This is the second in Weber’s extended “Honorverse” series; being solely
authored by Weber himself, it follows the pattern set by his previous
few solo outings, to wit: a {ship, squadron, …} of the
Manticoran Space Navy is sent to a {system, cluster, star-nation, …} to
deal with some {mystery, crisis, situation, …}. The main plot follows
the {ship, squadron, …} as they go about their business, one facet of
which is usually to determine just what’s going on. Meanwhile, we
witness lots of meetings between other players on both sides where Weber
explains to us just what’s going on, so we know what kind of trials our
gallant sailors will encounter. The volume naturally ends with some kind
of naval engagement in which our heroes come out on top, bloody but
unbowed.

That said, I enjoyed The Shadow of Saganami rather more than
the most recent Honor Harrington novel, though (as it lacked Eric
Flint’s, um…, colorful imagination) not so much as
Crown of Slaves.

Chronologically, The Shadow of Saganami is the latest view
of the greater series, following shortly after
Crown of Slaves. HMS Hexapuma, a new Saganami-class
heavy cruiser, is sent to the Talbott Cluster, a vast expense of
poor-to-destitute planets at the terminus of the most recently discovered
member of Manticore’s wormhole junction. The cluster as a whole has
requested annexation by the Star-Kingdom of Manticore, and the details
are currently being hammered out; Hexapuma has been sent to show
the flag and to patrol what may soon be Manticoran territory.

The Talbott Cluster is on the far side of the Solarian League from
Manticore, in a region where Manticoran ships would never go if it
weren’t for the new wormhole. And there are a number of folks who aren’t
happy about the possibility of increased Manticoran presence, notably
the Solarian League’s Office of Frontier Security (which enslaves entire
planets under the guise of protecting them) and genetic slaver’s Manpower
United.

As with Crown of Slaves, The Shadow of Saganami
looks like old home week. Helen Zilwicki, daughter of Anton Zilwicki and
sister of Berry, is on board Hexapuma on her middie cruise. Also
present are a couple of Engineering officers from
Honor Among Enemies, and the provisional governor of the
Talbott Cluster is Estelle Matsuko, whom we first met
On Basilisk Station.

All in all, I liked the book; but Weber needs to stifle a few of the
talking heads and give us a little more action. A few less words would
be nice, too.