We’ve already put out toes in the water of the Wages of Sin series (more commonly known as
the Crown of Slaves series), and we’ll return to it soon enough. In this episode we discuss the
first book in the Saganami Island series, entitled “The Shadow of Saganami”.
Events in this novel overlap with and compliment to some extent events we read about in
“Service of the Sword”, “War of Honor” and “Crown of Slaves”. Don’t worry though, there is zero
redundancy. What David Weber is doing is definitely giving us more depth and breadth than
what we already had. Your hosts all felt this could have been two novels on some level. That
said, breaking it into two would have damaged what Mr. Weber does for us by keeping the
multiple storylines within a single book. For that, we’re thankful for this lengthy and satisfying
book!
With the resumption of hostilities between the Star Kingdom and Haven the story shifts to the
relatively new Lynx Terminus of the Manticoran Wormhole Junction, located in the economically
poor Talbott Cluster. Manticore has offered the benefits of annexation to the systems in the
Talbott Cluster, which would benefit all parties involved. It would not necessarily benefit Haven
or other players on the Honorverse stage. It certainly causes issues and concerns for Mesa and
perhaps to others, and this novel captures the story of the resultant honorable (and less than
honorable) maneuvering within the Cluster. As we’ve used the “DIME” construct to analyze the
story as it’s unfolded in the previous novels, that continues here, but now we see a very clear
shift from a focus on the military instrument of power (the “M”) to a much heavier emphasis on
diplomacy and economics (the “D” and “E”). For those of you who have been on this adventure
for a while, you’ll remember we’ve anticipated this happening.
The book is aptly named. We experience a part of the battle Edward Saganami is known for
and in which he was killed, and we see why he’s regarded as highly as he is within the Royal
Manticoran Navy. We get to hear Honor’s words to a graduating class at the Academy at
Saganami Island, and then we roll into political intrigue, diplomatic (and less than diplomatic)
posturing and maneuvering, piracy, terrorism, and even a large and very significant naval battle.
The naval operations and ultimately combat requires the RMN officers, women and men
assigned to the ships involved to make comparably difficult decisions to those made by Edward
Saganami. They’re inspired by what they know of him, strive to honor his legacy, and ultimately
live in the shadow of this great man. It seems this book has something for everyone!
We rated “The Shadow of Saganami” with a 5, a 5 and another 5 (out of 5), for an overall rating
of a perfect 5 from your hosts.
As always, we truly appreciate the support everyone who takes the time to wander through the
Honorverse with us. Special thanks for those of you who like and/or comment on our posts, and
even reach out and send us a note.
Next, we’re going to return to the “main story line” with our discussion of “At All Costs”. Grab
your copy, invite a friend, and join us again next time!
You can find us, and all our episodes at http://honorverse.net, and email us at
honorverse@tpenetwork.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Now, let’s be about it!