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Honor Harrington #6
Honor Among Enemies
Despite political foes, professional jealousies, and the scandal which drove her into exile, Capt. Honor Harrington has been offered a chance to reclaim her career as an officer of the Royal Manticoran Navy. But there's a catch. She must assume command of a "squadron" of jury-rigged armed merchantmen with crew drawn from the dregs of her service and somehow stop the pirates who have taken advantage of the Havenite War to plunder the Star Kingdom's commerce.
544 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1996
About the author
David Weber
356 books4,415 followersDavid Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 340 reviews
May 22, 2011
I came very close for a while to dropping the score for this book even lower. I've enjoyed the series to this point but here..it became a bit of a strain to stay with it for a while.
In my own opinion, you could pretty much skip the first third of this book, and miss little or nothing of value to the story. Rehashing and retelling, unneeded details that I suppose some relish. (After all, soap operas have thrived for generations now on details of private lives about this outrageous.) I got very tired of the history of planet systems telling of their colonization from pre-light speed ship Earth on to the present. The story of how a population descended from predominately Chinese ancestors ended up ruled by Bavarian style monarchs...the details of why their light ships work (and retelling me how they work every freaking time you speak of ships going somewhere.) And Oh yes, let's not forget the "love lives" of Tree Cats!
To make matters worse...well, some people have applied a certain name to the Honor Harrington character I've refused to use. She came close but up till now never crossed the line... Well at least for a while in this book I was convinced that her full name might be Honor "Mary Sue" Harrington... Yes our hero. She never met a task she couldn't accomplish, a skill she couldn't master and everyone who meets her either becomes a "worshiper" (the author even used the phrase "idolatry") or her sworn bitter enemy..and sometimes bitter enemies are CONVERTED to admirers! Shall I go on? It seems the Admiralty can now tell when a Jr. Officer has served under Honor. They all idolize her soooooo much that they begin to model their careers after her.
In short there is a huge, "OH GOOD GRIEF" factor here for a while.
Thankfully somewhere between a third and half way through the book seems to shake itself, look around, blush, and turn back into a competent military science fiction/science fantasy read. I did enjoy the book (partly), and thanks to that recovery will probably move on with the series...hoping against hope that we don't have to go through all and into all the hero worship at the beginning of the next volume.
In this one Honor is called back to the Manticarin Navy...as a captain rather than the Admiral she is on Grayson. Her enemies are still around (the ones she hasn't killed that is) and they think getting her back and sending her out on a converted cargo ship to hunt down "space pirates" might be a great way to get her killed... Yah right. The Manticarin Admiralty however think this may be a great way just to get "Super Woman" back in their Space Navy.
Really... I mean I like military science fiction, but I have yet to read a good book (or for that matter see a good movie) about "space pirates". Everybody always seems to think it sounds like a good idea, it should be "cool". BUT it never seems to work out that way. I don't think it worked out really great here either.
However, once we get back into space and the plot actually starts to shape up (we get a little more than the standard "space pirate" story)the book is readable and fairly enjoyable. So, from "ugh" to "not bad". I'll give 3 stars to this space opera for the last third or so.
In my own opinion, you could pretty much skip the first third of this book, and miss little or nothing of value to the story. Rehashing and retelling, unneeded details that I suppose some relish. (After all, soap operas have thrived for generations now on details of private lives about this outrageous.) I got very tired of the history of planet systems telling of their colonization from pre-light speed ship Earth on to the present. The story of how a population descended from predominately Chinese ancestors ended up ruled by Bavarian style monarchs...the details of why their light ships work (and retelling me how they work every freaking time you speak of ships going somewhere.) And Oh yes, let's not forget the "love lives" of Tree Cats!
To make matters worse...well, some people have applied a certain name to the Honor Harrington character I've refused to use. She came close but up till now never crossed the line... Well at least for a while in this book I was convinced that her full name might be Honor "Mary Sue" Harrington... Yes our hero. She never met a task she couldn't accomplish, a skill she couldn't master and everyone who meets her either becomes a "worshiper" (the author even used the phrase "idolatry") or her sworn bitter enemy..and sometimes bitter enemies are CONVERTED to admirers! Shall I go on? It seems the Admiralty can now tell when a Jr. Officer has served under Honor. They all idolize her soooooo much that they begin to model their careers after her.
In short there is a huge, "OH GOOD GRIEF" factor here for a while.
Thankfully somewhere between a third and half way through the book seems to shake itself, look around, blush, and turn back into a competent military science fiction/science fantasy read. I did enjoy the book (partly), and thanks to that recovery will probably move on with the series...hoping against hope that we don't have to go through all and into all the hero worship at the beginning of the next volume.
In this one Honor is called back to the Manticarin Navy...as a captain rather than the Admiral she is on Grayson. Her enemies are still around (the ones she hasn't killed that is) and they think getting her back and sending her out on a converted cargo ship to hunt down "space pirates" might be a great way to get her killed... Yah right. The Manticarin Admiralty however think this may be a great way just to get "Super Woman" back in their Space Navy.
Really... I mean I like military science fiction, but I have yet to read a good book (or for that matter see a good movie) about "space pirates". Everybody always seems to think it sounds like a good idea, it should be "cool". BUT it never seems to work out that way. I don't think it worked out really great here either.
However, once we get back into space and the plot actually starts to shape up (we get a little more than the standard "space pirate" story)the book is readable and fairly enjoyable. So, from "ugh" to "not bad". I'll give 3 stars to this space opera for the last third or so.
May 17, 2024
Wow another great book in this series. I can't express how much these book feel just right to a retired sailor. The feel of shipboard and military life is perfectly expressed. Exceptional read. Very recommended
March 7, 2015
I picked up this book because I had a science fiction / star ship battles itch I wanted to scratch. I had reservations about the Honorverse after reading the last few, but I recalled that the author did nail the ship to ship combat. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The things I recalled not liking I still didn't like. The things I thought that I'd like, I was mostly meh over.
First, some background. Disgraced and forced out of the Navy, Honor Harrington has built a new life for herself on Grayson. In this story, Honor is called back into the Manticore fleet and given a chance to restore her name. Long story short, although the Manties are technologically superior, Haven has the advantage of numbers in capital ships, and in a grinding, brutal war of attrition, numbers matter. To pressure Manticore, Haven sends a task force into neighboring star systems to raid commerce and thereby degrade Manticore's ability to wage war. Desperate to stop the bleeding but unable to divert any serious strength from the main conflict, Manticore calls upon Honor Harrington.
Again, everything I recalled about not liking in the Honorverse continues to drive me nuts. The shameless borrowing from history absolutely ruins immersion. Manticore = England, Haven = France, Silesian Confederacy = Holy Roman Empire, Andermani = Prussia. If you know the history of Revolutionary Europe (1800 +/- 20 years) you know pretty much what is going to happen. Again, I don't mind borrowing from history, but Weber is shamelessly parroting history. Also, there is simply way too much of the 'space opera' in the books than I would like. I prefer the starship battles and politics over the endless diversions into various characters' feelings. On that note, please stop with the treecats. Honor has an intelligent cat with psychic powers as a companion. I just can't buy it. All of it. There is no immersion. And the star ship battles - while entertaining - were just not enough to elevate the story above a solid two stars.
Two broad sides out of five. Too much borrowing from history, too much space opera, too much of the ridiculous cats. No more Honorverse for me, I think.
First, some background. Disgraced and forced out of the Navy, Honor Harrington has built a new life for herself on Grayson. In this story, Honor is called back into the Manticore fleet and given a chance to restore her name. Long story short, although the Manties are technologically superior, Haven has the advantage of numbers in capital ships, and in a grinding, brutal war of attrition, numbers matter. To pressure Manticore, Haven sends a task force into neighboring star systems to raid commerce and thereby degrade Manticore's ability to wage war. Desperate to stop the bleeding but unable to divert any serious strength from the main conflict, Manticore calls upon Honor Harrington.
Again, everything I recalled about not liking in the Honorverse continues to drive me nuts. The shameless borrowing from history absolutely ruins immersion. Manticore = England, Haven = France, Silesian Confederacy = Holy Roman Empire, Andermani = Prussia. If you know the history of Revolutionary Europe (1800 +/- 20 years) you know pretty much what is going to happen. Again, I don't mind borrowing from history, but Weber is shamelessly parroting history. Also, there is simply way too much of the 'space opera' in the books than I would like. I prefer the starship battles and politics over the endless diversions into various characters' feelings. On that note, please stop with the treecats. Honor has an intelligent cat with psychic powers as a companion. I just can't buy it. All of it. There is no immersion. And the star ship battles - while entertaining - were just not enough to elevate the story above a solid two stars.
Two broad sides out of five. Too much borrowing from history, too much space opera, too much of the ridiculous cats. No more Honorverse for me, I think.
March 4, 2019
There's just something about military sci-fi that I adore. And Honor Harrington is among my favorite heroines. Smart and resilient she's a little too perfect to be real but it's something you kind of start to expect after a few books.
While I really enjoyed the main plot line with the pirates and the political machinations, what I really liked was the side plot with the new recruits to the Manticoran Navy. It was good to see things from the perspective of the lower ranked members of the military be they the good kind of people or the worst scum humanity can spawn.
Nimitz falling in love was adorable and now I'm even more fascinated by the treecats. I wonder what it would be like to see the story from his POV! I do hope we get to learn more about his species now that he has a mate.
Hopefully the next book will be just as engaging because I really want to finish this series. So finger's crossed!
While I really enjoyed the main plot line with the pirates and the political machinations, what I really liked was the side plot with the new recruits to the Manticoran Navy. It was good to see things from the perspective of the lower ranked members of the military be they the good kind of people or the worst scum humanity can spawn.
Nimitz falling in love was adorable and now I'm even more fascinated by the treecats. I wonder what it would be like to see the story from his POV! I do hope we get to learn more about his species now that he has a mate.
Hopefully the next book will be just as engaging because I really want to finish this series. So finger's crossed!
October 23, 2014
Ok, the info dumps are a bit rough, but Weber is also trying to fill in too much past history, too. That makes this a bit rougher of a read than the previous books or maybe I've just had my fill. I definitely could not listen to this as an audio book. I needed to be able to skim.
The basic story is good & pretty interesting, although it would have been better served if it hadn't focused on her so completely. There was plenty of opportunity to expand the story & not using that was kind of criminal.
The basic story is good & pretty interesting, although it would have been better served if it hadn't focused on her so completely. There was plenty of opportunity to expand the story & not using that was kind of criminal.
September 8, 2019
Christ, I kept trying to go to sleep, and Honor kept waking me up...I just could not put the book down and got to sleep...finally...about 5am. Man, Weber is GOOD. He pulls you into the action and you can't help but identify with all the characters.
Military sci-fi at its best. And, if you like the technical stuff, this is it.
Military sci-fi at its best. And, if you like the technical stuff, this is it.
January 30, 2012
Honor takes on pirates with an under-strength squadron as a means of rehabilitating her political standing in the Star Kingdom. This is the last of the main Honorverse books to not be centered around the main fighting with Haven.
Honor herself is, as always, a little too perfect to be believable but if you're this far in the series, you know what to expect. Weber further populates this installment with new and old interesting side characters (Foraker, Caslet, Harkness, MacBride, etc.) and gives readers a glimpse into the enlisted and non-com side of the Manticoran Navy. Even more interestingly, this book has a further look into treecats with the introduction of Samantha, a segue into further Honorverse stories.
One of the longer books in the series to this point, it does have the feel of a book that is transitioning from one place to another in a series, which, frankly, it is. Overall, fun and enjoyable.
Honor herself is, as always, a little too perfect to be believable but if you're this far in the series, you know what to expect. Weber further populates this installment with new and old interesting side characters (Foraker, Caslet, Harkness, MacBride, etc.) and gives readers a glimpse into the enlisted and non-com side of the Manticoran Navy. Even more interestingly, this book has a further look into treecats with the introduction of Samantha, a segue into further Honorverse stories.
One of the longer books in the series to this point, it does have the feel of a book that is transitioning from one place to another in a series, which, frankly, it is. Overall, fun and enjoyable.
February 17, 2024
It's okay
The overall book is fine, minus the lack of section breaks. I have no issue with the book itself.
However, its position in the overall series does it a disservice because no matter how I look at it, it feels exactly like a filler episode.
The overall book is fine, minus the lack of section breaks. I have no issue with the book itself.
However, its position in the overall series does it a disservice because no matter how I look at it, it feels exactly like a filler episode.
March 15, 2019
The action of this sixth book picked up so slowly, I did wonder when Honor was going to show up. Once she did, the action picked up quickly, and it took me a little while to sort out was going on since there was some nice subplots with their own twists and turns to distract me. The climax was rather delicious, and incredibly shocking when it snuck up on me, and I'm disappointed at the rather abrupt resolution. Can't wait for more!
November 2, 2015
The Honor Harrington series rolls onwards with Honor Among Enemies. Our heroine starts the story still living out her comfortable exile from Manticore as a Steadholder of Grayson. But, obviously, she really longs – deep down – to be back in the Manticorian Navy captaining a ship of the wall. As luck would have it, Manticore is engaged in a heavy war with the People's Republic of Haven and doesn't have enough ships or crew to protect it's merchant shipping at the same time. In a storyline somewhat reminiscent of On Basilisk Station, Honor is offered an impossible command by people who have their reasons for almost preferring it if she fails.
The Manticorian Navy have developed a new line of Q-ships – modified merchant ships, heavily laden with weaponry but not much speed or armour – and with a rag-tag crew of left-overs, rejects and people between other commands she sets out to prove herself, again, by pretending to be a hapless merchant ship and waiting for the pirates to attack. Six novels in, we know Honor is going to win. We know that the win will be overwhelming and impressive; that it will be in the faces of the people that sent her to fail; she'll drink hot chocolate and stroke her 'cat; and that she will gain some level of redemption and reward from Manticore. As with the parallels with On Basilisk Station, we have to assume that Honor's career is in the ascendancy again.
What lifts this above the formulaic crank-a-novel, is that Honor's barely in it. Yes, she achieves all the things we'd expect (especially the hot chocolate and cat stroking), but the novel focusses to a much greater than usual level on the supporting cast. We watch Honor succeed, in part, through their stories. Specifically the story of Aubrey Wanderman is the stand out. A newbie rating on his first deployment he is initially despondent to be assigned a mere Q-ship, until he discovers that he'll be under the command of the great Honor Harrington. His excitement is tarnished somewhat when he ends up bunking with the ship's bully and chief troublemaker and he has to learn to stand up for himself (with the help from some kick-ass marines). Points are deducted for an almost totally pointless bomb threat sub-plot that is heavily foreshadowed before mostly fizzling out.
The Manticorian Navy have developed a new line of Q-ships – modified merchant ships, heavily laden with weaponry but not much speed or armour – and with a rag-tag crew of left-overs, rejects and people between other commands she sets out to prove herself, again, by pretending to be a hapless merchant ship and waiting for the pirates to attack. Six novels in, we know Honor is going to win. We know that the win will be overwhelming and impressive; that it will be in the faces of the people that sent her to fail; she'll drink hot chocolate and stroke her 'cat; and that she will gain some level of redemption and reward from Manticore. As with the parallels with On Basilisk Station, we have to assume that Honor's career is in the ascendancy again.
What lifts this above the formulaic crank-a-novel, is that Honor's barely in it. Yes, she achieves all the things we'd expect (especially the hot chocolate and cat stroking), but the novel focusses to a much greater than usual level on the supporting cast. We watch Honor succeed, in part, through their stories. Specifically the story of Aubrey Wanderman is the stand out. A newbie rating on his first deployment he is initially despondent to be assigned a mere Q-ship, until he discovers that he'll be under the command of the great Honor Harrington. His excitement is tarnished somewhat when he ends up bunking with the ship's bully and chief troublemaker and he has to learn to stand up for himself (with the help from some kick-ass marines). Points are deducted for an almost totally pointless bomb threat sub-plot that is heavily foreshadowed before mostly fizzling out.
July 7, 2017
A better-than-average Honor Harrington, which are better-than-average space operas. Enough complexity and depth to keep the reader mentally engaged.
Nimitz falls in love. Oh, my.
The Horatio Hornblower reference was cute.
A good read.
Nimitz falls in love. Oh, my.
The Horatio Hornblower reference was cute.
A good read.
July 13, 2010
Honor Among Enemies, is the sixth book in the Honor Harrington series. I almost want to call this book On Basilisk Station part 2 because there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the two books, I will get into that later. In this book Honor is offered a new command in her native Manticore Navy. Currently, she is a full admiral in the Grayson navy, in fact she is its second ranking officer. The new command she is offered in the Manticoran navy is vastly inferior, she is to command a squadron of armed merchant ships, not even real warships!
Of course she accepts, mostly to get back into Manticoran uniform and to start her rehabilitation. This post was mostly offered as a political move. The opposition to the current government suggested her for this post, partly in fact because it is so dangerous that she has a good chance of not surviving it. But, even they realize how effective of a combat commander she is. The starkingdom is losing more and more merchant ships in the wild Silesian sector, and something must be done.
There is not as much politics in this book as there was in the previous books, which is a nice refresher. We are also introduced to the Andermani empire as well as one of their highest ranking admirals. The book also spends a large amount of time in the perspective of some Havenite officers (some we saw in Flag in Exile) and we see that they are normal people and overall quite decent.
Seeing the Havenite officers as real people and not monsters is quite important at this part of the storyline. They just went through a major coup and the new regime seems obsessed with killing its own people to keep them in line. In the previous book that is mostly what we hear about, the excessive in-fighting and killing and the reign of terror. Seeing that Haven still has good people in it helps us realize that this war isn't the Good vs Evil fight it was first seen as.
There are a number of parallels to draw between 'Honor Among Enemies,' and 'On Basilisk Station,' the first book in the series. The ships Honor is given to command are similar in that they are both armed in ways that break from the traditional warship model. In the first book, she was given a light cruiser with vastly underpowered armaments to prove a point. In this book, her merchant cruiser is not a real warship, and as such is not expected to stand up to more than one or two warships. However, its unconventional weapons are very powerful and mark a new direction in Manticore's ship technology. Also, her main task is not to provide wartime support but to act as a policewoman. In Basilisk Station she was to act as customs patrol for the Basilisk system. In this book she is to help protect merchantmen from pirates. In both, she uncovers plots by Haven while doing her police duties and stops them cold, thus sparking some diplomatic sanctions against Haven that go on behind the scenes.
Overall, this is a great addition to the Honor Harrington series. It is full of action, both space combat and hand to hand combat. The Havenite point of view is valuable to help put some of the series into perspective and is wonderfully portrayed. Some future story threads have their beginnings in this book too so it is a very important piece of the entire puzzle. It's Geektime gives Honor Among Enemies a prestigious 10 on the d10 of enjoyment.
Of course she accepts, mostly to get back into Manticoran uniform and to start her rehabilitation. This post was mostly offered as a political move. The opposition to the current government suggested her for this post, partly in fact because it is so dangerous that she has a good chance of not surviving it. But, even they realize how effective of a combat commander she is. The starkingdom is losing more and more merchant ships in the wild Silesian sector, and something must be done.
There is not as much politics in this book as there was in the previous books, which is a nice refresher. We are also introduced to the Andermani empire as well as one of their highest ranking admirals. The book also spends a large amount of time in the perspective of some Havenite officers (some we saw in Flag in Exile) and we see that they are normal people and overall quite decent.
Seeing the Havenite officers as real people and not monsters is quite important at this part of the storyline. They just went through a major coup and the new regime seems obsessed with killing its own people to keep them in line. In the previous book that is mostly what we hear about, the excessive in-fighting and killing and the reign of terror. Seeing that Haven still has good people in it helps us realize that this war isn't the Good vs Evil fight it was first seen as.
There are a number of parallels to draw between 'Honor Among Enemies,' and 'On Basilisk Station,' the first book in the series. The ships Honor is given to command are similar in that they are both armed in ways that break from the traditional warship model. In the first book, she was given a light cruiser with vastly underpowered armaments to prove a point. In this book, her merchant cruiser is not a real warship, and as such is not expected to stand up to more than one or two warships. However, its unconventional weapons are very powerful and mark a new direction in Manticore's ship technology. Also, her main task is not to provide wartime support but to act as a policewoman. In Basilisk Station she was to act as customs patrol for the Basilisk system. In this book she is to help protect merchantmen from pirates. In both, she uncovers plots by Haven while doing her police duties and stops them cold, thus sparking some diplomatic sanctions against Haven that go on behind the scenes.
Overall, this is a great addition to the Honor Harrington series. It is full of action, both space combat and hand to hand combat. The Havenite point of view is valuable to help put some of the series into perspective and is wonderfully portrayed. Some future story threads have their beginnings in this book too so it is a very important piece of the entire puzzle. It's Geektime gives Honor Among Enemies a prestigious 10 on the d10 of enjoyment.
April 19, 2010
I promised myself that Honor Among Enemies would be my last David Weber for a while, but I've already started In Enemy Hands. Ah well.
This particular entry is pretty tame so far as the Honor Harrington Mythos is concerned. In order to get back into the good graces of the Manticoran military and political complex, Honor is given the task of ridding the Silesian Confederacy area of the pirates menacing their merchant and freight liners. Her task force consists of four converted and heavily armed merchant freighters to ask as lures, while Klaus Hauptman and Reginald Houseman both expect her to fail. Rich and powerful adversaries notwithstanding, the idea that sacrificing thousands of people simply to dispose of Honor is clearly abhorrent even to Hauptman, yet at least he stands to gain something if she succeeds.
And while the pirates and even Haven make things difficult, and while there are the usual politics I've come to expect in the Harrington books, nothing really leapt out at me as surprising. The real groundbreaking elements here come from a Havenite captain who risked his commission to rescue a Manticoran freighter from pirates, and contributed significantly to Honors own efforts to eradicate them. I believe the point here is that Haven isn't all bad, and that there are enough opposing factions in Haven's own structure that their true downfall will come from within.
This appears supported from the prologue of In Enemy Hands, so I'll consider this another transition novel. The situation required honor to undergo some kind of testing, and while not entirely idle, Haven couldn't come on too strongly either in Harrington's weakened standing. This book is a minor skirmish in the grand scheme, but sets things up nicely for other implications and machinations to roll over the characters I've come to enjoy following.
There is a minor subplot that involves a character being transformed from a relatively skittish techie to a fighting machine at the intervention of a few marines due to an especially subversive bully brought in by the mad scramble for personnel to crew Honor's new ships. This resolved well, but I think David took the easy way out at the end, making it essentially impossible for these characters to cause trouble later in the series, so I wonder about the point of it all. It's obvious Ginger Lewis and Aubrey Wanderman are going to be recurring characters, but the complete destruction of their enemies was a little heavy-handed, permanent, and unnecessary.
But that's hardly a reason for worry. It's been a good series so far, and it has kept me reading.
This particular entry is pretty tame so far as the Honor Harrington Mythos is concerned. In order to get back into the good graces of the Manticoran military and political complex, Honor is given the task of ridding the Silesian Confederacy area of the pirates menacing their merchant and freight liners. Her task force consists of four converted and heavily armed merchant freighters to ask as lures, while Klaus Hauptman and Reginald Houseman both expect her to fail. Rich and powerful adversaries notwithstanding, the idea that sacrificing thousands of people simply to dispose of Honor is clearly abhorrent even to Hauptman, yet at least he stands to gain something if she succeeds.
And while the pirates and even Haven make things difficult, and while there are the usual politics I've come to expect in the Harrington books, nothing really leapt out at me as surprising. The real groundbreaking elements here come from a Havenite captain who risked his commission to rescue a Manticoran freighter from pirates, and contributed significantly to Honors own efforts to eradicate them. I believe the point here is that Haven isn't all bad, and that there are enough opposing factions in Haven's own structure that their true downfall will come from within.
This appears supported from the prologue of In Enemy Hands, so I'll consider this another transition novel. The situation required honor to undergo some kind of testing, and while not entirely idle, Haven couldn't come on too strongly either in Harrington's weakened standing. This book is a minor skirmish in the grand scheme, but sets things up nicely for other implications and machinations to roll over the characters I've come to enjoy following.
There is a minor subplot that involves a character being transformed from a relatively skittish techie to a fighting machine at the intervention of a few marines due to an especially subversive bully brought in by the mad scramble for personnel to crew Honor's new ships. This resolved well, but I think David took the easy way out at the end, making it essentially impossible for these characters to cause trouble later in the series, so I wonder about the point of it all. It's obvious Ginger Lewis and Aubrey Wanderman are going to be recurring characters, but the complete destruction of their enemies was a little heavy-handed, permanent, and unnecessary.
But that's hardly a reason for worry. It's been a good series so far, and it has kept me reading.
October 28, 2016
There are good and bad aspects of this book. I'll start with the bad and end with the good.
1. Honestly, was anyone surprised with Tschu died? I sure wasn't.
2. Honor is special in way too many ways. She is too bloody perfect. Now it looks like that she might have two tree cats. Not only is she an outstanding officer, but gosh, even the treecats treat her special. :bangs head:
3. Actually No 2. all over again, with the addition of the fact that when Tschu dies is death has no emotional revelance, not even in terms of getting the reader to feel for Samantha. Instead, it seems to be used to show us how great Honor is, yet again.
Now for the good:
1. Many of the main supporting points and characters. I found myself more concerned with them than with Honor. In fact, I couldn't have cared less about Honor, but the supporting characters were interesting.
2. Presenting two different sides of a conflict.
3. Dealing with issues that occur in war that few other writers truly touch upon in depth.
4. Honor's loophole.
5. A male asking for maternity leave.
1. Honestly, was anyone surprised with Tschu died? I sure wasn't.
2. Honor is special in way too many ways. She is too bloody perfect. Now it looks like that she might have two tree cats. Not only is she an outstanding officer, but gosh, even the treecats treat her special. :bangs head:
3. Actually No 2. all over again, with the addition of the fact that when Tschu dies is death has no emotional revelance, not even in terms of getting the reader to feel for Samantha. Instead, it seems to be used to show us how great Honor is, yet again.
Now for the good:
1. Many of the main supporting points and characters. I found myself more concerned with them than with Honor. In fact, I couldn't have cared less about Honor, but the supporting characters were interesting.
2. Presenting two different sides of a conflict.
3. Dealing with issues that occur in war that few other writers truly touch upon in depth.
4. Honor's loophole.
5. A male asking for maternity leave.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2015
Honor Among Enemies read simpler than previous Honor books. There seemed to be less substance, less antagonist povs and political plotting.
Pirate ships have been attacking merchant ships around Silesia, many of them Manticoran. Because of the war, the military doesn't have many resources spare. Due to the insistence of the wealthy merchants, the Manticores re-fit some merchant ships with heavy firepower, and a few other modifications. These ships, known as Q-ships, should be able to deceive the pirate ships from far away. However, the Q-ships will not be able to withstand any true battle engagement.
It's seen as a long shot, and of course, when the question comes up as to whom should pilot this timebomb, Honor Harrington's name comes up. Honor decides to take the challenge. It's even more challenging when her crew are a mix of newbies and troublemakers - whatever the military could spare.
There is a subplot with a young crewmember and a bully. It was a little middle school like, but it was still entertaining to read. I can't remember the last time a person over 13 used the term "snotnose" to insult anyone.
Maybe I am forgetting how villains were written in scifi books in the 90s? It's offsetting to have a character call his victim snotnose, and then also have enemy ships which rape the crews they capture. Weird range of evil.
No one really has any nuance to their evil, or even goodness for that matter. Granted, Honor is the hero and we want her to save the day. She chooses hot chocolate over coffee, fer chrissakes.
There's another small subplot of treecat romance between Nimitz and another treecat, Samantha. I didn't mind it, and it's really not that much of the book. I love animals, even if treecats aren't supposed to be cuddly, so any Nimitz plots are okay by me.
If there's anything to be learned of this series, it's always rather clear what the outcome will be. Honor lives up to her title of Mary Sue. It was nice to be back to the space battles and away from the religious squabbling on Grayson.
I thought there was a lack of complexity to this book that there had been in the previous ones. Not that any of the characters in this series have been particularly nuanced (pretty much black/white, good/evil), but the overall plot seemed a little flat.
Maybe it was more suited for a short story or novella? Because ultimately if you consider this particularly plot in the whole Honor story-line, what's going to come of this? Seemed like a diversion to me. This book would have been better served if it were shorter.
Pirate ships have been attacking merchant ships around Silesia, many of them Manticoran. Because of the war, the military doesn't have many resources spare. Due to the insistence of the wealthy merchants, the Manticores re-fit some merchant ships with heavy firepower, and a few other modifications. These ships, known as Q-ships, should be able to deceive the pirate ships from far away. However, the Q-ships will not be able to withstand any true battle engagement.
It's seen as a long shot, and of course, when the question comes up as to whom should pilot this timebomb, Honor Harrington's name comes up. Honor decides to take the challenge. It's even more challenging when her crew are a mix of newbies and troublemakers - whatever the military could spare.
There is a subplot with a young crewmember and a bully. It was a little middle school like, but it was still entertaining to read. I can't remember the last time a person over 13 used the term "snotnose" to insult anyone.
Maybe I am forgetting how villains were written in scifi books in the 90s? It's offsetting to have a character call his victim snotnose, and then also have enemy ships which rape the crews they capture. Weird range of evil.
No one really has any nuance to their evil, or even goodness for that matter. Granted, Honor is the hero and we want her to save the day. She chooses hot chocolate over coffee, fer chrissakes.
There's another small subplot of treecat romance between Nimitz and another treecat, Samantha. I didn't mind it, and it's really not that much of the book. I love animals, even if treecats aren't supposed to be cuddly, so any Nimitz plots are okay by me.
If there's anything to be learned of this series, it's always rather clear what the outcome will be. Honor lives up to her title of Mary Sue. It was nice to be back to the space battles and away from the religious squabbling on Grayson.
I thought there was a lack of complexity to this book that there had been in the previous ones. Not that any of the characters in this series have been particularly nuanced (pretty much black/white, good/evil), but the overall plot seemed a little flat.
Maybe it was more suited for a short story or novella? Because ultimately if you consider this particularly plot in the whole Honor story-line, what's going to come of this? Seemed like a diversion to me. This book would have been better served if it were shorter.
February 26, 2016
This book is really long... had to skim through a lot of techno-babble as well as lots of geographic and historical backstory stuff. It would have been better if they were put as footnotes / appendices instead for those of us who are already familiar with the series or are really not that interested!
At the heart is still a rousing adventure with lots of moves and counter-moves by all sorts of parties and of course, lots of deaths and casualties... :(
A good installment, albeit overly long.
But after reading 6 Honor Harrington books in one go, it's time for me to surrender and declare a temporary ceasefire.... just feeling a bit too battle fatigued to continue for now and come back after a bit of a system reboot by reading something else.
At the heart is still a rousing adventure with lots of moves and counter-moves by all sorts of parties and of course, lots of deaths and casualties... :(
A good installment, albeit overly long.
But after reading 6 Honor Harrington books in one go, it's time for me to surrender and declare a temporary ceasefire.... just feeling a bit too battle fatigued to continue for now and come back after a bit of a system reboot by reading something else.
June 23, 2008
I should probably give this one five stars too since it is still better than the vast majority of science fiction books that I have read. However, since it is a little weaker than the other books in the series so far, I'll dock it a star pour encourager les autres.
It reads a little like an intermezzo between the first half of the series, which took Honor (the main character) from a relative unknown to fame and fortune then exile. This book brings her back from exile and sets her up for further adventures. At least that's my impression for now.
What a great series... six books read in six days and counting....
It reads a little like an intermezzo between the first half of the series, which took Honor (the main character) from a relative unknown to fame and fortune then exile. This book brings her back from exile and sets her up for further adventures. At least that's my impression for now.
What a great series... six books read in six days and counting....
October 1, 2014
Another entertaining entry in this series, but good grief at the body count. This episode is Honor vs. Space Pirates, who have been attacking Manticore merchant ships while the RMN is distracted by the war. The pirates turn out to be much nastier than the Peeps, who are the honorable enemies referred to by the title.
February 7, 2012
I enjoyed the main story a lot - the building of a cohesive crew, the fight against overwhelming odds, and the humanity and inhumanity shown by both sides in the conflict. However, I must admit I probably lightly skimmed about 1/3 of the book - the long-winded explanations of history, tech, etc. are just not my cup of tea.
December 5, 2012
Yes, Harrington and her career are becoming way too implausible. Still, this book was complicated, the plot developed from different directions. There were some interesting developments (especially involving Nimitz). It was a look up and realize it is 2:30 a.m. on a work night kind of book.
June 2, 2016
It's too bad some of the political meetings go on and on, rehashing the same info a lot. Otherwise this would be 5-star stuff.
Some great characters and situations.
As always, the space battles and daily space activities are fascinating and superbly well-done, even after 6 books!
Some great characters and situations.
As always, the space battles and daily space activities are fascinating and superbly well-done, even after 6 books!
March 8, 2021
2018 re-read. Very good, the best so far in this excellent series.
May 30, 2014
A bit slow at places but a good read.
September 1, 2022
En pleine guerre contre Havre, Manticore manque d'effectif pour escorter les navires marchands qui deviennent de fait la proie des pirates dans l'espace silésien où règne l'anarchie. Face à ce problème, le gouvernement décide de réintégrer dans la flotte Honor Harrington, mise de côté suite à son duel, aux commandes d'une petite escadres de vaisseaux de navires-leurres...
Comme à mon habitude, je risque de manquer d'objectivité, la série Honor Harrington étant devenue au fil du temps pour moi l'équivalent d'un film Marvel pour d'autres. On connaît les ficelles, on sait que le récit est plus ou moins formaté, mais on a le spectacle qu'on attendait. Et bon sang que je les apprécie ce spectacle et cet univers. Après un diptyque beaucoup plus centré sur les soucis personnels d'Honor et sur son statut de Lady graysonienne, Weber nous ramène ici au sein de la Flotte royale manticorienne pour un tome tout ce qu'il y a de plus classique en terme de roman de marine de guerre. Si j'ai trouvé une ou deux longueurs à un moment, force est de constater que cet aspect très classique fait la force de ce roman! Tels les récits de marine se déroulant au XVIIIème siècle, nous voici embarqués dans l'espace avec Honor à la poursuite de pirates impitoyables, à l'abordage de navires, à la courtoisie entre officier vainqueurs et vaincus... Tous les ingrédients sont réunis pour en faire un récit qui plaira aux fans de space opéra militaires. Ce changement de cadre s'effectue bien sûr au détriment de la politique et de la vie personnelle d'Honor, beaucoup moins présent que dans les derniers tomes. Cela dit, souffler un peu avec une intrigue beaucoup plus simple fait parfois du bien! Nous découvrons tout de même l'Empire andermien et sa culture assez étrange faites de Chinois ayant été colonisés par des Allemands au fil des siècles, ce qui est assez sympathique, étoffant un peu l'univers de la série. Ironiquement, le personnage le plus développé du roman sera donc Nimitz, le chat sylvestre. Ce développement pourra d'ailleurs faire sourire et paraître forcé à certains mais il faudra s'y faire : la Flotte à beaucoup de respect pour ces animaux intelligents!
Honor Harrington oblige, Weber nous offre la traditionnelle bataille spatiale de fin de roman à laquelle on s'attend la plupart du temps. Et bon sang, quelle bataille! Outre le fait que j'ai encore fait l'erreur de m'attacher à l'équipage d'Honor (qui doit avoir du mal à dormir avec tous ces morts au fil des épisodes), le résultat et ce qui s'en suit était également prenant!
En point négatif, outre les longueurs, je tiens tout de même à mettre un point noir à L'Atalante pour ce tome dans lequel de nombreux noms de vaisseaux et stations spatiales se voient régulièrement amputés de leurs majuscules... Cela peut être assez énervant (pour moi ça l'était) et me pousserait à mettre un 4.5/5 (mais bien sûr je laisse 5 étoiles parce que j'ai objectivement pris beaucoup de plaisir à cette lecture).
Comme à mon habitude, je risque de manquer d'objectivité, la série Honor Harrington étant devenue au fil du temps pour moi l'équivalent d'un film Marvel pour d'autres. On connaît les ficelles, on sait que le récit est plus ou moins formaté, mais on a le spectacle qu'on attendait. Et bon sang que je les apprécie ce spectacle et cet univers. Après un diptyque beaucoup plus centré sur les soucis personnels d'Honor et sur son statut de Lady graysonienne, Weber nous ramène ici au sein de la Flotte royale manticorienne pour un tome tout ce qu'il y a de plus classique en terme de roman de marine de guerre. Si j'ai trouvé une ou deux longueurs à un moment, force est de constater que cet aspect très classique fait la force de ce roman! Tels les récits de marine se déroulant au XVIIIème siècle, nous voici embarqués dans l'espace avec Honor à la poursuite de pirates impitoyables, à l'abordage de navires, à la courtoisie entre officier vainqueurs et vaincus... Tous les ingrédients sont réunis pour en faire un récit qui plaira aux fans de space opéra militaires. Ce changement de cadre s'effectue bien sûr au détriment de la politique et de la vie personnelle d'Honor, beaucoup moins présent que dans les derniers tomes. Cela dit, souffler un peu avec une intrigue beaucoup plus simple fait parfois du bien! Nous découvrons tout de même l'Empire andermien et sa culture assez étrange faites de Chinois ayant été colonisés par des Allemands au fil des siècles, ce qui est assez sympathique, étoffant un peu l'univers de la série. Ironiquement, le personnage le plus développé du roman sera donc Nimitz, le chat sylvestre. Ce développement pourra d'ailleurs faire sourire et paraître forcé à certains mais il faudra s'y faire : la Flotte à beaucoup de respect pour ces animaux intelligents!
Honor Harrington oblige, Weber nous offre la traditionnelle bataille spatiale de fin de roman à laquelle on s'attend la plupart du temps. Et bon sang, quelle bataille! Outre le fait que j'ai encore fait l'erreur de m'attacher à l'équipage d'Honor (qui doit avoir du mal à dormir avec tous ces morts au fil des épisodes), le résultat et ce qui s'en suit était également prenant!
En point négatif, outre les longueurs, je tiens tout de même à mettre un point noir à L'Atalante pour ce tome dans lequel de nombreux noms de vaisseaux et stations spatiales se voient régulièrement amputés de leurs majuscules... Cela peut être assez énervant (pour moi ça l'était) et me pousserait à mettre un 4.5/5 (mais bien sûr je laisse 5 étoiles parce que j'ai objectivement pris beaucoup de plaisir à cette lecture).
July 12, 2020
This episode sees Honor rejoining the Manticoran Navy but with a nearly impossible assignment. Her job is to take some refitted merchantmen and head off to Silesia to stop the pirates that are harassing Maniticoran shipping. This assignment was dreamed up for her by Klaus Hauptman who has had it in for her since Basilisk. After all, his merchant ships are losing money and the Navy is supposed to protect them. If Honor fails, Hauptman wins in his subversive battle against Honor.
But all isn't as it seems in Silesia. Some of the pirates are actually Peeps in disguise whose goal is to prey on Maniticoran shipping both for the products they will get and in the hopes of drawing Manticoran forces away from more valuable targets.
The Manticorans also deal with a legitimate pirate who is running a group of ships and who has taken over a planet. His crews are busy raping and pillaging at his command and one of their victims is a ship owned by Hauptman and captained by someone close to him. That story weaves its way through the book and gives Hauptman his reason for being in the system for some of the major plot points of the story.
I enjoyed the variety of viewpoints in this one as we learn that not all Peeps are bad people. I also liked getting a look at some of the other people who are serving in the Manticoran Navy in the person of Aubrey Wanderman who is a new recruit in gravitics and who has some problems with a major bully on the ship.
I also liked meeting a new treecat named Samantha as her person is assigned to the crew on Honor's ship. I liked watching Nimitz and Samantha fall in love.
This was another excellent episode in a great series.
But all isn't as it seems in Silesia. Some of the pirates are actually Peeps in disguise whose goal is to prey on Maniticoran shipping both for the products they will get and in the hopes of drawing Manticoran forces away from more valuable targets.
The Manticorans also deal with a legitimate pirate who is running a group of ships and who has taken over a planet. His crews are busy raping and pillaging at his command and one of their victims is a ship owned by Hauptman and captained by someone close to him. That story weaves its way through the book and gives Hauptman his reason for being in the system for some of the major plot points of the story.
I enjoyed the variety of viewpoints in this one as we learn that not all Peeps are bad people. I also liked getting a look at some of the other people who are serving in the Manticoran Navy in the person of Aubrey Wanderman who is a new recruit in gravitics and who has some problems with a major bully on the ship.
I also liked meeting a new treecat named Samantha as her person is assigned to the crew on Honor's ship. I liked watching Nimitz and Samantha fall in love.
This was another excellent episode in a great series.
September 6, 2019
Simply awesome, I love these books more every time. David is a wizard, this one in particular seemed longer than the others and no complaints here. I loved every minute, it never feels like the information is superfluous or arbitrary. When the story does include background information on something, it's informative and builds on concepts you as a reader already like or in my case love. I love these books because of the characters, the different perspectives, I love that enemies in war become humanized. They reverse the aim of war to dehumanize the enemy and thus show a beautiful side of humanity that is deep and wonderful to experience. This series isn't just space battles and politics, the characters are what drive everything. David is second to none at making you feel everything his characters feel. It's not the setting or backdrop that grips you but the people and their perspectives. These stories could take place anywhere and in any time to the same effect. I can't wait to read his other series and to meet Mr.Weber in person.
September 7, 2023
David Weber turned in another great Honor Harrington book. The series is starting to get a little ponderous in length, but there is so much great storytelling in here.
The whole subplot with Aubrey Wanderman was fantastic, and I couldn't wait to see what happened. Very Horatio Hornblower esque. And the questions about how the military deals with bullies was excellently explored.
I also really liked the ideas of Honor having respect for her enemies (hence the title). Her humane treatment of them was just fantastic!
I think the book got a little long when from the "Peep's" point of view, but then thats the problem with literally every Harrington book.
There were some cool character appearances. I find Honor more interesting in Flag in Exile when she is in charge of her own military rather than having a lower rank in the Manticore military, but its still really fascinating seeing her adjust to this role.
Overall, a solid book, but not near the heights of some of the others. 7.5 out of 10!
The whole subplot with Aubrey Wanderman was fantastic, and I couldn't wait to see what happened. Very Horatio Hornblower esque. And the questions about how the military deals with bullies was excellently explored.
I also really liked the ideas of Honor having respect for her enemies (hence the title). Her humane treatment of them was just fantastic!
I think the book got a little long when from the "Peep's" point of view, but then thats the problem with literally every Harrington book.
There were some cool character appearances. I find Honor more interesting in Flag in Exile when she is in charge of her own military rather than having a lower rank in the Manticore military, but its still really fascinating seeing her adjust to this role.
Overall, a solid book, but not near the heights of some of the others. 7.5 out of 10!
May 29, 2022
[I liked it, 2.9 stars, might read again.]
David Weber, in Honor Among Enemies, takes a long time to setup the background; something like half of the book is a rehash of prior events and a detailed exposition of the competing factions plans. But the second half of the book is much more interesting, where new tactics and surprises happen. Character's policies are established early in the novel (or in previous books) and there is little evolution. While this produces a number of satisfying scenes, the plot line is not surprising.
David Weber, in Honor Among Enemies, takes a long time to setup the background; something like half of the book is a rehash of prior events and a detailed exposition of the competing factions plans. But the second half of the book is much more interesting, where new tactics and surprises happen. Character's policies are established early in the novel (or in previous books) and there is little evolution. While this produces a number of satisfying scenes, the plot line is not surprising.
February 14, 2024
Goodreads algorithm thinks that if I liked this, I would like some sci-fi romance... Oh well, Nimitz and Samantha did have a romance, I guess. The fact that they are cats is inconsequential.
May 21, 2018
Great as usual 😀
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