I've been reading science fiction of various sub-genres for over 40 years. That's science fiction. Not fantasy. All kinds. The sometimes comedic, sometimes romantic and always entertaining Barrayarans of Bujold; the tomes of Neal Stephenson; the warped history provided by Flint's 1632 phenomenon.... But my heart will always beat a tad faster when I get to enjoy a really excellent space opera with a military flavor - particularly with a strong female protagonist (Weber's Honor Harrington, Moon's Kylara Vatta and Haris Serrano, Bear's Jenny Casey as examples).

I remember the first thing I did after reading A Soldier's Duty was look up when the next series installment was due to be published - and cursed. A whole year?!? Fine. Whatever. It'll probably be worth it.

Moments before sitting down to write this, I finished An Officer's Duty. I was not disappointed. It actually is better than the first one - and that's an achievement.

You want something that's got it all: action; romance; politics; interesting, fleshed out characters; a well-constructed universe and just a darn good story with tremendous pacing?

Read this book. Actually, first read A Soldier's Duty or you'll be lost.

Another cool thing is that I couldn't tell you what Jean Johnson's political leanings are. That's kind of refreshing in modern sf. (Take a lesson, brothers Kollin.)

The next one in the series, Hellfire, comes out in...Another year?!?

Meioa Johnson, I salute you. But, could you pick up the pace a bit. Please?