The Honor of the Queen

The Honor of the Queen is the second book of David Weber's series of novels and short stories chronicling the adventures of Honor Harrington. It was first published in late 1993.
Timeframe: 1903 PD
==Cover Summary==
: Right Woman, Wrong Place
: It's hard to give peace a chance when the other side regards war as the necessary prelude to conquest, and a sneak attack as the best means to that end. That's why the Kingdom of Manticore needs allies against the so-called "Republic" of Haven-and the planet Grayson is just the right strategic place to make a very good ally indeed. But Her Majesty's Foreign Office had overlooked a "minor cultural difference" when they chose Honor Harrington to carry the flag: women on the planet Grayson are without rank or rights: Honor's presence is an intolerable affront to every male on the planet.
: At first Honor doesn't take it personally; where she comes from gender discrimination is barely a historical memory, right up there in significance with fear of the left-handed. But in time such treatment she receives from the Graysonites does become wearing, and Honor would withdraw if she could - but Grayson's fratricidal sister planet attacks without warning and she must stay and prevail, not just for Honor's honor, but for her sovereign's, for The Honor of the Queen.
== Plot ==
Three years after the First Battle of Basilisk, Captain Honor Harrington returns to the Star Kingdom of Manticore after a long anti-piracy patrol in the Silesian Confederacy. While her ship, the heavy cruiser HMS Fearless, goes through its first major refit, new orders arrive: Honor is to lead a small Manticoran squadron supporting a diplomatic mission to Grayson, a planet originally settled by a religious group called the Church of Humanity Unchained. The diplomatic mission is to be led by Admiral Raoul Courvosier, Honor's mentor and personal friend. With the long-awaited war with Haven looming close, Manticore is working to form an alliance with many smaller star nations. Grayson is critical to this effort, as it would close a flank of advance for a possible Havenite invasion fleet. Adding to the pressure, Haven is negotiating its own alliance with Masada, Grayson's historical rival.
The Manticoran ships arrive in the Yeltsin's Star System, where Grayson is located, and are greeted by the small Grayson Space Navy. However, the welcome is soured by sexism in the conservative Graysons, for whom the notion of a woman in uniform is intolerable. After the Graysons and the Manticorans rub each other the wrong way despite the best of intentions, Honor leaves the system to escort a convoy of freighters, even though Admiral Courvosier tries to convince her not to do so.
After Honor leaves with three of the four Manticoran warships, Courvosier meets with High Admiral Bernard Yanakov, the commander of the GSN, and the officers begin to work their way through their cultural differences. Courvosier gets an explanation for the Grayson rivalry with Masada: Long ago, an extremist faction called the "Faithful" left Grayson after a civil war and settled on Masada. For centuries, the two worlds threatened each other with nuclear weapons, with Masada vowing to reclaim Grayson from the hands of the "Apostate". If Grayson is considered to be religiously conservative, Masada is nothing short of a fundamentalist theocracy.
Everything is cut short when a Masadan fleet arrives at Yeltsin's Star and begins attacking space stations throughout the system. Admiral Courvosier accepts Yanakov's offer to join his fleet in chasing the Masadans. However, Masada's fleet (already numerically superior) has two powerful warships "bought" from the People's Republic of Haven, and they make quick work of Grayson's outdated fleet and the Manticoran destroyer HMS Madrigal. Both Courvosier and Yanakov die during the First Battle of Yeltsin's Star.
Honor's ships return to Grayson and are attacked by Masadan light attack craft, which merely damage one of her ships. After entering Grayson's orbit, they are appraised of the critical situation following the battle and the death of Admiral Courvosier. Honor strong-arms the Grayson government to allow her to take a leading role in the defense of the planet. Their attitude against women in uniform is shattered in most Graysons when Honor saves the Grayson monarch, Protector Benjamin IX, and his family from an assassination attempt by traitors loyal to Masada.
Coercing and perhaps torturing information from the surviving traitors, the Graysons and Manticorans discover that Masada has built an advanced base on Blackbird, a moon of the Grayson gas giant Uriel. Leading her ships and the remnants of the GSN fleet, Honor battles and devastates a group of Masadan warships, including a Havenite destroyer masquerading as a Masadan ship. A captured Havenite officer, Thomas Theisman, tells Honor that there are survivors from Madrigal at the Blackbird Base, and that the Masadans are torturing and raping them. An assault by Manticoran Marines follows, and Blackbird Base is captured. The Manticoran survivors are found, and Honor nearly shoots the Masadan commander after finding out the brutal treatment inflicted upon the Manticorans.
On Masada, the Havenite "advisors" see that Masada's bid to conquer Grayson is doomed and try to pull out. However, the Masadans find out and seize control of Thunder of God, the Havenite battlecruiser they "bought". Armed with this ship, far more powerful than any of Honor's, the Masadan fanatics launch their final attack on Grayson.
With little choice, Honor dispatches the light cruiser HMS Apollo to Manticore for reinforcements and prepares her last two ships, Fearless and Troubadour, to fight the Masadans. The Manticorans' superior tactical skills allow them to inflict damage on Thunder of God, but their enemies' firepower seriously damages Fearless and destroys Troubadour. Manticoran reinforcements enter the system, confusing the Masadan captain and allowing Honor to destroy the enemy ship before it can reach Grayson.
With Grayson secured, a  Manticorian fleet attacks Masada and occupies the planet, finding the Havenite survivors, most of which defect to the Star Kingdom. Honor recovers from the wounds sustained during the many battles and the attack on the Mayhew family. Protector Benjamin decorates her with the Star of Grayson and appoints her as Steadholder of the newly created Harrington Steading, giving her more political power than any woman has ever had in Grayson history. This is also supposed to speed up Benjamin's planned social reforms. In order to correspond with her new status among their Grayson allies, the Manticoran government creates Honor Harrington a Countess and a Knight of the Order of King Roger.
==References==
===Characters===
Adams | 
Hamish Alexander | 
Allgood | 
Jason Alvarez | 
Amberson | 
Gustav Anderman | Jason Andrews | Androunaskis | Anthony | Antrim | Ash | Iris Babcock | Barbara Bancroft | Banner | Mark Brentworth | Walt Brentworth | Mercedes Brigham | Calgary | Rafael Cardones | Carstairs | Clausewitz | Howard Clinkscales | Raoul Courvosier | Cummings | Lucy Danvers | Isaiah Danville | Samuel DeGeorge | Stephen DuMorne | Edwards | Early | Evans | Fox | Ernst Franks | Leon Garret | Granger | Austin Grayson | Wendy Gwynn | Charles Hackamore | Hammerwell | Julius Hanks | Horace Harkness | Hara | Alfred Harrington | Allison Harrington | Honor Harrington | Harris (Grayson) | Harris (Masada) | Harris (Manticore) | Harry | Hart | Mason Haskins | Sonja Hemphill | Henry | Susan Hibson | James Higgins | Hill | Allen Hillyard | Reginald Houseman | Howard | Huggins | Hughes | Byron Hunter | Mai-ling Jackson | Jancowitz | Jesus | Joan of Arc | Killian | Jacob Lacy | Lady of the Lake | Anthony Langtry | Liggit | Lindemann | Long | James MacGuiness | Macomb | George Manning | Marks | Leonard Masterman | Wesley Matthews | Mayhew | Benjamin Mayhew IX | Elaine Mayhew | Jared Mayhew | Katherine Mayhew | Michael Mayhew | Oliver Mayhew | McFee | Alistair McKeon | Joyce Metzinger | Michaels | Montgomery | Fritz Montoya | Nesbit | Nimitz | O'Donnal | Matthew Perry | Oliver Perry | Phillips | Prestwick | Ellen Prevost | Tomas Ramirez | Rommel | Ronald Sands | Matthew Simonds | Thomas Simonds | Tobias Simonds | Maxwell Stromboli | Sun Tzu | Talon | Tanakov | Lao Than | Thayer | Thomas Theisman | Timmons | Tompkins | Towers | Prescott Tremaine | Trotter | Alice Truman | James Valentine | Andreas Venizelos | Vlad the Impaler | Warden | Waters | James Webster | Wellington | Williams | Queen Elizabeth III | Wisner | Carolyn Wolcott | Workman | Anna Yanakov | Bernard Yanakov | Esther Yanakov | Hugh Yanakov | Rachel Yanakov | Young | Janice Yountz | Alfredo Yu
===Starships===
GNS Ararat | GNS Austin Grayson | GNS Covington | GNS David | GNS Glory | GNS Judah | GNS Saul | HMS Apollo | HMS Fearless (CL-56) | HMS Fearless (CA-286) | HMS Madrigal | RMMS Mandrake | HMS Reliant | HMS Troubadour | MNS Abraham | MNS Angel | MNS Archangel | MNS Bancroft | MNS Cherubim | MNS David | MNS Dominion | MNS Noah | MNS Power | MNS Samson | MNS Seraphim | MNS Solomon | MNS Throne | MNS Virtue | MNS Principality | MNS Thunder of God | PNS Bastogne | PNS Sultan
===Stations===
* Base Three
* HMSS Hephaestus
* HMSS Vulcan
* Orbital Four
* Orbital Five
* Orbital Six
* Orbital Seven
===Planets===
* Basilisk
* Earth
* Grayson
* Gryphon
* Jupiter
* Manticore
* Masada
* New Berlin
* Nouveau Dijon
* San Martin
* Sphinx
* Uriel
===Nations===
* Anderman Empire
* Protectorate of Grayson
* Masada
* People's Republic of Haven
* Silesian Confederacy
* Star Kingdom of Manticore
===Other===
Biology
bean | bird | celery | corn | dinosaur | dolphin | ferret | mastiff | Neanderthal | potato | rabbit | Treecat
Earth
Battle of Lake Champlain | Bogota | Earth-Firsters | Earth's Western Hemisphere | English | Final Age of Western Imperialism | Harvard University | Idaho | Japan | Kingdom of England | Battle of Lake Champlain | Battle of Lake Erie | Napoleonic Era | Oriental | Pahlavi | Romanov | United States
Grayson
Blackbird | Chamber | Chancellor | Church of Humanity Unchained | Council of Elders (Grayson) | Grayson Command Central | Grayson Ministers | Grayson Space Navy | Grayson Traffic Control | Grayson Yard | Leader of the Church of Humanity Unchained | Protector | Protectorate Security Detachment | Office of Shipbuilding | Star of Grayson | Steadholder Mayhew | The Brotherhood of Maccabeus | Yeltsin's Star System
People's Republic of Haven
Basic Living Stipend | Dolist | Dolist Managers | Legislaturist | Mental Hygiene Police | Office of Naval Intelligence (RHN) | Operation Jericho | Republic of Haven Naval Academy | Special Operations
Star Kingdom of Manticore
Advanced Tactical Course | Bureau of Ships | Bureau of Weapons (RMN) | Cromarty government | Duchy of Cromarty | Earldom of White Haven | First Space Lord | Foreign Office | Harrington Clan | Home Fleet (Manticore) | Jane's | Jason Bay | Mannheim University | Manticoran Ministers | Manticore Cross | Manticore Liberal Party | Manticore Progressive Party | Manticore Wormhole Junction | Monarch's Thanks Medal | New Toscana | Prime Minister | Order of Gallantry | Parliament | Royal Manticoran Navy | Royal Manticoran Naval Academy | The Royal Encyclopedia | Third Space Lord
Technology
Cryogenics | holo tank | inertial compensator | orbital farm | Recon Drone | skimmer turbine | vacuum suit | Warshawski sail
Other
Anderman University | Army of Masada | Battle of Blackbird | Bible | brandy | Casca System | Chief Elder | cocoa | coffee | Cosmo's | Council of Elders | Country and Western | Coup de vitesse | Endicott System | First Battle of Basilisk | First Battle of Yeltsin's Star | First Grayson-Masadan War | Frisbee | Grayson Civil War | Grayson-Manticoran Combined Fleet | Greens | Gross system product | Gunther Yard | Hancock System | Invasion of San Martin | Judo | Maccabeus Campaign | Marine Corps of Masada | Morse Code | Navy of Masada | Neo-Luddites | On War | peach cobbler | Royal Manticoran Navy | Savate | Seaford System | Ship's gym | Social Dysfunction Indicators | Sol System | Sternenkrieg | T'ai Chi | Tenets of War | Time of the Five Keys | Trevor's Star System
== External links ==
* The Honor of the Queen in the Baen Free Library
Category:Honorverse material