Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fine entry to a fine, enjoyable, series, 6 Dec 2008
Kris Longknife series review.
For Intrepid,
I have just finished this, the sixth book in this series about an almost royal navy lieutenant. A fighting princess!
I suppose it is inevitable that this series will be compared to several others, primarily the `Honor Harrington' books by David Weber. This may be true and more on that later. I think they are closer to the `Vatta's War' series by Elizabeth Moon and the first three books of the `Heris Serrano' series by the same author. There is also something of one or two of the Linnea Sinclair novels as well. Of course, all feature female leads so, I suppose, it is a surprise that I, as a male reader, enjoyed them all. Interesting as well that two are by female authors and two by male.
So, having got the comparisons out of the way, to the review. I think it is true to say that I enjoyed this series almost as much as the early (and I do stress this point) HH books. Shepherd writes in a much looser style than Weber and, in some ways, a much more approachable way. There is more humour in the Longknife books and, in some ways, a greater sense of camaraderie. That may be because of the way in which the author knits together the smaller and much tighter group of central characters.
Shepherd doesn't change perspective that much either. Hardly at all in the earlier books of the series (again much like Weber) but more so in the later stories, particularly the last, `Intrepid'. I will say however, that he does it much more smoothly than Weber and to a much lesser degree. For there is the problem with the later HH books. One often forgets the main story line when one is sent, for loads of pages, to somewhere else in the current scenario. For me anyway, I just want to follow the hero. It is sometimes necessary for the author to leave the main story line but, in my opinion, Shepherd does it well. Just enough to move the story along.
Reading all six books `on the trot' provided a great insight into the development of the characters in the `Longknife' posse. That, I think, made the books even more enjoyable. I suppose that, as a romantic, I find it sad that no solid romantic connection has unfolded. It seems that the author doesn't want to develop this facet of her personality - well not yet anyway. That's sad I think. She is 24 after all and, whilst I don't want to sound like a male chauvinist, I would have thought that her thoughts might have turned in that direction to a greater extent than portrayed in the books! In this the books are unlike all of the others I have mentioned above for all have romantic interests.
Of all the books mentioned above I would say that the Longknife series deals the least with space battles. There is none of the countless statistical data one gets in the later HH books. Encounters are short and sharp and don't really suffer for it. There is also much politicking and the involvement of Kris's family members.
I know some reviewers talk about inconsistencies, typos, etc., but I didn't really notice them.
I would recommend this series to any reader of Science Fiction of the more old fashioned kind. You won't find much putting the human race to rights in these books just good old fashioned adventure with an engaging heroine and a cadre of fairly interesting characters. The development of the characters and their interaction adds to the pleasure of discovery as one reads book after book. If you like Honor Harrington, or Kylara Vatta, then I am sure you will enjoy these books.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the enemy of my enemy, 24 Dec 2008
sixth novel in an ongoing series of military science fiction stories starring kris longknife. daughter of a wealthy and powerful family and haunted by the death at the hands of kidnappers of her young brother a long time before, she and a few loyal sidekicks get into various scrapes seeking to do the right thing and oppose a rival family who are not quite so nice.
You can probably get into the series quite easily if you've not ready any of the previous books, as they all stand relatively alone, but the detail and backstory does get to the point where you'd be better off reading them in order [the first is called kris longknife mutineer]. as you'll get more out of them that way. and because it's a very entertaining series.
the end of book five saw kris and friends taking control of a spaceship of their own and setting out to chase space pirates in isolated frontier regions. here, that effort brings them to a small colony under threat from people trying to take it over. the majority of the book involves kris and her efforts to prevent that from happening, which leads to some audacious guerilla tactics. and a few thought provoking moral debates about what people need to do in order to protect their freedoms.
there's still time after that for a sub plot to develop into a much larger one, in which kris has to prevent a member of the rival family from being murdered. she and a member of that family from an interesting relationship in the process, and the characterisation and writing of this is very appealing. a few shocking events also happen, and the dilemmas of these are well considered.
as before with earlier volumes of this series it is a light and enjoyable read. it's military science fiction but it doesnt think war is a good thing, the prose is good and readable and all the characters are very appealing.
another fine entry in an enjoyable series of books. hope there's more to come
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kris Longknife - Warrior Princess!, 13 May 2009
So this book 'Intrepid' follows on from the previous books in the series - a very strong follow-on so this is not really a stand alone book. As the series is fantastic from the start, this is not a problem!
There is a rather convoluted storyline this time so this may not turn out to be the 'quick read' that you think it will be, I found I really did have to concentrate to keep track.
The only disappointment is the same one in all the books which is that there is very little personal interaction between Jack and Kris, very little flirting at all in this one.
Overall, a brilliant addition to the series ... write more quick Mike!!
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