Subject: Review: _In Enemy Hands_ by David Weber

From: Alan Deikman <[email-masked]>
Date: 06 Aug 1997 20:25:39 GMT

Review By:  Alan Deikman, [email-masked]
     Bottom Line:  **** (out of *****)
Review Copyright:  1997 by Alan Deikman.  May be reproduced
                   only with copyright message attached for
                   noncommercial use.  All other rights
                   reserved

[As a review of a book with a continuing character, this review can be
said to have minor spoilers for the earlier "Honor Harrington" books.  --AW]

Once again Honor Harrington puts it all on the line for Queen and country
in David Weber's most recent installment in this series, _In Enemy Hands_.
If you liked the previous novels you won't be disappointed the latest
adventure; if you didn't like the story so far you won't find much here to
change your mind.  Personally, I found it a page turner and believe that
this is the best modern space opera or military SF to be found anywhere.

Honor Harrington is now quite grown up -- a peer of the realm on
Manticore, a Steadholder (like a duchess but with more authority) on
Grayson, a Commodore in the RMN, an Admiral in the GSN, a billionaire, a
virtually un-equaled martial arts expert, much decorated hero and, to top
it all off, the designated representative of the enigmatic treecats, the
indigenous sentient species of her home planet.  She looks like she's 18
even though she a 30 year career under her belt and is definitely
attractive to both men and women, friend and enemy alike.  Think you could
bring this one home to meet mom and dad?

Sidebar: the hardback cover illustration by David Mattingly is the best
of the series, with Honor looking more like Terry Farrell with every
issue.  However, the ships in the picture don't match their descriptions
in the story very well.

This could be considered the worst characteristic of this particular work
of fiction: that the protagonist is too unrealistically perfect to believe
in. This is a trap that more than one author has fallen into but somehow
Weber manages to craft this character in such a way that you end up
relating to her and you get drawn into the fantasy.  Perhaps this is
because he does not neglect his other characters, including peers,
juniors, seniors, and villains.  Since the matrix is well built, Honor
seems to fit in and even make sense no matter how heavy she would seem
taken by herself.

_In Enemy Hands_ does spend considerable time with the "bad guys" of the
story.  Some are more venal than others -- one is a real piece of work --
and in this novel's case all the enemies that appear are on the other side
of the war that is going on.  Honor Harrington seems, for the moment at
least, to have routed all her domestic opposition.  The only residual of
earlier conflicts is that she has not yet been seated in the House of
Lords (Manticore's upper house of Parliament) but there seems to be little
doubt that will happen if she just manages to live long enough.

In spite of the war between Manticore and the People's Republic of Haven
-- an obvious projection of the U.K. vs. the cold-war Soviet Union --
being at its peak, there is little space warfare in this installment, but
more than appeared in _Field of Dishonor_.  This is a story of
interstellar politics and personal struggles, excellently woven into an
epic backdrop.  Weber has done a superior job of managing both the macro
and micro-scopic aspects of his universe.

One complaint about the series sifted from the Internet has to do with the
"treecat" character.  This is a sixed-limbed sentient, but not
verbalizing, race that has the capability of empathetically bonding with
specific humans.  Some critiques posted have groaned over this gimmick,
calling it too cutsey and sentimental, to say nothing of being a tiresome
cliche.  There is some justification for this and, if I had been asked
beforehand, I would have said "yeah, lose the cat."  However, this would
have been a mistake.  It may be just be a gimmick but Weber has made it
work and at absolute worst it does not get in the way of anything else in
the story.

_In Enemy Hands_ is a definite must read, but not without the prequels.
For reference, they are:

  _On Basilisk Station_
  _The Honor Of the Queen_
  _The Short Victorious War_
  _Field of Dishonor_
  _Flag in Exile_
  _Honor Among Enemies_

%A   David Weber
%D   1997
%G   ISBN 0-671-87793-3
%I   Baen Publishing Enterprises
%K   Keywords
%O   $22.00 US http://www.baen.com/
%P   530 pp
%S   Honor Harrington Series
%T   In Enemy Hands

Alan Deikman
[email-masked]