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A review by katmarhan
At All Costs by David Weber
4.0
This was a satisfying read on many levels... Honor's personal life, big developments in the Republic of Haven and Kingdom of Manticore conflict (both diplomatically and militarily), and the bringing in of the various side-book story lines.
Honor's personal life: I am very glad that Honor's affair of the heart with Hamish has been resolved. I do see Emily and Honor as amazingly mature women in terms of the solution, and it's odd that the ultimate solution was not their idea at all. Hamish just seems to be along for the ride (and the siring of children). I still don't understand the deep connection Honor feels with him--that's one thing that Weber has not made "real" for me.
Diplomacy between Haven & Manticore: ARGHHH!! Between Queen Elizabeth's inability to see past her (justifiable) rage and resentment and the Havenites' inability to manage their diplomacy without interference... well, it was heartbreaking to see the possibility of peace so thoroughly derailed.
The military conflict: Yikes! The body count, especially of the last engagement, was appalling. Will it make a difference in finally bringing about a ceasefire and a possibility of peace? I will say that Weber has evened the balance and so the battles are somewhat more interesting, although I confess I still skim over the parts about how far and how fast different missiles can fly. I get the gist of what each thing can do (the Katanas, the Apollos, etc.) but I ignore the "specs" and the details. The results are clear enough.
I tried to find out how many more books Weber expects to write in this series. I think I'd like to see it wrap up fairly soon, although the pullers of strings (mostly behind the scenes) need to be discovered and defeated, too.
Honor's personal life: I am very glad that Honor's affair of the heart with Hamish has been resolved. I do see Emily and Honor as amazingly mature women in terms of the solution, and it's odd that the ultimate solution was not their idea at all. Hamish just seems to be along for the ride (and the siring of children). I still don't understand the deep connection Honor feels with him--that's one thing that Weber has not made "real" for me.
Diplomacy between Haven & Manticore: ARGHHH!! Between Queen Elizabeth's inability to see past her (justifiable) rage and resentment and the Havenites' inability to manage their diplomacy without interference... well, it was heartbreaking to see the possibility of peace so thoroughly derailed.
The military conflict: Yikes! The body count, especially of the last engagement, was appalling. Will it make a difference in finally bringing about a ceasefire and a possibility of peace? I will say that Weber has evened the balance and so the battles are somewhat more interesting, although I confess I still skim over the parts about how far and how fast different missiles can fly. I get the gist of what each thing can do (the Katanas, the Apollos, etc.) but I ignore the "specs" and the details. The results are clear enough.
I tried to find out how many more books Weber expects to write in this series. I think I'd like to see it wrap up fairly soon, although the pullers of strings (mostly behind the scenes) need to be discovered and defeated, too.