At All Costs

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At All Costs
Honor Harrington Books

Author	David Weber
Genre	Military Science Fiction
Publisher	Baen Books
Release date	2005
ISBN 1-4165-0911-9

At All Costs is David Weber's eleventh Honor Harrington novel.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Due to the actions of the High Ridge government in War of Honor, which led to a successful attack on key 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 Manticorian Alliance's primary offensive force, which is the sole heavy formation available for operations against Haven. Queen Elizabeth and her senior advisors project it will be at least two "T-years" (Earth years) before they can expect any significant numbers of new construction to begin bolstering their thin wall of battle; this while Haven's progress under Admirals Theisman and Foraker have given them an even larger force advantage, and smaller technological disparity, than Haven suffered before the beginning of hostilities in Short Victorious War.

Strategically, the goal of Honor and Eighth Fleet is to instill enough operational caution and sensitivity to losses in 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; to itself and the Alliance. At All Costs climaxes with what is inarguably the largest and most critical battle of the entire series, and the results of that fateful battle will finally settle the balance between Manticore and Haven.

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 during War of Honor. While this is not the dire political crisis it was during the prior Star Kingdom government, it still offers numerous personal and professional difficulties for them. Unfortunately, they find themselves trapped between their emotions and their responsibilities to each other, to the loved ones in their lives, and to the Star Kingdom and the Alliance.

Most of the action takes place simultaneously with the events of The Shadow of Saganami. The Honorverse has reached a very mature stage by the writing of Shadow of Saganami and At All Costs. In addition to Manticore, Haven, and Grayson, front stage players (even those lurking in the wings of the stage) now include the Andermani having entered the Manticorian Alliance, the genetic slavers of Mesa secretly striving to keep Manticore and Haven shooting at each other as long as possible, non-self absorbed elements of the Solarian League continuing the inexorable and glacier creep of League influence, and the inhabitants of the Talbot Cluster clamoring for membership in the Star Kingdom resulting from the new Manticore Junction terminus in their region of space.

The book was released in hardcover in 2005 (with a CD-ROM containing free copies of other works written by Weber). Advanced Reader Copies were made available for sale at baen.com some months previously, with a sizable portion of the book being 'snippetted' on Baen's Bar for free.

[edit] Trivia

In conference, Admiral Thomas Caparelli tells Honor that Hamish has compared her Favorably to the Old-earth "wet-navy" Admirals Raphael Semmes and Bill Halsey. Hamish said Honor had "marginally better tactical sense that Semmes and better Strategic sense than Halsey." Semmes is rememberd for his strategy and Halsey for his tactics, and Honor knows this.