Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Balloon finally goes up!, 12 April 2001
At last, the shadow war that had been going on between the Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven in the last two books (on Basilisk Station & Honour of the Queen) finally breaks into open war. After a series of small scale provocations (violations of air space, blowing up a few orbital facilities and destroying the odd scout ship), the Manties realise that an invasion is imminent and begin to recall all available officers, including the convalescing Honor - and a few of her enemies too. Despite a few misgivings in the admiralty, Honor is handed a plum command, the HMS Nike, flagship of the Royal Manticore Navy.However, the Manties are heavily outnumbered by the militaristic Havenites, and overconfidence in their technological superiority lead to them making a serious tactical blunder. As a result, Honor finds herself with a small flotilla of ships facing a full scale invasion fleet. But she's not without a few tricks of her own... This is an exciting, fast paced read, and even manages to find the time for a romance for Honor, (which tankfully, doesn't intrude on the action). But what I like best though about this (and the other Honor books) is that it is set in a realisitic political environment, albeit that the Kingdom of Manticore is rather reminiscent of the British Empire mid 19th Century and the Havenites rather similar to the Roman Republic (with panem et circenses updated to the Dole and mass propaganda), but they do say that history repeats itself.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A thought provoking read, 24 Nov 2000
By A Customer
A Short Victorious War is the third of the Honour Harrington series, and is definitely well worth the read. The only problem I had with this book was that there was far too much focus on the internal politics of the People's Republic of Haven. That said, however, I realise that it was necessary, not only to the plot of the story, but the on-going events that form the back story for the series. Honor Harrington, having proved her worth at Basilisk Station (On Basilisk Station) and in Grayson (The Honor Of The Queen), receives recognition of that worth as the Admiralty appoints her to be the CO of a spanking-new battlecruiser, HMS Nike. By tradition in the RMN, command of the Nike is a plum assignment, and given only to officers who are head and shoulders above their fellow officers. Honor is then paid the compliment of being appointed to be the flag captain for Admiral Sarnow, and being tasked to form part of the defensive forces at Hancock Station. The state of polite hostility between Manticore and the Peeps is heating up, and once again, Honor and her ship will be on the sharp end. We are also re-introduced to Captain Lord Pavel Young, who seems not terribly interested in redeeming himself. In fact, his conduct during the climactic battle is anything but what one expects of an officer in command of a warship. This is a tight, well-written story. Read it, and if you've not read the other Honor Harrington stories. The only thing I would say is to try and read these books in sequence, since there are so many recurring characters, and references to events in the earlier books abound.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good story, makes you want for more, 21 Mar 2001
By A Customer
Even though this book is clearly a part of a series, it stands pretty well on it's own. The story is intriguing, and you want to keep reading to know what happens next. Will the despicable Havenites succeed in their invasion? Not while our heroine is here!Having read the other books in the series, this book feels like a filling between the more momentous events. Yet the story holds its own, and gives so many ideas for the next book that you cannot really stop reading after this one. The characters demand that the rest of the story be told. This feeling stays with me for the whole series, and I keep asking 'what happens next?' There is never a _complete_ ending, only partial resolutions. My only gripe is Weber's attachment to facts and figures. I understand the need to create atmoshpere, but I do not want to read again and again about accelerations and vectors and such. It's okay to explain technology, but not excessively. Although I admit that the problem may be reading too many books in the same series; I've read each explanation at least nine times ;)
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