This book marks the third book in the Honor Harrington series.
This book takes place about a year after The Honor of the Queen and discusses the wounds Honor took in the previous book.
The leaders of her navy have decided to reward her service with the most sought after battlecruiser command in the fleet as a token of their confidence in her.
Not only that, but she is also being assigned as a flag captain to an admiral which entails a lot of administrative work and a much broader command sphere than she has had before.
More responsibilities bring more challenges that she faces both professionally and socially.
There is not a lot of real action in this book, but the story is propelled nicely along.
There are not many recurring characters from the previous novels, but some new ones are introduced who prove pivotal in later books.
The major contribution to the overall plot of the series, from this book, is the beginning of the war between Haven and Manticore.
From the beginning we see Haven preparing to finally fire the first shot in the war that spans the rest of the series.
We also see the beginnings of a major power shift in Haven which will have far reaching repercussions.
Overall I like this book because it's a Honor Harrington book, but I do not think its up to par for the rest of the series.
It may be one of my least favorite of the series, but mandatory for the rest to make sense.
I give it an 8 on the d10 of It's Geektime ratings.