Honor Harrington comics

[John Clark]

Never got into the Honor Harrington books. Was always more into the Seafort Saga books. For those that have read both, how do they compare?

For myself, I prefer the Honor series though mileage will obviously vary. I've read all of those. One of these days though, I'll have to revisit and finish the Seafort series as I only got up to Fisherman's Hope which I got when it first came out.

One of the reasons I prefer the Honorverse series is that it is a little more upbeat than Seafort. Seafort always seemed too intent on punishing himself (rightly or wrongly).

However, late books in the Honorverse series do get rather dense and "expositiony" which puts some people off. So far though, when the new one comes out, it usually goes on the next to read pile.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

^Cool. Thanks for the 411.

 

[ATimson]

However, late books in the Honorverse series do get rather dense and "expositiony" which puts some people off. So far though, when the new one comes out, it usually goes on the next to read pile.

Part of that's the unfortunate(?) progress of characters up the power ladder. The two "spinoff" series, by focusing on people at the point of the sword once again, feel closer to the pace and scale of the earlier books.

 

[Hypaspist]

I can't imagine how they would get past the first three books. For anyone interested, I'd say that the books are indeed a chore to read, but if you can get past the goofiness of it all, those three are great classic space opera. The characterization is just corny beyond belief, and I don't like the real world interfering in SF books too much. I will say that, in their defense, the hard science is definitely there and you have to pay attention in order to understand the battles. The space battles are indeed good, but nothing ever comes close to the first book's battle with the "Q ship." I actually prefer his books in the Bolo series to his own Honorverse.

basically I'd like David Weber more if he had better editing.

 

[Forbin]

basically I'd like David Weber more if he had better editing.

This. I wonder if it's coincidental that his books started to get thicker and wordier when Jim Baen passed away.

BTW, if you like the Harrington books, you'll also like David Drake's Lt. Leary series. Probably even better, since Drake knows how to write lean. It's essentially the same concept - Horatio Hornblower in space. Lots of good characters, an occasional ripping space battle. Drake likes to base his plots on real historical events, too. There are 10 books in the series so far.

 

[ATimson]

This. I wonder if it's coincidental that his books started to get thicker and wordier when Jim Baen passed away.

They were doing that beforehand - I consider War of Honor to be the tipping point there.

BTW, if you like the Harrington books, you'll also like David Drake's Lt. Leary series.

Well, maybe. I never could get more than a few chapters into the first book, myself.

 

[John Clark]

This. I wonder if it's coincidental that his books started to get thicker and wordier when Jim Baen passed away.

BTW, if you like the Harrington books, you'll also like David Drake's Lt. Leary series. Probably even better, since Drake knows how to write lean. It's essentially the same concept - Horatio Hornblower in space. Lots of good characters, an occasional ripping space battle. Drake likes to base his plots on real historical events, too. There are 10 books in the series so far.

I've read the first one, but do have the rest (in a very long list) to read at some point.

 

[Star Wolf]

Not wild about how they chose to represent either Honor or Nimitz. Unfortunately they seem to have given in to the temptation to make here conventionally attractive, where in the books she's described as more "handsome" than "pretty".

She's described that way from Honor's POV. Not from other characters'. She's definitely shown to have a self-image problem in the books.

At least she is not a Michael Jackson descendant again.

 

[Forbin]

Most disturbing cover of the series.

 

[OmahaStar]

basically I'd like David Weber more if he had better editing.

This. I wonder if it's coincidental that his books started to get thicker and wordier when Jim Baen passed away.

Yes.

Weber was a guest at OSFest a few years ago, and I had the chance to talk with him at the staff dinner before the con. What he said was that he had injured his hand, and was unable to type. Someone (I forget who) suggested he get software called Dragon Speak. It was a little awkward for a day or two, and then he found out he loved using it.

He speaks, and the computer does the typing for him. Suddenly, he is no longer restricted, and he's able to talk and talk and talk until he feels like shutting up. (his words!)

In person, Weber is an absolutely charming fellow, nicest guy you could imagine.

His books, though .. bleh. I read the first one, knowing that he was going to be one of our guests, and it was a painful chore. He spends two chapters describing a nut and a bolt. I don't care. The cat was cool, but I don't care how the machines work, just tell me about the characters. From the descriptions he gave in one of his panels, it only got worse when he was no longer limited to having to type himself.

Again, nice guy, but the books ... just not for me.

Hearing that the comics strip out all of that fluff, and get down to the real story, makes me think I might want to pick them up instead.

 

[Star Wolf]

The Honor books are a bit of a strange animal. It has some pretty interesting world building but the allegory is so thick I wouldn't be at all surprised if the 19th Century turned up and sued the author for plagiarism.

.

I saw them as showing the naval tactics and technology of the 20th century with the introduction of torpedo boats and then aircraft along with the political systems. Honor may have been a Hornblower but her navy was from a more modern era, if you cut the nonsense like dueling out.

 

[Hypaspist]

His books, though .. bleh. I read the first one, knowing that he was going to be one of our guests, and it was a painful chore. He spends two chapters describing a nut and a bolt. I don't care. The cat was cool, but I don't care how the machines work, just tell me about the characters. From the descriptions he gave in one of his panels, it only got worse when he was no longer limited to having to type himself.

Again, nice guy, but the books ... just not for me.

I'm the opposite way entirely. I like all of the explanation because it helps make otherwise tedious battles interesting. The battles are very well done. There is a lot of creativity on display within the established technological limits. Again, they aren't my favorite style of space combat - leave the 19th century in the 19th century, but it is so well envisioned that I don't mind the unusual style or the ultra boring ship designs.
Going a step farther, David Weber's Bolo! is the best introduction to military sci fi you can buy. His technological emphasis really adds to the story and it isn't nearly as heavy as in the Honor books.

The characters, on the other hand. Man oh man. These are turrrrrrible. One note religious fanatics, space commies (complete with Russian accents), a carbon copy of the British monarchy (except where the royals are descended from Africa...how ironic!), and the crews...they all suck! I can find almost no redeeming qualities in the characters to me. They are boring and one note, and most of all, it seems like Weber's own ideas (which are a snapshot of the mainstream 90's) are so over-emphasized that it makes some chapters just a chore. It's funny when one chapter will really challenge me to think about the technology while the next will make me feel insulted, as if I'm a child who needs to be told what opinions are correct. I can't picture that being changed in the comics either, because it's pretty standard fare in a lot of mainstream comics.

 

[Star Wolf]

^
I agree, I read Weber just like I read Clancy and once he got to the aircraft taking over from the battleship equivalents the series ran its course for me and I have not ideal where Honor ended up.

 

[Forbin]

basically I'd like David Weber more if he had better editing.

This. I wonder if it's coincidental that his books started to get thicker and wordier when Jim Baen passed away.

Yes.

Weber was a guest at OSFest a few years ago, and I had the chance to talk with him at the staff dinner before the con. What he said was that he had injured his hand, and was unable to type. Someone (I forget who) suggested he get software called Dragon Speak. It was a little awkward for a day or two, and then he found out he loved using it.

He speaks, and the computer does the typing for him. Suddenly, he is no longer restricted, and he's able to talk and talk and talk until he feels like shutting up. (his words!)

In person, Weber is an absolutely charming fellow, nicest guy you could imagine.

His books, though .. bleh. I read the first one, knowing that he was going to be one of our guests, and it was a painful chore. He spends two chapters describing a nut and a bolt. I don't care. The cat was cool, but I don't care how the machines work, just tell me about the characters. From the descriptions he gave in one of his panels, it only got worse when he was no longer limited to having to type himself.

Again, nice guy, but the books ... just not for me.

Hearing that the comics strip out all of that fluff, and get down to the real story, makes me think I might want to pick them up instead.

Now THAT's interesting! I knew Dragon was going to destroy the human race when I was subjected to its first 5-minute-long infomercial on one of the science channels. I get it! You talk it types! Shut up and get back to the show!

 

[ATimson]

The characters, on the other hand. Man oh man. These are turrrrrrible. One note religious fanatics, space commies (complete with Russian accents), a carbon copy of the British monarchy (except where the royals are descended from Africa...how ironic!), and the crews...they all suck!

The space commies (assuming you're talking about the Peeps here) have French accents, not Russian.

 

[Reverend]

basically I'd like David Weber more if he had better editing.

This. I wonder if it's coincidental that his books started to get thicker and wordier when Jim Baen passed away.

Yes.

Weber was a guest at OSFest a few years ago, and I had the chance to talk with him at the staff dinner before the con. What he said was that he had injured his hand, and was unable to type. Someone (I forget who) suggested he get software called Dragon Speak. It was a little awkward for a day or two, and then he found out he loved using it.

He speaks, and the computer does the typing for him. Suddenly, he is no longer restricted, and he's able to talk and talk and talk until he feels like shutting up. (his words!)

In person, Weber is an absolutely charming fellow, nicest guy you could imagine.

His books, though .. bleh. I read the first one, knowing that he was going to be one of our guests, and it was a painful chore. He spends two chapters describing a nut and a bolt. I don't care. The cat was cool, but I don't care how the machines work, just tell me about the characters. From the descriptions he gave in one of his panels, it only got worse when he was no longer limited to having to type himself.

Again, nice guy, but the books ... just not for me.

Hearing that the comics strip out all of that fluff, and get down to the real story, makes me think I might want to pick them up instead.

I know what you mean. I had to take two runs at the first book--a friend was a fan and *very* insistent I stick with it--and what tripped my up was the very first chapter which was basically a technical manual of the ship written as prose. Probably not the best place for an exposition dump of that magnitude.

In the end I wound up listening to the books on audiobook rather than read them. Makes the denser exposition a bit easier to digest since I tend to skim when I come across that stuff in print.

 

[Forbin]

Yeah, I've skipped whole chapters in the later books. Like, as soon as I find out the scene takes place in the Haven government offices with politicians babbling... NEXT!

 

[J.T.B.]

I know what you mean. I had to take two runs at the first book--a friend was a fan and *very* insistent I stick with it--and what tripped my up was the very first chapter which was basically a technical manual of the ship written as prose. Probably not the best place for an exposition dump of that magnitude.

IIRC it was to explain why the ships had to shoot out their sides and fight in a "wall," the spacey equivalent of a sailing fleet's "line." At which point I realized that if I wanted to read about that kind of thing there was plenty of real historical material out there, and found something else to read.

 

[Reverend]

I know what you mean. I had to take two runs at the first book--a friend was a fan and *very* insistent I stick with it--and what tripped my up was the very first chapter which was basically a technical manual of the ship written as prose. Probably not the best place for an exposition dump of that magnitude.

IIRC it was to explain why the ships had to shoot out their sides and fight in a "wall," the spacey equivalent of a sailing fleet's "line." At which point I realized that if I wanted to read about that kind of thing there was plenty of real historical material out there, and found something else to read.

I get the function and it's fine for a sci-fi book to lay down some basic "rules" of the universe early on. I just question the wisdom in this all taking place in the very first chapter in the form of a discussion on the ship's armaments.

Keep in mind that this is also our introduction to Honor. A dry, lengthy techno-babble discussion with her new XO. I know classic naval literature also like to quasi-fetishise the nomenclature ('Moby Dick' leaps to mind) but character introductions still need to be strong as that's the audience's primary point of engagement and as the saying goes you only get one first impression. In the first book I didn't really get to even finding Honor interesting until close to the end and didn't "like" her until several books later. (The one with the pistol duel, I forget the title.)

The comics have done a very wise thing in framing the whole thing as a flashback from the point five years hence when she's a POW convicted of war crimes. Now *that* is an interesting way to introduce a protagonist.

 

[ATimson]

In the first book I didn't really get to even finding Honor interesting until close to the end and didn't "like" her until several books later. (The one with the pistol duel, I forget the title.)

Field of Dishonor.

(Sorry, don't have anything to say about the bulk of your post. I see where you're coming from, and I can't really disagree with your opinion. Figured I'd at least be helpful and flesh that one bit out!)