Re: [GZG] Thrusting in the Cherryverse

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http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn 4/6/07, Jerry
Han <jhan@warpfish.com> wrote:
>
>
> With Honor, Weber's caught in two traps -- he's written so many books,
> he's having a hard time coming up with new stuff, and he's trapped in
> the style set from the first book, so, he probably feels the need to
> continuing writing in that style even though he's evolved as a writer
> in twenty years.  Especially in the Honorverse where technology plays
a
> major role in the plot, and he has to keep coming up with new gizmos
to
> maintain tension in the naval battles, which features prominently in
the
> overall story.  *shrug*

As someone who has most of Honorverse in hardcover, I think my opinion
may
have some weight on the topic of the decline in the series.  It is not
the
rapidly evolving technology needed to keep the RMN from collapsing under
the
weight of the increasing mass of the RHN, it is that the
Manticoran-Havenite
War is two books past its end-by date.	The war did not end in War of
Honor,
nor did it end in At All Costs, and I have the terrible fear that it
will
not end in the next book.  The war has gone stale and there are no
longer
any interesting villains who are likely to be casualties, so any future
deaths of named characters are going to be characters that are well
liked.
The technology is advancing, but the story seems to have stopped.
Personally, I found the Honor-Hamish resolution to be unsatisfying, but
I
will accept that not everyone appreciates Tristan and Isolde.

Unfortunately, it seems that there is no end in sight for the war
without a
miracle allowing either the RHN to dictate terms to a recalcitrant Queen
Elizabeth following a stupendous defeat of the RMN (sadly, this is
becoming
my preferred ending), or the Queen being removed from the throne without
any
involvement of the Republic of Haven.  An idle daydream of mine involves
a
plausible set of circumstances that end with Pritchard being adopted by
a
treecat, which would force the Queen to acknowledge that peeps are
people,
too.