Audacious (Kris Longknife) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

You can't keep a good woman down-Kris Longknife returns.

Once again Kris finds herself caught in the crosshairs of unknown enemies who want her dead. Factions, both legitimate and underground, vie for control of the planet New Eden. And someone is taking advantage of the chaos to unleash a personal vendetta against Kris.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Kris Longknife #5. edition (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441015417
• ISBN-13: 978-0441015412
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,879 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but a weaker, more derivative work, November 1, 2007

By	C Boyle (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First of all, I very much enjoyed the prior novels, "light" as they might be in some ways (classic space opera and lighter-weight military sci fi, not that they were short on challenges and even various tragedies in the plots). Unfortunately, this one has yet another expendable Peterwald arriving at just the same time as our heroine, with (yet again) a plan to over throw the local government that is maturing at just that convenient time. Without giving away any details, this struck me as a repeat of what has become a formula for this author, with two changes that aren't entirely improvements. There is lot more text devoted to battle scenes, and a whole lot of text devoted to the wonders of Marines (who certainly are amazing, but too much of it doesn't make for a strong novel), and less to character development. The plot development itself is a bit rough at times, as so much time goes to the prior topics (bang bang! and praise of the Marines) that the many twists and turns are not always well developed. It's not bad, but it's not as good as the prior works. Readers who want a lot more gunfights and more idolatry of the services will enjoy it more than those who prefer a balanced approach to the same messages. Perhaps that's what fans want; if so, you'll enjoy this more than I did. I don't think attempting to emulate Weber (much "harder core" military sci fi, and quite good at it) was as successful as following this author's own muse had been in the earlier books. There is more background on one of the secondary characters, but it is unsurprising and the main character Kris is simply robotically following the same old script, except in the the last few pages. It might be viewed as a transitional novel, which are often weaker, as the ending obviously sets up another episode in the "franchise".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent military science fiction, October 28, 2007

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After numerous assassination attempts, Princess Kris Longknife, a Lieutenant in the Wardhaven navy plans to do a little business and get some rest and relaxation on the planet New Eden. Almost as soon as she lands an attempt is made on her life and efforts to get assistance from her computer implant were jammed. This was thought to be impossible and the last time it happened her family's enemies were involved.

The attempt on her life makes it on the news and she learns after some digging that New Eden is not as productive and peaceful as it is supposed to be. New Eden journalists are forbidden from reporting negative stories, a large part of the population is forbidden to vote and there is much crime but nobody hears of it. She discovers Victoria is on the planet and she blames Kris for killing her brother. In the course of dealing with another assassination attempt, a large cache of weapons is found by Kris' troops. Something big is going to happen on New Eden and Kris will find herself, her marines and other allies in the middle of it.

Mike Shepherd is a fantastic storyteller who excels at writing military science fiction. His protagonist is a strong willed independent thinker who does what she thinks is best for humanity even if it means not adhering to planetary law. Human life is very precious to her and those people in her inner circle who play roles in the storyline. There is plenty of action and tension as this is a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for science fiction fans.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kris Longknife: Audacious, January 17, 2008

By	John R. Johnson (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the fourth book of the series and I have enjoyed them all. If you like the Longknife universe you can get more background information from the books under Mike Shepards real name, Mike Moscoe. They are all good reads and I enjoyed them all.

This book also sees the start of new conditions where Kris Longknife will no longer be at the beck and call of her grandfather but will in future books be making her own decisions.