I have been rereading alternate books from Drake's RCN series and Weber's main Honor Harrington series to compare them. I find that I enjoy the RCN books as standalone novels, but, even while reading them, I have the arc of the Honorverse at the back of my mind. While reading Weber, I am sometimes irritated by deviations from action, but I read on to see the main arc play out.

I also read for the author's thoughts, which in these books are largely on politics and organisation. Drake offers more than a series of action-packed scenes. Daniel Leary is a interesting leader of small teams, with a leadership style largely driven by his sense of duty. Drake has me convinced that conflict is not only wasteful, but enormously unpredictable. But Weber shows organisation on all scales, and I am sympathetic to his view that a productive and rigorous education system is a great asset. Both Drake and Weber demonstrate that selection by merit is rare and powerful, and both could point to their historical sources for an example. Nelson was a great naval leader, but part of his greatness lay in recognising and exploiting opportunities which existed only because the French Republican navy had purged itself of leaders who were competent but politically unacceptable.

I don't know if Weber intends to contrast a President who can normally expect to be in power for some years without interruption with a Prime Minister who could be removed at the drop of a hat, and must continually justify his leadership, but I find myself much more appreciative of the latter these days.

I can whole-heartedly recommend both series, with one caveat. You can start the RCN series at any point, and read it in any order. With the Honorverse, I recommend that you start with "On Basilisk Station" and read through in order, not just so as to understand the later books in context, but to understand why you should care about the scenes in the later books.