I thought that this book would be a good piece of airplane reading- interesting anecdotes describing one of the most important phenomona of the world today. I had read and enjoyed From Beirut to Jerusalem, so assumed this would be another good read. I was wrong. First, the book is sadly outdated. This may be obvious, but there are books from 2000 about globalization and technology that still have much bearing on the world today (Like Smart Mobs). ...
Re-org-er Want to see how al-Sharaa drove to Damascus in victory, or how Satya Nadella reclaimed a stalled culture transformation? Skip the nonfiction. Read Pretender! (But certainly don’t read this if you haven’t read the proceeding 7 novels) This is the second valume of Bren Cameron’s long logistics return sub-arc. Destroyer was apex tech: shuttles, starships, and Skyfall. This one drops to trains, buses, biplanes. 1917. The theme of Pretender is that arrival is legitimacy. Once you enter the capital, the right deputies stand beside you. The security apparatus doesn’t object. Optics become fact. ...
Layover-er Destroyer is almost all plot, if logistics count as plot. Here they do. The novel reads like deployment orders disguised as fiction: departures, handoffs, waiting rooms, vehicles, briefings. Forward motion as structure. It took me back to my first trip into Baghdad: DC to Amman, then a C-130 into BIAP. A day in purgatory waiting. The briefing. The Rhino itself, an armored monstrosity to take to the embassy. The book moves with that same staged progression, that same sense that transit is the action. Little politics intrudes, largely because there’s no time for it. The story spans about forty-eight hours. It’s 24 dropped into the Foreigner universe, with a touch of Skyfall in its clean set pieces and relentless pace. The ending is nothing but transfer: shuttle to the main island, ferry across, on foot to horses, then a first night brawl at the mansion. And then: stop. These installments are less novels than episodes. But like the Atevi candies offered to make friends in space, they’re small, sweet, and easy to consume. It disrupted my day. Four stars.
The Short Microcosm War The Short Victorious War isn’t the best Honor Harrington novel, but it’s the most representative—an attempt at Clausewitz in space, with bureaucratic infighting and political vanity, where the reader can safely predict the ending. Weber’s focus on Haven’s mid-level politics isn’t the sharpest, but the sheer scope of topics that he sets up or attempts to touch on in exposition is impressive. Battles are lopsided by design; Honor always fights with a few hidden advantages. It works, but predictability dulls the edge. Young, the antagonist, is pure caricature. ...
** Exposition Ascendant ** With a lower overall rating than previous and subsequent entries, Rising Thunder seemed like a throwaway installment. It isn’t. By this point in the Honorverse, exposition is currency with which we pay for space battles. The focus shifts from space battles to political economy, and the main conflict ends through non-military means—a choice that frustrates tacticians but fits the logic of the world. As one Army strategist told me: when you dominate the battle via conventional means, your enemies will go unconventional. Weber understands that, even if it costs readers their customary naval fix. ...
** Finally Worth the War ** A good book should distract from real life even when you’re not reading it. After eleven entries, David Weber’s Honor Harrington series finally does. The story is no longer a slog limited understanding for middle management; I can now see what James S. A. Corey borrowed—structure, politics, propulsion—and why. Weber’s universe remains brutal. You wouldn’t want to be Honor’s comrade, guard, or even a civilian from her home system. She has plot armor; everyone else in Manticore dies by the dozen. The Mesan Alignment, still twirling its mustaches, veers too far into conspiracy caricature, but the battles themselves are crisp and consequential. ...
** Domestic Drudgery, Galactic Glory ** At All Costs is Weber at his most uneven. Much of the book bogs down in domestic drama and organizational grind—material that felt tedious, especially as escapist reading. I would say I skipped sections without guilt, but actually o just kept falling asleep. Weber simply isn’t compelling in the register of family life and middle management. Where he excels is in politics and naval warfare. As the Republic of Haven grows more morally ambiguous, the series gains depth; villains and heroes blur. Weber writes these macro-level tensions with an authority missing from his micro-level character work. ...
Diplomacy, Budgets, and Blasters At the beginning of War of Honor I was wondering if I should settle for the mediocrity of this series. Ten books in, this is the first one I was motivated to finish. The appeal has never been the plot of any single book, but the long meta arc. Here Weber leans into a more Clausewitzian view, where diplomacy, economics, and domestic politics weigh as heavily as fleets in motion. Maybe it took the previous nine books of exposition, but now things are getting interesting! Post-war budget cuts become a plot point, a refreshing detail reminiscent of Truman, Eisenhower, and FDR biographies. The multiple points of view add texture, especially the poker game commanders play with limited information. ...
** Deus Ex Honor ** I understand the now Honor Harrington books run on a clear formula: Honor does the right thing, ruffles lesser egos, then redeems herself in battle. It’s competence porn, executed with military precision. Rather than deus ex machina, we get artes armorum a Deo—godlike weapons skills. Last book it was pistols, this time its swords. The climax is usually a well-executed space battle, the kind that’s as much poker math as mayhem. ...
** Unforgiving Realism ** I didn’t realize The Last Argument of Kings was considered grimdark fantasy until exploring reviews. To me, it’s just realism. The ending, in particular, stood out. Even for characters who achieve their life’s ambitions, success is a transition to another level of the same relentless game. Climbing the ranks only reveals another figure to grovel before. Progress means repeating the same mistakes—only now, the stakes are higher. ...