| $@%&! level: High “Bedroom” level: Low Violence level: High Back Cover: “It's hard to give peace a chance when the other side regards war as the necessary prelude to conquest, and a sneak attack as the best means to that end. That's why the Kingdom of Manticore needs allies against the so-called “Republic” of Haven—and the planet Grayson is just the right strategic place to make a very good ally indeed. But Her Majesty's Foreign Office had overlooked a “minor cultural difference” when they chose Honor Harrington to carry the flag: women on the planet Grayson are without rank or rights; Honor's very presence is an intolerable affront to every male on the planet. At first Honor doesn't take it personally; where she comes from gender discrimination is barely a historical memory, right up there in significance with fear of the lef-handed. But in time such treatment as she receives from the Graysonites does become wearing, and Honor would withdraw if she could—but then Grayson's fratricidal sister planet attacks without warning and she must stay and prevail, not just for Honor's honor, but for her sovereign's, for the Honor of the Queen.” |
As with the first novel, it's a very slow buildup, but there's an awful lot of climax to enjoy when you finally get there. There are several attacks on the planet to ward off, of course. Honor isn't there for the first one, but she performs beautifully for all the rest. And in between, she saves the planet again by preventing an assassination with her bare hands (and the help of a certain alien, empathic, very cute, very deadly treecat). Actually, of the entire lengthy Honor Harrington series, Honor and Nimitz defending the head of the Grayson government and his family is probably my absolute favorite scene. It's voilent and bloody, and totally epic. The bit leading up to it was highly amusing as well. For one thing, David Weber has managed to create a character to oppose Honor who is just so annoying that it's wonderfully satisfying to see him get his comeuppance. So, you've got a lot to look forward to as you work your way through the unthinking prejudice and political intriguing that takes up the first half of the book. (I really like Honor's reaction to hearing about the gender inequality on Grayson too. She's just confused by it, because it's so totally divorced from her reality.)
It's unfortunate for the Havenites that everyone who pays attention to the rest of the universe already knows that it isn't safe to ally with them, which leaves them working with slightly backwards people, who in this case are also religious fanatics bordering on utter insanity. Oddly enough, as untrustworthy as the Havenites are, they're a picnic compared to the Masadans, so that you actually end up cheering them on. And they turn out to be pretty decent people. This is something else that David Weber does that I really enjoy. He points out pretty frequently that the people on the two sides of a war might just as easily get along perfectly under different circumstances and if the diplomats and politicians would just stop sending them out to kill each other. It's nice to see someone showing that the 'us vs. them' mentality is wrong as often as not, that it's just as possible that it's really 'us vs. us'.