENED. All the characters seem to spend their time doing one of two things:
1. If they're good guys, they tease each other playfully and twinkle their eyes.
2. If they're bad guys, they sit around thinking about past, present, and future plots and conspiracies, all their co-conspirators and their respective motives, and the history of the universe.
This was my first introduction to this series, and I would guess that the previous books were better, or there never would have been a series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: So what if it's a bit slow!!
Review: I have read a lot of these reviews, and I have this to say to all those people who didn't like AoV -So what!! I think it's one of the best! I mean, in this book, David expands his universe immensley and gives us more details. So what if Honor doesn't go on any long,courageous death rides, vastly outgunned,in the face of certain death, when we know the whole time she's going to win anyway? It's time for a change. If he doesn't jam-pack this one with that sort of stuff, he takes some time off to tell us more about his universe and develop his characters. I was really glad to see through other peoples eyes when they're thinking about something other than Honor, or something directly related to her. this one is a transition novel, so? It didn't have as much action,that's true, but we got a great big explosion of it towards the end(look for "Oops" and the sentence "Goodbye _______ _______" I won't give away any more about this, because It's SO GOOD, it would be a crime to give it away.

Lots of people are complaning that it brushes over major events in favor of long boring passages about seemingly *unimportant* happenings. Well I, for one, don't think that, say the ability for treecats to really communicate wiith people, and the proof of treecat sentience is very minor, do you? And usually, if David gives us a lot of detail,it will usually be very important later. I *was* slightly annoyed at the fact that David did set some of the things, like McQueen's coup off-stage, but it's his book, he has a right to wright it the way he wants to.

I agree with most people, If you havn't read this series yet don't start with this.Start with OBS and work your way up.(I Started with HotQ and proceeded in no real order from there, but I havn't been able to find HAE yet so I finally ordered it online. So I can tell you it makes a lot more sense if you read it in order.)It will be extremely boring if you don't, since there's all this backcround you would'nt understand.If you have read the series, buy this book NOW!! It's worth the extra money for the hardcover.

I really, really love this book,(It's *almost* as good as EoH, my personal favorite)so the reason I gave it only 4 stars is that,after the first few pages, the whole Honor/WhiteHaven thing completly dissapears, exept for one teensy little paragraph near the end of the book. I mean, there's all this stuff about it in EoH,he could mention it once in a while. I know they can't actually act on it,(Man, those two have AMAZING self control) but it would be nice to hear about it sometime.( Actually, there's this rumour that it *is* going to work outin some later book)

Just some parting notes here, for any one who would like to try to figure out what will happen in the next book, read,CAREFULLY, pages 261-265 of From the Highlands(Canger of Worlds) -Will there be a role reversal between the SKM and the PRH after this government overhaul and Thiesman's little Jack-in-the-box? - and last, but not least, has ANYONE noticed that Tiesman's initials are *TET*?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the early Honor books but Ashes of Victory is disappointing, dull and requires real perseverance to get through (I started skim reading).

I cannot understand how the average reader rating is 4 stars - virtually all the ratings I read were from unsatisfied readers.

David is a great author and I would recommend his books to anyone. I will buy more any new Honor books but only after reading a few pages to confirm they follow the early books format not that of Ashes of Victory!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An (intentional) twinge of disappointment
Review: First, I will grant that the Honor Harrington Series is perhaps the best combat science-fiction series ever written.

While the Honor Harrington is always removed from the thick of the action in this book, many familiar characters are there, still in the middle of the battle. And in each case, they are where they are because of the influence and experience gained under Honor's tutelage.

In many ways this book contains two separate, but related, stories.

One story draws us along to the inevitable conclusion of the war between the Star Kingdom of Manitcore and the People's Republic of Haven. The action is fast-paced; the descriptions of fleet-level naval combat are gripping and absorbing.

The second story describes Honor's welcome home after her escape from Havenite captivity, her re-entry into Manticoran society, and her receipt of the rewards which she has deserved for so long. This story line shows a more intimate, and personal look at Honor's life, in an atmosphere almost totally different from that of the past books. Instead of being out at the sharp end with the fleet, she is resting and recovering, with time to tend to more personal--and equally fascinating-- matters than we have previously seen.

Both stories work well, and the reader is drawn along quite happily through David Weber's fast-paced storytelling.

But, having said that, I felt a small measure of disappointment about this book, because the story itself seemed to have an abrupt and unsatisfactory ending. The fact that it is intentionally written to make the reader feel that way, and to mirror the feelings of the protagonist, doesn't make it any more likeable.

We are used, I think, to having our stories come with happy endings, and with all the threads tied up. Ashes of Victory doesn't accommodate us. It does, however, promise us that there is more to come.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Still Honor, but from another point of view
Review: This isn't the best of the series. On the other hand, I enjoyed the background as kind of a break from the war. Unlike some other reviewers, the sessions of Honor with the cadets were some of the best in the book. Having served in the military, it's nice to see even heroes get stuck with mundane duty. Also, much of it rings all too true for how "politics" plays into decisions. The biggest down side to the book is the ending. You're kind of left with the "did I miss something" feeling. The whole style changes from the earlier works and makes you wonder if someone else actually wrote the ending. HH is a great character, but you should start with one of the earlier books in the series and work up to this one.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Veggies after candy-beware, spoilers
Review: Having read and loved the other books like oh so many of you, I found this to be overly long, and a chore to read, like eating a heaping plate of broccoli after the tasty addictive candy of the first 8 books. This could have been two books done properly, or one book with the dross cut out. With three arenas to take care of, Manticore, Grayson, and the PRH it seems that the author has decided to quickly simplify the plot threads using a pair of shears. Snip snip, all PRH major characters are gone. Snip snip, goodbye Mr. Prime Minister, this war has gone on too long, Snip snip, there goes the fleet of the PRH. Amazing that Grayson was mostly untouched.

Then the unforgiveable happens, shades of the Wing Commander series, the overused device of the defeated evil side suing for a false peace and the power-hungry "liberal" government falling for it and leashing in the heroic military. It is all too realistic, but after 600+ plodding pages it was all too depressing and unnecessary.

What is left, an exposition of the somewhat more capable and enlightened PRH getting back on it's feet led by a government put together by Theisman while he and the capable admirals neutralize the Manties new tech advances, or Honor and Grayson taking the rest of the allies and carrying the fight whilst telling Manticore's new government to stuff it?

Interesting parallels between this and Moon's Change of Command, both series are very similar, and both stumbled with similar books. Large complex stories can be done well, but it seems here that they don't have the ability to pace and present it appropriately.

To be honest, after the many battles, political intrigues, assasination attempts and just sheer brutality she's suffered it probably would have been best to have won the war and ended the series. Maybe the next chapter will surprise me, but I'm afraid it will be another wearying experience.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Does anyone truly like cliff hangers
Review: Well allow me to start with why I gave it 4 stars not 5...I HATE CLIFF-HANGERS. nuf said! Honor Harrington is the kind of officer I always wanted to serve under when I was in the service. I often wished for someone who gets in the mud and the blood and still maintained leadership abilities. Yeah some of this stuff is Clancy-ish, and several of the characters appear to be quite superficial. WRONG! Mr Weber has done an outstanding job of presenting all kinds of charters from several walks of life. The universe is not perfect but redemption is available for those who wish to find it. Example: Harknes was quite the troublemaker, but after he had an excellent example set for him, he got his act together and became part of the solution. Honor herself exemplifies all that is best in an officer. Ultimately this entire series is about starting at the bottom and working your way up. As long as you are willing to do the work and not give up when the Pavel Young's of the world try to knock you down, you can accomplish anything. Finally, Honor Harrington is about earning you way, not having it handed to you on a silver platter.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Tired of Honor's life
Review: I guess, from reading other reviews, that some things are a matter of taste but I have gotten so bored with Honor and her social life. Other than moving from one society to another there is very little space involved and I find the dialogue repeatative and unoriginal. The characters are two-dimensional and I don't like any of them very much. I just don't see the attraction of this series.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Ugh-Ugh!!!! Big War Chief!
Review: I sympathize fully with the "Ugh!!!!" review. Over eighty percent of the book was wasted on incidental, humbuggery political machinations, and dripping with preadolescent kitty-'cat nonsense (I suppose to attract the preadolescent female readership here). The only good political machination that I enjoyed was at the end, when the enemy declared a truce to delay their buildup of a final offensive. But the swift ending felt cramped and I felt completely cheated. That ending could have happened within the first half of the book. Then it could have gone on to a mature conclusion worthy of the title and cover art enclosing this novel. But for now the book cover yields to an empty sense of puffery, a smidgen of self-importance, one that is not backed up in the skill of the writing of an interesting tale; in essence, it is an annoying little example of the publication house's latest feat of ledgerdemain -- one rife with tedious adolescent jiggery-pokery.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "Ashes of Victory" -- Major disappointment
Review: I am: 1) a big time fan of the HH series, and 2) greatly disappointed by this, the (presumably) final entry in the series

Weber has, it seems finally gotten bored with Honor and/or run out of ideas to get her involved in the action. In "Ashes," she's a teacher, duchess, part-time player in the political in-fighting, and recovering from her injuries.

This is like one of those "spin off" stories or TVshows where the familiar characters are mentioned and given a minor role, just to convince the consumer that this is "part of the series."

What she is NOT, unfortunately, is anything but a bit player in the main story line of the book. Now, Mr. Weber is perfectly capable of writing: "It took a year, but she finally recovered just in time for ....." and then throwing Honor back into the thick of it. But he does not. Others are front and center in the story, and for the space-battle fans, even that is only a peripheral element in this novel.

Too bad. It was a great series, and it's unfortunate to have it end like this. I gave it 3 stars only because Weber's writing is still high quality, and it *IS* an end to the story.

BTW: If Mr. Weber happens across this review, and decides to continue the story with a novel about Honor Harrington's exploits as space opera heroine, I'll be glad -- more than glad -- to buy that book.


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