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Title: Mutineer (Kris Longknife) |
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Review of Mutineer (Kris Longknife)
- As a marine of Wardhaven, Kris Longknife has a lot to live up to and a lot to prove in the long-running struggle between her powerful family, a highly defensive-and offensive-Earth, and the hundreds of warring colonies. But an ill-conceived attack is bringing the war close to home and putting Kris's life on the line. Now she has only one choice: certain death on the front lines of rim space-or mutiny.
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Comments for Mutineer (Kris Longknife)
- Posted on 2008-05-12
Great Start to a Very Good Series
This was a great start to a very good series, introducing the heroine, Kris Longknife, scion of a highly wealthy and influencial family, who chucks the life style to join the space Navy, only to have that life style rise up and bite her continually.
Some will compare this to Honor Harrington, although the two series are quite different in tone and focus. I enjoyed the Honor series (at least until the end, when they became a bit repititious and also too military tactic heavy for my taste), and this new series has more of an emphasis on character development.
Plenty of action, interesting concepts, all part of the old fashioned space opera sagas. But this one does not require a list kept to the side to remember scores of characters, and the descriptions are sufficient to give one an understanding of context, but not so detailed as to encourage one to skip the paragraphs for more action-oriented material.
This started the series. While the series itslef is a bit uneven, it does have flashes of excellence (along with the unfortunate minor errors in text that good editing would have caught). And while it's not necessary to read them all to understand any one standing by itself, there is a sense of character development which is enhanced by reading them in order. Plots shifts are explained, but it's fun to watch the development of some of the characaters (expecially her pet computer) over time.
Not great literature, but a highly pleasant diversion.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-04-09
Promising start to a series
"Kris Longknife Mutineer," the first of a series that currently is five novels long, should appeal to fans of both Honor Harrington and Miles Vorkosigan. Striking a fine balance between the solemnity of the former and the playfulness of the latter, in this novel we're introduced to Kristine Longknife, daughter of a politician and a social striver, who joins the navy to escape from her parents.
Kris's strong points aren't strategy and tactics so much as organizational skills and the ability to get people to believe in her. And she succeeds in this in three separate tests of her skills--one involving a kidnap rescue, another a mercy mission to a disaster-stricken planet, and then finally she is involved in Clausewitz's "diplomacy by other means."
Mike Shepherd has a clear no-frills writing style, his plotting is first-rate, and his characters are believeable.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the novels in this promising series, especially as the author appears to have deliberately left some ends loose.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2007-07-27
An excellent series
This series of four books (with number five on the way) is fantastic. Each is impossible to put down once started, so pour yourself a refreshing beverage and pick a comfortable chair to read in. The characters are well drawn and quickly become people you care about. The situations are realistic, the combat sequences intense. It's always such a pleasure to make a find like this.
Score: 5 - Posted on 2007-05-12
Couldnt get into this book.
I bought this book together with Tanya Huff's "A Confederation of Valor" and I thoroughly enjoyed Confederation of Valor. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Kris Longknife's book.
I fully admit I did not read the whole book. In fact, I only read the first fifteen pages. I just found the main character to be weak and the constant flashbacks to be, well, unconducive to good reading. I understand she's young, scared, has hangups about her history. But when she's in the middle of a mission and she's having these wimpy italised moments, I just want to roll my eyes and skip forward.
There are many reviewers who did enjoy this book, and the fact that there are many more in this series shows many people out there do like this book. I'm just being honest and putting my 2 cents on the table.
Score: 2
- Posted on 2007-02-13
Kudos for Kris Longknife
Kris Longknife Mutineer by Mike Shepherd is a fun space opera adventure featuring a naval officer who is also the daughter of a highly placed politician. An ensign serving her first assignment, she has to contend with comrades who think she is a spoiled little rich girl and that she has risen not on the basis of her ability but because of who she is. This book brings the Honor Harrington and Herris Serrano books to mind-- there's nothing particularly unique in it, but it is a fun read with an exciting plot. Kris is an admirable heroine who manages to walk the fine line between honor, service and politics. Without using her familiar connections as a crutch, she does find a way to turn them into an asset for her and the other soldiers. I look forward to reading more books in the series!
Score: 4