As I was reading the novels I was continually impressed by how much effort the author spent ensuring internal consistency. I’m sure that is not easy given how long the series is. There is however one issue which stuck in my craw as a reader, and that is the treatment of Haven in recent books. Part of it has to do with the fact that we spend so much time over so many novels building up psychological enmity towards Haven that its abrupt change from enemy to friend left me a bit off-balance. However another part, I think, has to do with the fact that there are some serious questions about how that all came about.
Haven’s Economic Miracle
We are told through the early novels that Haven had an intractable problem with the institutionalized laziness of the Dolists: masses of people who have grown to expect and demand pay though they do nothing. In fact it was the economic pressure of the Dolist class which forced Haven to begin swallowing up its neighbors (which ironically only created more Dolists).
Given this, how are we to believe that that fundamental flaw in Haven’s economy is not still at work? Should not Haven’s economy still be quite fragile? I realize that Rob Pierre began some modest economic reforms and presumably Pritchart has gone even further in that direction, but we are talking about repairing a systemically flawed system that has been in place for decades (centuries?). This is exacerbated by the fact that Haven has prolog.
Let me explain by way of example. We all know how slow and painful the transition was in the US in its treatment of black people. It was a very long journey from the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to the Civil rights act of 1964 and even today we are still living with the scars of history. Part of that change, to put it bluntly, was due to the older generations dying off and the younger generations being more open to change. Imagine if the US had prolog and people who grew up owning slaves were still alive today. How much longer would it have taken to change attitudes and laws given that environment?
The same holds true for Haven. They have billions and billions of Dolists who have gotten accustomed to not working. Many have never worked at all. Changing the attitudes and habits of that many people is going to take time. Certainly longer, in my opinion, than the, what, 5 years? 10? since the reforms began. This means that Haven’s economy should still be weak, and the underlying pressures which forced it into conquest should still be simmering, which makes its sudden desire to end hostilities with Manticore somewhat suspect. Even if Pritchart and Theisman are genuinely for peace, surely there must be constituencies in the Congress or other influential places that still look at Manticore (and other systems) with greedy eyes.
We are also told that Haven’s technical inferiority to Manticore has to do with a much inferior educational system. Again this is a problem which will take time, a lot of time, to fix (also exacerbated by prolog). How then were they able to fund the building of Bolthole, staff it with thousands of skilled technicians and, within a period of just a few years (during the cease fire) achieve technical parity with Manticore to the point that they, but for the grace of God and Honor Harrington, came within a hairsbreadth of accepting Elizabeth’s surrender from Manticore’s orbit?
That fact brings up another issue…
Is Haven Really a Friend of Manticore?
As I said before, Haven’s underlying economic fragility (not to mention the years of antipathy between the two nations) should create pockets (probably large ones) of anti-Manticore sentiment in its society, but what is even more troubling to me are Pritchart’s decisions during the High Ridge years.
I am reminded of the old saw “actions speak loader than words.” We read quite often about how “regretful” Haven’s leadership was, but regretful or no, it was they who restarted hostilities and it was they who made a bid for all-out military victory (which nearly succeeded).
Yes High Ridge was a venal, caustic prick. Yes Giancola was manipulating the correspondence to make Manticore seem even more intransigent than it really was. However, by authorizing Thunderbolt, Pritchart signed the death warrant of hundreds of thousands of people, and she had to know that was going to be the outcome beforehand. And for what? To get back the systems they lost in fair combat? Haven lost the first war. How do they get off thinking Manticore owes them anything (except the fair treatment of and eventual return of prisoners of war)? And even if they were frustrated by Manticore’s seeming intransigence, there was no immediate threat to Haven by Manticore, which means that, objectively speaking, the sneak attack oh-so-regretfully authorized by Prichart which resumed hostilities in which thousands died, was prompted essentially by greed.
And then there was Operation Beatrice. However “regretful” or “reluctant” Pritchart may have been, make no mistake, this was a bid for outright military victory. Had it succeeded there would have been a Havenite fleet in Manticore’s orbit. Regardless of whatever good intentions Pritchart and Thiesman may have had, Haven would have been in the position to demand anything it wanted from Manticore including the dissolution of its government. The idea that Haven wouldn’t have taken advantage of that situation (perhaps even over the objections of Pritchart herself) is ludicrous.
Which leads me to my last point…
The Empress Has No Clothes
Given all of the above, and her personal enmity towards Haven for killing members of her family, I found Elizabeth’s actions (and inaction) during and immediately after the High Ridge years to be suspect. In fact, of the entire Honorverse story, I had the hardest time suspending my disbelief on this one issue.
With Operation Buttercup, Manticore finally had Haven on the ropes and victory within reach. I somewhat understand why High Ridge and his cronies decided to accept Saint-Just’s offer of cease fire (although how he missed the political benefit his coalition could have garnered from being the ones to “won the war” and thus co-opt decades of Cromarty’s hard work is beyond me). Elizabeth’s acceptance of that decision however, strains credulity. Yes I understand that it would have set off a constitutional crisis. However, White Haven was weeks or perhaps a few months from being in Haven’s orbit. If Elizabeth had used her authority as commander in chief to order the continuation of Buttercup to its conclusion, then the decades-old threat of Haven would finally be ended and her star nation could deal with the fallout at its leisure in peace.
She is a highly intelligent and savvy leader, so she couldn't have missed the import of this decision, and she has far to much integrity to put keeping her own position over the welfare of her star nation. How she could have let this opportunity to finally end the Havenite threat after being under its pall for decades slip away?
In fact, I can’t remember a single time where Elizabeth uses her executive authority. She has often goaded, cajoled, and threatened, but I can’t remember a time where she countermanded Parliament even once. Perhaps that is simply because she and Cromarty were of a mind most of the time, but she would do well to remember that power unused is the same as having no power at all (see the current British royalty for reference. I often wonder what would happen there if the Queen decided to utilize her theoretical power after all this time).
Am I alone in feeling this way? Did it bother anyone else how quickly Elizabeth and Pritchart became BFFs? Even with the benefit of Treecat truth detectors, she had to still be a bit miffed over that little sneak attack and attempt to take over her star nation if nothing else!
Ok I’m done, had to get that out. Feel free to sharpen your pitchforks and light your torches now.
