342 pages
English language
Published Dec. 7, 1992 by Baen, Distributed by Simon & Schuster.
On Basilisk Station is a science fiction novel by American writer David Weber, first published in 1993. It is the first book in his Honor Harrington series, and follows Commander Honor Harrington and Her Majesty’s light cruiser Fearless during their assignment to the Basilisk system. Though Basilisk Station and the planet of Medusa have become a dumping ground for military officers, currently in disfavour, from her home star system of Manticore. Honor is determined to discharge her duty regardless of the circumstances. The story follows Honor and her crew as they deal with the responsibilities of their assignment. When their duty leads them to discover events that would lead to an invasion of Medusa, they have no choice but to act.
It's Horatio Hornblower - in space! I skimmed many of the data-dumps about ship and weapons capabilities, but enjoyed the dashing derring-do.
http://baencd.freedoors.org/Books/On%20Basilisk%20Station/On_Basilisk_Station.epub.