# Honor Harrington anyone?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 1, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600 "2002-09-01T20:14:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 18\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/1 "2002-09-01T20:14:12Z")

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I’ve recently been on a Sci-Fi preriod in my reading cycle. After a little reservation I picked up _ **On Basilisk Station** _, and now I’m hooked. I’ve just started **[ib]"Flag in Exile**\*, and so far it’s great. So anyone else reading them, where are you in the series? Any discussions?

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**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/2 "2002-09-02T01:23:05Z")

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I started with the first edition paperback of **On Basilisk Station** and haven’t stopped yet. Right now all of his fans are waiting for the newest one in early October, **War of Honor**. There is a very active newsgroup devoted to David and all of his works. I would recommend you read the Honor books in the order they were written. A couple of the anthologies have stories set earlier in her life, but they work better in order, IMHO.

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**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/3 "2002-09-02T01:44:36Z")

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I haven’t skipped so far, and I have the next one following **]"Flag in Exile**, so I’ll be about halfway through the series, I’m just sorry I avoided the series for so long.

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**Author:** ![theotherangel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@theotherangel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theotherangel)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/4 "2002-09-02T12:06:17Z")

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An amazing series. One of my favourites.  
I have to agree with Lok," I would recommend you read the Honor books in the order they were written. A couple of the anthologies have stories set earlier in her life, but they work better in order, IMHO."

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/5 "2002-09-02T13:02:46Z")

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I’ve only read **On Basilisk Station** so fatr, but intend to et around to the others.

A lot of writers or series have claime to be the cience fictio equivalent of “Horatio Hornblower” ( **Star Trek** and the novels of A. Bertram Chandler, to name two claimants), but they never really fit the bill. Th Honr Harrington series, OTOH, is the closest I’ve yet seen to this ideal. Pretty good reads.

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**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/6 "2002-09-02T14:32:59Z")

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I´ve read them all. Very nice reads all of them (IMHO). I´m looking forward to the new one.

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**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/7 "2002-09-02T18:54:25Z")

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**CalMeachum** have you tried the **Hope** series by David Feintuch, another great series, but slightly harder reads than the Harrington books.

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**Author:** ![caffeine\_overdose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@caffeine\_overdose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caffeine_overdose)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/8 "2002-09-02T21:07:57Z")

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Lok at what forum do they follow Honor Harrington?

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**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/9 "2002-09-03T18:03:35Z")

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I adore the HH series. I’ve read them all, and I’m definitely looking forward to the new one.

Although I’m a bit bummed that Weber is so popular now that his books come out in hardcover first. For one thing, I don’t want to spend $25+ on a book, and for another, they’re just too damn big. I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait for the paperback though.

On the other hand, I had been looking forward to Weber & White’s new one in the Starfire series for years, and it turned out to be a pretty big disappointment. (Bought the hardback, too.) I hope the new Honor book lives up to the rest.

**Stuffy** , I’ve also read the Hope series, at least the first four or five. Good books, but I kind of got annoyed with them towards the end. Like HH, it’s also pretty much “Hornblower in Space.” But Feintuch just goes way overboard with the whole self-loathing thing. (C’mon, Seafort, cut yourself some slack already!)

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**Author:** ![Riboflavin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Riboflavin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riboflavin)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/10 "2002-09-03T18:44:05Z")

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I like the series pretty well, especially the first few, but I’m getting tired of Weber’s enourmous infodumps. Echoes of Honor really pushed the amount of that that I can take, so I definately won’t be getting the next one in hardback, and may skip it unless it looks like he got an editor to cut some of that out.

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**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/11 "2002-09-03T19:29:19Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Weber’s enourmous infodumps

If you mean what I think you mean…yeah, that does get irritating. Are you talking about this sort of thing?..

[example]  
“What do you want for lunch, Joe?” asked Jack.

Lunch was a very important meal on Planet Q. Thirty generations ago, the original colonists had only brought three cans of tuna and a jar of peanut butter…

…(three or four pages of background)…

…in the fourth century.

“Just a salad,” said Joe.  
[/example]

And of course then you have to flip back a few pages to remember what the question was.

It’s usually worth it though, IMO.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/12 "2002-09-03T19:56:06Z")

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I’ve read all nine of the novels thus far, but I think I’ve missed one of the collections. Definitely good stuff. And I’d heard so many folks describe Honor Harrington as Horatio Hornblower in space, that I actually decided to read Hornblower because of Honor. The series also has the advantage of resolving the whole “Enterprise vs. Star Destroyer” debate: RMN _Nike_ over both of them, easily 🙂  
Quoth **Ferrous** :

> [@](#):
>
> For one thing, I don’t want to spend $25+ on a book, and for another, they’re just too damn big. I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait for the paperback though.

Do what I’m going to do. Read the hardcover from the library, then buy it when it comes out in paperback.

And on the subject of David Weber, does anyone have any idea when the next Bahzel Bahnakson (_Oath of Swords_, _The War God’s Own_) book is coming out?

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**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/13 "2002-09-03T21:43:26Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chronos \*  
> **Do what I’m going to do. Read the hardcover from the library, then buy it when it comes out in paperback.**

Well, but then I’d have to pay the $30 I owe to the library for a couple of books I lost a while back.:o

Yes yes, I know, I should do that anyway. Actually, I’ve been meaning to for a while now. I guess this will be good incentive to do it by October.

> [@](#):
>
> **And on the subject of David Weber, does anyone have any idea when the next Bahzel Bahnakson (Oath of Swords, The War God’s Own) book is coming out?**

I checked Weber’s homepage and the Baen website, but no word. I’m guessing not _too_ long though, since the guy writes like a fiend—thirty book in ten years, including collaborations and soon-to-be-released.

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**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/14 "2002-09-03T22:57:35Z")

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Well I finished **Flag** this morning and started on Challengers Hope (\<weber info dump\>Confession, I jumped to Voices of Hope and discovered I need to read them in order as well. The first mention of the transpops occurs in Challenger\</weber info dump\>) to break it up and spread the Honors out.

Don’t feel too bad **Ferrous** seems I only pay my fines to generate new ones. I think I buy the library at least three new books a year in late fines.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/15 "2002-09-04T02:03:36Z")

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Honor Harrington = HH

Horatio Hornbower = HH

Any Questions?

Did this guy “Hope” have another name starting with “H”? (Looks like I’ll have to look them up.)

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**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/16 "2002-09-04T06:14:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by caffeine\_overdose \*  
> \*\*Lok at what forum do they follow Honor Harrington? \*\*

Sorry for the delay.  
There are a couple of places to talk more about Weber and all of his stuff.

alt.books.david-weber is a newsgroup devoted to him, and there is a section for his stuff on the [URL=http://www.baen.comBaen Books website in the Baen’s Bar section. David is occasionally active in both places. And parts of upcoming works, [sub] **War of Honor** [/sub] are also posted in both places if you don’t mind spoilers.

Lok

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**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/17 "2002-09-04T06:24:07Z")

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Oops, could a moderator fix that coding for me please?

[sub]preview, preview, preview gotta remember that[/sub]

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**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honor-harrington-anyone/126600/18 "2002-09-04T18:27:10Z")

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By the way, **War of Honor** will have a CDRom with all 10 HH Novels on it. Check [This Link](http://www.baen.com/orientation.htm).  
Also, the first 2 novels are available for free [here](http://www.baen.com/library/)
