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At All Costs is the eleventh book of David Weber's series of novels and short stories chronicling the adventures of Honor Harrington. It was first published in 2005.
Timeframe: 1920 – 1921 PD
Summary[]
- The war with the Republic of Haven has resumed ... disastrously for the Star Kingdom of Manticore. Admiral Lady Dame Honor Harrington, Steadholder and Duchess Harrington, the single victorious Allied commander of the opening phase of the new war, has been recalled from the Sidemore System to command Eighth Fleet. Everyone knows Eighth Fleet is the Alliance's primary offensive command, which makes it the natural assignment for the woman the media calls "the Salamander."
- But what most of the public DOESN'T know is that not only are the Star Kingdom and its Allies badly outnumbered by the Republic's new fleet, but that the odds are going to get steadily worse. Eighth Fleet's job is to somehow prevent those odds from crushing the Alliance before the Star Kingdom can regain its strategic balance. It's a job which won't be done cheaply. Honor Harrington must meet her formidable responsibilities with inferior forces even as she copes with tumultuous changes in her personal and public life.
- The alternative to victory is total defeat, yet this time the COST of victory will be agonizingly high.
Plot[]
Due to the actions of the High Ridge government, which led to a successful attack on key Manticoran Alliance shipyards by the Republic of Haven, the Star Kingdom of Manticore finds itself decidedly on the short end of the strategic balance between the two warring star nations.
Admiral Honor Harrington is placed in command of Eighth Fleet, the Alliance's primary offensive force, which is the sole heavy formation available for operations against Haven. Queen Elizabeth III and her senior advisors project it will be at least two T-years before they can expect any significant numbers of new construction to begin bolstering their thin wall of battle. The Imperial Andermani Navy has fallen behind its initial building schedules and Manticore had overestimated the amount of superdreadnoughts the Andermani Empire had under construction. Manticore has resorted to re-activating the obsolete pre-pod reserves as "any waller is better than no waller". Manticore's network of spies on Haven has been exposed, removed, or declared loyalty to the Eloise Pritchart. Haven's shipyard at Bolthole has not been found, this allows the Republic of Haven to send more superdreadnoughts into combat. Manticore must keep a strong Home Fleet since Thomas Theisman knows the locations of the 3 critical shipyards that will paralyze Manticore if they are destroyed. Haven is also increasing production at known shipyards to lessen the reliance on Bolthole. The only postive aspects are the new missile designs and the fact that LAC construction is at full capacity. This while Haven's progress under Thomas Theisman and Shannon Foraker is giving them an even larger force advantage, and smaller technological disparity.
Strategically, the goal of Eighth Fleet is to instill enough operational caution and sensitivity to losses within Haven to force redeployments; this would have the desperately needed effect of reducing the available number of ships of the wall Haven would then be able to concentrate for offensive action against the Star Kingdom and its allies. Despite the grave circumstances, the Star Kingdom finds itself spread dangerously thin against its security commitments.
Meanwhile, Harrington Steading, and all of the Protectorate of Grayson, mourn the loss of Howard Clinkscales, former General of the Protectorate Security Detachment and Regent of the Steadholders Harrington. Even though he died peacefully after what Graysons would consider a long life, Honor is very dismayed by his death, especially since it makes her realize how many of her Grayson-born friends who never received prolong she will lose in the years to come. To show Howard's family how much she values their support, she creates a blood bond between the Harrington Clan and the Clinkscales Clan, binding the fates of the two families together for all time.
Honor continues to work closely with Hamish Alexander, now First Lord of the Admiralty, on the military and political challenges facing the Alliance. Their professional respect for each others' abilities, and their need for mutual support as they navigate the precarious political landscape in the Star Kingdom, has led them into the very romantic embrace the High Ridge government tried to insinuate years earlier. While this is not the dire political crisis it was during the prior government, it still offers numerous personal and professional difficulties for them. Unfortunately, they find themselves trapped between their emotions and their responsibilities. Things get even more complicated when Honor gets pregnant because her contraceptive implant had not been renewed in time.
The solution comes from an unsuspected side: Lady Emily Alexander, Hamish's paralyzed wife, who has supported the relationship for some time, convinces her husband to marry Honor, forming a polygamous marriage as is common on Grayson, Honor's second homeworld. Eventually, Raoul Alexander-Harrington, legitimate son of Honor, Hamish, and Emily Alexander-Harrington is born.
Honor's Eighth Fleet is defeated by Admiral Javier Giscard in the Battle of Solon. Michelle Henke is taken a prisoner of war by Haven, but is returned to Manticore with an invitation to peace talks. Manticore agrees to a temporary cease-fire, but the mysterious Mesan Alignment intervenes, trying to kill a number of Alliance officials, as well as Queen Berry of the newly founded Kingdom of Torch. Convinced that Haven is responsible, a furious Queen Elizabeth III orders Eighth Fleet to resume the fighting, and Honor can soon score a decisive victory in the Battle of Lovat. Admiral Giscard is killed in this engagement, to the great dismay of his lover, Havenite President Eloise Pritchart.
Upon her return to Manticore, Honor learns that Katherine Alexander-Harrington, the biological child of Emily and Hamish, has just been born. She rushes to see her daughter, even dismissing a request for an immediate meeting with the Queen.
When President Pritchart orders two Havenite fleets to attack the Star Kingdom's home system, the Second Havenite-Manticoran War climaxes in the largest space battle in the history of the human race, the Battle of Manticore. Thousands of ships are destroyed, and over two million people lose their lives, including Honor's beloved friend and colleague Alistair McKeon. Yet Manticore prevails, and both sides are left without significant offensive capabilities for the time being.
Continuity[]
The final scene from the spin-off novel The Shadow of Saganami is included in the book, showing the return of HMS Hexapuma and HMS Warlock from the Talbott Cluster, this time from the perspective of Sebastian D'Orville.
References[]
Characters[]
Boniface Abercrombie | Danielle Abrioux | Frazier Adamson | Queen Adrienne | Emily Alexander | Hamish Alexander | William Alexander | Katherine Alexander-Harrington | Raoul Alexander-Harrington | Gammal al-Bakr | Chien-lu Anderman | Huang Anderman | William Anders | Aldona Anisimovna | Clarissa Arbuckle | Ariel | Adelina Arif | Atchison | Joshua Atkins | Maurice Ayrault | Thomas Bachfisch | Morris Baez | Sally Banacek | Banshee | Oravil Barregos | Isabel Bardasano | Henrietta Barloi | Edouard Bascou | Everette Beach | Heinrich Beauchamp | Camille Begin | Diana Bellefeuille | Jennifer Bellefeuille | Matthew Bellefeuille | Russell Bellefeuille | Harriet Benson-Dessouix | Henri Benson-Dessouix | George Benton | Charles Bibeau | Luke Blackett | Jessup Blaine | Joel Blumenthal | Alenka Borderwijk | Franklin Bradshaw | Winston Bradshaw | Antonio Braga | Amanda Brankovski | Harper Brantley | Baptiste Bressand | Mercedes Brigham | Everard Broughton | Arnold Bruckheimer | Victor Cachat | James Candless | Thomas Caparelli | Rafael Cardones | Lyman Carmichael | Desiree Carmouche | Jeff Carter | Warner Caslet | Simon Chakrabarti | Veronika Chernitskaya | Viktor Chernitsky | Genevieve Chin | Alvin Chorek | Jacques Chou | Keng-ju Chou | Mitchell Clapp | Angela Clinkscales | Austen Clinkscales | Barbara Clinkscales | Bethany Clinkscales | Constance Clinkscales | Carson Clinkscales | Howard Clinkscales | Howard Clinkscales Junior | Jessica Clinkscales | John Clinkscales | Marian Clinkscales | Marjorie Clinkscales | Rebecca Clinkscales | Joseph Cook | Lucian Cortez | Corsini | Raoul Courvosier | Dahlberg | Gunther Daniels | Esmeralda Dante | Stuart Davidson | Ivan deCastro | Travis DeClercq | Molly DeLaney | Matthew DePaul | Elaine Descroix | Albrecht Detweiler | Evelina Detweiler | Leonard Detweiler | Emile Deutscher | Oliver Diamato | Dianchect | Crispus Dillinger | Ellen D'Orville | Sebastian D'Orville | Josette Draskovic | Adam Dryslar | W.E.B. Du Havel | Tabitha DuPuy | Alexis Durand | Harold Duval | Anita Eisenberg | Havard Ellefsen | Queen Elizabeth III | Emiliani | Leonardo Ericsson | Bridget Estwicke | Charise Fanaafi | Farragut | Harper S. Ferry | Fisher | Shannon Foraker | Deborah Fraser | Janet Frazier | Hal Fredericks | Genghis | Georgina | Arnold Giancola | Jason Giancola | Gilmore | Sybil Gilraven | Alessandra Giovanni | Javier Giscard | Patricia Givens | Betty Gohr | Angelo Goldbach | Cynthia Gonsalves | Craig Goodrick | Gottmeyer | Marius Gozzi | Stan Gregory | Jacques Griffith | Stephania Grimm | Yves Grosclaude | Liam Guernicke | Emperor Gustav XI | Claudette Guyard | Madelyn Gwynett | Haldane | Joanne Hall | Bill Halsey | Salvatore Hammerwell | Alicia Hampton | Bradley Hampton | Franklin Hanover | Rachel Hanriot | Emily Harcourt | Horace Harkness | Yolanda Harriman | Alfred Harrington | Allison Chou Harrington | Clarissa Harrington | Faith Harrington | Honor Harrington | James Harrington | Sidney Harris | Thomasina Hartnett | Lyou-yung Hasselberg | Josephus Hastings | Klaus Hauptman | Stacey Hauptman | Nico Havenhurst | Thurston Havlicek | Spencer Hawke | Solomon Hayes | Bryant Hellerstein | Sonja Hemphill | Hendricks | Calvin Henke | Edward Henke | Michelle Henke | Coleman Hennessy | Eric Hertz | Edward Higgins | Hill Hipper | Frances Hirshfield | Gregor Hofschulte | Junyan Hongbo | Celestine Houellebecq | Arakel Hovanian | Hunter | Franz Illescue | Sandra Inchman | Julia Isher | Istvan | Edward Janacek | Michael Janvier | Andrea Jaruwalski | Bertrand Javits | Armand Joubert | Franz Jourdain | James Julian | Francis Jurgensen | Heinrich Kalokainos | Volkhart Kalokainos | Albert Kaminski | Janice Kent | Theophile Kgari | Augustus Khumalo | Henry Kleinman | Martijn Knippschd | Cyrus Kochkarian | Georgia Young | Ludwig Krenckel | Theodosia Kuzak | Renzo Kyprianou | LaCosta | Axel Lacroix | Andrew LaFollet | Jennifer LaFollet | Miranda LaFollet | Jordan Lamar | Anthony Langtry | Hector Lapierre | Lara | Judson Latrell | Giuseppe Lauder | Ekaterina Lazarevna | Denis LePic | Mathilde le Vern | Izrok Levakonic | Victor Lewis | Allen Lorenzetti | Peter Lowell | Justin Loyola | Lucas | James MacGuiness | Ewan MacNaughton | Irving Mandel | Oliver Manfredi | Allen Mannock | Arnaud Marquette | Astrid Martinsen | Wesley Matthews | Georgina Mathieson | Estelle Matsuko | Hirotaka Matsuzawa | Simon Mattingly | Alexandra Mayhew | Arabella Mayhew | Benjamin Mayhew IX | Bernard Mayhew | Elaine Mayhew | Honor Mayhew | Jeanette Mayhew | Katherine Mayhew | Lawrence Mayhew | Michael Mayhew | Rachel Mayhew | Teresa Mayhew | Richard Maxwell | Jefferson McClure | Clifford McGraw | Alan McGwire | Jackson McGwire | Alistair McKeon | McKinsey | Esther McQueen | Timothy Meares | Tajman Meyers | Diego Mikhailov | Samuel Miklós | Erasmus Miller | Tom Milligan | Monroe | Irene Montague | Catherine Montaigne | Leslie Montreau | Kenneth Moore | Mary Lou Moreau | Allen Morowitz | Richenda Morrison | Bin-hwei Morser | Travis Mueller | Samuel Mueller | Jean-Claude Nesbitt | Tony Nesbitt | Willard Neufsteiler | Harriet Neukirch | Mauricio Neukirch | Petra Nielsen | Nimitz | Agnes Nordbrandt | Harold O'Dell | Jerome O'Donnell | Quentin O'Malley | Jessica Orbach | Roslee Orndorff | Frederick Ormskirk | Valery Ottweiler | Michael Oversteegen | Evelyn Padgorny | Thandi Palane | Amos Parnell | Jayne Pattison | Ragnhild Pavletic | Gregory Paxton | Lindsey Phillips | Susan Phillips | Robert Pierre | Joona Poykkonen | Eloise Pritchart | Sebastiana Ramirez y Moyano | Tomas Ramirez | Myron Randall | Cordelia Ransom | Hwa-zhyou Reinke | Patrick Reumann | George Reynolds | King Roger III | Jack Rothschild | Nicodème Sabourin | Edward Saganami | Oscar Saint-Just | Samantha | Walter Sanderson | Jerome Sandusky | Mark Sarnow | Janice Scarlotti | Morton Schneider | Margaret Sebastian | Hen-zhi Seifert | Raphael Semmes | Hildegard Sewall | James Sharif | Constanza Sheffield | Lavarenti Shelburne | Chester Shelton | Ellen Shemais | Sherwell | Sigorney | Janos Simon | Jean Simon | Alekan Slowacki | Alice Smirnoff | Gena Smith | Gerald Smithson | Henry Snyder | Andrianna Spiropoulo | Heinrich Stabolis | John Stackpole | Janine Stanfield | Jethro Stanton | Sandra Staunton | Astrid Steen | Steigert | Stew | Stiller | Stilson | Tobias Stimson | Ellen Stokely | Allen Stokes | Sturgis | Sullivan | Jeremiah Sullivan | Roderick Tallman | Paul Tankersley | Serena Taverner | Jasper Taylor | Teischer | Robert Telmachi | Jeremiah Tennard | Aivars Terekhov | Alvin Thackeray | Selma Thackery | Barnaby Thackston | Thomas Theisman | Sheila Thiessen | Melinda Thomas | Glenn Thompson | Susan Thorn | Sandra Thurston | Jane Timmons | Aleksandra Tonkovic | Andreas Torricelli | Anton Toscarelli | Lester Tourville | Wilhelm Trajan | Wentworth Trask | Prescott Tremaine | Linda Trenis | Alice Truman | George Tucker | Angelina Turner | Roberto Tyler | William Tyler | George Ullman | Kevin Usher | Virginia Usher | Bernardus Van Dort | Judson Van Hale | Bertram VanGuyles | Elfrieda VanGuyles | Lorcan Verrochio | Syou-tung Waldberg | Diego Watson | Linda Watson | James Webster | Jerome Weissmuller | Fred West | Stephen Westman | Sherwin Willoughby | Wilson | Ruth Winton | Caitrin Winton-Henke | Sigismund Witcinski | Robert Whitman | Tswei-yun Wollenhaupt | Womack | Jeremy X | Saburo X | Hugh Yanakov | Judah Yanakov | Letitia Yanakov | Leslie Yestremensky | Alfredo Yu | Anton Zilwicki | Queen Berry I Zilwicki | Robert Zucker | Justin Zyrr-Winton
Starships[]
Civilian[]
Copenhagen | Haven One | Jason | Marianne | Paul Tankersley
[]
HMLAC Dacoit | HMLAC Ice Pick | HMS Achilles | HMS Agamemnon | HMS Ajax | HMS Ambuscade | HMS Amun | HMS Andromeda| HMS Anhur | HMS Atum| HMS Bastet | HMS Bellona | HMS Blackstone | HMS Buckler | HMS Chimera | HMS Clotho | HMS Ellen D'Orville | HMS Edward Saganami | HMS Elizabeth I | HMS Fearless | HMS Fury | HMS Gauntlet | HMS Greyhound | HMS Hancock Station | HMS Harpy | HMS Hector | HMS Hexapuma | HMS Imperator | HMS Incomparable | HMS Intolerant | HMS Intransigent | HMS Intruder | HMS Invictus | HMS King Roger III | HMS Patrocles | HMS Priam | HMS Prince Stephen | HMS Mandrake | HMS Marduk | HMS Marigold | HMS Mermaid | HMS Necromancer | HMS Nike | HMS Quentin Saint-James | HMS Regulus | HMS Revenge | HMS Rifleman | HMS Samurai | HMS Second Yeltsin | HMS Skirmisher | HMS Sprite | HMS Star Ranger | HMS Succubus | HMS Tisiphone | HMS Triumph | HMS Truscott Adams | HMS Unconquered | HMS Unicorn | HMS Valkyrie | HMS Venturer | HMS Warlock | HMS Warrior | HMS Werewolf | HMS Whippet
[]
PNS Tepes | RHNS Bayard | RHNS Canonnade | RHNS Conquete | RHNS Count Maresuke Nogi | RHNS Cyrus | RHNS Douglas MacArthur | RHNS Guerriere | RHNS Lancelot | RHNS Peregrine | RHNS Phantom | RHNS Racer | RHNS Skylark | RHNS Sovereign of Space | RHNS Specter | RHNS Victorieux | RHNS William T. Sherman | RHNS Wolverine
[]
Stations[]
Planets[]
Arthur | Beowulf | Earth | Enki | Forge | Grayson | Gryphon | Haven | Manticore | Masada | Mesa | New Potsdam | Rochelle | Shadrach | Sphinx | Torch | Vespasien
Nations[]
- Andermani Empire
- Caliphate of Zanzibar
- Kingdom of Torch
- Midgard Federation
- Princedom of Alizon
- Protectorate of Grayson
- Republic of Erewhon
- Republic of Haven
- Republic of Monica
- Silesian Confederacy
- Solarian League
- Star Kingdom of Manticore
Other[]
Aamodt Corporation | Adler-class | Admiralty House | Agamemnon-class | Alizon Space Navy | Alizon System | Anti-Slavery League | Apollo | Archbishop of Manticore | Arsenault Gorge | Attorney General Aviary-class | Audubon Ballroom | Augusta System | Barony of Grantville | Barony of High Ridge | Barony of Mourncreek | Battle of Augusta | Battle of Chantilly | Battle of Gaston | Battle of Grendelsbane | Battle of Hancock | Battle of Hera | Battle of Lorn | Battle of Lovat | Battle of Marsh | Battle of Monica | Battle of Tambourin | Battle of Tiberian | Battle of Solon | Battles of Squalus and Hallman | Bassingford Medical Center | Bay House | Blanchard Mountains | Blücher-class | Bolthole | Borough of High Threadmore | Briarwood Reproduction Center | Broughton and Stemwinder | Bureau of Planning (RHN) | Bureau of Ships | Bureau of Weapons (RMN) | Caliph of Zanzibar | Capital Field | Chancellor of the Exchequer | Chantilly System | Cherwell Convention | Chief of Naval Operations (Haven) | Church of Humanity Unchained | Cimeterre-class | Clinkscales Clan | Committee of Public Safety | Conclave of Steadholders | Congo Wormhole Junction | Congo System | Conservative Association | Constitution (Haven) | Contraceptive implant | Criminal Investigation Division | Cromarty assassination | Cromarty government | crown blossom | Crown Commission on Treecats | Cutworm Operations | David and the Phoenix | Death and state funeral of Howard Clinkscales | Des Moines System | Doctrine of the Test | Donkey | Earldom of Fairburn | Earldom of Gold Peak | Earldom of North Hollow | Earldom of the Tor | Earldom of White Haven | Earth's Final War | Edward Saganami-class | Edward Saganami-C-class | Eighth Fleet (Manticore) | Erewhon Navy | Federal Investigative Agency | Fifth Fleet (Haven) | First Lord of the Admiralty | First Space Lord | Fordyce System | Foreign Intelligence Service | Foreign Secretary | Freedom Alliance of Kornati | Garden of Memory | Gaston System | Graf von Grau | Graf von Kreuzberg | Graf von Sternhafen | Grantville government | Grayson Space Navy | Hallman System | Hancock Station | Harrington Clan | Harrington Garden | Harrington House | Hauptman Cartel | Haven System | Hera System | Hermes Buoy | Herzog von Rabenstrange | High Ridge government | Hofschulte Incident | Home Fleet (Manticore) | Invictus-class | Jason Bay | Jessyk Combine | Johns Hopkins, Beowulf | Jouett System | Junction Defense Command | Katana-class | Keyhole | King Michael's Cathedral | King Michael's Tower | Landing City Police Department | Landing Herald United Faxes | Landing Tattler | Legislaturalist | Lorn System | Lovat System | Manpower Incorporated | Manpower Incident | Manticoran Articles of War | Manticore Wormhole Junction | Manticore System | Monarch's Own Regiment | Monican Navy | Monica System | Montana System | Moriarty | Mount Royal Palace | Medusa-class | Medusa-B-class | Mendel Ocean | Mesa System | Mistletoe | New Age Pharmaceutical | Nike-class | North Hollow files | Office of Frontier Security | Office of Naval Intelligence (RHN) | Office of Naval Intelligence (RMN) | Office of Operational Research | Office of State Security | Operation Beatrice | Operation Buttercup | Operation Gobi | Operation Icarus | Operation Rat Poison | Operation Sanskrit | Operation Sanskrit II | Operation Thunderbolt | Palace Security | Paul Revere | Phoenix | Presidential Security Detachment | Prime Minister of the Star Kingdom of Manticore | Protector's Box | Protector's Cathedral | Protector's Cathedral Choir | Protector's Own | Queen's Bench | Raid on Alizon | Raid on Des Moines | Raid on Fordyce | Raid on Zanzibar | rainbow bug | Raoul Courvosier II-class | raven | Republic of Haven Navy | Royal Manticoran Astro-Control Service | Royal Manticoran Navy | Sandfrog | Scrags | Second Battle of Zanzibar | Second Fleet (Haven) | Second Reformation Roman Catholic Church | Secretary of Commerce | Secretary of State | Secretary of Technology | Secretary of the Interior | Secretary of the Treasury | Secretary of Urban Affairs | Secretary of War | Silesia Station | Silesian Confederate Navy | Society for Creative Anachronism | Solon System | Special Intelligence Service | Split System | Standing Committee | Star Knight-class | Steadholder Denevski-class | Strategy Board | Strategy Committee | Stranger's Aisle | Suarez System | Talbott Cluster | Talbott Constitutional Convention | Tarantula | Task Force Thirty-Four | Technodyne Industries | Temeraire-class | Third Fleet (Manticore) | Third Stellar Missionary Communion (Reformed) | Thorson | Trevor's Star System | Trojan-class | tubing | Warlord-class | Weapons Development Board | White Command Beret | Zanzibar System | Zanzibar System Navy
External links[]
- At All Costs on Wikipedia
Honorverse Non-Fiction | |||
---|---|---|---|
Book Companions | Ad Astra Companions | ||
HOS | House of Steel Companion | SOTF | Ships of the Fleet Calendars |
HOSH | House of Shadows Companion | SITS | Saganami Island Tactical Simulator |
HOL | House of Lies Companion | ||
Jayne's Intelligence Review | Jayne's Fighting Ships of the Galaxy | ||
JIR1 | The Royal Manticoran Navy | SB1 | Ship Book 1: The Havenite Sector |
JIR2 | The Havenite Republican Navy | SB2 | Ship Book 2: The Silesian Confederacy |
JIR3 | The Silesian Confederate Navy | SB3 | Ship Book 3: The Short Victorious War |