The style and character dynamics trace their lineage back to A Grand Tour by David Drake from More Than Honor, a story in the Honorverse setting.

Although the setting universe is entirely separate, careful reading may reveal similarities to the first novel in this series.

Indeed, Drake confirms that A Grand Tour is the conceptual antecedent of With the Lightnings.

[1] During a war between a Republic of Cinnabar and the Alliance of Free Stars, a coup d'état takes place on a neutral planet of Kostroma, with both factions becoming involved.

Two Cinnabarian protagonists – a navy lieutenant and émigré librarian – find themselves in the center of the unfolding events.