Books: The Honor Harrington Series

Space opera. Mention it in scifi circles and you'll get reactions from mild curiousity to outright hostility. Books of this sort are mostly lugged into the soft scifi category with hardly a second thought. With titles like Star Wars and Firefly falling under this sub-genre, one would have thought it would be more highly regarded. That isn't the case (in my experience at least). Perhaps it is because space opera can be soft scifi and therefore a much easier entrance into the world of scifi in general - for both writers and readers. Unfortunately, with such an open field, it ends up very much like Fictionpress.net - a pit full of millions of stories of which only a handful are actually worth reading. Also, soft scifi is almost always shunned by the more scientific crowd because of its more ah flexible approach to science (Sound in space? Pah!).

The Honor Harrington series, while space opera, most certainly falls under the umbrella of hard science. But I'll babble a bit about that later. The series by David Weber follows Honor Harrington's carreer as a naval officer of the Star Kingdom of Manticore which is inching ever closer to open warfare with the People's Republic of Haven. The escalating tensions often lead Harrington and her crew into hair-raising conflicts against superior forces, earning her the nickname of Salamander for her knack of always being where the fire burns hottest.

Who does the series pander to?

The series is very difficult to pin down. A military science fiction series, certainly, but it's more than that. It is both character- and action-driven. This is particularly noteworthy as it is so difficult to pull off successfully. You'll often see books leaning either one way or the other.

Like Game of Thrones (sans the crazy nudity, sex and incest), the series' events are fueled by several complex layers of politics - of which Harrington has no understanding or interest in at the beginning. There are always plans within plans and the scheming can be rather thick. For those who enjoy the machinations of politics, this series will certainly entertain. It doesn't have the immediate intrigue of 'in court' politics, rather it focuses more on governmental and planetary politics. Still, it is very interesting.

The series is also about naval warfare (be it in space) where there is always a balance to be examined between superior technology and experienced, competent crew. Weber's ships and technology are detailed and mathematical to the point of annoyance (at least for the non-sciency, users of fingers and toes to count). Needless to say, he's put a LOT of consideration into the tech. Naval tradition and protocol reigns supreme and readers are early on introduced to the calm, confident exterior of naval officers and the need for them to control their own emotions. There are no lone wolves, no cocky pilots and furry sidekicks. Okay, no. That's not completely true. There is a furry sidekick but he doesn't do much initially but be cute and say 'bleek'. At least until book two.  And there is definitely no massive planet ship with a simple, "shoot here" Achilles heel. So military science buffs, step forward.

It has also a very personal, human story. And while Honor remains the protagonist, there are scores of side-characters who have their own distinct makeup. It is a series about people doing their best to deal with the demands of those higher than themselves. It has both bravery and cowardice and has people dealing with conflicts within their own camp as well as from the outside. For those who are drawn to a story by compelling characters, here you are.

Likes

Characters

I enjoy the series primarily for Honor's story. She truly is a fascinating character with very distinct strengths and weaknesses - both of which come out quite clearly through her actions and each having their own consequences. She is both the born leader and the clumsy fool who has to be shaped into something more. With that said, she never quite gets rid of her flaws. Something always creeps up through the cracks.

Even if one didn't enjoy Honor as much, she is joined by a really good cast of (sometimes) reoccurring characters.  And Weber doesn't just stick to one side of the fence. One of the most loved characters of the series happens to be fighting against Manticore. Talk about dividing loyalties. You might end up rooting for Manticore overall, but when they face off with Haven and some of those characters happen to be on the enemy's ships, it gets really hard to decide who you'll be shouting for.

Funny Dialogue
I wouldn't call Weber a comic, but he does produce some really funny lines of dialogue. It isn't even that he sets them up (ala one, two, punch). Instead, it's the simple dry-humoured observations that some of his characters make that can have you chuckling.

Honor's mother is probably my favourite character for her ability to say things no one would expect: "You know, that young man has a really nice ass for a round-eye," Dr. Allison Chou Harrington observed. "I bet you could have some fun chasing him around the command deck, dear."

Challenging conventions
Weber's stated somewhere (don't ask, I can't find it) that having gender issues in the future just doesn't make sense to him. He reasoned that as we can't understand or don't feel the same hostility towards cultures issues of several generations ago (for example everyone against the Roman Empire), it wouldn't make sense to have gender problems still be that much of an issue in the future as it is now. And so, he ends up challenging conventions we've all encountered. There is no real distinction between who does what role and why. Honor does encounter governments where women are still severely limited and can't grasp it. Not because of her superior arguments (though it does get there), but simply because she had never considered that to be a problem.

Similarly, Weber keeps on challenging his readers to consider other situations in which things we find strange could make sense. He does throw in some religious views here and there, but this too gets questioned along the way. While it's not the main focus of the series (he's not here to go on a rant about anything and everything he can think of), some small elements of commentary is evident and it's just enough to make you go 'hmm'.


World creation (or rather galaxy creation...?)
 David Weber is a fantastic world builder. Every facet of the series has been meticulously thought out: politics, medical science, physics, mathematics, time differences, space travel, composition of planets, commerce. I shudder to think how many hours he must have spent simply figuring it all out. But it's certainly paid off. I can't say much for the science (fingers and toes, remember?) but I can say that I haven't encountered anything where I thought what he was doing felt flat. I might not agree with everything, but that's one accusation I couldn't lay down on him. Having read his War God series (fantasy), I know that this is his bread and butter. He loves going into the nitty gritty and he definitely reaps a solid harvest from his efforts.

Dislikes

Info-dumping
Weber has truly created an amazing 'verse and he loves sharing everything there is to know about it. Which can sometimes pose a bit of a problem. I'll try to give an example of what he does to prove the point. Let's say we have two colleagues and the dialogue goes like this:
Dude 1: So you finally finished the report?
Dude 2: Yes! I was so busy with the Armstrang issue, but I managed to scrape the time to get everything done.
Dude 1: Good! Mr Ashton's been rather eager to wave some solid facts at our investors.

Simple enough. So Weber will feel the need to explain 1) what the report was about, 2) what the Armstrang issue was, 3) who Mr Ashton is and how he fits into this whole thing and 4) who the investors were and how the fact waiving would explain all the million things the investors are ignoring. This he will try to stuff in between the dialogue, which means that there can be literally two pages of exposition between what dude 1 and 2 said to each other. This often has me skipping paragraphs. And while some might find this sacrilegious, I have to say it works for me.

Yes, exposition can be pretty important, but Weber does tend to be somewhat overzealous in his sharing. This 'problem' might vary depending on what your interest is. Maybe you'd like to know the political structure of the government. Or maybe you'd like to know in the middle of a naval battle what speeds the missiles are moving at. Me? I'd just like to know what got hit, who died and who survived in the end.

Too kind; too good
Weber isn't very kind to his characters... Or rather, you're never quite sure of his characters' lifespans. He's not as bad as Joss Whedon but he has a knack for killing those you wouldn't suspect. Again, it's war, it happens. No one is safe when bullets (or missiles) are flying. However, there almost always seems a way out of a predicament - especially when its to do with personal disagreements between people. Put two people he likes in the same room that hate each other. Give them enough time to argue and they'll walk out friends. Skip grudging respect, don't collect any brownie points and head straight to "oooooh! you're awesome!" He's a bit too kind in this regard and it can be a little annoying as your mind does disconnect in those moments. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen enough to notice.Weber also has trouble getting his 'shades of grey' when it comes to his characters. Yes, they have flaws, but they are either very good or irredeemable.

Something more about David Weber and Baen books

The publisher Baen books has a very interesting approach to its books. It has a online library of free books which includes at least the first book of an author's series. In Weber's case there are quite a few of his books available including Basilisk Station and Honor of the Queen which are the first two books of this particular series. The idea of Baen being that if you like the story, you'll buy the book. I think it's rather commendable. I got the series on a disc as a gift from a friend and I am now slowly but surely purchasing the books. I think this approach is especially useful for someone living in a country where they can't just find what they like in a bookstore. It's taken years before the Honor series hit our online stores and the lack of exposure would definitely have made me skip what has now become one of my favourite science fiction series.