Echoes of Honor (Honor Harrington Series, Book 8)

Rating:
Summary: Yet Another Fine Installment in the Honor Harrington Series
Review: Is Commodore Honor Harrington dead? Both the Manticoran Alliance's and the People's Republic of Haven's military leaders think so, after seeing her televised execution from the surface of Hades, the Peeps' dreaded prison planet. However, not only is she still alive, but plans with her senior staff an audacious plan that will win freedom not only for themselves, but for the rest of Hades' imprisoned inhabitants. Meanwhile Admiral Esther McQueen joins the Havenite Committee of Public Safety and lets her senior officers, including Admirals Giscard and Theisman, and newly promoted Vice Admiral Tourville, take the initiative against the military forces of the Manticoran Alliance, striking deep within Alliance space. The only Royal Manticoran Navy officers who successfully oppose them are Admiral Hamish Alexander, Earl of White Haven (while struggling to deal with news of Honor Harrington's execution), and Captain Alice Truman, the commander of Manticore's newest, most sophisticated - and top secret - ship of the wall. There are more dazzling space battles, but more importantly, Weber excels in enriching and expanding the Honor Harrington universe, offering excellent portrayals of many important Manticoran, Grayson and Havenite naval officers whose importance to this saga will increase in ensuing installments. I found this book to be as exciting as "In Enemy Hands".

Rating:
Summary: Honor = Goddess of the universe
Review: What the hell kind of novel is this? Everyone LOVES her. She never makes any mistakes, and when she does, they are obviously NOT her fault. Thats completly not real. Everyone makes a mistake. How about someone outsmarting her in a tactical situation and she loses a whole battalion?

Guess what? These things happen...but obviously not to Honor Harrington. What the hell is Weber thinking? In the next novel, I think he is going to declare her the Godess of the Universe.

Rating:
Summary: 400 pages too long!
Review: I have really enjoyed the previous Honor Harrington books and I think Webber is a talented writer, but I think he has written too many books too fast. Echoes of Honor has way too much redundancy in the text and the major characters have become card board cut outs. I'm glad that the peeps are starting to get humanized, but there is just too much cruft and pontification in the book.
I suspect that Webber has fallen in love with Honor and really doesn't want to show any 'real' flaws in her, and that has robbed the series of continued character development. Also the series shows the universe as being divided between "honorable people who know better" and complete blathering hate filled idiots. A little bit of grey would be nice.

Rating:
Summary: Bowed, but unbroken...
Review: Beaten, maimed, half-starved, yet our Honor assembles what remains of her crew and fights on. I have nothing but respect for this book. Mr. Weber writes with razor sharp clarity (something we don't see very often)and gentle wit. Honor's funeral was stirring for the participants, but for this reader it just made me want to cry.

Thank goodness she makes it back...with a company in tow.