Customer Reviews

Code of Conduct

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Code of Conduct tells a fast-paced story that weaves intrigue, politics, and personal honor into a sophisticated tapestry. With well-realized characters, both human and alien, and a plot full of gratifying twists and turns, this book showcases a fine new voice in science fiction.

About twenty years prior to the book's opening scene, Captain Jani Kilian almost died in a civil war among the idomeni, an alien race just enough like humans to make their vast differences disturbing. Framed for treason and then presumed dead in an explosion, she has spent the years since in hiding. After the blast, her doctors put her together with illegal experiments that combined human and idomeni genes. Now it is catching up with her. Is she dying--or changing into a new species that could threaten the existence of both humans and idomeni?

Jani thinks she is safe--until Evan van Reuter, the powerful Interior Minister of the Commonwealth, finds her. He wants her to solve a mystery that could destroy him: why did his wife die? Author Smith sets-up a wonderfully Byzantine scenario, with the dangerous, augmented Jani as an ideal choice of investigator from Evan's point of view, but a terrible choice as far as Jani is concerned.

One pleasure of this novel is the rich cast, both human and idomeni, that tangles the investigation. To snarl matters more, Evan is Jani's former lover. She finds herself in a political maze that could shake the foundations of the Commonwealth. Smith ties this all together in a well-written story that leaves the reader wanting more.

Smith does a good job with the idomeni, in particular Tsecha, a political and religious leader among his people and an ambassador to Earth. Watching him exasperate his human hosts with his wry personality and audacious nature is fun. The book creates a strong portrayal of an alien, with the nifty twist that eating is a form of prayer for his people. Another strength of this book is the subtle sensuality in the various relationships of the people, especially Jani's interactions with Evan and another character, Lucien. In fact, in general Smith does character well. The motivations and personalities of these people both surprise and make sense, a blend that isn't easy to achieve.

Code of Conduct is good science fiction, good hard-edged suspense, and an all around good read.

Code of Conduct is an entertaining read from first time novelist Kristine Smith. Smith does well weaving the interactions of two unique, evolving, interplanetary cultures with some creative use of futuristic technology like cybernetics. She creates some interesting characters and background, setting the main story in a three day period on Earth. Protagonist Jani Kilian attracts enough action to excite hard core Hollywood action types (might make a good movie!), yet the true creativity comes in Smith's depiction of human and alien (idomeni) societies and the intertwined common histories and development of those societies. She also does well portraying a strong female hero in a modern and positive manner.

The writer shows great promise in this work, but also displays her inexperience in technique and style that makes this book a good, but not great piece of writing. Too little historical information is given when referring to background characters we are expected to already understand. Plus the book has a feel that the real story is still waiting to be told. There is a sense of "sequel" or "trilogy" throughout the book. Too many writers enter the science fiction field today automatically assuming readers want their stories told over three or more books. Smith falls into this trap. This story needs further development in its past reality, such as the original relationship between Kilian and her alien mentor or the story of the idomeni and the fractionalization of their society. It also needs further elaboration on its future reality with the political, social and physiological ramifications from the mutual evolution of human and idomeni societies.

Despite these shortcomings, reading Code of Conduct is worth the effort. The story keeps you interested; Smith writes action and intrigue very well. Her theme is well thought out, if not fully revealed to the reader. We will all want to know how it is finished in Smith's next work.

After reading all the reviews, I was extremely eager to read Code of Conduct. I was, unfortuately, disappointed--I couldn't see any relationship to Lois McMaster's excellent books, either in tone or style (or humor). Code of Conduct was a good book was spoiled by bad narrative choices.

I would have enjoyed this book a whole lot more if I could have read the prequel. Except that there is no prequel. My main problem with the book is that it feels like a sequel; all the interesting events are told in not-quite-as-interesting memory sequences. It would have been okay if the book skipped back and forth from past to present, gradually revealing what happened, but instead the author uses the blander "Jani remembered...She had..." type sequences usually used in a sequel to inform the reader what had already happened in the previous book.

My second problem with the books is that I think the author chose the wrong viewpoint character--Jani is unconscious or not present when half the interesting things happen and ends up being told about them after the fact.

So my main reaction is that Code of Conduct is a decent book marred by some bad narrative decisions. If Kristine Smith writes a prequel to this book, I'd be interested in reading it.

"Code of Conduct" is great, because the situations that all the characters find themselves in is believable and psychologically mind bending at times. Jani Kilian is one dangerous and enjoyable woman to go along with as she weaves around the universe and on Earth. Tsecha, the idomeni ambassador to Earth is a very believable alien, and I found it amusing at what his observations were on human behavior (reading between the lines, indeed). I hope that Jani Kilian will perhaps show up later in another book, but I don't know if the author is going to pursue a series of the human-idomeni universe. Well, let's wait and see.

Finally! CODE gives SF fans who demand strong characterization something wonderful to read when there's no new Bujold or Moon novel. In Jani Kilian, we have been given a heroine both ruthless and curiously compassionate, a woman who has survived tragedy and may yet redeem humankind. And there's a bonus--the most fascinating alien culture since Cherryh's FOREIGNER series. More Jani! More Tsecha! More Kristine Smith!

Code of Conduct is the first novel of the Jani Kilian series. Captain Jani Kilian is Two of Six, the Eyes and Ears, one of the six humans who have graduated from the ideomeni Academy, and then she was assigned as a United Services documents control officer in the embassy at Rauta Sheraa, the idomeni godly capital. She was severely injured in the explosion of a transport on the launching pad and, during the night of the long knives when the Vynsh clan became the Vynshrau, the ruling clan, her body was secretly rebuilt by three wild-eyed, genius doctors in the embassy basement. The Service has issued a warrant for her arrest for her alleged misdeeds prior to the explosion and she has been avoiding official notice since recovering from her injuries.

In this novel, Jani has been working as an unregistered documents tech on Whalen's Planet under an assumed name. There she hears the announcement that the ideomeni have re-established diplomatic relations with the Commonwealth and then discovers that a "jammin" blonde has been asking about her. She immediately takes steps to abandon the planet, but is caught at home by Evan van Reuter, the Commonwealth Interior Minister and her former lover in Rauta Sheraa. He wants her to return to Earth with him to investigate the death of his wife.

On the voyage back, Jani meets two members of his staff, Durian Ridgeway, his Documents chief, and Angevin Wyle, his deputy and Hansen Wyle's daughter. Hansen was One of Six, the Tongue of Gold, another of the six humans at the ideomeni academy, but he had ben killed during the Vynsh assault on Rauta Sheraa.

Jani also meets Lucien Pascal posing as her stewart. When they reach Earth, Jani is given an official position -- and office -- and access to the document files. However, she spends more time discussing the case with her fellow workers and others who had known Lyssa. She also forges a relationship with Lucien despite his "official" status as the Exterior Minister's lover.

This novel is a futuristic murder mystery in a society which has been transformed by contact with the ideomeni. One of the side plots is her relationship with Egri niRau Tsecha, the spiritual leader of the Vynshrau and the ideomeni ambassador to Earth. Tsecha has proclaimed that the humans and ideomeni will become one hybrid people and predicts that Jani will become the catalyst for this change. Jani wants nothing to do with this prophecy of hybridization, especially since she herself is a hybrid of sorts, with ideomeni flesh merged with her own body to heal her wounds.

Although many of the concepts have been used before, this novel is highly original in its ambiance and character. The details do make a difference and, in this case, the details are fascinating. Like most mystery novels, this story starts in the middle, with the earlier events gradually being exposed as the story progresses. However, it is seldom that the investigator is the one with the most secrets, but it does occur that way every now and then, especially in SF settings.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys tales of contact with alien societies in a sophisticated milieu.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A very enjoyable first novel.

I really admired Smith's book for a number of reasons. First, she has put a lot of thought into the future or document control. As we get so used to storing copies online, the question of an "Original" document becomes more and more skewed. In Smith's future, legal documents are on "Smart" paper, paper containing all manner of chips and stored inforamtion. Her characters are bureaucrats who spend most of their time dealing with all of this "paper". What is really ironic is that the most able bureacrats are those (like the main character) who have been trained by an alien race who are themselves masters of "Document control".

Secondly, I like the way the story is told. The book begins 20 years after war erupted on the alien planet, a war in which all the human visitors became inevitably embroiled. The main character was injured in the conflict and presumed dead, and has been in hiding ever since. Her ex-lover from that time is now the Minister of the Interior for the Earth government. His wife has been murdered, and he turns to his old lover to come and help flush out the killer. Smith tells the story from the present viewpoint, but slowly reveals the events of 20 years before as well.

Smith's aliens are her original, her humans have wonderfully complicated motivations for their actions, and her future Earth is intriguingly constructed.

If you are a fan of C. J. Cherryh or C. S. Friedman, then check this book out. It is well worth your time.

If you are looking for an action adventure story, this is not the book for you. While there is some action, the story is more about the characters than the happenings. Reviewer 'Margaret P' said it well when she wrote, "I felt like something exciting was just about to happen, but it never quite did". And while I agree with this, I do think the book had more than enough other good qualities to keep it interesting. The characters were all interesting, even the minor ones.
The biggest problem I had with the book is that there seemed to be so much story left out. At times it was confusing, and whether this was from the writing style, or intentional since there are more books, I do not know; however I intend to find out since I will read the next book. In the end, that's the best thing I can say about this book; I bought the next one and will read it.

Kristine Smith's first novel is a propulsive if confusing and over-plotted noirish science fiction adventure that in the end frustrates. She's a great writer (although she seems at some point to have undergone some aversive therapy that prevents her from using the word "like," even when it's ok to do so). On the very first page she writes about a cat that "poured to the ground and vanished into an alley." What a perfect description of feline behavior. Unfortunately the book's far from perfect--it's flashback filled and confusing: something to do with this ex-service woman named Jani, who got mixed up in an alien civil war, got herself killed, or so they think, but who's actually been fixed up with an "augmented" body--and everybody's looking for her and somebody finds her and brings her back to Earth to find out who killed his wife and she sets out to do so and all the good guys turn into bad guys and vice versa. Whatever. At the end, I knew who did in the wife and (I think) why they did it, but I never did figure out why she killed her commanding officer, or did she?

Just a wild guess, but maybe Smith developed this out of a writing class exercise in which the instructor assigned the class to write a story using flashbacks. I expect she got an A if that's the case. And that's fine for learning your craft, but for readers, it's like picking up the second volume of a trilogy first.

But no doubt about it--Smith's future is bright. And if she decides to go on with Jani's story, I'll probably go along for the ride.

The plot and characters drew me in, making me anxious to discover the ending, which turned out (unlike many books) to be satisfying.

My only complaint is there were a few "clues" to the ending that were added merely for the purpose of misdirecting the reader.

All in all I am glad I read the book. I recommend it highly to others.