History YMMV / HonorHarrington

* ThemePairing: Pretty much the entire basis for Sonja Hemphill/Shannon Foraker. Canonically, both are [[BirdsOfAFeather Havenite admirals]] and become fast friends because of that. Furthermore, both are STEM women: Shannon is a PlayfulHacker while Sonja is a GadgeteerGenius. Lesbian technological geek geniuses? The idea was inevitable. ''Fanfic/OneMoreTime'' has them as the main pairing.

** Thomas Greentree from ''In Enemy Hands'' who had an interesting but barely touched on ItsAllMyFault reaction to Honor being captured, had an extremely brief cameo in ''Ashes of Victory'' as Yanakov's flag captain and then was never seen again. He could have gotten some further appearances trying to atone for that before Honor turned up alive.

** [[spoiler: Miranda LaFollet]] is just another offscreen casualty of Yawata Crossing, adding to the stories angst despite several books of nice character development when it would have been a good moment, and better drama for [[spoiler: her brother to save her alongside Honor's children]] and show her reaction to the event.

** Simon Mattingly, one of Honor's more well-developed and long-lasting Armsmen, never gets much focus despite awesome moments like continuing to guard Honor's quarters stoically when she's presumed dead, then [[spoiler: dies suddenly during an assassination attempt which would have had plenty of gravitas even if no armsman had died, or if someone else had]], seemingly just to make LaFollet's enduring presence more impactful.

** On the Havenite side Admiral Chin seems to have incredibly poor luck resulting in her getting ambushed both times she turns up (Hancock Station and The Battle of Manticore).
** Luiseach MacRory MacGill of the Loomis Liberation League, falls firmly into this despite her sole scene so far lasting less than five pages: almost her entire family (including her two young children and her father) die during a massacre at the hands of the local Solarian League backed dictatorship, and their attempted resistance movement [[YankTheDogsChain experiences initial success, then is utterly massacred]] with practically every other named member being killed [[UncertainDoom or implied to]] and Manticore never even finding out about Loomis even as they liberate so many other neighboring systems.

** Jessica Dorcett from ''In Enemy Hands'' who had an interesting but barely touched on ItsAllMyFault reaction to Honor being captured and then is never seen again. She could have gotten some further appearances trying to atone for that before Honor turned up alive and/or meeting her afterwards.

* ContinuityLockout: The eleventh book, ''At All Costs'', marks the point where David Weber officially started assuming you've read all the spinoffs: events from both the Zilwicki/Cachat novels and the first of the new ''Saganami Island'' gaiden books are integral to a full understanding of the plot, and yet ''are not {{Infodump}}ed by the book itself'', merely alluded to in passing. Thank the Intercessor for TheWikiRule. ''Shadow of Victory'' is at least partially designed to unite all the various spinoffs prior to the final book. However, it makes so the actual timeline advances only one day as various different thread, including those before the end of ''At All Costs'' are brought up to the end of ''Shadow of Freedom'' and ''Cauldron of Ghosts''.

** The Graysons also have some accidental fun with the decision to describe their religious establishment as "Father Church." It fits with their patriarchal society, but the reason we Old-Earth Christians call our faith "''Mother'' Church" is because it is described in [[Literature/TheBible Ephesians]] as "the bride of Christ" and is ''married to Jesus''. Who would've thought the Grayson church [[HasTwoMommies Had Two Daddies]]!

* WhatAnIdiot:
** [[spoiler: Mesan Alignment]]'s Long-Range Planning Board. Not only have those guys deviated significantly from their founder's original vision (their current ''modus operandi'' surprisingly resembles the one of [[spoiler: one [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Gilbert Durandal]]]]), but the whole snafu in ''Torch of Freedom'' was created exclusively by their actions. If they hadn't insisted on [[spoiler: culling Herlander Simões' autistic daughter as a failed experiment]], the guy in question wouldn't have had the nervous breakdown that brought [[spoiler: Jack [=McBryde=]]] into the picture and made him his friend. And it all went downhill from there.\\
''[[EvenEvilHasStandards Isabel Bardasano]]'', of all people, described their actions in almost the same language, when she discussed that problem with Jack.\\
In the end, their insistence on "proper procedure" has led to the complete unraveling of the [[spoiler: Alignment's "onion"]] and gave the Manties and Havenites the smoking gun they've needed. Together with several ''more'' critical secrets, like the [[spoiler: streak drive and the man who friggin' ''made it'']]. The outcome is debatable, and may even be a case of DoomedByCanon, as those critical secrets are being revealed too late to do anyone any good due to a PhlebotinumBreakdown keeping [[spoiler: Herlander Simões from getting anywhere useful to prevent Oyster Bay, aka Pearl Harbor [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]]].
** Pavel Young, Eleventh Earl of North Hollow, who was so stupid and petty that he sent ''everything'' his AffablyEvil [[MagnificentBastard ancestors]] worked for centuries on down the drain in his feud with the main character.
** Cordelia Ransom, chief propagandist for the Rob S. Pierre regime. When she learned that Harrington had been captured, she decided to rush to the scene to indulge her sadistic streak, triggering no less than ''four'' major {{Heel Face Turn}}s among her notional comrades:
*** Warner Caslet aided and abetted Honor's crew breaking her out of the supermax brig on Ransom's StateSec ship. [[spoiler: Blowing Ransom ''and her entire ship'' to kingdom come in the process.]]
*** Lester Tourville (see his entry on the [[Characters/HonorHarrington characters page]]) erased the evidence that Honor and company had survived and succeeded in their escape attempt. (Just to add to the mix, Tourville and his people were next in line on Ransom's "Make Them Suffer" list.)
*** Shannon Foraker: [[BewareTheNiceOnes "Oops!"]]
*** Thomas Theisman: [[Awesome/HonorHarrington "Goodbye, Citizen Chairman."]]
** [[CorruptBureaucrat The Solarian "Mandarins"]] are the biggest bunch of pencil-pushing morons you can encounter in this setting. While their "invincible" navy is regularly getting blown to pieces by the Manticorans and Havnites before they can launch a single missile, they talk more about poll numbers and news coverage than any sort of coherent military strategy. By the time they even begin to wrap their heads around forming a functional military plan, [[spoiler: Manticore and Haven are quite literally on their doorstep]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Perhaps as a response to people who see the People's Republic of Haven as a criticism of the welfare state, ''House of Steel'' mentions that several other star nations created their own versions of the Basic Living Standard, but they actually managed to make it ''work'', providing everyone with a reasonable standard of living without trashing their economies... until they got conquered by the PRH. Weber specifically noted that the PRH welfare system was a deliberate illustration of what happens when the welfare state goes wrong, as opposed to an assertion that any such system ''will'' go wrong.
** The climax of ''Echoes of Honor'' had Honor commanding an eclectic fleet of captured ships successfully defeating a larger PRN taskforce by not much more than pure luck and sloppy thinking of the task force personnel. In the next novel, when she's teaching at [[MilitaryAcademy Saganami Island]] during her recovery from the imprisonment and escape, Michelle Henke breaks down all the ways it could have gone wrong, with an admonition from Honor that anyone seriously offering a similar solution to a tactical exercise problem will have several strips of hide ripped off them by her in a verbal flaying. [[CallBack Later in the book]], a Manty commander and his subordinate note that the enemy force is approaching them in a cautious manner. The subordinate quips that they may be trying to avoid any tricks like Lady Harrington tried. The commander asks why on Earth the Peeps would think he'd gone insane.

In the end, their insistence on "proper procedure" has led to the complete unraveling of the [[spoiler: Alignment's "onion"]] and gave the Manties and Havenites the smoking gun they've needed. Together with several ''more'' critical secrets, like the [[spoiler: streak drive and the man who friggin' ''made it'']]. The outcome is debatable, and may even be a case of DoomedByCanon, as those critical secrets are being revealed too late to do anyone any good due to a PhlebotinumBreakdown keeping [[spoiler: Herlander Simões from getting anywhere useful to prevent Oyster Bay, aka Pearl Harbor [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]]].

** Admiral Capriotti and his staff get a good run in ''Uncompromising Honor'', carrying out the illegal "Operation Bucaneer", but in a way designed to completley eliminate civilian casualties. While [[spoiler: the death of Capriotti -and implicitly the others- at the end of the novel do emphasize the technological superiority of Manticore, and the WarIsHell /AnyoneCanDie themes, seeing their reaction to the Mesan Alignment's Beowulf strike, and realizing how they were used and that Manticore is completely in the right could have provided a good path for the remainder of the novel, and/or future ones]].

* ThemePairing: Pretty much the entire basis for Sonja Hemphill/Shannon Foraker. Lesbian technological geek geniuses? The idea was inevitable.

*** ''The Honor of the Queen'': [[InsaneAdmiral Captain of the Faithful Williams]] is the commander of [[TheFundamentalist Masada]]'s Blackbird base. When Williams receives war prisoners from '''HMS Madrigal'', he orders all of the female prisoners [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil brutally raped]] by him and his men, leading to the deaths of all but two. Once the forces of Manticore and Grayson try to capture Blackbird, Williams orders all of the prisoners killed and his men to fight to the death, despite knowing they won't accomplish anything against better equipped Manticore marines, and when they try to avoid pointless deaths, Williams [[BadBoss shoots everyone within reach]]. [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating Williams]]'s cruelty inspires revulsion and hatred from his enemies, allies, and subordinates alike.

** ''The Honor of the Queen'': [[InsaneAdmiral Captain of the Faithful Williams]] is the commander of [[TheFundamentalist Masada]]'s Blackbird base. When Williams receives war prisoners from '''HMS Madrigal'', he orders all of the female prisoners [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil brutally raped]] by him and his men, leading to the deaths of all but two. Once the forces of Manticore and Grayson try to capture Blackbird, Williams orders all of the prisoners killed and his men to fight to the death, despite knowing they won't accomplish anything against better equipped Manticore marines, and when they try to avoid pointless deaths, Williams [[BadBoss shoots everyone within reach]]. [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating Williams]]'s cruelty inspires revulsion and hatred from his enemies, allies, and subordinates alike.
** ''Honor Among Enemies'': [[SpacePirates Andre Warnecke]] is the former dictator of the Chalice Cluster. Taking control of the Cluster during a revolution, Warnecke promised reform, but [[TheCaligula delivered oppression so severe]] that three million people died. After being run out of the system, he turned to [[RuthlessModernPirates piracy]], robbing and stealing from merchant ships in order to finance a return to Chalice. Coming upon the pacifistic world of Sidemore, Warnecke took power, executed all senior officials, and placed [[NukeEm nuclear warheads]] in all major cities in order to ensure the population's loyalty. When Honor and the HMAMC Wayfarer arrived on Sidemore to bring him to justice, Warnecke detonated one of his nukes to show that he wasn't bluffing, then offered to exchange the lives of Sidemore's urban population for his own personal safety.

** During ''In Enemy Hands'', Cordelia Ransom invites the captured non-coms of ''HMS Prince Adrian'' to [[{{Turncoat}} turn against their plutocratic masters]]. Horace Harkness accepts. Although his homeworld Gryphon does have a cultural mistrust of its nation's hereditary aristocracy, it doesn't reach the level of class warfare, and even someone fed up with the war would have to be insane to think that StateSec, who only minutes ago were having fun PistolWhipping their captives and bragging about Harrington's impending execution, would be a step up. Despite this, all of the other Manticoran prisoners, even Harkness's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] Scotty Tremaine, collectively grab hold of the ball in completely believing his defection is genuine, without considering the far more obvious (and true) explanation that he's playing into the role of the [[DefectorFromDecadence "poor, oppressed proletariat"]] to [[FakeDefector gain their captors' trust]]. State Sec also isn't particularly smart for trusting him as much as they do, but at least they have the excuse of not knowing Harkness personally and having a propagandized perception of Manticore's sociopolitical climate.

** During ''In Enemy Hands'', Cordelia Ransom invites the captured non-coms of ''HMS Prince Adrian'' to [[{{Turncoat}} turn against their plutocratic masters]]. Horace Harkness accepts. Although Gryphon does have a cultural mistrust of its nation's hereditary aristocracy, it doesn't reach the level of class warfare, and even someone fed up with the war would have to be insane to think that StateSec, who only minutes ago were having fun PistolWhipping their captives and bragging about Harrington's impending execution, would be a step up. Despite this, all of the other Manticoran prisoners, even Harkness's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] Scotty Tremaine, collectively grab hold of the ball in completely believing his defection is genuine, without considering the far more obvious (and true) explanation that he's playing into the role of the [[DefectorFromDecadence "poor, oppressed proletariat"]] to [[FakeDefector gain their captors' trust]]. State Sec also isn't particularly smart for trusting him as much as they do, but at least they have the excuse of not knowing Harkness personally and having a propagandized perception of Manticore's sociopolitical climate.

** During ''In Enemy Hands'', Cordelia Ransom invites the Manticoran non-coms to [[{{Turncoat}} turn against their plutocratic masters]]. Horace Harkness accepts. Although Gryphon does have a cultural mistrust of its nation's hereditary aristocracy, it doesn't reach the level of class warfare, and even someone fed up with the war would have to be insane to think that StateSec, who only minutes ago were having fun PistolWhipping their captives and bragging about Harrington's impending execution, would be a step up. Despite this, all of the other Manticoran prisoners, even Harkness's best friend Scotty Tremaine, collectively grab hold of the ball in completely believing his defection is genuine, rather than the far more obvious (and true) explanation that he's playing into the role of the "poor, oppressed proletariat" to [[FakeDefector gain their captors' trust]]. State Sec also isn't particularly smart for trusting him as much as they do, but at least they have the excuse of not knowing Harkness personally and having a propagandized perception of Manticore's sociopolitical climate.

* IdiotBall: Steadholder Mueller is a pretty canny operator in ''Flag in Exile'' who, while an opponent of both Honor and Protector Benjamin, emerges from the events of that book with his hands apparently clean. By ''Ashes of Victory'' he expresses no doubts when a group he's never heard of suddenly offers him a sack of cash. Did it not occur to him that they might have ulterior motives? Spoiler: [[spoiler: They do]]. (He also has a spy on his staff, but that's more reasonable as that's what undercover agents are trained to do). The plot even notes that until the penny is dropped - hard - he thinks ''he's'' controlling ''them''.

** Admiral Kotouc and Megan Petersen with their BigDamnHeroes Saganami inspired moment in ''Uncompromising Honor''.

** ''Uncompromising Honor'' has two of them in quick succession.
*** The first is Solarian Admiral Hadju Gyozo, who is ordered to the Hypatia System to convince it to stop its secession from the Solarian League, and to destroy all of its orbital infrastructure if it refuses. However, he chooses to mark a deadline to destroy the orbital habitats that can't possibly be evacuated in time, in order to make an example to any other systems that might choose to secede. [[InsaneTrollLogic He even brushes off the blood guilt for the millions of civilians he plans to kill onto the Hypatians themselves for wanting to leave in the first place]]. When a Manticoran squadron of 4 cruisers and a destroyer decides to take a stand against his task force of almost 200 ships, half of them battlecruisers, he orders the damaged Manticoran ships fired upon, [[{{Hypocrite}} Even though that violates a key piece of Solarian constitutional legislation against purposefully destroying warships that have been rendered incapable of fighting back]]. Thankfully, his ship gets destroyed shortly afterwards, meaning command falls to...
*** Rear Admiral Martin Gogunov, who comes from a long line of Solarian officers, and had relatives killed in previous battles. As a result, he has a bone to pick with the Manticorans, as well as anyone who chooses to side with them, and decides to resume the scheduled demolition of the Hypatian orbital habitats, [[JustFollowingOrders using the legal fiction of that being the last orders he was given before assuming command]]. He also decides to plan the destruction of the Manticoran lifepods [[BloodKnight "to get a blow in for once"]], and when his subordinates refuse to go along with the orders, he yells and berates them with threats of court martials and even the death sentence. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Luckily, his flagship is damaged, and so is his personal comms on his spacesuit, so his chief of staff pretends she doesn't hear his orders as he tries to yell through the vacuum between them]].

*** The first is Solarian Admiral Hadju Gyozo, who is ordered to the Hypatia System to convince it to stop its secession from the Solarian League, and to destroy all of its orbital infrastructure if it refuses. However, he chooses to mark a deadline to destroy the orbital habitats that can't possibly be evacuated in time, in order to make an example to any other systems that might choose to secede. [[InsaneTrollLogic He even brushes off the blood guilt for the millions of civilians he plans to kill onto the Hypatians themselves for wanting to leave in the first place]]. When a Manticoran squadron of 4 cruisers and a destroyer decides to take a stand against his task force of almost 200 ships, half of them battlecruisers, he orders the damaged Manticoran ships fired upon, [[Hypocrite Even though that violates a key piece of Solarian constitutional legislation against purposefully destroying warships that have been rendered incapable of fighting back]]. Thankfully, his ship gets destroyed shortly afterwards, meaning command falls to...

*** Rear Admiral Martin Gogunov, who comes from a long line of Solarian officers, and had relatives killed in previous battles. As a result, he has a bone to pick with the Manticorans, as well as anyone who chooses to side with them, and decides to resume the scheduled demolition of the Hypatian orbital habitats, [[JustFollowingOrders using the legal fiction of that being the last orders he was given before assuming command]]. He also decides to plan the destruction of the Manticoran lifepods [[BloodKnight "to get a blow in for once"]]. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Luckily, his flagship is damaged, and so is his personal comms, so his chief of staff pretends she doesn't hear his orders]].