History YMMV / HonorHarrington

** It started in ''War Of Honor'', which revolves around the political tensions between the Pritchart administration, who want to end the First Havenite-Manticoran War, and the High Ridge government, who want to prolong it [[PresidentEvil to remain in power]]. This dialogue, despite having been easily described in one sentence and a PotHole, takes ''forty-nine chapters'' to resolve.

** The Anvilicious Revolutionary France parallels go beyond just Rob S. Pierre: His co-conspirator and successor is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Antoine_de_Saint-Just Oscar Saint-Just,]] his government is called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Public_Safety Committee of Public Safety,]] characters repeatedly refer to his governance as a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror Reign of Terror,]] and his capital is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris Nouveau Paris,]] where the revolutionaries end up having an important meeting [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath in a tennis court.]] (Ironically, this was later revealed to have been deliberately exploited by Weber, who ruthlessly exploited these parallels to keep his readers looking in one direction while the plot went an ''[[OffTheRails entirely different]]'' direction.

** The Anvilicious Revolutionary France parallels go beyond just Rob S. Pierre: His co-conspirator and successor is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Antoine_de_Saint-Just Oscar Saint-Just,]] his government is called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Public_Safety Committee of Public Safety,]] characters repeatedly refer to his governance as a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror Reign of Terror,]] and his capital is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris Nouveau Paris,]] where the revolutionaries end up having an important meeting [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath in a tennis court.]]

* CompleteMonster: Most of Honor Harrington's enemies have been fairly complex adversaries with understandable or even altruistic goals. This is not the case for all of his foes, however:

* CompleteMonster: Most of Honor Harrington's enemies have been fairly complex adversaries with understandable or even altruistic goals. Not so in the case of these two from ''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.
** At first, [[SociopathicSoldier Power Tech 2nd Class Randy Steilman]] seems to be a simple [[TheBully bully]] with a large disciplinary record, until he brutally beats his crewmate Aubrey Wanderman to near-death because he didn't get a chance to beat him earlier. He then decides to desert the military by sabotaging the ship he is on and escaping in the confusion, but is caught attempting to injure a crewman just because that crewman was a harder worker than him. As a result, Steilman is demoted, and takes out his rage by sabotaging Petty Officer Ginger Lewis's spacesuit, hospitalizing and nearly killing her. Cruel and sadistic, Randy managed to be one of the most personal villains in the Honorverse while lacking the resources of other villains.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''On Basilisk Station'' has a bit of this. The extremely short-ranged [[WaveMotionGun Grav Lance]] that is one of the central plot elements of the book is gone from later installments, as weapon ranges extend from tens to hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of kilometers, and while Admiral Dame Sonja Hemphill remains quite enamored of her own genius in her later appearances, she is not (unlike in the first book) inclined to take out her frustrations over the failures of systems she developed on the officers trying to employ them in the field.

** CrazyAwesome Victor Cachat got his own spinoff series for a reason. Things tend to get a lot more colorful and fast-paced when he's around with an absolutely entertaining mixture of humor, action and {{Realpolitik}}.

* MarySuetopia: In something of a crossover between this trope and CreatorsPet, The Star Kingdom of Manticore was showered with structural advantages by Weber, to the point where it can break reader immersion to read the lines stating that Manticorans have one of the highest standards of living in the human-settled galaxy, especially when even their enemies admire their society, as Albrecht Detweiler (one of the BigBad's leadership) did as he looks down at Mesan Alignment's secret colony world in the Darius system and went on an internal monologue on Just How Good Manticore is (Mission Of Honor, ch 38):
---> And the truth was that, despite the accomplishments of the Alignment's R&D, and despite any tactical advantages which might accrue from the streak drive and the spider, very few star nations could have matched the industrial efficiency of the Star Empire of Manticore. Indeed, Benjamin suspected that even Manticore had failed to grasp just how great an advantage it possessed in that regard.
---> Over the last five or six T-years, he and Daniel had been trying to introduce Manticoran practices here at Darius, only to discover that the task wasn't as simple and forthright as it ought to have been. If they'd really wanted to duplicate Manticore's efficiency, they would've had to duplicate Manticore's entire industrial base—and its society—and they simply couldn't do that. Their labor force was extraordinarily good at following orders, extremely well trained, and highly motivated, but the kind of independence of thought which characterized Manticoran workers wasn't exactly something which had been encouraged among the slave workers of Darius. Even if it had been, their basic techniques and technologies were simply different from Manticore's. Better than the majority of League star systems could have produced, if those other star systems had only realized it, yet still at least a full generation behind the Manties.
But Weber stacked the deck in Manticore's favor, and these advantages are clear when comparing what Manticore has compared to every other planet shown in the text of the novels:
** Three human-habitable planets needing minimal, if any, tweaks, whereas most other star nations have one, perhaps two planets, often needing extensive biosphere tweaks (Grayson, Nuncio system, Potsdam).
** Uniquely far-sighted founders who set up a trust fund to have infrastructure sent ahead--a trust fund which managed to survive for six hundred years, including through Earth's "Final War," and delivered teachers and starships to the colonists when they arrived, an advantage that no other colony world in the text has been shown to have; most, in fact, descended into neo-barbarism due to lack of infrastructure, which is a recurring plot point for Manticore's interactions with other human worlds (ex: Nuncio, Potsdam, Silvestria).
** The only telepathic/empathic alien species in the known galaxy is in residence on one of Manticore's planets, and their members are protective of humans and bond with them.
** The Manticoran Wormhole Junction and its economic (and social) benefits, especially the link to Beowulf, only one week's travel from Old Earth; a large fraction of the galaxy's commercial trade is stated to transit through the Junction, giving Manticore a massive economic leg up. This one justifies the initial plot to a degree--coveting the Junction is part of the motivation of the early antagonists in the series--but there is still no question that it is a significant advantage that no one else in the settled galaxy has (the next most dense junction, the Felix junction, has only half as many wormholes as Manticore, and is a close-held secret of the Mesan Alignment).

* MarySuetopia: In something of a crossover between this trope and CreatorsPet, The Star Kingdom of Manticore was showered with structural advantages by Weber, to the point where it can be hard to read the lines stating that Manticorans have one of the highest standards of living in the human-settled galaxy, to the point where even their enemies admire their society. Three human-habitable planets needing minimal, if any, tweaks, check. The only telepathic/empathic alien species in the known galaxy in residence, and their members are protective of people, check. Uniquely far-sighted founders who set up a trust fund to have infrastructure sent ahead--a trust fund that managed to survive for half a millennium, and through Earth's "Final War" and delivered teachers and starships to the colonists when they arrived, check. The Manticoran Wormhole Junction and its economic (and social) benefits, check, especially the link to Beowulf. With all of those benefits stacked on top of each other, it's not hard to understand why Manticore is such an economically, socially, and technically advantaged society in comparison to everyone else.

*** Even if it doesn't quite rise to "anvil" levels, you could make a case for parallels with the EU and UN as well: The fundamental flaw in the Solarian League, that explains how it got to where it is at the time of the main-line novels, is that it was conceived as something well beyond a mere alliance or regional government, but short of a true government. As a result, it was sufficiently government-like for large numbers of people to want it to do things that required real governmental power, but not government-like enough to be able to reliably do those things using the powers that it was actually ''intended'' to have. Cue a series of gradually expanding workarounds and "established practices," many of which started out with good intentions . . .

* CreatorsPet: In an oddly meta example, the Star Kingdom of Manticore was showered with advantages by Weber, to the point where it can be hard to read the lines touting the point about how Manticorans have one of the highest standards of living in the human-settled galaxy. Three human-habitable planets needing minimal, if any, tweaks, check. The only telepathic/empathic alien species in the known galaxy in residence, and their members are protective of people, check. Uniquely far-sighted founders who set up a trust fund to have infrastructure sent ahead--a trust fund that managed to survive for half a millennium, and through Earth's "Final War" and delivered teachers and starships to the colonists when they arrived, check. The Manticoran Wormhole Junction and its economic (and social) benefits, check, especially the link to Beowulf. With all of those benefits stacked on top of each other, it's not hard to understand why Manticore is such an economically, socially, and technically advantaged society in comparison to everyone else. This is mitigated somewhat by the implementation of [[FeudalFuture Manticore's aristocracy]] (unlike the modern UK, the hereditary House of Lords has greater power than the Commons), which combined with prolong means that political change happens slowly, if at all.

** First Space Lord Thomas Caparelli gets a lot of praise for his ability to balance the needs of the military and the villain populace, his willingness to trust and appreciate Honor even at a time when she's Persona non grata in several circles, and how gracefully he takes his AlwaysSomeoneBetter relationship with Hamish, appreciating and seeking out the man's superior insight and planning ability, but still being capable of brilliant ideas of his own.

** Thomas Caparelli has a good run as First Space Lord and ReasonableAuthorityFigure, but never gets more than a handful of chapters in the spotlight per appearance, and rarely if ever directly interacts with Honor. [[spoiler: He even becomes a casualty of the Beowulf strike without even a proper death scene, when there were enough SacrificialLion's there that his presence and death wasn't even necessary]].
** Jackie Harmon, who provided a good perspective as a highly innovative LAC fighter pilot which could have been extended throughout the series, but only appears in two books [[spoiler: becoming a casualty in the second]].

** Seth Chernock, the WickedCultured PRH General who figures out something is wrong at the prison planet of Hades just form a missing chess move on the courier ship, only appears in the final chapters of ''Echoes of Honor'' and is killed in the ensuring conflict, but could have had a nice WorthyOpponent, or NoNonsenseNemesis vibe with Honor over subsequent books if he'd lived for at least another book or two.

** Thomas Baschfisch, Honor's commanding officer during her snotty cruise in ''Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington'', who works hard to prevent Pavel Young's allies form sabotaging her career, and is considered a rising Naval star and brilliant tactician, is mostly relegated to a desk job afterwards and only appears in one additional story despite his general aura of competence and good dynamics with honor, although [[AnyoneCanDie given the high mortality of the supporting cast]] this isn't completely awful for him.
** 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 if no one had died, or if someone else had]], seemingly just to make LaFollet's enduring presence more impactful.
** 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 Capriotto -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]].

* CreatorsPet: In an oddly meta example, the Star Kingdom of Manticore was showered with advantages by Weber, to the point where it can be hard to read the lines touting the point about how Manticorans have one of the highest standards of living in the human-settled galaxy. Three human-habitable planets needing minimal, if any, tweaks, check. The only telepathic/empathic alien species in the known galaxy in residence, and their members are protective of people, check. Uniquely far-sighted founders who set up a trust fund to have infrastructure sent ahead--a trust fund that managed to survive for half a millennium, and through Earth's "Final War" and delivered teachers and starships to the colonists when they arrived, check. The Manticoran Wormhole Junction and its economic (and social) benefits, check, especially the link to Beowulf. With all of those benefits stacked on top of each other, it's not hard to understand why Manticore is such an economically, socially, and technically advantaged society in comparison to everyone else.

** Many fans voice appreciation for Theodosia Kuzak, for her assertive role in the court-martial of Pavel Young and good WorkingWithTheEx dynamic with Hamish.
** First Space Lord Thomas Caparelli gets a lot of praise for his ability to balance the needs of the military and the villain populace, his willingness to trust and appreciate Honor even at a time when she's Persona non grata in several circles, and his somewhat humorous FriendlyRival relationship with Hamish, which neither man ever lets interfere with their work.

** Many fans voice appreciation for Theodosia Kuzak, for her role in the court-martial of Pavel Young and good WorkingWithTheEx dynamic with Hamish.
** First Space Lord Thomas Caparelli gets a lot of praise for his ability to balance the needs of the fleet and the villain populace, his willingness to trust and appreciate Honor even at a time when she's Persona non grata in several circles, and his somewhat humorous FriendlyRival relationship with Hamish, which neither man ever lets interfere with their work.

** Thomas Caparelli has a good run as First Space Lord and ReasonableAuthorityFigure, but never gets more than a handful of chapters in the spotlight per book, and other times he doesn't even get that. [[spoiler: He even becomes a casualty of the Beowulf strike without even a proper death scene, when there were enough SacrificialLion's there that his presence and death wasn't even necessary]].

** Thomas Caparelli has a good run as First Space Lord and ReasonableAuthorityFigure [[spoiler: only to be a casualty of the Beowulf strike without even a proper death scene, when there were enough SacrificialLion's there that his presence and death wasn't even necessary]].
** Jackie Harmon, who provided a good perspective as a highy innovative LAC fighter pilot which could have been extended throughout the series, but only appears in two books [[spoiler: becoming a casualty in the second]].

** [[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]].

** Simon Mattingly, one of Honor's more well-developed and long-lasting Armsmen, who [[spoiler: dies suddenly during an assassination attempt which would have had plenty of gravitas if no one had died, or if someone else had]], seemingly just to make LaFollet's enduring presence more impactful.

** Seth Chernock, the WickedCultured PRH General who figures out something is wrong at the prison planet of Hades just form a missing chess move on the courier ship, only appears in the final chapters of ''Echoes of Honor'' and is killed in the ensuring conflict, but could have had a nice WorthyOpponents, or NoNonsenseNemesis vibe with Honor over subsequent books if he'd lived for at least another book or two.

** Thomas Caparelli has a good run as First Space Lord and ReasonableAuthorityFigure [[spoiler: only to be a casualty of the Beowulf strike without even a proper death scene]].

** Thomas Caparelli has a good run as First Space Lord and ReasonableAuthortiyFigure [[spoiler: only to be a casualty of the Beowulf strike without even a proper death scene]].

** Carolyn Wolcott is a well-developed MuaveShirt in the second book, in the aftermath of her attempted sexual assault by a Grayson Officer, but is reduced to a barely-acknowledged BridgeBunny when she next appears in the story, [[spoiler: and is BackForTheDead]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: "Tac witch" Shannon Foraker for her plucky, geeky cheer even under a tyranny that distrusts its officers, for the "Oops!" CMOA, and for almost single-handedly being responsible for the Republic of Haven catching up to Manticore in their ArmsRace. The prospect of her teaming up with (a thoroughly redeemed over the last dozen books, thank you) [[spoiler:Admiral Sonja Hemphill]] was enough to have readers in literal TearsOfJoy.

* CompleteMonster: Most of ''Literature/HonorHarrington'''s enemies have been fairly complex adversaries with understandable or even altruistic goals. Not so in the case of Andre Warnecke, former dictator of the Chalice Cluster, from ''Honor Among Enemies''. Taking control of the Cluster during a revolution, Warnecke promised reform, but 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.

* MagnificentBastard:
** Honor considers Thomas Theisman to be one and Theisman seems to return the favor. Then there is Victor Cachat who proves to be a heavy weight contender for the title with his actions in ''Crown of Slaves'', where he gets Manticoran assets and Erehwon's government cooperating in a scheme that benefits the People's Republic a little more than it does the other participants - one of whom is technically still at war with Haven.
** While above examples are just contenders, Oscar Saint-Just and Albrecht Detweiler are ''the'' ones. With emphasis on the "bastard" part, manipulating many millions of people to act to suit their respective purposes.
** Governor Barregos and Admiral Rozsak are able to build up a multi-book long plot to secede from the Solarian League, effectively as Dictator and Admiralissimo of the entire sector- and they spin the announcement of the secession so that the planets under their control ''elect'' them to lead the sector. All according to their plan...
** The leaders of the [[spoiler:Mesan Alignment]] are very good at what they do - and undoubtedly a big group of [=SOBs=] who plot large wars, insurrections and multiple assassinations just to carry out their plans for galactic domination.

** ''Mission from Honor'' and ''A Rising Thunder'' have firmly moved the series from its ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' focus on single deployments with a traditional narrative arc (setup, rising conflict, climax, aftermath) to an unwieldy "record of an ongoing period of time" format that embodies this trope. For example, if ''A Rising Thunder'' didn't have P v. E, it might not have taken a third of the book to reach the main cast, nor would the first three chapters have focused on one-shot {{Lower Deck Episode}}s that basically came down to "Operation Lacoön upsets Solarians and Manticoran shipping companies."