History HonorHarrington / TropesGToL

* LivingLieDetector: Treecats are empaths, who can sense people's emotions and thusly can easily tell if a person is lying. Beginning in ''Honor of the Queen'', Honor herself can sense the emotions of others ''through'' her treecat, and can likewise tell when they are lying.

* TheLawOfConservationOfDetail: Weber is particularly good with this, frequently giving one-off characters personalities within a page or so, often just before killing them off (See LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt, below).

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: All even-numbered books are titled with some [[JustForPun pun]] involving the title character's first name. Similarly, all books in the ''Saganami Island'' spinoff series have a word "shadow" in their title.

** On Hades, Honor is convinced by her subordinates to present herself as a Grayson officer rather than a Manticoran one, since she has a much higher rank in the GSN (Fleet Admiral) than in the RMN (Commodore) and won't have to yield her command to any other Allied flag officers they liberate from the prison camps. (Not because she wants to [[LoopholeAbuse subvert the chain of command]], but because the delicate trust she has built with her RagtagBunchOfMisfits would collapse were she replaced by a total stranger.) She feels awkward about this at first, even though it's perfectly legal... until she meets Rear Admiral Styles, a contemptible coward of an officer who was captured early in the war from being unprepared for Haven's invasion and is more concerned with saving himself than anyone else on Hades. He spends all of his time trying to undermine Honor's authority because, as a petty-minded person, he assumes she is flaunting her Grayson rank for the same petty reasons. No one sheds a tear when Honor finally snaps and places him under arrest for insubordination.

* HateSink: Between the {{Sleazy Politician}}s Manticore has to deal with, the StrawMisogynist Masadans (and a few Grayson fanatics), Peep zealots, A significant number of Mesan planetary authorities, arguably the Detweiler brothers by the latest book, and some Solarian League politicians, businessmen and soldiers, there’s quite a few out there but the two biggest (taking that title away from the previously reigning High Ridge government officials) are probably Malachi Aburzzi and Nathan [=MacArtney=] of the Mandarins, both of whom lack the barest moments of decency )unlike their three fellows) and never seem to do anything but insult Manticore, talk about their willingness to sacrifice their own men with no remorse and kowtow to corporate interests without a shred of introspection or empathy about the millions who’ve died because of their arrogance. Their comeuppance at the end of ''Uncompromising Honor'' is richly satisfying, even if it’s possible to feel ''some'' pity for the more hesitant or pragmatic colleagues dragged down with them.

* HasTwoMommies: Grayson children as a whole, due to the planet's universal polygamy. Children consider all of their father's wives as their mothers, no matter which one happened to give birth to them, and sister-wives have the same attitude.

* JusticeByOtherLegalMeans: Since duels are legal under Manticoran law, a person who is (or believes they were) a victim of an offense can challenge the offender to a duel rather than press charges. If the accused accepts and goes through with the duel, regardless of the outcome, they are immune from further prosecution. (By the same token, someone who does press charges waives their right to issue a challenge.) This is how Denver Summervale abuses the law to assassinate Paul Tankersley: by provoking Tankersley to assault him, Summervale places him in the position of either facing a severe legal penalty or facing him on the field of honor. Being a competent military officer, Tankersley decides to take his chances, which is [[BatmanGambit exactly what Summervale wanted]], because he ''never'' misses his shot.

** During ''In Enemy Hands'', Cordelia Ransom invites the captured non-coms of ''HMS Prince Adrian'' to [[{{Turncoat}} turn against their plutocratic masters]]. Horace Harkness accepts. Although his homeworld Gryphon does have a cultural mistrust of its nation's hereditary aristocracy, it doesn't reach the level of class warfare, and even someone fed up with the war would have to be insane to think that StateSec, who only minutes ago were having fun PistolWhipping their captives and bragging about Harrington's impending execution, would be a step up. Despite this, all of the other Manticoran prisoners, even Harkness's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] Scotty Tremaine, collectively grab hold of the ball in completely believing his defection is genuine, without considering the far more obvious (and true) explanation that he's playing into the role of the [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal "poor, oppressed proletarian"]] to [[FakeDefector gain their captors' trust]]. (Tremaine himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] his idiot ball after the truth comes out.) State Sec also isn't particularly smart for trusting him as much as they do, but they at least have the excuse of not knowing Harkness personally and having a propagandized perception of Manticore's sociopolitical climate.

** During ''In Enemy Hands'', Cordelia Ransom invites the captured non-coms of ''HMS Prince Adrian'' to [[{{Turncoat}} turn against their plutocratic masters]]. Horace Harkness accepts. Although his homeworld Gryphon does have a cultural mistrust of its nation's hereditary aristocracy, it doesn't reach the level of class warfare, and even someone fed up with the war would have to be insane to think that StateSec, who only minutes ago were having fun PistolWhipping their captives and bragging about Harrington's impending execution, would be a step up. Despite this, all of the other Manticoran prisoners, even Harkness's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] Scotty Tremaine, collectively grab hold of the ball in completely believing his defection is genuine, without considering the far more obvious (and true) explanation that he's playing into the role of the [[DefectorFromDecadence "poor, oppressed proletarian"]] to [[FakeDefector gain their captors' trust]]. (Tremaine himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] his idiot ball after the truth comes out.) State Sec also isn't particularly smart for trusting him as much as they do, but they at least have the excuse of not knowing Harkness personally and having a propagandized perception of Manticore's sociopolitical climate.

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Honor is extremely skilled with handguns. In a variation of this trope, at no point does she actually shoot beyond the range that a trained human ought to be capable of, but rather, she is able to aim accurately even from the hip. This is what allows her to defeat Denver Summerdale in a duel, because no matter how fast he is at aiming, he is still needs to raise his arm to do it. Andrew [=LaFollet=] attributes this ability to Honor's exceptionally strong [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception kinesthestic sense]].

** Kapitän der Sterne Guangfu Gortz of the IAN is an anti-Manticoran hardliner. When he discovers HMS ''Jessica Epps'' stopping what appears to be an Andermani merchantman, he moves to intervene. Reasonable enough, except he is clearly only looking for an excuse to start a fight. He is deaf to Captain Ferrero's evidence that the merchantman is running with a false transponder code and misinterprets (perhaps deliberately) her warning shot as an attack on the merchie and destroys her ship ([[MutualKill getting his own wrecked in the process]]). Herzog von Rabenstrange is brought in to replace his boss, Admiral Graf von Sternhafen, who was also complicit in provoking Manticore, to smooth things over [[BullyingADragon before Manticore decides to retaliate]].

** In a non-romantic sense, Honor has a number of these: Armsmen who have sacrificed themselves for her, friends who died in battle [[spoiler:(especially Alistair McKeon, who was killed in the Battle of Manticore)]]. Much of her extended family was lost [[spoiler:in the Yawata Strike]] as well.

* KillEmAll: ''At All Costs'' manages to kill off at least a third of the cast, including some of the most important characters on both sides.
** Happens again in ''Uncompromising Honor,'' where several prominent recurring characters--including some that have been around since the beginning of the series--are killed off in the Beowulf Strike.

** Kapitän der Sterne Guangfu Gortz of the IAN is an anti-Manticoran hardliner. When he discovers HMS ''Jessica Epps'' stopping what appears to be an Andermani merchantman, he moves to intervene. Reasonable enough, except he is clearly only looking for an excuse to start a fight. He is deaf to Captain Ferrero's evidence that the merchantman is running with a false transponder code and misinterprets (perhaps deliberately) her warning shot as an attack on the merchie and destroys her ship ([[MutualKill getting his own wrecked in the process]]). Herzog von Rabenstrange is brought in to replace his boss, Admiral Graf von Sternhafen, who was also complicit in provoking Manticore, to smooth things over [[BullyingADragon before Manticore decides to retaliate]].
* GenerationShip: Before the invention of cryonic sleeper ships, hyperspace travel and Warshawski sails, humanity used slower-than-light generation ships to colonize other star systems. The first ship ''Prometheus'' left the Solar System in AD 2103, marking the begin of the Diaspora of Man and new dating system.

*** [[spoiler:LaFollet's death]] means that all of [[spoiler:Honor's original armsmen]] have gone out in the line of duty, most if not all of them embodying this trope. Yet still volunteers come forward to serve, knowing exactly what will likely be expected of them.

* IBelieveThatYouBelieveIt: Crops up a lot where Mesa is concerned. An example would be when Zilwicki and Cachat spoke to Honor to explain Haven was not responsible for various assassinations. Their arguments were compelling and Honor knew they weren't lying to her, but they didn't have any evidence, so all Honor could be certain of was ''they'' were sure Haven didn't do it. It also comes up with Herlander Simões. His genuine outrage and knowledge of Mesan tech helped back him up, but all they could be sure of was that Simões genuinely believed everything he said was the truth.

** In ''Torch of Freedom'' it is largely [[spoiler: Isabel Bardasano]] carrying the Idiot Ball for [[spoiler:the Alignment]]. The LRPB did act callously, but they had no reason to expect anything worse than [[spoiler:Simões' tragic burn-out]]. The ''real'' problems began when [[spoiler: Bardasano specifically assigned Jack [=McBryde=], one of her senior intel/security commanders, to become Simões' confidante and therapist]]. Not only was this a serious violation of normal procedure by itself, but it was exceptionally stupid to assign [=McBryde=], who had already been pulled from field work for being too "soft" and "sentimental". In other words, [[spoiler:Bardasano assigned the guy ''most'' likely to lose faith in the Alignment, and that same guy also had access to most of the Alignment's most damaging secrets]].

** {{ZigZagg|ingTrope}}ed in ''Storm From the Shadows''. When, at the end of [[spoiler:the Battle of Solon]], [[spoiler:Henke's HMS ''Ajax'']] has no Alpha nodes (meaning she can't [[HyperspaceEscape flee into hyperspace]]) and no operable boat bays left (meaning she can't abandon ship), she sets up a sneak attack hoping to [[TakingYouWithMe take out some of the pursuing ships before she is destroyed.]] Then, unexpectedly, one of the boat bays is cleared and the remaining crew starts evacuating using its small craft ... just minutes before the trap is sprung. Sadly, [[spoiler:Henke realizes the problem too late, and loses two-thirds of her crew to their pursuers' counterattack]].

** Ships transitioning out of hyperspace also leave behind an energy footprint that the right kind of sensors can detect. Advanced inhabited worlds like Manticore have extremely large and sensitive arrays of these sensors that can detect ships from billions of miles away, as an early warning against sneak attacks. [[spoiler:The Oyster Bay attack was only possible because Mesa invented an entirely new type of stealth drive specifically to defeat these sensors.]]

** Kapitän der Sterne Guangfu Gortz of the IAN is an anti-Manticoran hardliner. When he discovers HMS ''Jessica Epps'' stopping what appears to be an Andermani merchantman, he moves to intervene. Reasonable enough, except he is clearly only looking for an excuse to start a fight. He is deaf to Captain Ferrero's evidence that the merchantman is running with a false transponder code and misinterprets (perhaps deliberately) her warning shot as an attack on the merchie and destroys her ship ([[MutualKill getting his own wrecked in the process]]). Herzog von Rabenstrange is brought in to replace Admiral Graf von Sternhafen, who was also complicit in provoking Manticore, to smooth things over [[BullyingADragon before Manticore decides to retalliate]].

* HeelFaceTurn: As a consequence of a large amount of CharacterDevelopment (and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters characters]], of course), there is lot of it in the series.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Between fourteen main storyline novels, twelve spinoff novels, and six short story anthologies, the series' cast numbers in the ''hundreds'' only for named characters. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Honorverse_characters The list of Honorverse characters]] on Wiki/TheOtherWiki is 200k long and still growing.

** Hyperspace rifts, like the Selker Rift, serve as an inversion of this trope. They provide choke points too but by making travel ''slower'' instead of faster.

** On Hades, Honor is convinced by her subordinates to present herself as Grayson officer rather than a Manticoran one, since she has a much higher rank in the GSN (Fleet Admiral) than in the RMN (Commodore) and won't have to yield her command to any other Allied flag officers they liberate from the prison camps. She feels awkward about this at first, even though it's perfectly legal... until she meets Rear Admiral Styles, a contemptible coward of an officer who was captured early in the war from being unprepared for Haven's invasion and is more concerned with saving himself than anyone else on Hades. He spends all of his time trying to undermine Honor's authority because, as a petty-minded person, he assumes she is flaunting her Grayson rank for the same petty reasons. No one sheds a tear when Honor finally snaps and places him under arrest for insubordination.