Flag in Exile (Honor Harrington, Book 5) – David Webber
Title: Flag in Exile
Series: Honor Harrington, Book 5
Author: David Webber
Genre: Science Fiction
With Flag in Exile Weber returns the Harrington series back to its more militaristic-based science fiction roots. The Haven Republic is starting to once again rear its head. Though they’ve taken several beatings recently from the RMN, they have finally begun to get their Navy back up and running after all the purges (from the overthrow of the legislature government). Now they have hatched a new plan for striking at the Royal Manticoran Navy – and it means taking out an Allie…
Honor is recovering from the loss of her love Paul Tankersley as well as the debacle resulting from her duels with his killer and the man who hired the killer – Pavel Young. Now she is resting and recovering on Grayson, and starting to dive into role of Steadholder.
With new projects for her Steading, as well as personal fencing lessons she is beginning to recover from her loss. But her new home planet needs her military expertise, and soon she is back in the command seat – this time, as an Admiral!
I hate to give any more of the plot away, but I’ve barely scraped the surface of the conflicts and politics which Weber has woven into this installment of the Harrington series. A good half of the novel is taken up establishing these conflicts and exploring the persons involved in them, but even through that he keeps the pace of the novel very crisp and quick. By the time things begin to break loose, you can’t stop turning pages.
Obviously I found it really well-written. I would say this novel begins to approach the intensity of the first two of the series, but you can also tell that Weber has, at this point in writing the books, realized he is going to be able to write many, many novels in this series. There is a sense that other plot-lines are being setup and established.
I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre, though I would urgently recommend reading the novels which precede it first. and if you have enjoyed any of the other Harrington novels, this one will definitely not disappoint.
Worldview: Secular
Age Recommendation: Due to some more violent sections and the science, probably at least High School age, if not for Juniors and Seniors.
