Plot summary

The book begins hours after the end of the previous novel. Honor Harrington and her "Elysian Space Navy" arrive at Manticoran

Star Kingdom of Manticore

The Star Kingdom of Manticore , frequently referred to as Manticore or the Star Kingdom, is a fictional star-nation in the Honorverse series of military science fiction novels and short stories by David Weber and others, published by Baen Books.- Depiction :The Star Kingdom was founded in the...

-controlled space, only to discover that she was believed dead, that her mother had given birth to twins (partly to satisfy the Graysons' need for an heir to her Steading), her cousin Devon has inherited her Manticoran title, and that the extent of her injuries will prevent her from returning to active naval duty for a couple of years, since she needs reconstructive surgery.

To put Honor to good use, the Royal Manticoran Navy promotes her to Admiral and places her at Saganami Island Naval Academy to teach future generations of naval officers. Queen Elizabeth III

Elizabeth III of Manticore

Queen Elizabeth III of Manticore is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber. She is the reigning monarch of the Star Kingdom of Manticore...

 elevates Honor to Duchess Harrington. Meanwhile, Honor helps to prove that treecats are as intelligent as humans, and she eventually helps to develop an easy to understand sign language system, making full communication between humans and the treecats possible.

After the daring attacks featured in the previous novel, the People's Republic of Haven

People's Republic of Haven

The Republic of Haven is a fictional star-nation in the Honorverse, the background setting for a series of novels and short stories in the military science fiction genre, written by David Weber and others and published by Baen Books....

 seems to have the initiative. However, Manticore has a trump card that has the potential to end the war, in the form of devastatingly effective new technology and weapons fully integrated into a new massive heavy assault force, known as 8th fleet. The Star Kingdom's navy bides time, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Chaos breaks up in the Havenite ranks, and the ambitious Admiral McQueen

Esther McQueen

Citizen Admiral Esther McQueen is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber....

 stages a coup that succeeds in killing Robert S. Pierre and almost all the members of the Havenite Committee of Public Safety, except for Oscar Saint-Just

Oscar Saint-Just

Oscar Saint-Just is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber. His name is most likely a reference to Louis de Saint-Just, an important figure in the French Revolution, who sat in the Comité de Salut Public with Robespierre.As First...

 who manages to crush the coup by detonating a nuclear device secretly hidden within the navy headquarters. With the Committee and the military High Command in ruins, Saint-Just becomes the dictator of the People's Republic, and orders Admiral Thomas Theisman

Thomas Theisman

Admiral Thomas Edward Theisman is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber...

 to take over the massive fleet guarding Haven. This proves to be an eventually fatal miscalculation. While Saint-Just believes Theisman is apolitical and trustworthy, in reality Theisman is plotting a coup of his own, with the secret help of the political commissar Saint-Just has assigned to him.

Admiral White Haven

Hamish Alexander

Admiral of the Green Hamish Alexander-Harrington, Thirteenth Earl of White Haven, is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber....

 launches Manticore's Operation Buttercup. Under his command, 8th Fleet begins a lightning offensive deep into Havenite territory. The new technology developed by Manticore in the prelude to Buttercup allows the fleet to quickly demolish all Havenite resistance, and in a matter of months Manticore becomes poised to invade the Haven system itself. In desperation, Saint-Just attempts to assassinate the Manticoran Alliance leadership. Masadan terrorists in Saint-Just's service succeed in killing the Manticoran Prime Minister, The Duke of Cromarty, along with several major figures of the Manticoran and Grayson governments, despite the efforts of Honor Harrington. Fortunately, Honor's actions save Queen Elizabeth and the Protector of Grayson Benjamin Mayhew IX

Benjamin Mayhew IX

Protector Benjamin Mayhew IX is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber....

 from dying in the same attack.

On Manticore, Cromarty's death opens an opportunity for former Opposition factions led by Baron High Ridge

Michael Janvier

Michael Janvier, most commonly referred to by his nobiliary title of Baron High Ridge, is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber....

 to seize political control, much to the frustration of Queen Elizabeth. Saint-Just proposes an immediate cease-fire between Manticore and Haven. This is hastily accepted by the new High Ridge government, despite the fact that 8th fleet is poised to invade Haven and force an unconditional surrender. High Ridge and his co-partisans in the military come to believe (wrongly) that Haven has been defeated for good, and that further violence is not necessary. The new Manticoran government institutes programs and policy that will begin a legacy of political greed, selfishness, incompetence, and cronyism that will have far reaching consequences for the entire Star Kingdom.

Now secure from the possibility of a Manticoran attack on the Haven System itself, Saint-Just turns to internal matters and the consolidation of his grip on power. He orders the arrest of Admirals Lester Tourville

Lester Tourville

Admiral Lester Tourville is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber. His first appearance takes place during the series' seventh novel, In Enemy Hands, and he has continued to appear in all the following novels of the fictional...

 and Javier Giscard

Javier Giscard

Javier Giscard is a fictional character in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber.An admiral in the People's Navy, Javier Giscard was once one of Alfredo Yu's students. By the beginning of Haven's war with Manticore Giscard had the rank of Commander, as...

, whom he sees as political dissidents. Theisman launches his coup. The Havenite military under Theisman wrests control of the government, and Theisman personally executes Saint-Just.

Quotes

Trivia

A character in this book is named after a real person, Francis A. ("Frank") Ney, in what is an example of Tuckerization

Tuckerization

Tuckerization is the act of using a person's name in an original story as an in-joke. The term is derived from Wilson Tucker, a pioneering American science fiction writer and fanzine editor, who made a practice of using his friends' names for minor characters in his stories...

.

External links

• An excerpt of Ashes of Victory is available for download or reading online at the Baen Free Library
  Baen Free Library
  The Baen Free Library is a digital library of the science fiction and fantasy publishing house Baen Books where 112 full books can be downloaded free in a number of formats, without copy protection...
  
   here. The whole novel can be found here.