On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington) (Mass Market Paperback)

by David Weber (Author) "THE FLUFFY BALL OF FUR in Honor Harrington's lap stirred and put forth a round, pick-eared head as the steady pulse of the shuttle's thrusters..." (more)
Key Phrases: impeller wedge, energy torpedoes, maneuvering display, Dame Estelle, Basilisk Station, Commander Harrington (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
On Basilisk Station (or "HH1" as it's known to the faithful) is the first installment in David Weber's cult hit Honor Harrington series, which has charmed the socks off schoolgirls and sailors alike. Honor--the heroine of this fast-paced, addictive space opera--is a polished, plucky bulldog of a naval officer, part Horatio Hornblower, part Miles Vorkosigan, part Captain Janeway, and with a razor-clawed telepathic cat thrown over her shoulder for good measure.

The series' kickoff puts a giddy Commander Harrington at the helm of her first serious starship, the HMS Fearless. But her excitement quickly fades--political maneuvering by top brass in the Manticoran navy has left her light cruiser outfitted with a half-baked experimental weapons system. Against all odds (just the way Honor likes it), she still manages a clever coup in tactical war games, a feat that earns her accolades--and enemies. The politicians she's offended banish her to a galactic backwater, Basilisk Station. But that outpost soon proves to be a powder keg, and it's up to Harrington and the Fearless crew to thwart the aggressive plans of the Haven Republic. A perfect mix of military SF and high adventure--if you enjoy your tour, re-up with HH2, The Honor of the Queen. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-Move over gutsy female detectives-here's a daring woman spaceship commander waiting to claim a place in readers' hearts. Honor Harrington is sent in disgrace to the forlorn outpost of Basilisk Station, where military authorities hope she will be forgotten about. Instead, with her woefully under-armed vessel, the Fearless, she executes incredible flying manuevers in an attempt to stop foreign takeover of a major space station.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Baen (July 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743435710
• ISBN-13: 978-0743435710
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,638 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Honor Harrington (English) Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A series you may like, February 20, 2001

By	Andrew X. Lias "http://andrewlias.blogspot.com" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington Series, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Rather than review this particular book, I thought that I'd give a capsul review of the series, as a whole. Given that, if you do like this one, you're in for a long haul, I thought that this would be fair.

First of all, the Harrington series stands at the intersection of two genres: space opera and military SF. Space Opera is a style of story with interstellar vistas, larger than life characters and situations, and (typically, and especially in this case) more than a dash of melodrama. Military SF is a sub-genre of science fiction that concentrates its focus on the details of high-tech conflict -- think Tom Clancy in space. The first warning is that if either of these styles of fiction turn you off, you probably won't like these books.

The writing style of Mr. Weber is servicable for the type of story he's telling. He's very good at writing action sequences, and providing you villains to hate, and jerking a tear or two, and at compelling you to keep turning the pages of his stories. His work, however, does not constitute high art. It's not what I would call low-brow, either, but I think that it is fair to describe it as relatively unsophisticated. In particular, he writes characters that are, on the whole, somewhat flat, often substituting emotional charge for true characterization. If you want more than that out of a book, these aren't for you, either.

I should note that the books are deliberately written to echo the Horatio Hornblower stories and that there are many clever parallels between the future kingdoms of the novels and the historical conflict between France and the allied nations during the Napoleonic era. History a literature buffs may get a kick out of this, but it should be noted that it isn't an exceptionally sophisticated set of parallels. It's more of a light spice for those who like such things.

What you can expect is a very fun and action oriented set of stories. One co-worker aptly described them as "airplane books" (that is, books that are good to read during a long flight), and I'm inclined to agree. For them, they've been a slightly guilty pleasure, but a pleasure all the same. If you want something that is manifestly enjoyable and unchallenging, or if you simply hungry for something to fill your reading time, I can't think of many series which would fit the bill quite so well. They aren't high art but they do a good job of being everything that they are intended to be.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Success is its own Punishment, April 28, 2005

By	John A Lee III "jal3" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

What happens when you are given command of a ship that has been "gutted" in a naval experiment and are sent out to wargame against the big boys? Furthermore, what happens when you use your new system to take them all by surprise, ONCE, and then get demolished each time after that because everyone is now ready for the trick? Just to make matters worse, you embarass the admiral who came up with the one time gimmick. The answer is that you get sent off to a post no one wants where you will be out of sight and out of mind. That's what happens to Honor.

Honor's task is virtually impossible and her enemies want her to fail. She dissapoints them in that she succeeds magnificnetly. Along the way, she becomes a naval hero in the tradition of Horatio Hornblower.

Weber does a great job adapting the institutions of the Royal Navy from the Napoleonic wars into space opera. This is true in terms of politics and culture as well as in strategy and tactics. In its context, it is believable and fun.

No one should expect a lesson in physics. That is not what this story is about. Instead, it is about, courage, leadership and, yes, Honor. It is a fun read and I am looking forward to the reset of the series.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start to the series; has its flaws, June 18, 2005

By	Brian H. Galloway (Spring, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Overall, I liked On Basilisk Station very much. As an introduction to a character and a series, it made me want to read more. It also suffers from some of the common things that plague a First Novel.

First, the positives. The character of Honor Harrington is well drawn and realistic within the setting. She is neither infallible nor gratuitously "flawed" (in the sense that some authors give their characters a "trait" that prevents them from seeing and doing the things that would prevent the book or series from continuing), but simply a strong and determined character with a well-defined sense of right and wrong. I liked her.

I liked the little bits of future history thrown in that give an idea of how the various systems came into being, plus the fact that the systems are not all part of some "one world" government that many future histories seem to use. There are various systems just as we have various countries here and now.

Another pleasant surprise was the political aspect. While conservatives are painted in the typical SF light of being isolationist and out of touch, it was nice to see some liberal policies and attitudes get the same treatment. On the other hand, neither "side" was painted as being "evil," which was also refreshing. I get enough of that in the news.

Now for the negatives. Since this is the first book by David Weber I've read, I cannot make sweeping statements. In this book, however, he seems to be much better at the character-driven/space opera aspects than at the hard science aspects. Not that what he wrote wasn't believable, just that it slowed things down. I usually give a book 100 pages to prove to me it's worth reading. The beginning of this one almost lost me with pages and pages of techno-speak regarding how the Manticore Navy's ships travel through hyperspace. I'm not against this type of information, but it should serve the story, not detract from it. Fortunately, I slogged through this and found a great story. After that, there were a handful of instances throughout the book where the entire narrative would come to a grinding halt to cover some technical aspect. Examples of authors who have done this correctly include Stephen R. Donaldson (The Gap Cycle) and Peter F. Hamilton (the Night's Dawn Trilogy). Those books are chock full of all kinds of technical information, but it's written in such a way that it serves the story.

A second, but lesser, negative, was the language. I read many books that are filled to the brim with foul language, so that in and of itself is not enough to turn me off. For me, it's the overall tone. One of Wes Craven's early films, The Last House on the Left, had a similar problem. The main story was a gruesome tale of abduction; the detectives looking for the victims were out of another movie entirely -- a slapstick comedy. This gave the film an uneven tone and instead of leaving me unsettled, left me frustrated. The first third of this book had no language whatsoever, then suddenly the characters began "cussing like sailors". This should have been established early on.

Neither of these two negatives detracts from the overall story, but they did make for an uneven reading experience. Still, the positives far outweigh the negatives, so I would have no problem recommending this book. I give it a 3, with the understanding that the story itself is worth a higher rating.