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Kristine Smith

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Code of Conduct (The Jani Kilian Chronicles Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Kristine Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Book 1 of 6: The Jani Kilian Chronicles

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Captain Jani Kilian’s life should have ended in front of a firing squad. Instead, she evaded battlefield justice by dying in a transport crash. End of story, according to official Commonwealth Service records. But doctors repaired her in secret, using the most advanced Service Medical technologies available, or so they assured her. In the last days of the idomeni civil war, she escaped their homeworld of Shèrá, and spent the next 18 years on the run. But someone like Jani leaves a trail no matter how hard they try to hide it, and she soon learns the Service hunt for her never ended. When Interior Minister Evan van Reuter, her former lover, tracks her down and begs her help in finding his wife’s killer, she has no choice but to agree. The search takes her to the Commonwealth capital of Chicago, a hotbed of political intrigue as dangerous as any warzone. As the danger mounts, so do Jani’s struggles. Her rebuilt body is breaking down, and memories long suppressed are flooding back. Of one horrible night 18 years ago, and the gut-wrenching decision that changed her life forever.

Book 1 of 6

The Jani Kilian Chronicles
Print length

356 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

December 1, 2015
File size

4722 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Smith's tightly plotted SF thriller debut is an aceAsure to appeal to readers who appreciate well-drawn characters and sophisticated milieus. An ex-soldier and Commonwealth diplomatic liaison, Jani Kilian has spent the last 18 years working as a paper-pusher under assumed names, trying to stay ahead of her past. As a trusted member of a human diplomatic team once sent to establish relations with the alien idomeni, Jani and her team were caught in the middle when her commanding officer took sides in an idomeni civil war. Presumed dead during the conflict, Jani was captured and patched up with experimental idomeni augmentation in a secret and highly illegal idomeni/human research project. She's been on the run ever since she escapedAuntil her old lover, Evan van Reuter, now Commonwealth Interior Minister, tracks her down to ask for her help investigating his wife's mysterious death. Now, without giving away her own identity, Jani must take on a dangerous task of finding the answers to questions someone wants to keep secret. Complicating matters, the information she uncovers stirs up memories of her own traumatic past. Smith balances a taut mystery with vivid characters and a complex, ever-evolving plotAa feat more experienced authors don't always achieve. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Smith's tightly plotted SF thriller debut is an ace--sure to appeal to readers who appreciate well-drawn characters and sophisticated milieus...Smith balances a taut mystery with vivid characters and a complex, ever-evolving plot--a feat more experienced authors don't always achieve." Publisher's Weekly, Nov. 8, 1999

From the Author

This reissue of CODE OF CONDUCT is essentially the same as the version first published in--yikes--1999. I did fix some typos and change a few words, but other than that, it's the same book.

CODE will always be special. Not only was it the first book I sold, it was the first book I finished. Off and on, for 6 years, I wrote, rewrote, revised, quit, and began again. Sold it, and in response to editor's comments, rewrote it again.

I have always found that, in my case, writing is really rewriting. No matter how sure I am at the start that the first words I type are solid, I soon come to realize that this is not the case. It can be depressing at times. All that wasted effort. But it's my process, and if there's one thing I've learned over the last 20 years, it's that I can't fight my process.

FYI, since it isn't clearly stated everywhere, the order of the Jani Kilian books is as follows:

1. Code of Conduct
2. Rules of Conflict
3. Law of Survival
4. Contact Imminent
5. Endgame
6. Echoes of War

All the books are available in Kindle format. POD trade paperback is on the way.

About the Author

Kristine Smith is the author of the Jani Kilian series and a number of short stories, and is a winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She worked as a pharmaceutical process development scientist for 26 years, but now writes full-time. Learn more at kristine-smith.com
She has also written the supernatural thrillers Gideon and Jericho under the name Alex Gordon. Learn more at alexgordon.net

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Jani looked up just as Lucien Pascal, dressed in full Service winter camouflage, leaned over the log. "You have a lot of nerve, coming here," she said as she sat up, rocks clasped in still-buried hands. She jerked her head toward the house. "You know you've been seen."

"Depends who's watching." Lucien's breath fogged the clear humidifier mask. He smiled, which she'd learned on the Arapaho wasn't necessarily a good sign, and held out a mottled-white arm. "Could you come with me, please?"

"I'd rather not."

Lucien's arm hung in mid-air. What did his eyes, obscured by darkened goggles, look like now? Jani knew she'd see more warmth in the rocks she held. "I wish I could say you had a choice," he said, his voice muffled by the mask. "But I'm afraid you don't."

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0188C70P4
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Glass Green LLC; 1st edition (December 1, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4722 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 356 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #452,467 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,790 in Genetic Engineering Science Fiction eBooks
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- #4,148 in Space Opera Science Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
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Kristine Smith

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Kristine Smith is the author of the Jani Kilian series and a number of science fiction and fantasy short stories, and is a winner of the Astounding Award (formerly the John W Campbell Award) for Best New Writer. She worked as a pharmaceutical process development scientist for 26 years, but now writes full-time.

Kristine has also written the supernatural thrillers GIDEON and JERICHO under the name Alex Gordon.

The order of the Jani Kilian books is as follows:

1. Code of Conduct

2. Rules of Conflict

3. Law of Survival

4. Contact Imminent

5. Endgame

6. Echoes of War

There is also a prequel novella, Incident on a Small Colony which takes place during Jani's pre-Code of Conduct time on the run.

All books have been released in Kindle formats; POD formats will be released in the future.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5

1,400 global ratings

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Wonder

Bravo!

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2024

Verified Purchase

I haven't been taken by a story like i was for some time. A wonderfully convoluted mystery surrounded by exceptional, evocative world building. Distinct, yet shadowy characters emerge as the story progresses, each unique, adding a claim on your attention as they develop.
I had to pause a couple times, for a few hours, a day, lest the rush of concepts, events and persona prove overwhelming. And gladly so. I might have kept going just to see what happened next but I think I'd have savored the eventual answers and resolution less.
Among others, my first thought was as captivating as the imagination of Arkady Martine, the chops and characters as Martha Wells, and somehow the ever fascinating Melissa Scott.
I'm on to the next iteration, anticipating a few more pleasant, buttoned up winter hours by the fire.

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MileMarker2020

I liked her "assume-the-reader-will-figure-it-out" style.

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2017

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed this book, but I have to admit that there were times I wondered if I had the first book in the series or not. All comes out well, though, as you read through the book prior episodes are eventually explained. The author spends most of the book building the main-character (Jani, aka Risa.) Later on, what seemed to potentially be an extremely important character is introduced (Lucien Pascal) although at first he was just a bit-character. It seemed to me that Lucien was never very well explained and that may be because he comes back later in the series (perhaps book 2 or 3???). I had many questions as to why he was able to resort to high-Vynsharau when talking to Tescha & yet Tescha did not recognize him as anyone special other than having chosen Jani as his "Dominant" --whatever that means. Previously, even though Jani has been "re-modified", she made it clear that Tescha would recognize her instantly, even though no human would be able to. Tescha didn't or couldn't recognize Lucien and so you were kind of left wondering who in the heck he is. You kind of got the idea that the author was holding something back from you for later. That's great for later, but sure left a lot of questions for right now.

2 people found this helpful

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Leslie Bialler

Brilliant buzzing confusion

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2000

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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.

18 people found this helpful

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Gerania

A Fun Ride!

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

What a fantastic series. I read the last four of the five books back to back, which is unusual for me. Not one of the installments was a placeholder; each had a gripping story line. Smith assumes we have brains and doesn't spend a lot of time explaining things. I admit, I was sometimes out of my depth, but it was a refreshing change. She deftly paints scenes so I felt immersed in these worlds. I could feel the heat the Idomeni, Haari and hybrids craved, got a sense of their stark landscapes and curvaceous architecture; the strangeness of a planet without shops or advertising; their no-nonsense culture. The characters were complex, imperfect and unpredictable, not least of all Jani, the rockin' protagonist, who refuses to let outside criticism dim her inner voice and wields her power as needed.

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Julia L.

A good chunk of the book is how her body is ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

Military science fiction with an interesting twist. Rather than the usual type, the heroine Jani Killian is a documents technician, trained to spot inconsistencies in paperwork. Her brain augment helps her in combat situations, but has a whole host of psychological and physiological side effects conveyed quite well. But eighteen years ago, on an alien world, Jani Killian did the unthinkable. Escaping barely with her life, doctors remade her until she was barely recognizable. A good chunk of the book is how her body is adapting (or not) to all those changes. Some she understands, and some not.

Killian discovers the hard way about trying to outrun that past, when an old flame asks her to investigate some touchy political and personal affairs. Killian is relentless in turning up the truth, but she also finds out what happen to her eighteen years before. Mixed into the Earth political intrigue is the reopening of diplomatic contact with the idomeni culture and how that ties into Killian's past and future.

Having lived near DC all my life, I appreciated the levels of bureaucratic finagling Killian goes through trying to solve her paper mystery.

I also appreciated the new covers for the re-released ebooks from BookView Cafe showing Jani Killian. Much better than a big space gun and a body part, because they either couldn't find the right model or didn't think it'd sell well.

10 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

I Grok Frak

A great start to a new series for me.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2022

Verified Purchase

Several interesting characters. I look forward to following the protagonist in her adventures. And await the renewed acquaintances that i hope will occur.

Stephen Cannons

Great read

Reviewed in Australia on May 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

I loved the story and how it unfolded. The characters felt real and relatable. I was engaged from start to end and would recommend this book highly.

J.Ron Burnham

Worth the struggle

Reviewed in Canada on November 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

This book was difficult to read because the author spends no effort to explain- you are set down into a complicated future with a complicated galactic interface and many players with names not easily remembered or pronounced. To decide to continue to read required some plodding on by me as I am not smart enough to retain or recall much of the identity or names of the players. However it is simple enough in its narration to keep my attention and eventually want to stay with it.

I think it would need to be read a second time to really put it all together, but I’m not sure the lessons to learn would justify the extra effort. The main protagonist is worthy but not endearing. Ultimately I felt towards her as she seems to feel about others- take them or leave them, just move on.

I find a future world in which paper still plays a major role a bit hard to conceive.

One person found this helpful

Marnie

As good as I remembered

Reviewed in Australia on March 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Have been waiting for years for this series to be republished. As good as I remembered.

Kat83

A reasonable start to a great series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2002

Verified Purchase

I agree this book does show signs of being a first book - but I don't think that's a crime! It is a very good read, fast-paced, enthralling and especially clever in the way the alien mindset is dealt with. If you like to see a series, the characters and the author develop then you needn't look any further. It would I believe, be enjoyable for anyone who likes Bujold Mcmasters, Cherryh's Foreigner series, Lee and Miller's stuff or Azaro's work. And no it isn't as good as some of their recent ones - but it very defintely competes competently and attractively with their earlier work.

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Code of Conduct (The Jani Kilian Chronicles Book 1) Kindle Edition

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Review

From the Author

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

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About the author

Kristine Smith

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