Kris Longknife is a spoiled brat that wants to prove to the Universe, and everyone else besides, that she's just a normal girl like the others, except she has her name to live with, as "one of those Longknife's".
Ok, throughout the book we get pestered with this catch phrase, along with Kris' champion-like achievements, and never ending resourcefulness (back when she worked as a campaing manager for her father, grandfather, great-grandfather, the lot). Mary Sue syndrome ensues, since everyone else near her gets -5 in IQ , and she never fails, even managing to produce a few useful gemstones.
And since this is military sci-fi, here comes the Scots with their martial traditions and bagpipes... I don't know what's going on with writers these days, I've seen this in three or four different stories, and every time it sounds the same. It gets annoying after a while for a fan of military sci-fi. I wouldn't hold it against the writer if this was my first read of this sub-genre, but nowadays it has become boring reading time after time the prowess, bravery, and traditions of the Scottish Highlanders. Bleh.
There are a few positive things about the story, like the interplay between generations due to age-treatments, interesting off-shoots of the technology, and an over-arching plot that can keep things interesting over the coming books.
Anyway, if you ignore the Mary-Sue-ism of the main character it can be a fast and interesting read, if you can't ignore it, just give it a go and forget about it.
