Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my all-time favorites, Jul 10 2007
On Basilisk station is probably high on my top 50. It was enjoyable, clear, concise with characters that you come to care about and cheer for. This book although relatively short gives you a genuine taste of the camaraderie and what it must be like being in such an environment. The action is top notch, and makes you eager for more...and considering there's more than 8 books in the series you are served.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Great concept, but the prose needs work..., Oct 11 2006
Let's get the obvious out of the way: Good sci-fi books are few and far between. Having read many positive comments about the "Honor Harrington" series of novels, I decided to give it a test drive with the first book, "On Basilisk Station".
David Weber scored points very early in the novel by shying away from the dreadful stereotypes all too often embraced by the legions of Star Trek look-alikes which take up perfectly good space on the shelves of your local book store. The methods of space travel, technology, galactic players, etc. are all vastly different from most of what is sold these days.
Rather, Weber's shortcomings become apparent as one expects the story to gather a little steam and, hopefully, take off at some point. His style, while not nearly as bad as that of the excruciatingly poor writers that make up the Star Trek and Star Wars books, definitely lacks direction and is overly simplistic. The story is very linear, in the sense that it's simply impossible to try to guess what's coming next... you simply wait for the author to spoon-feed you the information, often through very, very long exposition scenes which a more talented writer could have handled a little better. Any sense of mystery or wonder is therefore sorely lacking, which is not to say that the plot is not intriguing but rather that the story shifts to left, right and center with no discernible rhythm.
Also, you get the sense that Weber is trying to emulate the dynastic formula of Dune, but without nearly as much success, while at the same time illustrating "Great Britain in Space" (Honor Harrington's navy and political system is modelled much more on the British model rather than the North American one). Characters fight in the name of their Queen, earls and dukes scheme and plot, but this element of the book feels very tacked-on and Weber fails to truly weave it into the story in a manner that gives us insight into his characters' insights or motives for joining the military.
Overall, this book is enjoyable but does suffer from severe limitations due mainly to the writer's difficulty in wording his story in a manner which will prove interesting to an adult audience. His clearest shortcoming is his inability to describe Honor Harrington's surroundings in anything more than a rapid, cursory manner. While some may argue that it gives the reader more leeway to decide for himself, at least some indications on Weber's part would have been necessary to get the sense of what we are supposed to be seeing.
Considering the colorful universe Weber has created and the diverse characters and space-faring nations that populate it, however, I have no doubt that younger readers (up to 15-16 years or so) will greatly enjoy it and ask for more.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Honoring Honor, May 13 2004
Need a hero? Would you like that hero to really care about everyone under their command, but resolutely commit to doing the right thing, even though it may mean the whole crew may die in the attempt? Would you like that hero to receive such respect from those under their command that they will literally and willingly give their lives for the cause? Would you like that hero to never have to raise their voice in anger, or utter profanity in a misguided attempt to gain the respect of others? Honor Harrington is that kind of person - that virtuous person - who happens to be female, both immensely compassionate and ruthlessly dangerous in battle. I really like Weber's ability to build a number of believable characters, give them real depth, and provide such a vivid contrast between honorable and stupidly selfish people of both genders and many backgrounds. The personal challenges Honor faces are quite real in our own time, and she and those enlightened people who aren't afraid of strong personalities of either gender will find in her a true champion of human decency and justice.
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