What's next for the Honorverse

Dauntless wrote:i've always believed that the griping about the Harrington's being a lost Star line was simply a way to try and "lessen" the anger.

Getting kicked by a "lost" line was somewhat less galling then losing to a "non improved" bloodline.

in other words they were lying to themselves to make them feel better about getting their asses kicked. of course that excuse only worked for honor and did nothing about all their setbacks when they lost to any other manty, like gold peak, terekov or zilwicki.

George J. Smith wrote:

tlb wrote:The basic Meyerdahl modifications may predate the Final War, but there is nothing to prevent Mesan scientists from giving it their own little twist. The question about whether the changes would be noticeable is a good one, RFC might answer if there is a follow up short story. A counter question is why would the scientists talk about a line that got away, if there was no modification? If the talk is just hot air, then I would prefer that it not appear in the book.

could be one of rfc's (in)famous red herrings

cthia wrote:

tlb wrote:Personally I found that disappointing: it would have been a good thing to have the Mesan Alignment lose an important part of their centuries long plan to a person outside of their scope and it is a lesser thing for that person to be one of their "star" lines. That means the original point of their plan wins anyway, because the genetic improvements that they wanted have still come out on top. The only reason that I can see for RFC to have written that in is that it will be a plot point in some future story.

I concur with the disappointment factor. It has always warmed the cockles of my heart that the Alignment were being undone by someone who isn't one of them. It is a big letdown that Honor is actually a chip off the old block of misaligned genetic tampering. It's as if that fact goes to prove the validity of all of the Alignment's claims. At first light, I asked myself if the author was insane to pen that and what the hell is he thinking, but then I have to wonder what the hell is he thinking. Which implies that he may have yet another curve ball to straighten out that curve. Trust the driver if he has already demonstrated he didn't forge his license.

tlb wrote:Personally I found that disappointing: it would have been a good thing to have the Mesan Alignment lose an important part of their centuries long plan to a person outside of their scope and it is a lesser thing for that person to be one of their "star" lines. That means the original point of their plan wins anyway, because the genetic improvements that they wanted have still come out on top. The only reason that I can see for RFC to have written that in is that it will be a plot point in some future story.

cthia wrote:I concur with the disappointment factor. It has always warmed the cockles of my heart that the Alignment were being undone by someone who isn't one of them. It is a big letdown that Honor is actually a chip off the old block of misaligned genetic tampering. It's as if that fact goes to prove the validity of all of the Alignment's claims. At first light, I asked myself if the author was insane to pen that and what the hell is he thinking, but then I have to wonder what the hell is he thinking. Which implies that he may have yet another curve ball to straighten out that curve. Trust the driver if he has already demonstrated he didn't forge his license.

Peregrinator wrote:I don't know, I almost always find a villain's getting hoisted with his own petard to be satisfying.

The Thanatos Gambit is what happens when a character deliberately manipulates the circumstances of their death to their own profit. It could be to ensure that they get as comfy (or stylish) an exit as possible, but most often, it's used to deliver one last "Screw you" to their arch-nemesis.