Ashes of Victory

Three and one-half stars. (Actually I should say 2 stars for the first half, which was a bit of a snooze fest, and 4 stars for the second half.) [b:Ashes of Victory 77742 Ashes of Victory (Honor Harrington, #9) David Weber https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1429189977s/77742.jpg 75080] was a better read the second time through, but that might be because I was able to skim/speed-read through the many data dumps this time and get back to the story. (David Weber is a very good story-teller, but I do wish sometimes that he would spend more time on story editing. But then he would be less prolific, I suppose. Sigh.)In this the ninth book in the direct Honor Harrington story line, Honor is in surgery and rehab to repair the very serious injuries she suffered in previous stories. But, that doesn't mean she is idle; much the opposite. However, others have to carry on Weber's trademark big-fleet actions.This book pushes forward the story lines of the Manticore-Haven war, Honor's positions as a “great-lady” and leader in both Manticore and Grayson, and the human-treecat relationship. There is quite a bit of intrigue and suspense mixed in with the data dumps, and the final chapters are very strong. Overall, though flawed, this book is a must-read for those who enjoy the Honor Harrington series.Update: Better on another reread. Still a bit too wordy, but I am upping my rating to four stars.