Too long. Mostly backstory for other novels we all read several years ago and from which we have forgotten key details. And some of the author’s mannerisms get to be annoying when they’re repeated this often–describing characters mostly by their height, for instance, and far too many sayings that originated in the dark ages on Old Earth.
That said, there’s an actual main-thread story here that’s of some interest, though it’s both confusing and technically unresolved at the end. And there’s a perfectly typical David Weber space battle, presented mostly from the command post of the losing side. Moreover, if you actually want all this backstory–well, here it is. But there’s not much here that anyone really needed.