Honorverse favorite one-liners

cthia wrote:Cauldron of Ghosts

Zilwicki heaved his massive shoulders. For someone built along normal human rather than dwarf lord lines, that would have been a shrug.

I cannot fight the feeling that Zilwicki is none other than Fantastic Four's Thing.

Nah, Thing is rather taller than Anton.

Cauldron of Ghosts
Regarding Victor and the good news of reassignment.

Usher gave him a grin. “By all accounts—I was on Old Earth, remember, when the Manpower Incident went down—no star system in its right mind would assign you to its diplomatic corps.”

Awww, but can't a guy be rehabilitated even if guilty?

Cauldron of Ghosts

“Wilhelm was overstating things a bit. For one thing, Leslie Montreau was in the room along with Tom Theisman when Eloise made the decision to yank you out of the FIS. She nodded quite vigorously when Tom said that maybe she didn’t want—his words, not mine—‘that lunatic bull in a china shop’ in her department.”

Poor little misunderstood Victor. Sometimes I get the impression that Haven didn't properly appreciate Victor. I certainly need to read more to fill in some blanks. I definitely want to know how all three of Anton's children owe their lives to Victor and Kevin.

Can someone point me to that specific book. I'm reading Cauldron now.

And can someone please explain why everyone gives Victor such a hard time. He's a super spy, and a damned good one. Why doesn't he get the credit? Did he once royally screw the pooch?

cthia wrote:Cauldron of Ghosts

“Wilhelm was overstating things a bit. For one thing, Leslie Montreau was in the room along with Tom Theisman when Eloise made the decision to yank you out of the FIS. She nodded quite vigorously when Tom said that maybe she didn’t want—his words, not mine—‘that lunatic bull in a china shop’ in her department.”

Poor little misunderstood Victor. Sometimes I get the impression that Haven didn't properly appreciate Victor. I certainly need to read more to fill in some blanks. I definitely want to know how all three of Anton's children owe their lives to Victor and Kevin.

Can someone point me to that specific book. I'm reading Cauldron now.

"From the Highlands", in Changer of Worlds. Though the summary in ch.22 of Cauldron should suffice.

Yuri Radamacher...

Cauldron of Ghosts wrote:I can't remember feeling like such a complete ignoramus since I was twelve", Yuri complained. "When I got called on in class to enumerate the noble gases and I didn't have a clue what the teacher was talking about. Since when did chemical elements have an aristocracy?"

I think I was in Yuri's class that semester.

cthia wrote:...
And can someone please explain why everyone gives Victor such a hard time. He's a super spy, and a damned good one. Why doesn't he get the credit? Did he once royally screw the pooch?

Probably because his original mentors are.... Kevin & Ginny Usher, who both knew him in his "wonderboy" stage right out of school, so to say.

That plus a good spy never gets credit, and is often twitted by his peers, because it lets off steam for all parties concerned. He takes it somewhat good naturedly, and seals his credentials with observers as "someone we respect enough to give a hard time".

SharkHunter wrote:Yuri Radamacher...

Cauldron of Ghosts wrote:I can't remember feeling like such a complete ignoramus since I was twelve", Yuri complained. "When I got called on in class to enumerate the noble gases and I didn't have a clue what the teacher was talking about. Since when did chemical elements have an aristocracy?"

I think I was in Yuri's class that semester.

LMFAO, that is just federal offense funny!

[/quote="cthia]
Can someone point me to that specific book. I'm reading Cauldron now.

And can someone please explain why everyone gives Victor such a hard time. He's a super spy, and a damned good one. Why doesn't he get the credit? Did he once royally screw the pooch?[/quote]


Victor Cachat was introduced in From the Highlands in the Changer of Worlds Anthology, his introduction included the shootout at less than point blank range mentioned quite heavily in CoG. It is continued in the Fanatic in The Service of the Sword anthology where we also meet Yuri and Sharon.

From a certain perspective he did screw up, he did lose his first superior officer on his first assignment out of the academy. Something organizations usually frown on.

Part of the fun is genuine affection for him, respect for his abilities and exasperation for his approach to policy and procedures important to bureaucrats. In Crown of Slaves Eloise herself was threatening his life over his methods in the midst of the madness. Then she promoted him.

--snipping--

kenl511 wrote:

cthia wrote:And can someone please explain why everyone gives Victor such a hard time. He's a super spy, and a damned good one. Why doesn't he get the credit? Did he once royally screw the pooch?

...
Part of the fun is genuine affection for him, respect for his abilities and exasperation for his approach to policy and procedures important to bureaucrats. In Crown of Slaves Eloise herself was threatening his life over his methods in the midst of the madness. Then she promoted him.

He's sort of like a Han Solo who blushes. Cachat is a master improviser, plan "A" leads to plan "B" amended to Q or maybe Plan X version 3A and "here we go again"... On the one hand Black Victor can be about as deadly as anyone you wouldn't want to meet if you're on the wrong side of Truth, Justice, and the Republic of Haven way; on the other hand, there's a young man inside that is oddly vulnerable. Needle-able by those who are already on the inside in a loving way. Embarrasses him a bit within the next circle out, folks like Ganny El, Prichart, Honor, etc. Makes him fun and not just a killer with a heart.

That unpredictability makes the folks over him want to wring his neck, but "dang if the boy don't get the right results", time after time after bloody time.

Cauldron of Ghosts

Colonel Nancy Anderson tapped her bottom teeth a few times with a thumbnail, in an unconscious mannerism that her subordinates had labeled grief-unto-others.

Surely, I don't need to give anyone more than one guess as to whom this reminds me of. Do I?