A Rising Thunder: A New Honor Harrington Novel

Intrigue and counter-intrigue heighten the tension in Weber's 13th Honor Harrington novel (after Mission of Honor). Two wary interstellar nations, the monarchical Star Kingdom of Manticore and the oligarchic, Earth-based Solarian League, have often crossed swords in skirmishes, but an unprovoked attack by Solarian forces at Spindle and a recent homeworld assault known as the Yawata Strike leads the Empire to believe that the League is the dupe of the slaveholding and manipulative Mesan Alignment. Tensions rise as the Manticoran Empire impedes Solarian trade through its wormhole junctions in preparation for war. Duchess Honor Harrington acts mostly as advisor to the Empire but for a brief interlude is charged with protecting Manticore from an invading fleet of Solarian superdreadnaughts, as the author highlights the complex maneuverings of government leaders in this politically savvy but militarily uneventful novel that bridges the gap between the last novel and the expected sequel. (Mar.)