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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but a weaker, more derivative work, November 1, 2007
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".
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In Which Kris Starts to Grow Up, November 19, 2010
Note: This review assumes you're familiar with this series.
This fifth novel in the open-ended Kris Longknife series wastes no time getting "That Longknife Princess" into trouble. In fact Grampa Trouble's got her into a serious mess by sending her to a most non-edenic planet that calls itself New Eden. After thwarting an assassination attempt or two, fighting with the local authorities and her own ambassador, and resnatching a kidnap victim, Kris learns of a planned slaughter of the not so innocent, and after some uncertainty (in her mind anyway--readers know well that no action, no book) decides to save their butts anyhow. The last third of the book features Mike Shepherd's signature step-by-step multiple POV view of a battle--this one fought on land by marines, rather than in space.
Mr. Shepherd proves once again that when it comes to grand finales, he's efficiency itself. Unlike some authors, he knows when to stop the descriptive passages, the interior monologues, and relationship issues and sprint to the finish. But that's not to say that he ignores character building. In this novel Kris begins to show signs of adulthood, and actually self-questions some of her motivations before proceeding. And we learn a great deal more about Abby, at long last. We also are introduced to a new Peterwald, red-headed sociopathic Victoria. We shall, I am quite sure, be seeing more of her in future books in the series.
Notes and asides: As always, the author tacks on a bit of a coda that sets things up for the next book in the series.... I'm far from a typo-hunter, but: as is typical of this publisher, who shows no respect either for the reader or the author, the book is riddled with typos and homonyms (shown for shone, e.g.) that the spellchecker didn't, of course, catch. Since my stars are awarded strictly to the author, none are deducted from this four-star (plus) effort here.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kris Longknife: Audacious, January 17, 2008
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.
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