We’re back in the “main series” to discuss the eleventh novel, “At All Costs”. While this is the eleventh of fourteen novels here, we’re only about halfway through all the Honorverse content. So, if you’re enjoying the podcast don’t worry, there’s lots more to come!

The timeframe of this novel has us overlapping some of the events we saw in “The Shadow of Saganami.” Again, this is in no way a rehash of events. What David Weber is doing here (and in the next novel we’ll read) is to provide an incredible amount of fullness to a massive part of the Honorverse storyline. With so many threads of storyline happening on such a large scale, this was really the only way David could effectively fill in the incredible amount of story needed to give us the full picture of just how complex the events actually are. While there are things you’ll recognize, you’re not going to get bored. So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the ride.

The title says it all. We are witnessing the climax of the Manticoran – Havenite War. With a momentary pause in the fighting and a brief moment where peace talks might have happened, due to a series of truly unfortunate circumstances, both sides resume combat operations with a ferocity that represents conducting warfare in a manner that victory will come to one side or the other at all costs.

We see confirmed in this book the previous appearance of a possible third party involved in the war — a party that isn’t Manticore or Haven, or one of their allies. We definitely have some idea who it is, but what we know appears to only scratch the surface. This other actor on the universal stage has its own selfish interests and agenda. It wants to see Manticore and Haven continue to attrit each other’s militaries and economies down to a level that leaves them ineffective to deal with anything else. That party would then presumably be able to operate relatively freely and maybe openly, unopposed by either of these primary star nations.

When they sabotage the intended peace talks, war resumes, and with incredible scale and violence. We watch what is described as the largest naval battle in history. When the story ends, we see both Haven and Manticore having lost the preponderance of their navies, with Manticore only effectively retaining 8th Fleet under the command of Honor Harrington. The stage is set at the end of the novel for this semi-mysterious third party to become more fully known and begin to take advantage of the new “international” political and military landscape.

We rated “At All Costs” with a 5, a 5 and another 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating of a perfect 5 from your hosts.

As always, we truly appreciate the support of everyone who takes the time to wander through the Honorverse with us. Special thanks for those of you who like and/or comment on our posts, and even reach out and send us a note.

Next, we’re going to return to the Saganami Island series to read and discuss book two: “Storm from the Shadows”. It’s going to continue this wild ride we’re on, so grab your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time!

You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, let’s be about it!