Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington #9) [Hardcover]

David Weber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000

Honor Harrington has escaped from the prison planet called Hell and has returned to the Manticoran Alliance with almost half a million freed prisoners. "The Salamander" once more finds herself at the heart of war, but this time the furnace may be too hot for even a salamander to survive. "Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!"--Anne McCaffrey.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Why in Christ's name can the woman never bring a ship back intact?" muses Hamish Alexander at the triumphant return of Honor Harrington in Ashes of Victory, the apparent resurrection of a woman he'd seen executed by the Peeps some two years earlier. Yep, she's back: minus a left arm and an eye, minus a few inches of hair, and more than a little banged up in the process, the indestructible, ever-resilient Honor is back from the dead--and she's got some 400,000 liberated POWs from Hades in tow for good measure.

Picking up where Echoes of Honor left off, the ecstatic reunion that begins Ashes proves short-lived as Honor once again lives up to her nickname of "The Salamander," always ending up where the fire's hottest. In the longest book of this naval space-opera series, David Weber plunges his beloved heroine (now an admiral!) into a thick tangle of political plots, as she takes on a more mature, behind-the-scenes role than in previous books. But don't fret: there's still some good action as HH prevents an assassination attempt and Manticore and its allies test-drive their new weaponry. And quite a few characters get what's coming to them too, including a few who drop like picked-off Peeps. All in all, yet another worthy installment in the series--check out On Basilisk Station first if you're new to HH. --Paul Hughes

From Booklist

The new Honor Harrington novel is the longest yet, but justifies its length and complexity by greatly advancing the story of Honor and her universe. Honor has triumphally returned from Hades, at the head of a fleet of liberated POWs. Her reward is to become an admiral, a duchess, and a billionaire. She also becomes an elder sister of twins and, since Nimitz has lost some of his telepathy to war wounds, helps the ever delightful treecats learn signing, thereby proving they are fully sapient. But the war goes on, and the Star Kingdom's superior technology and training increasingly give it the advantage, despite the People's Republic of Haven's efforts to catch up. After several years, the kingdom is approaching total victory, and the "Peeps" must purge the last ideologues on the Committee of Public Safety to maintain any hope of survival. Factor in Honor's personal and professional dilemmas, realistic R&D and procurement problems, spine-tingling action, and the series' usual dry wit, and it is clear that Weber has produced another mandatory acquisition. Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Baen; First Edition edition (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671578545
• ISBN-13: 978-0671578541
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952. Weber and his wife Sharon live in Greenville, South Carolina with their three children and "a passel of dogs".

Previously the owner of a small advertising and public relations agency, Weber now writes science fiction full time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ashes Delivers (and it ain't over), March 22, 2000

By 

Adam Burkeside (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington #9) (Hardcover)

Ashes of Victory delivers all I have come to expect from a Weber novel EXCEPT a white-knuckled death-ride by Lady Harrington. Well, the bad news for the white-knuckle enthusiasts is that Honor is now too senior to take a single cruiser into the teeth of an entire enemy fleet. The GOOD news is that her universe has just gotten enormously larger in the detail and insight Weber has shared with us.

Yes, the book drags a bit in some spots, particularly in the middle sections, but it also accelerates to a slam-bang conclusion in which monumental changes completely reshape Honor's world. And the book shows us an Honor who is growing up--a woman who is now a mature person, in command of herself and her life . . . and ready for new challenges.

And that's the REALLY good news, because Weber has told us he is no more than half-way through the series, which suggests to me that he used what is admittedly a transition novel to set up fresh challenges, dangers, risks, and--yes--the occasional white-knuckled death-ride by our favorite heroine for many books to come. As for all the other characters, I say bring 'em on! The fact that Honor does not live and achieve things in a vacuum has always been one of the things I love about this series.

I have to agree that if you are not already familiar with the Honorverse this is not the best book with which to begin your acquaintance. But that's what the earlier books are for, so what are you doing sitting around listening to me or anyone else carry on about them? Go buy Basilisk Station and get hooked. The rest of us will be waiting for you when you catch up with us!

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strongly recommended, March 7, 2000

By 

Eric Flint (East Chicago, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington #9) (Hardcover)

As a fellow writer of science fiction, I feel compelled to take issue with some of the reviews which have appeared here. I'm giving Ashes of Victory 5 stars because it deserves it. For those of you not familiar with David Weber's Honor Harrington series (now, with Ashes of Victory, up to nine volumes), it is one of the most ambitious series currently being written in science fiction. Unlike most series, this one does not consist of a number of individual adventures held together merely by the continuity of a central character. It involves an ever-expanding range of political, social and military forces as the heroine's career progresses.

It is simply not possible to write a successful series of that nature without the author taking the time to develop and explore the complexity of the universe in which it takes place. The kind of relatively simple, straight-ahead action which characterized the earlier volumes of the series can't be sustained forever. At a certain point, the author faces a simple choice: end the series, or go deeper into it. C.S. Forester's Hornblower saga, which is the loose inspiration for Weber's Harrington series, pretty much ended at the point where his character reached the same stage of development that Harrington reaches by the beginning of Ashes of Victory. (Forester wrote only three more volumes, all of which -- which the partial exception of Commodore Hornblower -- were episodic in nature.)

David Weber has chosen to go the other way, and continue depicting his heroine's career after she attains the upper reaches of success and power. I applaud him for doing so. Partly because I love the series and hope to keep reading it for years to come. But, mostly, because I think the story gets more and more interesting as time goes on. I have no doubt whatsoever that Honor will continue to have many harrowing adventures --- just as she does in Ashes of Victory. But, for me at least, the complex political and social maneuvers in which she is now enmeshed are ultimately more interesting than one space battle after another.

My point is simple: you can't expect an admiral to have the same adventures as a ship commander. Nor, frankly, would I be that interested in a series which simply repeated the same formula over and over again -- which the Honor series certainly doesn't.

There are lots of series out there. This one is very special. I strongly recommend Ashes of Victory to anyone who enjoys reading a fascinating and complex tale extremely well told.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ashes of Victory, March 2, 2000

By 

Robert Ballenger (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington #9) (Hardcover)

The latest book by David Weber is an outstanding continuation to a series that equils Star Wars in its excitement and surpasses it in its depth. Honor Harrington has died, gone to Hell, and has returned setting free close to half a million prisoners from the Peoples Republic of Havens prison planet known to it's inhabitants as Hell. With the openning passages of the book it brings forth, the rising from the ashes a true hero, who was feared lost forever. With that, the beginning of the end for a great evil presence that castes it's spell of destruction on both the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Empire of the Peoples Republic of Haven. Court intrigue, plots with in plots, War scenes that have you on the edge of your seat. This is a novel that has one entranced from the beginning. David Weber once again shows he is a Master of his Craft with few peers present or past.