ISBN: 0-7434-7148-2 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A solidly enjoyable adventure in the popular Honorverse series, this book features politics, fighting, likable heroes and large scale, and is marred slighlty my multiple viewpoints.
Reviewed by David on November 15, 2003 (rev. 1)
Genre: Science Fiction (Military, Politics, Coming of Age)
Synopsis: The book builds on some interesting but peripheral characters of Weber's Honor Harrington series originally introduced in "From the Highlands" (Changer of Worlds) and "Fanatic" and "Promised Land" (The Service of the Sword).
The murder of a prominent anti-slavery activist prompt the Crown of Manticore to send a representative to attend the funeral. The representative is the Queen's niece—Princess Ruth. Accompanied by the dangerously capable former agent of the Manticoran Intelligence Captain Zilwicki, and Zilwicki's adopted daughter Berry, the princess must show the crown's opposition to slavery and respect for the tentative ally Erehwon.
The matters soon get complicated when foreign mercenaries, Havenite intelligence, Solarian ambitions and Erehwon political struggles create a deadly situation.
Full Review: Unlike in the main Honor Harrington novels, the famous admiral stays mostly in the background in this book. Instead, the interesting characters of Zilwicki and his daughter, Victor Cachat of Haven, and several new characters step forward to play major roles. The plot is suspenseful, and there is plenty of action, some resulting in bloodshed and other in tense standoffs and maneuvering. The book sheds more light on the the plotics and tensions in the Honorverse.
The only flaw in the book is the frequently switching viewpoint. It gets better towards the end, as the major characters are selcted, but the beginning is a bit choppy.
In all, this is a very entertaining book, both for Honor fans, and for new readers.
Universe: Honorverse
Overall: 6; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 7; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 2003, Baen Publishing Enterprises (Baen), September 2003, Cloth, 505 pages
ISBN: 0-7434-7148-2 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com