Esther McQueen
Encyclopedia
Citizen Admiral Esther McQueen is a fictional character
in the Honorverse
, a series of military science fiction
novels written by David Weber
.
A native of the People's Republic of Haven
and an officer of the Havenite Navy, Citizen Vice-Admiral Esther McQueen makes her first appearance in the series' fifth novel, Flag in Exile
, where she commands one of the attacks meant to divert forces from Yeltsin's Star, under Citizen Vice Admiral Thurston's "Operation Stalking Horse"/"Operation Dagger" combination of offensives, which had Yeltsin's Star as their primary target. Even at this time, she was considered one of the "rising stars" of the People's Navy, soon after rising to the plum command of Trevor's Star, which was the primary target of the operations of the Manticoran Alliance
, despite the failure of Operation Dagger and the death of Citizen Admiral Thurston.
In this position, McQueen outperformed all expectations, earning grudging praise from Admiral White Haven, the primary Manticoran field commander. Realising that her abilities were too critical for the war effort, the Committee of Public Safety recalled her to Haven when it was clear that Trevor's Star would fall to the Alliance, in order not to be forced to shoot her pour encourager les autres, for failure to defeat the enemy. Shortly afterwards, during the Leveler Uprising, she moved to defend the Committee of Public Safety, using both orbital kinetic missile strikes from her flagship PNS Rosseau, and low-altitude bombing against the Levelers (earning her the sobriquet "Admiral Cluster Bomb").
The Committee decided to recognize her accomplishments by appointing her to the position of Secretary of War, despite grave misgivings over her ability to motivate her subordinates to act contrary to civilian orders. Citizen Secretary McQueen was the only Havenite strategist to create a successful offensive plan against the Alliance during the First Havenite War (Operation Icarus), which consisted of a daring series of punishing raids upon highly visible targets, thereby forcing the Alliance to redeploy its strength for defensive purposes. Due largely to her successful record as Secretary of War, Oscar Saint-Just
, concerned about her political ambitions, decided to lay the necessary groundwork to "prove" her disloyalty to a People's Court.
Wrongly believing that she was about to be eliminated (State Security Chairman Oscar Saint-Just
was merely starting to set up his "evidence" for her eventual show trial), McQueen acted first. Leading Navy and Marine Corps forces on the planet, she launched her own coup against the Committee, in the process accidentally killing Citizen Chairman Rob S. Pierre
(whom she wanted as a hostage/political prisoner). A major reason that the McQueen Coup did not succeed immediately was that Citizen Admiral Amanda Graveson, CO of Haven's Capital Fleet, was unable to carry out her part of McQueen's plan, presumably due to pre-emptive action on the part of State Security's capital ships in orbit. Despite this, the majority of ground forces on Haven not part of State Security gradually declared for McQueen, and Saint-Just began losing ground in the streets of Nouveau Paris. When it became obvious that McQueen's coup would be successful, Saint-Just remotely activated a nuclear bomb concealed beneath the Octagon (military HQ of the People's Armed Forces and McQueen's HQ), killing all inside, including McQueen, as well as an estimated 1.3 million civilians in adjacent residential towers (Saint-Just had refused to evacuate them for fear of alerting McQueen's forces to his intent). Citizen Admiral Graveson would secretly pass on McQueen's plans to Citizen Admirel Thomas Theisman (her successor as CO of Capital Fleet), who would use them to finally overthrow the Committee of Public Safety.
McQueen is considered by many to be the Honorverse's analogue to Napoleon Bonaparte. However, her similarity to him ended when she was killed by Saint-Just, as in reality Napoleon succeeded in his coup.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Honorverse
Honorverse
The Honorverse refers to the military science fiction book series and sub-series created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. The series is set primarily after Honor Harrington's October 1, 3961, birth; although she is the protagonist in most of the stories, more recent entries make only...
, a series of military science fiction
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
novels written by David Weber
David Weber
David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Weber and his wife Sharon live in Greenville, South Carolina with their three children and "a passel of dogs"....
.
A native of 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....
and an officer of the Havenite Navy, Citizen Vice-Admiral Esther McQueen makes her first appearance in the series' fifth novel, Flag in Exile
Flag in Exile
Flag in Exile is the fifth Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. In the story, the disgraced Honor enters a self-imposed exile on Grayson.- Plot summary :...
, where she commands one of the attacks meant to divert forces from Yeltsin's Star, under Citizen Vice Admiral Thurston's "Operation Stalking Horse"/"Operation Dagger" combination of offensives, which had Yeltsin's Star as their primary target. Even at this time, she was considered one of the "rising stars" of the People's Navy, soon after rising to the plum command of Trevor's Star, which was the primary target of the operations of the Manticoran Alliance
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...
, despite the failure of Operation Dagger and the death of Citizen Admiral Thurston.
In this position, McQueen outperformed all expectations, earning grudging praise from Admiral White Haven, the primary Manticoran field commander. Realising that her abilities were too critical for the war effort, the Committee of Public Safety recalled her to Haven when it was clear that Trevor's Star would fall to the Alliance, in order not to be forced to shoot her pour encourager les autres, for failure to defeat the enemy. Shortly afterwards, during the Leveler Uprising, she moved to defend the Committee of Public Safety, using both orbital kinetic missile strikes from her flagship PNS Rosseau, and low-altitude bombing against the Levelers (earning her the sobriquet "Admiral Cluster Bomb").
The Committee decided to recognize her accomplishments by appointing her to the position of Secretary of War, despite grave misgivings over her ability to motivate her subordinates to act contrary to civilian orders. Citizen Secretary McQueen was the only Havenite strategist to create a successful offensive plan against the Alliance during the First Havenite War (Operation Icarus), which consisted of a daring series of punishing raids upon highly visible targets, thereby forcing the Alliance to redeploy its strength for defensive purposes. Due largely to her successful record as Secretary of War, 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...
, concerned about her political ambitions, decided to lay the necessary groundwork to "prove" her disloyalty to a People's Court.
Wrongly believing that she was about to be eliminated (State Security Chairman 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...
was merely starting to set up his "evidence" for her eventual show trial), McQueen acted first. Leading Navy and Marine Corps forces on the planet, she launched her own coup against the Committee, in the process accidentally killing Citizen Chairman Rob S. Pierre
Rob S. Pierre
Robert Stanton Pierre is a fictional character and primary antagonist in the Honorverse, a series of military science fiction novels written by David Weber....
(whom she wanted as a hostage/political prisoner). A major reason that the McQueen Coup did not succeed immediately was that Citizen Admiral Amanda Graveson, CO of Haven's Capital Fleet, was unable to carry out her part of McQueen's plan, presumably due to pre-emptive action on the part of State Security's capital ships in orbit. Despite this, the majority of ground forces on Haven not part of State Security gradually declared for McQueen, and Saint-Just began losing ground in the streets of Nouveau Paris. When it became obvious that McQueen's coup would be successful, Saint-Just remotely activated a nuclear bomb concealed beneath the Octagon (military HQ of the People's Armed Forces and McQueen's HQ), killing all inside, including McQueen, as well as an estimated 1.3 million civilians in adjacent residential towers (Saint-Just had refused to evacuate them for fear of alerting McQueen's forces to his intent). Citizen Admiral Graveson would secretly pass on McQueen's plans to Citizen Admirel Thomas Theisman (her successor as CO of Capital Fleet), who would use them to finally overthrow the Committee of Public Safety.
McQueen is considered by many to be the Honorverse's analogue to Napoleon Bonaparte. However, her similarity to him ended when she was killed by Saint-Just, as in reality Napoleon succeeded in his coup.