Honor Harrington

Universe of Honor Harrington

The universe of '' Honor Harrington '' is clearly copied on the conflict the USSR - the United States of the Cold war, Manticore taking again the role of the United States and Havre that of the USSR, to which the reference to the wars of the Revolution and the Empire is grafted, expensive with the inspirer of Weber, Cecil S. Forester. Thus Manticore is a parliamentary Monarchie like the England of the beginning of the 19th century, whereas Havre is in prey with revolutions, inspired of the passage of the French absolutist mode with the first republic.

Ironically, Weber is allowed to sink in the caricature: the name of the president of the Comité of Public Hello (another revolutionary reference) havrien is Robert S. Pierre, that of the chief of the Security service is Saint-Just. The system havrien to be changed appearing too old, immutable and unstable, it obliges them to plunge their fatherland in Terror. This transposition also puts in opposition two economic models: the Anglo-Saxon Liberalism vis-a-vis the Interventionism socialo-Communist.

Ships

The author transposes in a futuristic world the evolution of the naval armament between the beginning and the medium the century. The first titles define a framework relatively blocked where two of the same fleets forces clash in two lines of file as at the time of the battles of battleships of the First World War. This impression is reinforced by the use of typical tactics of the period, the use of Q-Ships (corsairs disguised in the trading vessels)…

With the wire of time, their energy missiles and weapons are supplanted by more recent models calling upon the CME (against electronic measurements) and with a tactic of saturation of the capacities of defense of the target by the use of “pods of missiles”.

The last third of the series sees the appearance fast patrol boats (equivalent of the hunters), the fast obsolescence of the old ships and the questioning of their doctrines of use.

The interest of the battles is the taking into account of the third dimension and a correct and coherent use of physics, if as well is as the basic postulates are accepted. For example, the ships not differ their speed but by their capacity from acceleration. The importance of research is well highlighted and the progression is intelligently controlled with the wire of the works.

However, the recourse to the opposition quality of the ships/experiment of the crew against quantity is well too present and the deus ex machina is sometimes literally used to save the setting. This approach is a constancy of the work of Weber where its heroes are constantly fewer but more advanced in fundamental research and its technical application.

Feminism

By camping a woman in situation of command, David Weber takes a posture of militant Féministe. The secondary sets of themes like the rape ( Mission Basil , For the honor of the queen , With the hands of the enemy and Disappeared from the hell ), the relations of couple ( a victorious and short war and With the field of dishonor ) attest some. More still, if Harbor and Manticore are completely levelling companies, the description of the shock between these two advanced companies and the Théocratie of Grayson, which relegates the women to a lower row and is based on the patriarchate is in the middle of good number of cultural problems. It is the case in particular for the Pavillon of the Exile .

This feminist aspect must immediately be moderate because if the character of the biological father of Honor is anecdotic, the figure of the spiritual father, the Admiral Courvoisier then to a lesser extent, the Count of Harbor-white, are omnipresent in the first volumes.

Religion

Of course, by describing by the menu the dogma of the Church of humanity without chains of Grayson, the religious question takes an important place. These descendants of pilgrims unloaded in an hostile environment irresistibly point out the American Pilgrim Fathers and the episode of the Mayflower. But more still, the religion is also subjacent with the personality even of the main character.

The set of themes of the culpability and the remord at Honor Harrington is a character trait which one finds in all the episodes. It is directly related on the responsibility and the command. This aspect recall the influence Protesting E of the author. The Prédestination also forms part of it, in particular through the recurring references to the years of training of Honor at the school. Lastly, and always on this aspect, the cataclysmic end of the space battles passes very close to sometimes the Millénarisme.

All these elements make cycle of Honor Harrington very a novel weberien.

The character of Honor Harrington

Honor Stephanie Harrington is a fictitious character, heroin éponyme of a series of science fiction books, being held in l'" Honorverse ".

One can note that the illustrations of Atalante are faithful to the books whereas those of Baen Books, of aspect more " réalistes" , give a distorted image of Honor.

Harrington is useful as an officer in a known space fleet under the name of royal Flotte Manticorienne, it introduces a professional resemblance seizing to two real admirals, Lord Horatio Nelson and the captain Thomas Cochrane, like with the character of fiction Horatio Hornblower. Like Nelson, it loses an eye and an arm with the combat; it has the same initial ones as Hornblower; and like each one of these three officers, it is a genius for the tactical command and becomes an alive legend by using its talents in several major engagements - battles for which the press calls it " Salamandre" - because it is apparently always found in the middle of the desperate and crucial battles.

The youth of Honor

Honor was born on October 1st, 3961 after JC on Sphinx, one of two inhabited planets of the Manticore star has stellar Royaume of Manticore. It is the girl of the neurosurgeon Alfred Harrington and the doctor/genetician Allison Benedict-Ramirez there Chou Harrington.

Under the terms of her father, it is socially a small holder (franc-tenant) -- who is not downward second wave of settlement of the kingdom and not of a member of the nobility, which are primarily downward first colonists of Manticore.

Its paternal ancestors were people genetically modified to survive in mediums having high gravity. In particular, it amends beta of Meyerdahl, which was designed to adapt the human ordinary ones to the life on planets with gravity slightly higher than on Ground.

It was high in the religious faith of the third stellar communion of the missionaries (reformed), but is not appreciably nun.

Honor is one of some people adopted by a woodland cat of Sphinx (which it called Nimitz, according to an admiral of the oceanic marine of the Earth), and it strongly contributed to research on them. Consequently, it became one of the first experts in cats woodland.

Career

Academy of the MRM

Harrington followed the training of officer of the space School of Manticore on the island of Saganami (Manticore) before becoming officer in the royal Flotte Manticorienne. (FRM).

It is one of best controls and tactician of the FRM. Effective and fast, its results in mathematics are not less poor. This difference posed real problems at the School to him to learn how to follow its intuition.

During her formation on the island of Saganami, his/her partner of room was Michelle Henke, cousin of the Queen Elizabeth III of Manticore. Confidence shy person and lack in it, Harrington learned much on the social plan from " Mike" Henke during these years.

At the space School, it is also Assistance-instructor of sailing and member of the team of combat with naked hands (At the beginning of War off Honor , Honor Harrington is black belt, eighth daN, in the martial art of the " Blow speed ") and the record of sailplane of the space School holds (at the same time for altitude, the time of flight, and acrobatics), record remained unconquered (on last book).

For its period at the space School, Harrington attracted itself the hatred of a perverse candidate and lout, the young person Pavel Young, heir to the title of count de Nord Haven. When Young tries to violate it under the shower, it is defended and wounds it severely. Nimitz had been isolated by means of a sedative. Ashamed, she seeks to dissimulate the business to the great displeasure persons in charge who suspect the truth. For lack of proof, Young escapes the reference and scoop from a simple reprimand. It is the beginning of a long hostility. Young will put all works about it to harm Harrington.

However, he does not manage to draw aside Harrington. Better, it obtains fulgurating successes. As a strategist, his potential exceeds the standard. She is very quickly noticed and attracts herself powerful supports. The first being one as of its instructors at the School, the captain (later admiral) Raoul Courvoisier, who pushes it to persevere and makes emerge his hidden talent.

Situation at the beginning of the novels

Become commander, Harrington leaves the famous tactical Advanced course of the FRM, and obtains the post of captain of light cruiser HMS Intrépide . Its successes at the Basil station are worth a great fame in the fleet to him and accelerate its hierarchical rise. Thereafter, its exploits are worth a real recognition to him and it becomes famous.

Exemplary officer, it gains the respect of his subordinates, of combined of Manticore (particularly the citizens of the planet Grayson, that it saves of an attempt at conquest coordinated between Masada and powerful the Popular republic of Harbor on several occasions), and even of its adversaries. However, it parallel to runs up enemies, as well internal as external, who will make it suffer.

Held stations

During its career Honor Harrington held the following stations:

Allowed at the space School of the FRM at the seventeen years age T (terrestrial)

Member of the team of combat with naked hands of the space School
Assistance-instructor of sailing.

Candidate, heavy cruiser HMS War Maiden (new " Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington" in the anthology To change Worlds , 2001 off)

Promoted at the tactical post of officer temporary assistant
Confirmed as a tactical officer assisting, with the temporary rank of sign of first class)

Main of Navigation, frigate HMS Fishing Eagle
Ordering Officer, Building of light attack HMLAC 113
Officer as a Second, heavy cruiser HMS Broadsword (new The Hardware Way Home in the anthology Worlds off Honor , 1999)
Tactical Officer, supercuirassier NSM Manticore
Commander, destroyer HMS Wing-of-Falcon
Commander, light cruiser Intrepid HMS (CL-56) ( Mission Basil , 2006)
Commander, heavy cruiser HMS Intrepid (CA-286) ( For the honor of the queen , 2006)
Commander, cruiser of battle HMS Victoire (BC-413), captain of house of the admiral Mark Sarnow, fifth squadron of cruisers, groups Hancock 001 ( a victorious and short War , 2001)
Commander, First Squadron of Battle, FSG. Senior officer as a second of the FSG ( House of the Exile , 2002)
Commander, commercial cruiser armed HMMC Wayfarer ( Silesian Masquerade , 2 T., 2003)
Member of the Commission of development of the armament of the FRM, writes the conclusion of the Commission.
Commander, Squadron of Cruiser Eighteen (CruRon 18) Eighth Force, FRM ( With the hands of the enemy , 2 T., 2004)
Ordering " garnison" planet prison Hadès ( disappeared from the hell , 2 T., 2005)
Commander, space Fleet élyséenne ( disappeared from the hell , 2 T., 2005)
Instructrice at the space School of Saganami, advanced course in tactic, and Ordering Tactical School of Instruction of the FRM ( Ashes of the Victoire , 2 T., 2007)
Commander, FSG, Squadron of the Guard (1) ( War off Honor , 2002)
Commander, bases of Sidemore of the FRM ( War off Honor , 2002)
Commander, Eighth Force, FRM (1) ( At All Costs , 2005)
Commander, HMS Unconquered (1) ( At All Costs , 2005)
Commander, making function, First Force, FRM (2) ( At All Costs , 2005)

(1) commands held simultaneously during the unfolding of At All Costs

(2) making function with the conclusion of At All Costs , the Eighth Force becoming the First Force by defect

Honor Harrington and Popular republic of Harbor

The Popular republic of Harbor (RPH), in the past condemned it for murder to the capital punishment, by contumacy, and that on assembled loads of all parts. It did not take this with serious during many years, until it is captured by the marine of the RPH.

The sadist Minister for the Public Information (i.e. of propaganda) of the RPH, Cordelia Ransom, personally transported it to the planet secret prison of the RPH where it hoped to make it carry out. Honor was saved by his/her comrade prisoners, and the vessel of Ransom (with the minister on its board) was destroyed to mask their escape.

To avoid the embarrassment, the subordinates of Ransom invented a visual recording of the execution of Honor. Everyone believing it died, of the funeral were organized for it on Manticore, and at the same time on Grayson. Its empty coffin was buried beside the tombs pareillement empty of Ellen D' Orville and Edouard Saganami in the cathedral of the capital of Manticore. The space Fleet of Grayson (FSG) gave its name to a class of vessels, and in spite of its protests on its return, it was impossible to him to cancel this denomination - with its great embarrassment.

Situation at the end of At All Costs

The row and titles of Honor Harrington at the end of the events included in At All Costs :

Admiral of the Fleet,
Captain of the HMS Unconquered ,
Colonel of the royal fusiliers
Lady Honor Stephanie Alexander-Harrington,
Harrington Lord,
Harrington Duchess,
Countess of Harbor-White.

Its title of countess of Harbor-White is not certain, but justifiable.

Legally, the Harrington lord and the admiral Harrington are simultaneously two different people, which, with the intervention of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Manticore, supported by the Queen, enables him to be accompanied on buildings by the FRM by its bodyguard/men-at-arms.

Particular features

She has and practical with a semi-automatic gun of gauge 45, counterpart of the Colt M1911, a weapon considered as anachronistic by her contemporaries (the conventional armament is the pulsor, who sends darts of small gauge at an extremely high speed thanks to a system of gravitic propulsion). His/her uncle, Jacques Cabbage, are an active member of the company for the creative anachronism and taught to him the handling of this kind of old weapon.

Honor lost an eye by defending the Guard Benjamin Mayhew (the leader of Grayson) at the time of an attempted murder. It replaced it by an artificial eye which enables him to see further. While waiting for the installation of this prosthesis and on rare occasions (as at the time of its capture by the RPH), it raises a black stringcourse to the mode of the pirates of old the Ground.

Honor Harrington in other media

A film on Honor Harrington was announced by Echo Valley Entertainment. However, of later information suggested that it would be rather a series of television, written and produced by Peter Sand.

A war game Honor Harrington, entitled " Saganami Island Tactical (SITS)Simulator", at summer developed (in English) by AD Astra Ranges.

Random links: