Book Note: David Weber, Flag in Exile #2

This is book 5 of the "Honor Harrington" series.

This note contains spoilers for the book.

Had to re-read Honor's other great duel scene. Shame she didn't get more pleasure out of killing Burdette. Few men have more needed killing.

This is something like the end of the good part of the series, though. There's okay stuff in the later books, but one wouldn't be missing much stopping here. (I must, of course, leave open the possibility that some future books in the series, not yet published as I type this, will be wonderful.)

This series consistently portrays politicians as slimey self-aggrandizing idiots (not absolutely universally, but nearly so), and hereditary planetary rulers as good guys. The next level down, though, it's random -- Steadholders go either way. And the Prime Minister to Queen Elizabeth of Manticore is of course a politician, but a hereditary one, and a good guy. Furthermore, he does the same in other series; I think it's displaying an actual pattern in his writing. This pattern, of course, doesn't at all correspond to reality. It's getting to bother me quite a bit by now. It now feels like he's harping on a comforting but untrue theory, which is all too popular.