War of Honor
(Honor Harrington #10)

David Weber

Riverdale: Baen Books, 2003. ISBN: 0-7434-7167-9. Pp. 939

Review © 2006 Branislav L. Slantchev

I suppose it was inevitable: with the ratio of content to pages steadily diminishing over the past few novels, it really was no surprise that Weber would hit us with this 900+ page doozy. It would not have been a bad novel at half that length, and at about a third, it would have been excellent. As it is, I can't say it even hits the threshold of mediocrity (last 150 or so pages excepting). It has been less than two weeks since I finished reading it, and most of it is a blur already. It just seems like a long run-up to a somewhat disappointing anti-climax.

I know that I said I enjoyed the political side of the conflict between Manticore and Haven, and it just stands to reason that we would be getting more of that (as opposed to low-level fighting narrative) as Honor advances in rank. Unfortunately, in this novel Weber is as subtle as a Godzilla stomping through the landscape of high politics. It is clear that he wants the war to be "nobody's fault" in the sense that when it comes, it would be out of the misunderstandings and the petty maneuvering of various politicians rather than a deliberate act of some evil mastermind. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, except the way it happens here is naive at best and sloppy (as storytelling) at worst. The plot has holes large enough to drive an SD(P) through. With the Warshawski sails deployed.

The incompetent High Ridge government is venal, too venal, to be plausible as a cabinet with the popular support it seems to have had, at least for a while. Not only are the ministers a bunch of thoroughly unlikable snobs (and I mean, there is not a single one who comes close to the threshold of being a nice person), but they manage to corrupt the entire bureaucracy as well, which is a feat that should take decades under normal circumstances. Rather than seeing the war to its logical military conclusion, this government prefers to keep it in limbo, neither fighting it (for they have no stomach for it) nor terminating it (for if the emergency situation ends, as it would with peace, they would have to call general elections, which they know they would lose).

Their solution is incredibly ridiculous: they would drag out the peace talks and simultaneously disarm! Yes, you read that right: they would refuse to end the war and they will then pursue a domestic agenda that would render them progressively weaker militarily. And just how is that supposed to have worked is anyone's guess. Naturally, Theisman will be busy rebuilding the Havenite Navy to close the technological gap as quickly as possible. Did the Manticorans believe that these guys would just sit idly by and allow themselves to be denied the opportunity for recovery? On the other hand, the entire story with the maverick Secretary of State Giancola is dumb. Okay, I can believe that he would run roughshod over President Pritchard's (and the Navy's) carefully constructed plans and sabotage their communications with Manticore. But it is surely a humongous stretch to believe that the savvy Pritchard would not at least make an effort to ensure that her words are being transmitted correctly. It's not like she had not made a career of falsifying reports under the Committee rule.

It gets worse: after Giancola edits a message in which Haven expressly disclaims Trevor's Star to say exactly the opposite, the miffed Manticorans shoot back with a response that reveals that the content has been altered. Or should have revealed that. Instead, Pritchard chooses to interpret it as some backhanded imperialism. Let me get this straight: she sends a message that says "You can have Trevor's Star," they come back with "Our eventual possession of Trevor's Star is non-negotiable," and instead of thinking "What the hell are they reading?," Pritchard concludes that they must be determined to expand. Despite the intelligence services telling her about the incredibly massive disarmament that same government is pursuing. Just makes no sense.

Rather than me dragging out the criticism, if you want to know what's wrong with this latest Honor Harrington installment, then take your pick:

• Thomas Theisman proceeding with the war plans even though an entire Grayson fleet is "missing" and presumed to be on some remote training missions; that a commander of his skill would charge blindly without ascertaining where the opponent is beggars belief.
• The Andermani: what, the heck, was their strategy supposed to achieve? Gradual escalation toward what? Either the Manticorans are too weak to respond in force (which is what the Andermani apparently had in mind) or they would fight when push comes to shove, not both. But if the first is true, then exacting pressure at the time when Haven is still officially at war, is counterproductive. And that Giancola green-lighted the entire operation should have been a cause of concern. And if the second is true, then they should have been prepared for a shooting war (which they weren't).
• What was Giancola's plan? Ratchet up the tension with the fake messages and then... what? He was nastily surprised when Pritchard ordered resumption of hostilities, so he must have had an alternative in mind. But since Pritchard was already pursuing that alternative, it's not at all clear what he was trying to achieve.
• Interminable political discussions that rehash familiar material over and over again. We get the Manticoran government yapping about some issue, then we get the Manticoran opposition vehemently disagreeing, then we get the Andermani who cannot believe the Manticoran government is so incompetent because its position is so obviously stupid, then we get the Graysons who are offended by that position, then we get Honor sympathizing with the Graysons about it, then we get Pritchard and Theisman who cannot believe their luck with the obviously stupid position of the Manticoran government, and then we get Giancola who just edits commas to push the two star systems into war. And we get this again, and again, and again. It's as if the Energizer Bunny got a hold of keyboard and would not stop churning out equivalent passages.
• The love story. Awful. Honor's one weakness is finally revealed: she cannot overcome her feelings for White Haven who seems to be just as helpless when it comes to denying his own love for her. So far so good. This could have been Honor's one tragic flaw; you know, the kind that really wreak havoc in Greek tragedies? Her rise to prominence could have come crashing down, her position on Grayson would have been jeopardized, and so on and so forth. All with the nice result of probably taking her back into space in command of a single ship, which would also take Weber back to the stuff he knows how to write best. But it ain't gonna happen, if the development here is any indication. First, there's the annoying constant pining for each other the likes of which I have not seen since grammar school. And then there's the utterly ridiculous novel finale where White Haven's wife seems to be suggesting a happy ménage à trois. This is now strictly Heinleinian territory, and if the Master could not pull off this stuff with any lasting conviction, then neither would Weber.

I guess I should stop here. In the end, there's enough meat here to make a novel comparable to any of the first three, both in length and intensity. As it stands, War of Honor is a self-indulgent apology to the long-suffering fans: it's as if Weber is making amends for taking time with sequels, and has now given us something to chew on for weeks on end. But it's junk food, mostly, and I really hope that we get less corny love stories, even less muddled high politics, and a lot more space opera, emphasis being on space and on things military (but no weapons descriptions, please!). This does not mean I will not be whining about a next novel...

April 9, 2006