The Shark's been jumped

All right, going off of comics for a bit, into books.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Honor Harrington has jumped the shark. She's been threatening to do it for a couple of books, but it's official now.

I just got done reading the latest volume, and I have opinions!


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Aaaanyway.

I'm not sure which bugged me more... the lost opportunities, the "bigger is better", or the "personal" stuff.

Actually, yes I am. The personal stuff, so I'll get to that last.


Let's start with the first.

I enjoyed War of Honor more than most people I talked to. Yeah, the politics got a bit overwhelming on occasion, but I still thought the book was quite good. However, my main "beef" with that book was that it was taking us back "over old terrain." This latest book is just more of that. We've had book after book after book of Mantis vs Haven. It's time to move up, and move on. Now, this time, there big difference was that the Havenites were actually competant. That said, all we really see is just "more of the same," from what we've been seeing. Yeah, Mesa and Manpower are lurking around, but they are still in the background. Yeah, they're set up to be major protaginists in the next book(s), but it's really time to not just set that theme up, but to run with it.

Also, how do you kill off the character who can easily be called the major villain of the last 2 books in a drunk driving accident? That was totally random. Yeah, he used it to show the idiocy of this war... but it still left me flat.

There were so many things that could have been done in this book, but it was just "MOTS" (more of the same). Not to mention, Weber ran the "Sidemore special" into the ground. (BTW, he copied that one from Isaac Asimov in Foundation.)




2) Bigger is Better.

This was getting silly by Ashes of Victory, and this book just took it yet further. Manties keep deploying bigger/better/smarter systems. Deus ex machina abounds.

Even worse, he decided to do the "big battle". Bleh.


3) The Personal Stuff.

You know, in teaching Bible Class, when people goggle slightly about the way that the Old Testament allowed polygamy, I always make a point. Look at the examples we are given. Rachel and Leah, David's wives, Solomon's wives, even Samuel's parents. These things never end well. You always get some pretty nasty emotional cross currents going. Whether it is "dueling utereses", or "I wanna rape my step-sister," these things always end up being first tier disasters.

So, now we get the institution of Grayson marriage, and the only examples we see (Benjaman's family, and now Honor's), and well... they are nice, and sweet and blissful.

Bleh.

I've been hoping that Hamish Alexander would "pull a Tankersley" for 3 books now. So much for that fond thought.

I'll get the next book, and I truly enjoy the two side series (Saganami and Crown of Slaves), but at this point, Honor Harrington has moved way down on my list of "must reads."

Hope the shark's teeth aren't sharp Mr. Weber.