Customer Reviews

Kris Longknife: Intrepid

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First this is a fine example of military science fiction; like this genre and you will like the book. This particular work is the 6th in this series about a young woman lt. in the Wardhavan space navy. She is also the daughter of the prime minister and grand daughter of the planetary king. It is very much the middle of a series of unknown length.
The background is complicated. The commonwealth of Earth has just amicably broken up after a civil war. There has also been a war to the hilt with the only alien race so far found. Wardhavan is the center planet in a democratic commonwealth of circa 125 planets founded out of the ruins but has enemies including a forming extreme dictatorship.
The characters are well written and deep. but I would not advise just jumping in at this book becasue you will miss so much needed background. Take my advice, read the first book, then the second, etc.

If you haven't read any books in this series this is not the place to start. Mutineer (Kris Longknife) would be the latest place to start.

All the characters have grown and are now nicely filed out and compelling. This is still a cowboys in space shoot em up but with a little better military sense.

The plot is good but not outstanding although it does support some humor which is appreciated.

The plot (which is good) and some errors save this from a 5. There are currently atomic gyros some in use on the newer subs, lasers are all atomic or sub atomic so an "atomic laser" is redundant if not silly; lastly heliographs are gadgets that use sunlight and mirrors for signaling. Someone was probably ambushed by a typo and the spelling checker as Nellie probably was using a holograph projection.

Alas, I devoured this book far too fast! And I want another one now!! As with each of the volumes in this series I found each of the characters realistic and intriguing. I'm pleased that my daughter is now old enough for me to pass these books off to her (she just finished another series and was looking for something good to read!). It's rare to find a good, strong female protagonist who manages well both in leadership roles and dealing with those situations that young women find themselves in in daily life. Much less those who might find themselves in more dangerous situations, such as those courageous people who are willing to don the uniform of their country and defend it even if it means giving up their life or the life of their comrades or loved ones.

These books show that life without catering to those who are just looking for "blood & gore". There is certainly action & adventure! But there is also philosophy. And a spectrum of men and women who run the gamut of those who do what they do for the money and those who do what they do for the safety of those they've left behind and those who just want the "glory".

So, action and adventure with a soupcon of philosophy, a smattering of science, a dash of character growth and development and you're left with a book that continues to please. All in all I have to say that I have yet to find any of the Kris Longknife books to disappoint. And given that I've been known to devour upwards of 10 books a week when I get going... well. I rate authors by the number of times I'm willing to reread their books. Thus far, I give this series at least a 10. When this one came out I'd already reread the series once or twice while waiting for it. I imagine I'll reread it again while waiting avidly for the next one.

Begin at the beginning. If you like the first one, buy all of them. You won't be disappointed.

I have read this entire series and enjoyed every one, including this one (like the other reviewers, I recommend you read them in order.) However, I couldn't give this five stars because of the following;

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Kris Longknife arrives at a planet with two ships in orbit and a bad-guy army on the ground. She is commanding a ship with superior armament to the bad-guy ships -- much superior. Instead of taking out the ships and using the high ground (orbit) to force the ground army to surrender, she lands her own, much inferior, force and joins with the poorly armed natives. Only when she is about to lose this battle, does she tell her ship to attack the orbiting enemy ships. They flee and the enemy army IMMEDIATELY surrenders.

This exchange is at least half the book. The author is retired military. He should have come up with a better reason for her to fight as a ground commander, if that is what he wanted to do in this novel.

More: the enemy ship shoots ground targets with its laser early on, to great effect. But when the army battle starts, NEITHER the bad-guy ship nor her ship provide any air support. Modern (or post-modern war in this instance) is three-dimensional. The author had me shaking my head in disbelief.

Well written, otherwise. The final confrontation is very good.

Kris Longknife: Intrepid is a hard novel to rate. The ground combat sequences are quite good, as are the matching of wits between commanders. The banter among crew seem to be out of place. There are too many characters so keeping track of them gets difficult. There's Kris herself, Jack (bodyguard / boyfriend), Nelly (computer), Abby (maid/bodyguard), Chief Beni (tech whiz), Penny (intel chief), Cara (recently added 12-yr old girl), plus various members of the ship crew like Captain Drago and Sulwan (navigator). It can be hard to keep track, esp. when you have to throw in the various names of the enemy factions. This is a consistent problem with the entire series.

This book is definitely a mixed bag. The first part reminds me of a typical A-team plot: shock and awe the enemy but try not to kill them. Then at the big battle, it switches to a straight-up Saving-Private-Ryan War-is-Hell type fighting. Once that's done, the book did another switch to sort of a Kobayashi-Maru no-win scenario to conclude. It felt disjointed. There is no melding of A-plot into B-plot.

The ground action is quite good and banter is interesting, but they can't save this book from a mediocre / it could-have-been-better feel.

[Review by Kasey Chang, crankyreviews.blogspot.com ]

I've read all the Kris Longknifes books up to this point... but I won't be reading any more. I won't even finish this one. I kept hoping the books would get better, but they only get worse.

The "coincidences" in this series are very annoying. Every time Kris goes somewhere, there is a Peterwald. Always! But we're never told why the Peterwalds hate the Longknifes, just that they do, and we the readers have to just accept it. The Longknifes never take retaliatory action for the assassinations, which doesn't fit with the Longknife family, or at least what we're told about them. Would Grampa King Ray or General Trouble or even Grampa Al truly let the Peterwalds get away with the murder of a 6 year old Longknife? Get real. And how about there's always someone Kris meets who served with one of her Grandparents? Always! Out of 600 planets!

And what about Hank and Vicky? Hank starts out as a somewhat likeable, intelligent, charismatic character... and then all of a sudden he's a moronic Commodore in the Greenfeld Navy. What!?! And Vicky... a bloodthirsty, spoiled witch is all of a sudden a somewhat reasonable young lady Enisgn in a Navy that doesn't respect women in the Navy. (Not to mention how all of a sudden there is a Vicky, when there's no longer a Hank). I had the impression they didn't allow women in the Navy... in book 4 (Resolute), the Greenfeld Marines call Kris "sir", because they have no female officers. And the whole "weak female" thing with the Greenfelds doesn't play at all well... around 80 planets in the 24th Century think women are weak? Thats Bull. Theres at least 600 planets, and almost a full 1/6 find women weak? Its too weird! Especially as that aspect of the Greenfelds is all of a sudden blasted at the reader in book 3, when its not even hinted at in earlier books.

And to be honost, I just don't get why the Princess thing is such a big deal... and in fact I find it somewhat stupid. She is the Great-Granddaughter of a new-made King... and she will never even be in line for the throne! In a proper progression, it would be Ray, Al, Kris's dad the Prime Minister (who refuses the title Prince), and then Honovi (Kris's elder brother), and then Honovis kids. Plus Ray has at least one other child, a woman, the one who studies alien artifacts. In England today, if Prince William had a child, his or her title would only be Lord or Lady, not Prince or Princess.

Plus all the trouble Kris gets into... take book 2. A serving officer in the Wardhaven Navy is kidnapped, and Kris is the only one to be able to save him? She doesn't even report it to her superiors! Or what about the problem at the planet Chance, in book 4? Just after the battle at Wardhaven occurs, Kris doesn't report to her superiors that several Greenfeld battleships have entered the system she has been ordered to defend? Man, talk about a weak chain of command. I could only roll my eyes. Its not like she couldn't send a message out... her "super maid" manages to send one just fine. And the whole thing on the planet Eden? Completely unbelievable.

Those are just the major, glaring issues involved with the series. There are dozens of smaller ones that crop up throughout the series. Kris Longknife doesn't even come across as special in any way... except that the reader is told she is. There have been way too many "You've got to be kidding me" eye rolls for me to read any further.

Book 1 was ok, but its all gone downhill from there.

Mike is getting better and better. The characters are well written and very deep. The story flowed well and went by too quickly.

It was an ok escape read. Good thing to pack in the briefcase for a west-bound coast-to-coast flight.

The fifth book in the series had started to feel a little formulaic, this feels fresh. Kris is moving into her own, and the relationships are becoming more sophisticated. New characters that will likely be ongoing have been added. A great addition to the series, it made me want to buy the next one immediately!

Another great chapter in the Longknife series. It was really kewl to see how not all Peterwalds are vapid egotistical bastartds. The setup for Kris meeting up with the aliens continues and it is so sweet! Can't wait to read the next one in October. Maybe a spinoff with Vicky can be started??