On Basilisk Station by David Weber is the first book in the Honor Harrington series. Weber chose the name to have the initials H.H. for the main character knowing that his series would be compared to C.S. Forester’s Hornblower series.
Honor Harrington, a commander in the Royal Manticoran Navy, has taken command of the light cruiser Fearless, and after a series of war games, is assigned to Basilisk Station and its single habitable world, Medusa, where intrigue is going on, as well as rampant smuggling. Harrington sets about cleaning up the system and putting a stop to the smuggling only to find herself facing political intrigue and a native insurrection on Medusa.
Like so many of the military SF with a naval focus, the RMN is reminiscent of the British Navy during the Napoleonic War era. There is also a distinct aristocracy. What Weber does in this first book is how the Star Kingdom of Manticore developed into an old Europe style monarchy and nobility in a manner that seems plausible. From a story point of view, it actually made sense how it developed.
We also learn a bit about the Republic of Haven, which sounds more like a metaphor for a Stalinist state than a free republic, but they are the main antagonists in this first book, even manipulating some Manticorans behind the seasons with their own political agenda.
Weber also introduces Treecats, a species of feline native to one of Manticore’s habitable planets, Sphinx. They seem to be somewhat empathic and have a fairly high intelligence, but the humans have not quite figured out exactly how sentient they are. Treecats sometimes bond with humans, and accommodation in the RMN has been made for its personnel who are bonded to Treecats.
Overall a darn good read, which I enjoyed immensely from start to finish. And yes, I expect to read the next book in the series soonish.
