What do you think?
Rate this book
Kris Longknife #1
Mutineer
Kris Longknife is a daughter of privilege, born to money and power. Her father is the Prime Minister of her home planet. Her mother the consummate politician's wife. She's been raised only to be beautiful and marry well. But the heritage of the military Longknifes courses through Kris's blood-and, against her parents' objections, she enlists in the marines.
389 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 27, 2004
151 people are currently reading
2567 people want to read
About the author
Mike Shepherd
80 books565 followersA pseudonym used by Mike Moscoe.
Mike was born in the Philadelphia Navy Yard Hospital -- and left that town at the age of three days for reasons he does not presently recall. But they had to draft him to get him back there. He missed very little of the rest of the country. Growing up Navy, he lived about everywhere you could park an aircraft carrier.
Mike was one of those college students who didn't have to worry about finding a job after graduation. In 1968, his Uncle Sam made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Two days into boot camp, the Army was wondering if they might not have been a bit hasty. Mike ended the day in the Intensive Care Unit of the local Army hospital. Despite most of Mike’s personal war stories being limited to "How I flunked boot camp," he can still write a rollicking good military SF yarns.
Mike didn’t survive all that long as a cab driver (he got lost) or bartender (he made the drinks too strong) but he figured he could at least work for the Navy Department as a budget analyst. Until he spent the whole day trying to balance the barracks accounts for paint. Finally, about quitting time, a grinning senior analyst took him aside and let him in on the secret. They'd hidden the money for refitting a battleship in that little account. Slowly it dawned on Mike that there were a few things about the Navy that even a kid who grew up in it would never understand.
Over the next twenty years, Mike branched out into other genres, including instruction memos, policies, performance standards and even a few labor contracts. All of those, you may notice, lack a certain something. Dialogue ... those things in quotes. In `87, Mike’s big break came. He landed on a two year special project to build a digital map showing where the trees, rivers, roads, Spotted Owls and other critters were in western Oregon. The list went on and on with no end in sight and two years became ten.
Since there was no writing involved in his new day job, Mike had to do something to get the words out. He signed up for a writing class at Clark Community College and proudly turned in a story ... Star Wars shoots down the second coming of Christ.
Two years later, Analog bought "Summer Hopes, Winter Dreams" for the March, 1991 issue. Four years later he sold his first novel. In the ten years since then, Mike’s turned in twelve novels and is researching the next three.
Mike's love for Science Fiction started when he picked up "Rocket Ship Galileo" in the fifth grade, and then proceeded to read every book in the library with a rocket sticker on its spine.
Mike digs for his stories among people and change. Through his interest in history, he has traces the transformations that make us what we are today. Science launches us forward into an ever changing universe. Once upon a time, the only changes in peoples lives came with the turning of the seasons and the growing wrinkles on their brows. Today, science drives most of the changes in our daily lives. Still, we can't avoid the pressure of our own awakening hormones or hardening arteries. Mike is happiest when his stories are speeding across thin ice, balanced on the edge of two sharp blades, one anciently human, the other as new as tomorrow's research.
Trained in International Relations and history, salary administration and bargaining, theology and counseling, Mike is having a ball writing about Kris Longknife ... coming of age while the world her grand parents built threatens to crash down around her ears. These are books I think you’ll love ... and my granddaughter and grandsons too!
Mike lives in Vancouver, Washington, with his wife Ellen, his mother-in-law and any visiting grandkids. He enjoys reading, writing, watching grand-children for story ideas and upgrading his computer -- all are never ending.
Mike was born in the Philadelphia Navy Yard Hospital -- and left that town at the age of three days for reasons he does not presently recall. But they had to draft him to get him back there. He missed very little of the rest of the country. Growing up Navy, he lived about everywhere you could park an aircraft carrier.
Mike was one of those college students who didn't have to worry about finding a job after graduation. In 1968, his Uncle Sam made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Two days into boot camp, the Army was wondering if they might not have been a bit hasty. Mike ended the day in the Intensive Care Unit of the local Army hospital. Despite most of Mike’s personal war stories being limited to "How I flunked boot camp," he can still write a rollicking good military SF yarns.
Mike didn’t survive all that long as a cab driver (he got lost) or bartender (he made the drinks too strong) but he figured he could at least work for the Navy Department as a budget analyst. Until he spent the whole day trying to balance the barracks accounts for paint. Finally, about quitting time, a grinning senior analyst took him aside and let him in on the secret. They'd hidden the money for refitting a battleship in that little account. Slowly it dawned on Mike that there were a few things about the Navy that even a kid who grew up in it would never understand.
Over the next twenty years, Mike branched out into other genres, including instruction memos, policies, performance standards and even a few labor contracts. All of those, you may notice, lack a certain something. Dialogue ... those things in quotes. In `87, Mike’s big break came. He landed on a two year special project to build a digital map showing where the trees, rivers, roads, Spotted Owls and other critters were in western Oregon. The list went on and on with no end in sight and two years became ten.
Since there was no writing involved in his new day job, Mike had to do something to get the words out. He signed up for a writing class at Clark Community College and proudly turned in a story ... Star Wars shoots down the second coming of Christ.
Two years later, Analog bought "Summer Hopes, Winter Dreams" for the March, 1991 issue. Four years later he sold his first novel. In the ten years since then, Mike’s turned in twelve novels and is researching the next three.
Mike's love for Science Fiction started when he picked up "Rocket Ship Galileo" in the fifth grade, and then proceeded to read every book in the library with a rocket sticker on its spine.
Mike digs for his stories among people and change. Through his interest in history, he has traces the transformations that make us what we are today. Science launches us forward into an ever changing universe. Once upon a time, the only changes in peoples lives came with the turning of the seasons and the growing wrinkles on their brows. Today, science drives most of the changes in our daily lives. Still, we can't avoid the pressure of our own awakening hormones or hardening arteries. Mike is happiest when his stories are speeding across thin ice, balanced on the edge of two sharp blades, one anciently human, the other as new as tomorrow's research.
Trained in International Relations and history, salary administration and bargaining, theology and counseling, Mike is having a ball writing about Kris Longknife ... coming of age while the world her grand parents built threatens to crash down around her ears. These are books I think you’ll love ... and my granddaughter and grandsons too!
Mike lives in Vancouver, Washington, with his wife Ellen, his mother-in-law and any visiting grandkids. He enjoys reading, writing, watching grand-children for story ideas and upgrading his computer -- all are never ending.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 293 reviews
April 15, 2013
I wanted very much for this to be better than it was. But while it was not bad, neither was it particularly good. It's a Big Mac of a space opera, a perfectly average, standard, processed serving delivering a pleasant if unexceptional taste but no nutritional value. Mike Shepherd seems to be trying to imitate David Weber or Lois McMaster Bujold, and since I am not particularly a fan of either of them (I know, sacrilege), this story did little for me. It was entertaining enough for the time I spent listening to it, but I don't really care about Kris Longknife and her future military career and whatever political shenanigans will continue through the next few books, nor was I even lured by the promise of the aliens repeatedly mentioned in this book but never seen.
Kris Longknife is a daughter of privilege in this far future where Earth is a corrupt, decadent old world at the center of a union spanning hundreds of colony worlds. Her father is the Prime Minister of Wardhaven, and he's been a cold, political creature since Kris's little brother was killed following a botched kidnapping when she was ten. Kris, following years of guilt and a bit of teenage alcoholism, was inspired by her war-hero grandfather to join the Navy, much to her parents' horror.
In the first part of the book, we are introduced to Kris as a boot Ensign in charge of a bunch of space marines who are on a rescue mission to save a little girl who's been kidnapped by terrorists. Of course this dredges up all of Kris's issues, and already she was trying me, because the whole time it was "OH, the angst! I'm coming, Tommy! I won't let this little girl die like you did! Oh, how can I focus on the job when I keep remembering my dead little brother angst!angst!angst!"
I'm sure something like that will haunt you for your entire life, but it happened when she was a kid, and now she's an adult and a naval officer. One would think she'd have developed some coping skills by now. But saving the little girl was clearly meant to be the point where she finally is able to put her brother to rest.
Then we get more family background, Kris takes a lot of crap from fellow officers because of course she's one of "those Longknives" and everyone knows she's a rich girl who decided to join the military for whatever reason. She is assigned to a humanitarian mission on a nearly-abandoned colony world where people are starving and facing floods and plagues, and since she's so exceptional, she manages to whip the green, bottom-of-the-barrel unit she's assigned to into kick-ass troops who beat off bandits and save the starving farmers, etc.
In the meantime, there's some kind of plot where political enemies of her family are trying to set her up to be killed, which introduces the main bad guys and a dubious romantic interest for future books.
The "mutiny" of the book's title does not take place until nearly the end of the book, and like all the things Kris does, it's an act that requires a certain amount of bravery and competence, but no hard moral choices — throughout the book, the reader is never left in doubt that Kris is absolutely doing the right thing and anyone who opposes her is wrong.
If you really like military SF and female protagonists, this may be worth checking out, but I'm unlikely to pick up the rest of the series unless I'm starved for something better.
Kris Longknife is a daughter of privilege in this far future where Earth is a corrupt, decadent old world at the center of a union spanning hundreds of colony worlds. Her father is the Prime Minister of Wardhaven, and he's been a cold, political creature since Kris's little brother was killed following a botched kidnapping when she was ten. Kris, following years of guilt and a bit of teenage alcoholism, was inspired by her war-hero grandfather to join the Navy, much to her parents' horror.
In the first part of the book, we are introduced to Kris as a boot Ensign in charge of a bunch of space marines who are on a rescue mission to save a little girl who's been kidnapped by terrorists. Of course this dredges up all of Kris's issues, and already she was trying me, because the whole time it was "OH, the angst! I'm coming, Tommy! I won't let this little girl die like you did! Oh, how can I focus on the job when I keep remembering my dead little brother angst!angst!angst!"
I'm sure something like that will haunt you for your entire life, but it happened when she was a kid, and now she's an adult and a naval officer. One would think she'd have developed some coping skills by now. But saving the little girl was clearly meant to be the point where she finally is able to put her brother to rest.
Then we get more family background, Kris takes a lot of crap from fellow officers because of course she's one of "those Longknives" and everyone knows she's a rich girl who decided to join the military for whatever reason. She is assigned to a humanitarian mission on a nearly-abandoned colony world where people are starving and facing floods and plagues, and since she's so exceptional, she manages to whip the green, bottom-of-the-barrel unit she's assigned to into kick-ass troops who beat off bandits and save the starving farmers, etc.
In the meantime, there's some kind of plot where political enemies of her family are trying to set her up to be killed, which introduces the main bad guys and a dubious romantic interest for future books.
The "mutiny" of the book's title does not take place until nearly the end of the book, and like all the things Kris does, it's an act that requires a certain amount of bravery and competence, but no hard moral choices — throughout the book, the reader is never left in doubt that Kris is absolutely doing the right thing and anyone who opposes her is wrong.
If you really like military SF and female protagonists, this may be worth checking out, but I'm unlikely to pick up the rest of the series unless I'm starved for something better.
August 23, 2022
Check out my Booktube channel at: The Obsessive Bookseller
DNF Q&A:
Did you really give Mutineer a chance?
Not as much as I usually give before throwing in the towel – 25%. But it was clear from very early on the book was not going to resonate with me.
Have you enjoyed other books in the same genre?
Space Opera SciFi? Heck yeah! Even the cheesier ones. I was hoping this series would be a fun palate cleanser between other reads, but alas. Here are a few I enjoyed a lot more:
Did you have certain expectations before starting it?
Hopeful optimism that the books would be at least 3-star quality. Beyond that I felt like I was ready to put up with a lot of weaker components if the overall story was entertaining.
What ultimately made you stop reading?
Ugh. About the point where the main character was in someone’s kitchen planetside describing the finer points of white flour and Ghirardelli chocolates, I lost patience. We were so completely removed from what I signed up for that I’d had enough. I read a few chapters more, but knew it was going to be a DNF. There were just too many things leading up to that point that had me dissatisfied.
Character development was one of the biggest misses.
The main character was not realistic to me in the slightest. Having suffered trauma at an early age, the character experienced several unbelievable reactions early on in the book. Where the mere mention of the event sent her into fits of fainting, unable to control her body. It was eye-rolling and very immature.
I’m by no means downplaying the different effects trauma can have on someone. To add context, this woman grew up very wealthy (using the “poor little rich girl” angle that drove me crazy) and her family was aware of the trauma. As infeasible as I find it that someone with that much distance from the event and resources available to heal from it would still be experiencing reactions to that degree years later, it’s the fact that she’s a ranking military officer that finalized how much I disliked that plot point. I’ve never been in the military, but I’m pretty sure they don’t let you in without background checks and psychological evaluations to ensure you’re not going to have episodes in the middle of dangerous situations where you could get others killed. At the very least she would’ve gotten help from the base shrink.
This is a very specific rant, yet the unrealistic aspects of the story kept trickling in left and right to the point where the author lost my trust in his ability to deliver a story that would work for me.
The final tip off was when the main character’s parents were introduced, and as it turns out she was not only a spoiled rich girl, but a petulant one at that. Peace out.
Is there anything you liked about Mutineer?
The fact that it was a Scifi. Although considering how little of the first part had to do with actual space, I’m more or less assuming here.
Would you read anything else by the author?
No. I need things to make more sense than they did here, and I need more realistic development of characters. The author and I are so far apart on preferences that I don’t think it possible to ever meet in the middle.
So you DNFed the book. Would you still recommend it?
Well, since most my complaints were very specific dislikes about the plot itself (and how unrealistic I found them), perhaps someone with more patience and a willingness to go with the flow might actually like it when they get to the space parts. At this point I probably wouldn’t mention it even in passing to someone though. Most books that I don’t like are from an evaluation standpoint, whereas this one actively annoyed the snot out of me lol.
Thank you to my Patrons: Filipe, Dave, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, and Katrin! <3
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
DNF Q&A:
Did you really give Mutineer a chance?
Not as much as I usually give before throwing in the towel – 25%. But it was clear from very early on the book was not going to resonate with me.
Have you enjoyed other books in the same genre?
Space Opera SciFi? Heck yeah! Even the cheesier ones. I was hoping this series would be a fun palate cleanser between other reads, but alas. Here are a few I enjoyed a lot more:
Did you have certain expectations before starting it?
Hopeful optimism that the books would be at least 3-star quality. Beyond that I felt like I was ready to put up with a lot of weaker components if the overall story was entertaining.
What ultimately made you stop reading?
Ugh. About the point where the main character was in someone’s kitchen planetside describing the finer points of white flour and Ghirardelli chocolates, I lost patience. We were so completely removed from what I signed up for that I’d had enough. I read a few chapters more, but knew it was going to be a DNF. There were just too many things leading up to that point that had me dissatisfied.
Character development was one of the biggest misses.
The main character was not realistic to me in the slightest. Having suffered trauma at an early age, the character experienced several unbelievable reactions early on in the book. Where the mere mention of the event sent her into fits of fainting, unable to control her body. It was eye-rolling and very immature.
I’m by no means downplaying the different effects trauma can have on someone. To add context, this woman grew up very wealthy (using the “poor little rich girl” angle that drove me crazy) and her family was aware of the trauma. As infeasible as I find it that someone with that much distance from the event and resources available to heal from it would still be experiencing reactions to that degree years later, it’s the fact that she’s a ranking military officer that finalized how much I disliked that plot point. I’ve never been in the military, but I’m pretty sure they don’t let you in without background checks and psychological evaluations to ensure you’re not going to have episodes in the middle of dangerous situations where you could get others killed. At the very least she would’ve gotten help from the base shrink.
This is a very specific rant, yet the unrealistic aspects of the story kept trickling in left and right to the point where the author lost my trust in his ability to deliver a story that would work for me.
The final tip off was when the main character’s parents were introduced, and as it turns out she was not only a spoiled rich girl, but a petulant one at that. Peace out.
Is there anything you liked about Mutineer?
The fact that it was a Scifi. Although considering how little of the first part had to do with actual space, I’m more or less assuming here.
Would you read anything else by the author?
No. I need things to make more sense than they did here, and I need more realistic development of characters. The author and I are so far apart on preferences that I don’t think it possible to ever meet in the middle.
So you DNFed the book. Would you still recommend it?
Well, since most my complaints were very specific dislikes about the plot itself (and how unrealistic I found them), perhaps someone with more patience and a willingness to go with the flow might actually like it when they get to the space parts. At this point I probably wouldn’t mention it even in passing to someone though. Most books that I don’t like are from an evaluation standpoint, whereas this one actively annoyed the snot out of me lol.
Thank you to my Patrons: Filipe, Dave, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, and Katrin! <3
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
May 20, 2011
I love military sci-fi, but this book was overall a disappointment. I should have had my first warning when the back cover said that she "enlists in the marines [sic]" and yet it's made clear by page 7 that Kris is, in fact, in the Navy. The entire book is like this, riddled with typographical errors (apostrophe errors, to/too and its/it's errors, incomplete sentences) to a degree that made me wonder if it had had an editor at all.
There are a number of enjoyable elements, including a promising opening: Kris has been placed in charge of a Marine drop-mission to rescue a hostage. Flashbacks to the kidnapping of her younger brother, when she was ten, gives us the basic story behind why she joined the Navy against her parents' wishes, and why this mission is so important to her; a bit of an obvious ploy, but the actual mission parts are nicely tense reading, as several things in a row go wrong and Kris has to improvise her way to success. Essentially the same thing happens on her second mission, a rescue-and-relief mission on a planet overwhelmed by a volcanic eruption; it's a bit reminiscent of Miles Vorkosigan at Kyril Island, in fact, with the intrepid Ensign faced with a demoralized, ineffective, slovenly outpost she resolutely jump-starts into effectiveness.
At the end of her first mission, the Chief asks Kris why she's in the Navy. Kris responds that she wanted to "do some good" and get away from her family's restrictive attention. The Chief tells her that's "enough reason to join. Not good enough to stay. Let me know when you figure out why you want to be Navy," and this is essentially what ties the book together: we're watching Kris figure out the answer.
The main reasons for my disappointment were the pacing, which was rough and laggard at times, and the handling of Kris's character.
The pacing of the novel is awkward, even jarring. It almost reads as three missions separated by filler, like short stories that were roughly joined together into a novel, given the vast differences in the situations, from hostage extraction to humanitarian aid to a major interstellar battle (or at least the start of one). In between these sections are stretches of dull nothing - Kris visits her aunt for a computer upgrade, talks to her parents, and all the narrative tension built up during the action becomes motionless. The pacing also feels very uneven: by page 300, I was starting to wonder why the subtitle of the book was "Mutineer" -- three-quarters in, there was no sign of any mutiny, and in fact Kris was still stuck on Olympia, wrapping up the aid mission. The entire mission wherein the "mutiny" occurs takes up only the last 63 pages, hardly time to build the tension needed.
As for Kris, she was far less enjoyable when she wasn't on a mission. I do not read military science fiction novels for the joy of seeing an adult woman whine about her small bust or try to buck her security detail after there have been three attempts on her life. Nor do I expect a character who has been in the military to be so sexually clueless that she panics at the mere possibility of a slightly flirtatious joke from a friend.
I read a review that called Kris an "unintentional" man in a woman's body, and this does seem true at a few points -- most notably, the state dinner where the men are all dismissed in one clause as "ignorable" and the next five paragraphs are about the women's dresses (specifically, how much breast the dresses display). However, most of the time, I felt Kris was a woman as written by a man with no female friends: when she's being a Naval officer, she's a person, but whenever the subject veers onto personal ground, she becomes "a girl," which is to say a cheap copy of every teen-movie character of the last century: insecure about her body and attractiveness, but completely nonsexual; rebelling against her mother's attempts to make her fashionable/attractive, but analyzing what all the other women wear. It's as if Shepherd has no idea what women think or do, so his characterization of Kris leaps from one pole to the other, rarely touching the middle ground where real people tend to be.
Overall, I suggest skipping this novel in favor of something by Tanya Huff, Lois Bujold, or even David Weber -- all of them write more convincing and entertaining military sci-fi with female leads, and they don't make me grind my teeth every other chapter.
There are a number of enjoyable elements, including a promising opening: Kris has been placed in charge of a Marine drop-mission to rescue a hostage. Flashbacks to the kidnapping of her younger brother, when she was ten, gives us the basic story behind why she joined the Navy against her parents' wishes, and why this mission is so important to her; a bit of an obvious ploy, but the actual mission parts are nicely tense reading, as several things in a row go wrong and Kris has to improvise her way to success. Essentially the same thing happens on her second mission, a rescue-and-relief mission on a planet overwhelmed by a volcanic eruption; it's a bit reminiscent of Miles Vorkosigan at Kyril Island, in fact, with the intrepid Ensign faced with a demoralized, ineffective, slovenly outpost she resolutely jump-starts into effectiveness.
At the end of her first mission, the Chief asks Kris why she's in the Navy. Kris responds that she wanted to "do some good" and get away from her family's restrictive attention. The Chief tells her that's "enough reason to join. Not good enough to stay. Let me know when you figure out why you want to be Navy," and this is essentially what ties the book together: we're watching Kris figure out the answer.
The main reasons for my disappointment were the pacing, which was rough and laggard at times, and the handling of Kris's character.
The pacing of the novel is awkward, even jarring. It almost reads as three missions separated by filler, like short stories that were roughly joined together into a novel, given the vast differences in the situations, from hostage extraction to humanitarian aid to a major interstellar battle (or at least the start of one). In between these sections are stretches of dull nothing - Kris visits her aunt for a computer upgrade, talks to her parents, and all the narrative tension built up during the action becomes motionless. The pacing also feels very uneven: by page 300, I was starting to wonder why the subtitle of the book was "Mutineer" -- three-quarters in, there was no sign of any mutiny, and in fact Kris was still stuck on Olympia, wrapping up the aid mission. The entire mission wherein the "mutiny" occurs takes up only the last 63 pages, hardly time to build the tension needed.
As for Kris, she was far less enjoyable when she wasn't on a mission. I do not read military science fiction novels for the joy of seeing an adult woman whine about her small bust or try to buck her security detail after there have been three attempts on her life. Nor do I expect a character who has been in the military to be so sexually clueless that she panics at the mere possibility of a slightly flirtatious joke from a friend.
I read a review that called Kris an "unintentional" man in a woman's body, and this does seem true at a few points -- most notably, the state dinner where the men are all dismissed in one clause as "ignorable" and the next five paragraphs are about the women's dresses (specifically, how much breast the dresses display). However, most of the time, I felt Kris was a woman as written by a man with no female friends: when she's being a Naval officer, she's a person, but whenever the subject veers onto personal ground, she becomes "a girl," which is to say a cheap copy of every teen-movie character of the last century: insecure about her body and attractiveness, but completely nonsexual; rebelling against her mother's attempts to make her fashionable/attractive, but analyzing what all the other women wear. It's as if Shepherd has no idea what women think or do, so his characterization of Kris leaps from one pole to the other, rarely touching the middle ground where real people tend to be.
Overall, I suggest skipping this novel in favor of something by Tanya Huff, Lois Bujold, or even David Weber -- all of them write more convincing and entertaining military sci-fi with female leads, and they don't make me grind my teeth every other chapter.
September 6, 2010
The daughter of a governor to a settled planet, Kris enjoyed a life of luxury and prestige--but she felt it was more of a prison than anything. In an effort to make her own way in the universe, she joined the marines. Unfortunately, the military of the outer rim planets lacks the support it needs to continue operations, as there isn’t much conflict like there used to be.
After a spectacular rescue of a little girl from terrorists on a neighboring planet, Kris is relegated to humanitarian duty on a planet whose environment has gone haywire from man-made interference. She realizes that her assignment may not be coincidence, and that her brush with death on the kidnapping rescue mission may not have been coincidence, either.
When I picked up Kris Longnife: Mutineer off Amazon, I did it because a lot of people seemed to like the book, the cover is cool, and it’s about a woman military type and I think it’s cool for a woman to be able to fight. Not very good reasons to choose a book, as I found out. It’s not a poorly written book, but neither is it stellar writing, and after coming off the high after reading Bujold’s Curse of Chalion, it was hard not to compare the flat prose and boring characters.
The opening chapters are slow and pedantic. It’s supposed to be this exciting rescue mission, but we’re instead jerked out of the here-and-how with too many flashbacks from not only when her brother was kidnapped and murdered, but her troubled teenage years.
Shepherd's prose is basic, rife with cliché and not descriptive beyond the required setting elements and sci fi technological details. This story is all about plot, no doubt, as one event after another occurs, strung along as we follow Kris’s travels from one planet to another. You’d think that all this information was to build up for a spectacular ending. But…the climax events have little direct relation with Kris’s actions in the rest of the book, which, as a plot-based book, should have tied more directly into the main body of the story.
The characterization is little more developed than the setting. Shepherd attempts to give Kris flaws, but this 21-year-old woman is a know-it-all with better solutions than her more experienced senior officers. It goes so far beyond reality it suspends belief. She always knows the right thing to do. I don’t remember being that mature and smart when I was 21. Shepherd tries to write Kris as a woman, really he does, but in essence she’s a man in a woman’s body with a few irrational emotional episodes tucked in for good measure. I had a hard time identifying with this woman on any level. Kris does have issues she struggles through, it's just that Shepherd isn't very subtle about it.
If you like a good adventure, perhaps compared to Gemmel's books, where your hero is a truly heroic, then you will probably like this book. Otherwise, I probably won't read the rest of the books in this series, just because I can't care enough about Kris to do it.
After a spectacular rescue of a little girl from terrorists on a neighboring planet, Kris is relegated to humanitarian duty on a planet whose environment has gone haywire from man-made interference. She realizes that her assignment may not be coincidence, and that her brush with death on the kidnapping rescue mission may not have been coincidence, either.
When I picked up Kris Longnife: Mutineer off Amazon, I did it because a lot of people seemed to like the book, the cover is cool, and it’s about a woman military type and I think it’s cool for a woman to be able to fight. Not very good reasons to choose a book, as I found out. It’s not a poorly written book, but neither is it stellar writing, and after coming off the high after reading Bujold’s Curse of Chalion, it was hard not to compare the flat prose and boring characters.
The opening chapters are slow and pedantic. It’s supposed to be this exciting rescue mission, but we’re instead jerked out of the here-and-how with too many flashbacks from not only when her brother was kidnapped and murdered, but her troubled teenage years.
Shepherd's prose is basic, rife with cliché and not descriptive beyond the required setting elements and sci fi technological details. This story is all about plot, no doubt, as one event after another occurs, strung along as we follow Kris’s travels from one planet to another. You’d think that all this information was to build up for a spectacular ending. But…the climax events have little direct relation with Kris’s actions in the rest of the book, which, as a plot-based book, should have tied more directly into the main body of the story.
The characterization is little more developed than the setting. Shepherd attempts to give Kris flaws, but this 21-year-old woman is a know-it-all with better solutions than her more experienced senior officers. It goes so far beyond reality it suspends belief. She always knows the right thing to do. I don’t remember being that mature and smart when I was 21. Shepherd tries to write Kris as a woman, really he does, but in essence she’s a man in a woman’s body with a few irrational emotional episodes tucked in for good measure. I had a hard time identifying with this woman on any level. Kris does have issues she struggles through, it's just that Shepherd isn't very subtle about it.
If you like a good adventure, perhaps compared to Gemmel's books, where your hero is a truly heroic, then you will probably like this book. Otherwise, I probably won't read the rest of the books in this series, just because I can't care enough about Kris to do it.
January 1, 2016
This was my take-a-risk purchase in our anniversary trip to Powell's in Portland this year. Since that was only days ago and I've already finished it, well, it obviously didn't suck. This is the first in a long-running series and you can kind of feel the freshman jitters of it. For one, there are some pretty awkward flashbacks done as memories in the first chapter that were unnecessary (provided the information had been given later—more proximate to the need later).
That said, this was a decent space-Marine (even if she was actually Navy) story. By which I mean that it held my interest and kept me engaged to the end. Better, it interested me enough that I'm eager to continue with the next. Again, nothing groundbreaking, but Shepherd has good pacing and a plot that held together and characters I liked spending time with. I have minor qualms about some of the background, but nothing major and the setup has lots of room for things to blow up in interesting ways. As is the norm for such stories, the heroine is, of course, the right person at the right time to be outstanding and show her superior leadership and imitative. So it was good that Shepherd seems to know enough about people and command to make those scenes believable and the situations dynamic and interesting (and without pulling weird rabbits out of his hat for his main character while he was at it). Not that Kris doesn't have rabbits to pull out of her hat, but they're all accounted for well in advance of need and that makes all the difference for narrative flow and believable developments.
So this was a gratifying find and I now regret not buying more of the series when I had the chance. Which is the better regret to have when taking one of my book gambles.
That said, this was a decent space-Marine (even if she was actually Navy) story. By which I mean that it held my interest and kept me engaged to the end. Better, it interested me enough that I'm eager to continue with the next. Again, nothing groundbreaking, but Shepherd has good pacing and a plot that held together and characters I liked spending time with. I have minor qualms about some of the background, but nothing major and the setup has lots of room for things to blow up in interesting ways. As is the norm for such stories, the heroine is, of course, the right person at the right time to be outstanding and show her superior leadership and imitative. So it was good that Shepherd seems to know enough about people and command to make those scenes believable and the situations dynamic and interesting (and without pulling weird rabbits out of his hat for his main character while he was at it). Not that Kris doesn't have rabbits to pull out of her hat, but they're all accounted for well in advance of need and that makes all the difference for narrative flow and believable developments.
So this was a gratifying find and I now regret not buying more of the series when I had the chance. Which is the better regret to have when taking one of my book gambles.
July 30, 2012
Promising story line in the genre of military space opera, but ultimately this debut of a long series (9 and counting) was disappointing to me. Ensign Kris Longknife, daughter of a planetary prime minister seeks a career in the space navy as a means to achievement and adventure away from family politics. But her family connections and privileged background either prejudices people against her or raises unrealistic expectations. The scenarios on planets and shipboard provide interesting challenges to her leadership and courage. The premise resembles that of David Weber's satisfying Honor Harrington series, and it's okay that Shepherd leans more to the action sphere and less to the social and political. However, as a character she is not as engaging, and the comic relief is not as successful. But I will try another one or two to see if the stories improve with the writer's experience.
March 29, 2014
I changed the rating on this a couple of times. I almost went two stars but in the end the book was a disappointment. (I didn't even force my way through the final few paragraphs.)
Some of you will disagree with me on this and not all of you for the same reasons. This could have been a very good book. I started it with high hopes. I liked the opening sequence . But over all the book was slow and annoying though with periods of interest.
Now one thing I'll mention that WOULD NOT have been a deal breaker is that I have seen this character so often before. Off the top of my head I can think of 3 science fiction series with "this character". She's the rich daughter of a powerful family who has decided she needs to do something "good" and "meaningful". She has to put up with officers and/or superiors who resent her and give her a hard time. She then performs brilliantly to the surprise of all...the dismay of many and so on.
Now...let me give you the part that will please some and displease others.
I read in the review of another "military science fiction read" by another reviewer that "said" military science fiction is often told from a politically conservative point of view.
Well good news for all of you who don't like conservatives. this book is firmly in the "large government" corner. We get left wing slogans and even sarcastic shots at a famous Thomas Jefferson quote. So you've got your left wing military science fiction read, enjoy.
I tried to like the book. the problem was that as the book went forward it got more and more involved in it's political points and less involved with it's story. We had of course early on the "obligatory" trip home on leave where "the military daughter" wanders around the home planet, puts her nose in political problems...and goes sailing (don't ask me they always have to go sailing, or swimming, or horse back riding, or something to show their "wealthy background no matter what the writer's political stance).
When we got to the final big climax and the "villain" was such a caricature that he reminded me of Stephen Colbert's character it finished me.
No, could have been a great read. That said i assume the writer accomplished what he was going for and his target audience will be happy. So if that's you enjoy. As for me, not much actual military science fiction here, too bad.
Some of you will disagree with me on this and not all of you for the same reasons. This could have been a very good book. I started it with high hopes. I liked the opening sequence . But over all the book was slow and annoying though with periods of interest.
Now one thing I'll mention that WOULD NOT have been a deal breaker is that I have seen this character so often before. Off the top of my head I can think of 3 science fiction series with "this character". She's the rich daughter of a powerful family who has decided she needs to do something "good" and "meaningful". She has to put up with officers and/or superiors who resent her and give her a hard time. She then performs brilliantly to the surprise of all...the dismay of many and so on.
Now...let me give you the part that will please some and displease others.
I read in the review of another "military science fiction read" by another reviewer that "said" military science fiction is often told from a politically conservative point of view.
Well good news for all of you who don't like conservatives. this book is firmly in the "large government" corner. We get left wing slogans and even sarcastic shots at a famous Thomas Jefferson quote. So you've got your left wing military science fiction read, enjoy.
I tried to like the book. the problem was that as the book went forward it got more and more involved in it's political points and less involved with it's story. We had of course early on the "obligatory" trip home on leave where "the military daughter" wanders around the home planet, puts her nose in political problems...and goes sailing (don't ask me they always have to go sailing, or swimming, or horse back riding, or something to show their "wealthy background no matter what the writer's political stance).
When we got to the final big climax and the "villain" was such a caricature that he reminded me of Stephen Colbert's character it finished me.
No, could have been a great read. That said i assume the writer accomplished what he was going for and his target audience will be happy. So if that's you enjoy. As for me, not much actual military science fiction here, too bad.
January 17, 2013
The quick and dirty:
Rating: 2.5 stars
Length: On the high end of average (389 pages)
Publication: January 27, 2004 from Ace Books
Premise: The book opens with Kris Longknife, a Navy ensign fresh out of officer training, commanding a frantic hostage rescue mission. She struggles to balance her own doubts and the shadows of her own past with her drive to succeed and prove that she's deserving of her family's oldest histories. As soon as the mission ends, she's put on leave. She thinks that going home for a short visit with her parents will just kill time, but instead it introduces her to plots that were moving long before her birth and to the stirrings of a potential interstellar war.
Warnings: recounting of a past gang rape against many one-shot characters, past death of a child close to the protagonist
Recommendation: If you really adore space opera with a dash of politics then you might enjoy this, but I can't honestly endorse paying full price for it. Take a look on your next used bookstore run if you're interested.
Why this one is such old-fashioned fun:
Mike Shepherd knows how to start by flooring the gas; the opening sequence promises great things of the rest of the book. A tense hostage situation with high stakes, rescue on the fly, and hints of larger forces at work make for an incredibly strong first few chapters. Kris is new to command, but her marines and her sergeant aren't, which creates a rooted sense of connection with the rest of the military. She's taking point and owning the responsibility for her decisions, but she's doing so as part of a unit. Combining the chain of command, the solidity of the veterans with her, and the willingness to risk life and limb for another gives the story a sense of being anchored in military structures that date back to our present day and centuries before. That aura of tradition grounds the book more solidly in reality than most other space opera, and the tone absolutely works.
This book shines in the fashion of most good space opera. There's a proud military tradition of trying to avoid war whenever possible but doing anything necessary when the time comes. When the Space-Scots Highlanders show up, we're treated to a really wonderful story of Kris's great-grandfather leading a night charge up a hill to save a city. This story is told in high style, comes off as genuinely sorrowful for the lost, and places military history in a proud tradition, especially given the emotions and demeanor of the people telling it.
Kris's family history also works well in that vein, though by the end of the book you'll certainly be tired of seeing people call her "one of those Longknifes." She's part of a military tradition that skipped her grandfather and father, leaving her with two legendary great-grandfathers. Their style of getting it done in off-the-wall ways shows itself again in her. In most books I'd call that trite and simplistic, but space opera does Ancestral Tradition of Awesome really well. David Weber, author of the Honor Harrington series (more on that below), is the king of this trope; he tends to write dangerous-but-virtuous space monarchies that actually feel convincing.
Seeing Kris as a former debutante and daughter of a politician works well because it's unusual, a contrast to the straightforward damn-the-politicians protagonists you see in so much of space opera. Those lead characters certainly work, but watching Kris analyze how she can work with the flow of politics to steer the course of conversation, or compare the military to her father the Prime Minister's campaign strategy, provides a fresh perspective. Her mistakes tend to show up when she forgets all that background and moves on impulse, but impulse is often the source of her best ideas. It's nice to see her strength and weakness mirrored as one trait instead of trying to give her a set of good traits and a shoehorned tragic flaw. Kris's trauma over the death of her brother and her lingering alcoholic tendencies are by and large written well. We also see some well-written group trauma when Kris encounters a large farm that's fallen victim to raiders. Not many writers are capable of writing anything in that vein without getting stereotypical and playing the trauma as either plot point or a way to yank at the emotions, but Shepherd does a strong job showing how different people react to similar traumatic events.
The relief work on Olympia, a planet struck by natural disasters as well as looting and raiding in the aftermath, also provides most of the moral ambiguity. Many of the raiders are terrible, but many aren't; most are hungry in part because of the actions of the people they're now attacking. Explaining precisely why would involve spoilers, but Kris's musing over how to sort out the truly guilty from the weak bystanders when live fire means there are no second chances is quite compelling. It's refreshing to see that level of uncertainty, since much of space opera deliberately goes for us-versus-them to emphasize the good fight. Given that the raiders are so unambiguously immoral, it was an even more pleasant surprise to see that the soldiers hunting them down were new enough to the Navy that they started asking questions about their right to kill. They didn't act gung-ho about shooting the raiders after the first short firefight; they were unsure, not quite trained, and inclined to head back to base and dodge the whole problem. Kris's solution to that uncertainty reads as realistic and effective, but seeing the initial bravado collapse into very human reactions and then build into true confidence worked beautifully.
Liquid metal technology, used to take a ship from leisurely cruising configuration to a heavily armored smaller warship, is a really fascinating idea. We also see it used to make boats and bridges and the like, but the Navy use of liquid metal is where it really shines. Normally in military science fiction there's the obligatory discussion of how you trade off size, mass, armor, weapons, engines, and speed, and liquid metal both dodges that and puts it in a different light. It's not without flaws, sometimes relocating valuable supply cupboards to god-knows-where, and that keeps it from seeming too convenient. That element of worldbuilding shines, especially given the way it makes you feel like the universe is changing almost faster than the people in it can manage.
The red pen:
I hate to start with the title, but honestly, let's do. Kris becomes a mutineer in the last forty pages of the book in a frankly underwhelming sequence filled with prose so purple that it makes Willie Wonka's suit look positively tasteful. This deeply unsubtle title means that by process of elimination, you hit about three-quarters of the way through, calculate pacing, and decide that she's obviously going to become a mutineer on her next ship. Given the intrigue behind the reasons for that mutiny, this shoots the tension with tranquilizer darts and leaves it to twitch feebly in the road.
In articles with a short editing window, like newspapers, things like typos and inconsistencies are to be expected. In a published book, basic typos and subject-verb agreement issues in the first chapter are very unimpressive. While typos mostly clear up after that, many of the later inconsistencies cast doubt on the structure of the worldbuilding. If your characters are using entirely metric units like meters, you've made a good guess because in the future everyone will hopefully ditch irregular units; however, then using degrees Fahrenheit to discuss the latest gadget comes off as distinctly odd. Ditto the fact that under 3.25 gees Kris weighs nearly 400 pounds (again, where are the metric units?). Math tells us that she weighs 123 pounds in normal gravity despite being described on the third page as being six feet tall. I do not care how notably small her breasts are in the tiresome and overplayed token attempt to make female protagonists physically unattractive, you cannot be in the military and pass strenuous physical exams with that height-to-weight ratio.
Similarly, hearing about Kris's college class on current twenty-fourth century problems when we're shown past events happening in the year 2422 smacks of the universe's timeline not being thought through at all; 1922 was in the twentieth century, 2422 is in in the twenty-fifth. When firing three-laser bursts at an enemy ship, the fourth shot in the three-laser burst is closest to the target two times in a row. Kris breaks into the top fortress-office that's firmly stated as the most secure building on the planet by walking past a sequence of guards who were saying "hey, you can't go through that door" instead of hitting some sort of panic button to slam the door on her, shooting her with tranquilizer darts, or calling more competent security. Individually they seem like small details, but collectively they slap you out of the stream of the story because they do not make a cursed bit of logical sense. Neither, incidentally, does having people in the 24th century talk about Ghirardelli chocolate chips or compare an incoming ship to a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Yes, good brand names have staying power, but throwing around things that are popular now without providing any indication that pop culture has even existed in the intervening time is shaky writing.
Tommy, Kris's loyal companion, has decent characterization, for a sidekick who just follows Kris's lead and appears to have neither a spine nor any original thoughts; he's on the better side of the dull secondary characters. That said, his cultural background is shallow. An Irish-Chinese colony is a fascinating idea, but despite having names from both sides of that heritage, Tommy shows no substantive evidence of belonging to that culture. Discussion of the leprechauns and ancestors mercifully dies off about halfway through the book, but even that sticks to tropes that you can pick up from the standard bag of cultural stereotypes. The Irish background gets something of a nod by way of Tommy's brief spurts of Catholicism, but the Chinese elements may as well not be there. It could have been fine if his planet had been a piece of trivia and he never mentioned his ancestry, but ancestors and leprechauns make for a patronizing and one-dimensional look at actual living cultures.
It's perhaps an unfair comparison, but this really comes across as an unfocused version of the Honor Harrington series. Calling it a ripoff would be a stretch, but they have quite a few themes and tropes in common; a dedicated young woman goes into the military, does brilliant things, is well-regarded by people high in the chain of command (less so by her immediate superiors), and has to use a mixed bag of grit, cunning, and improvisation to fix truly bad situations Against Impossible Odds. The difference between them as characters is one of approach to military life and its structures. Honor Harrington, starting out as a commander in the first book, exercises initiative when the chain of command is absent or criminally negligent; Kris Longknife is less compelling because she sees the chain of command as somewhat optional as an ensign. One of these people belongs in the military and the other needs either to find a better outlet for her need for community or figure out how the military operates.
For a character to succeed amid treachery and other obstacles in a high-intrigue space opera, he/she needs to have unbreakable strength of will, nigh-inhuman improvisational skills, or both. Kris lacks that steel spine or the mental agility to adapt. She's not stupid by any means, but she's slow to make connections and a bit too much of her information comes from family members just passing things to her so she can chew on them for ages and finally spit out a conclusion when it's convenient for the plot.
All in all, the first part of this book shines. I wanted to like the rest of it, but just couldn't sustain the suspension of both disbelief and common sense. The inconsistencies and errors break the flow to the point where it becomes annoying to read. The characters are too lightly sketched to make me invested to the point of not caring about the details, and there's too little buildup to the end to make it really feel like the future of the galaxy is at stake. This book needed to focus on either the chillingly hard demands of duty and concern about the loss of humanity's future that you see in large-scale space opera or the vividly drawn characters of a smaller-scale adventure. Unfortunately, the opening of this series couldn't deliver enough on either front.
For ongoing recommendations about similar books, check out this post at Red Pen Reviews.
Rating: 2.5 stars
Length: On the high end of average (389 pages)
Publication: January 27, 2004 from Ace Books
Premise: The book opens with Kris Longknife, a Navy ensign fresh out of officer training, commanding a frantic hostage rescue mission. She struggles to balance her own doubts and the shadows of her own past with her drive to succeed and prove that she's deserving of her family's oldest histories. As soon as the mission ends, she's put on leave. She thinks that going home for a short visit with her parents will just kill time, but instead it introduces her to plots that were moving long before her birth and to the stirrings of a potential interstellar war.
Warnings: recounting of a past gang rape against many one-shot characters, past death of a child close to the protagonist
Recommendation: If you really adore space opera with a dash of politics then you might enjoy this, but I can't honestly endorse paying full price for it. Take a look on your next used bookstore run if you're interested.
Why this one is such old-fashioned fun:
Mike Shepherd knows how to start by flooring the gas; the opening sequence promises great things of the rest of the book. A tense hostage situation with high stakes, rescue on the fly, and hints of larger forces at work make for an incredibly strong first few chapters. Kris is new to command, but her marines and her sergeant aren't, which creates a rooted sense of connection with the rest of the military. She's taking point and owning the responsibility for her decisions, but she's doing so as part of a unit. Combining the chain of command, the solidity of the veterans with her, and the willingness to risk life and limb for another gives the story a sense of being anchored in military structures that date back to our present day and centuries before. That aura of tradition grounds the book more solidly in reality than most other space opera, and the tone absolutely works.
This book shines in the fashion of most good space opera. There's a proud military tradition of trying to avoid war whenever possible but doing anything necessary when the time comes. When the Space-Scots Highlanders show up, we're treated to a really wonderful story of Kris's great-grandfather leading a night charge up a hill to save a city. This story is told in high style, comes off as genuinely sorrowful for the lost, and places military history in a proud tradition, especially given the emotions and demeanor of the people telling it.
Kris's family history also works well in that vein, though by the end of the book you'll certainly be tired of seeing people call her "one of those Longknifes." She's part of a military tradition that skipped her grandfather and father, leaving her with two legendary great-grandfathers. Their style of getting it done in off-the-wall ways shows itself again in her. In most books I'd call that trite and simplistic, but space opera does Ancestral Tradition of Awesome really well. David Weber, author of the Honor Harrington series (more on that below), is the king of this trope; he tends to write dangerous-but-virtuous space monarchies that actually feel convincing.
Seeing Kris as a former debutante and daughter of a politician works well because it's unusual, a contrast to the straightforward damn-the-politicians protagonists you see in so much of space opera. Those lead characters certainly work, but watching Kris analyze how she can work with the flow of politics to steer the course of conversation, or compare the military to her father the Prime Minister's campaign strategy, provides a fresh perspective. Her mistakes tend to show up when she forgets all that background and moves on impulse, but impulse is often the source of her best ideas. It's nice to see her strength and weakness mirrored as one trait instead of trying to give her a set of good traits and a shoehorned tragic flaw. Kris's trauma over the death of her brother and her lingering alcoholic tendencies are by and large written well. We also see some well-written group trauma when Kris encounters a large farm that's fallen victim to raiders. Not many writers are capable of writing anything in that vein without getting stereotypical and playing the trauma as either plot point or a way to yank at the emotions, but Shepherd does a strong job showing how different people react to similar traumatic events.
The relief work on Olympia, a planet struck by natural disasters as well as looting and raiding in the aftermath, also provides most of the moral ambiguity. Many of the raiders are terrible, but many aren't; most are hungry in part because of the actions of the people they're now attacking. Explaining precisely why would involve spoilers, but Kris's musing over how to sort out the truly guilty from the weak bystanders when live fire means there are no second chances is quite compelling. It's refreshing to see that level of uncertainty, since much of space opera deliberately goes for us-versus-them to emphasize the good fight. Given that the raiders are so unambiguously immoral, it was an even more pleasant surprise to see that the soldiers hunting them down were new enough to the Navy that they started asking questions about their right to kill. They didn't act gung-ho about shooting the raiders after the first short firefight; they were unsure, not quite trained, and inclined to head back to base and dodge the whole problem. Kris's solution to that uncertainty reads as realistic and effective, but seeing the initial bravado collapse into very human reactions and then build into true confidence worked beautifully.
Liquid metal technology, used to take a ship from leisurely cruising configuration to a heavily armored smaller warship, is a really fascinating idea. We also see it used to make boats and bridges and the like, but the Navy use of liquid metal is where it really shines. Normally in military science fiction there's the obligatory discussion of how you trade off size, mass, armor, weapons, engines, and speed, and liquid metal both dodges that and puts it in a different light. It's not without flaws, sometimes relocating valuable supply cupboards to god-knows-where, and that keeps it from seeming too convenient. That element of worldbuilding shines, especially given the way it makes you feel like the universe is changing almost faster than the people in it can manage.
The red pen:
I hate to start with the title, but honestly, let's do. Kris becomes a mutineer in the last forty pages of the book in a frankly underwhelming sequence filled with prose so purple that it makes Willie Wonka's suit look positively tasteful. This deeply unsubtle title means that by process of elimination, you hit about three-quarters of the way through, calculate pacing, and decide that she's obviously going to become a mutineer on her next ship. Given the intrigue behind the reasons for that mutiny, this shoots the tension with tranquilizer darts and leaves it to twitch feebly in the road.
In articles with a short editing window, like newspapers, things like typos and inconsistencies are to be expected. In a published book, basic typos and subject-verb agreement issues in the first chapter are very unimpressive. While typos mostly clear up after that, many of the later inconsistencies cast doubt on the structure of the worldbuilding. If your characters are using entirely metric units like meters, you've made a good guess because in the future everyone will hopefully ditch irregular units; however, then using degrees Fahrenheit to discuss the latest gadget comes off as distinctly odd. Ditto the fact that under 3.25 gees Kris weighs nearly 400 pounds (again, where are the metric units?). Math tells us that she weighs 123 pounds in normal gravity despite being described on the third page as being six feet tall. I do not care how notably small her breasts are in the tiresome and overplayed token attempt to make female protagonists physically unattractive, you cannot be in the military and pass strenuous physical exams with that height-to-weight ratio.
Similarly, hearing about Kris's college class on current twenty-fourth century problems when we're shown past events happening in the year 2422 smacks of the universe's timeline not being thought through at all; 1922 was in the twentieth century, 2422 is in in the twenty-fifth. When firing three-laser bursts at an enemy ship, the fourth shot in the three-laser burst is closest to the target two times in a row. Kris breaks into the top fortress-office that's firmly stated as the most secure building on the planet by walking past a sequence of guards who were saying "hey, you can't go through that door" instead of hitting some sort of panic button to slam the door on her, shooting her with tranquilizer darts, or calling more competent security. Individually they seem like small details, but collectively they slap you out of the stream of the story because they do not make a cursed bit of logical sense. Neither, incidentally, does having people in the 24th century talk about Ghirardelli chocolate chips or compare an incoming ship to a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Yes, good brand names have staying power, but throwing around things that are popular now without providing any indication that pop culture has even existed in the intervening time is shaky writing.
Tommy, Kris's loyal companion, has decent characterization, for a sidekick who just follows Kris's lead and appears to have neither a spine nor any original thoughts; he's on the better side of the dull secondary characters. That said, his cultural background is shallow. An Irish-Chinese colony is a fascinating idea, but despite having names from both sides of that heritage, Tommy shows no substantive evidence of belonging to that culture. Discussion of the leprechauns and ancestors mercifully dies off about halfway through the book, but even that sticks to tropes that you can pick up from the standard bag of cultural stereotypes. The Irish background gets something of a nod by way of Tommy's brief spurts of Catholicism, but the Chinese elements may as well not be there. It could have been fine if his planet had been a piece of trivia and he never mentioned his ancestry, but ancestors and leprechauns make for a patronizing and one-dimensional look at actual living cultures.
It's perhaps an unfair comparison, but this really comes across as an unfocused version of the Honor Harrington series. Calling it a ripoff would be a stretch, but they have quite a few themes and tropes in common; a dedicated young woman goes into the military, does brilliant things, is well-regarded by people high in the chain of command (less so by her immediate superiors), and has to use a mixed bag of grit, cunning, and improvisation to fix truly bad situations Against Impossible Odds. The difference between them as characters is one of approach to military life and its structures. Honor Harrington, starting out as a commander in the first book, exercises initiative when the chain of command is absent or criminally negligent; Kris Longknife is less compelling because she sees the chain of command as somewhat optional as an ensign. One of these people belongs in the military and the other needs either to find a better outlet for her need for community or figure out how the military operates.
For a character to succeed amid treachery and other obstacles in a high-intrigue space opera, he/she needs to have unbreakable strength of will, nigh-inhuman improvisational skills, or both. Kris lacks that steel spine or the mental agility to adapt. She's not stupid by any means, but she's slow to make connections and a bit too much of her information comes from family members just passing things to her so she can chew on them for ages and finally spit out a conclusion when it's convenient for the plot.
All in all, the first part of this book shines. I wanted to like the rest of it, but just couldn't sustain the suspension of both disbelief and common sense. The inconsistencies and errors break the flow to the point where it becomes annoying to read. The characters are too lightly sketched to make me invested to the point of not caring about the details, and there's too little buildup to the end to make it really feel like the future of the galaxy is at stake. This book needed to focus on either the chillingly hard demands of duty and concern about the loss of humanity's future that you see in large-scale space opera or the vividly drawn characters of a smaller-scale adventure. Unfortunately, the opening of this series couldn't deliver enough on either front.
For ongoing recommendations about similar books, check out this post at Red Pen Reviews.
February 14, 2014
While I generally liked the performance on this one, Dina Pearlman can't do Scottish accents for toffee. I'm inclined to believe she's reading the written down accent however, since the author doesn't know what a Yorkshire Pudding is.
I liked this, but it did seem to have more text than story; ie. it was a little long, as in elongated for word count. Kris suffers from that most unfortunate of character conditions, not seeing the bleeding obvious until 5 minutes after the reader. However, the plot is pretty good, the action is realistic, the spaceships actually use a form of Newtonian physics (at least as far as sublight travel is concerned), and Kris is a likeable character.
One of the strongest points of the book is also its weakest. Mike Shepherd was a Navy brat according to his bio and the book is jammed full of naval jargon which is very authentic-sounding, very atmospheric, and requires you to look up half the words before you can figure out what gives. Kris is a Boot Ensign; I spent the first 5 minutes of the book looking that up on Wikipedia. There's such a thing as too much authenticity.
I liked this, but it did seem to have more text than story; ie. it was a little long, as in elongated for word count. Kris suffers from that most unfortunate of character conditions, not seeing the bleeding obvious until 5 minutes after the reader. However, the plot is pretty good, the action is realistic, the spaceships actually use a form of Newtonian physics (at least as far as sublight travel is concerned), and Kris is a likeable character.
One of the strongest points of the book is also its weakest. Mike Shepherd was a Navy brat according to his bio and the book is jammed full of naval jargon which is very authentic-sounding, very atmospheric, and requires you to look up half the words before you can figure out what gives. Kris is a Boot Ensign; I spent the first 5 minutes of the book looking that up on Wikipedia. There's such a thing as too much authenticity.
August 2, 2011
A very disappointing book. It tried to be like the David Webber Honor Harrington series, but is suffers from poor writing, unnecessary, awkward stage business to move characters from point A to point B 95% of the time. There is not enough sci-fi detail to explain Longknife's universe, the technology that supports it nor the social climate that 'seems' to play a part in driving activity. Here and there, during battle scenes, Shepherd gets it right, but that is not often. Instead, Longknife, a cartoon of a better Honor Harrington stumbles through terrible novel planning and execution. Save your money.
November 8, 2019
http://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/17...
4.5/5
KRIS LONGKNIFE: MUTINEER by Mike Shepherd is the first book of the an expansive universe that has multiple series and seventeen books. It is the story of the titular character, daughter of the richest family of the planet Wardhaven, who has decided ot leave the luxurious world of her corporate/political princess life to become a Space Marine. Kris soon finds herself fighting battles on the ground, in the stars, and the political arena against an ever-expanding roster of enemies.
Mutineer opens up with Kris heading with a company of Marines to rescue a young girl that has been kidnapped by terrorists. This turns out to have been a trap to lure Kris in for assassination. Being the daughter of a rich public figure means that she's a valuable target despite being enrolled in the military. Disgusted with this, especially since her little brother was murdered by terrorists when she was a child, Kris heads out to an isolated colony that is suffering a humanitarian crisis. From there, she deals with yet another conspiracy that threatens to bring down the Longknife dynasty and the Wardhaven government.
I really enjoyed this book as it's a look at military science fiction from a perspective that isn't often handled: that of a soldier in a functioning democracy. The government of Wardhaven is dominated by neptoism and a single family but it's still a democracy that is part of a larger alliance (at least for this book). There's none of the usual "civilian governments can't do what military leadership can" that is an ugly side of the genre and the fact Kris spends most of the book distributing food to locals is a wonderful change of pace.
I'm a huge space opera fan and this book reminds me a great deal of Jack Campbell's LOST FLEET series, though the space combat element is far lower in this version. Instead, Kris does her best to handle things with rifle in hand and ordering around men. There's plenty of unrealistic elements like the fact she's basically Prince Harry running from one combat scenario to the next and ordering people around despite being fresh out of training. This is partially justified by her background but a bit on the wish fulfillment side. And so what? Realism isn't my chief concern with stories. Entertainment value is.
Kris is a very entertaining character and immensely likable. Raised in the lap of luxury but traumatized by her brother's death, she's trying to avoid becoming a spoiled debutante as well as stay out of politics. Ironically, she ends up finding out she has a talent for leadership as well as administration that turns out to be a far more useful skill than how good she shoots things. Kris is also assisted by an expensive A.I. named Nelly who allows her to brute force her way past most technological problems. In a way, Kris is a gender-flipped version of Halo's Master Chief with, again, a focus more on running things behind the scenes than action scenes--though there are plenty of those as well.
The best part of the book is the fact that a good chunk of it is about the problems of logistics on a world where there was a volcanic eruption. The breakdown in law and order is only about as problematic as the fact there's no way to easily distribute food as well as medical supplies. This is a lot more likely scenario for a military to engage in during "peacetime" and watching Kris tackle this is actually more engaging then when she goes after a bunch of bandits with her subordinates.
This is a feel good sort of Pulpy fiction where the heroine is good, awesomer than everyone else, and faced against some truly dastardly people. Nevertheless, you can tell Mike Shepherd is bringing a lot of his real-life military experience to the book and it feels at least somewhat authentic despite the constant victories by our plucky heroine. If that sort of thing doesn't turn you off then this is an awesome book and I'm more than halfway through the series. I just read one after the other. I should note that I listened to the audiobook version by Diana Pearlman and recommend it strongly. She does a great job of bringing out Kris' character and emotions throughout the story.
4.5/5
KRIS LONGKNIFE: MUTINEER by Mike Shepherd is the first book of the an expansive universe that has multiple series and seventeen books. It is the story of the titular character, daughter of the richest family of the planet Wardhaven, who has decided ot leave the luxurious world of her corporate/political princess life to become a Space Marine. Kris soon finds herself fighting battles on the ground, in the stars, and the political arena against an ever-expanding roster of enemies.
Mutineer opens up with Kris heading with a company of Marines to rescue a young girl that has been kidnapped by terrorists. This turns out to have been a trap to lure Kris in for assassination. Being the daughter of a rich public figure means that she's a valuable target despite being enrolled in the military. Disgusted with this, especially since her little brother was murdered by terrorists when she was a child, Kris heads out to an isolated colony that is suffering a humanitarian crisis. From there, she deals with yet another conspiracy that threatens to bring down the Longknife dynasty and the Wardhaven government.
I really enjoyed this book as it's a look at military science fiction from a perspective that isn't often handled: that of a soldier in a functioning democracy. The government of Wardhaven is dominated by neptoism and a single family but it's still a democracy that is part of a larger alliance (at least for this book). There's none of the usual "civilian governments can't do what military leadership can" that is an ugly side of the genre and the fact Kris spends most of the book distributing food to locals is a wonderful change of pace.
I'm a huge space opera fan and this book reminds me a great deal of Jack Campbell's LOST FLEET series, though the space combat element is far lower in this version. Instead, Kris does her best to handle things with rifle in hand and ordering around men. There's plenty of unrealistic elements like the fact she's basically Prince Harry running from one combat scenario to the next and ordering people around despite being fresh out of training. This is partially justified by her background but a bit on the wish fulfillment side. And so what? Realism isn't my chief concern with stories. Entertainment value is.
Kris is a very entertaining character and immensely likable. Raised in the lap of luxury but traumatized by her brother's death, she's trying to avoid becoming a spoiled debutante as well as stay out of politics. Ironically, she ends up finding out she has a talent for leadership as well as administration that turns out to be a far more useful skill than how good she shoots things. Kris is also assisted by an expensive A.I. named Nelly who allows her to brute force her way past most technological problems. In a way, Kris is a gender-flipped version of Halo's Master Chief with, again, a focus more on running things behind the scenes than action scenes--though there are plenty of those as well.
The best part of the book is the fact that a good chunk of it is about the problems of logistics on a world where there was a volcanic eruption. The breakdown in law and order is only about as problematic as the fact there's no way to easily distribute food as well as medical supplies. This is a lot more likely scenario for a military to engage in during "peacetime" and watching Kris tackle this is actually more engaging then when she goes after a bunch of bandits with her subordinates.
This is a feel good sort of Pulpy fiction where the heroine is good, awesomer than everyone else, and faced against some truly dastardly people. Nevertheless, you can tell Mike Shepherd is bringing a lot of his real-life military experience to the book and it feels at least somewhat authentic despite the constant victories by our plucky heroine. If that sort of thing doesn't turn you off then this is an awesome book and I'm more than halfway through the series. I just read one after the other. I should note that I listened to the audiobook version by Diana Pearlman and recommend it strongly. She does a great job of bringing out Kris' character and emotions throughout the story.
November 23, 2015
Kris Longknife is a character to root for. Along for the ride are a team of secondary players that have been set up to grow along with Kris.
Kris's family has their own issues and now that she has a place at the adult table I can't wait to see what she gets up to.
An adventurous read that had an narrator that was easy to listen to.
On to the next.
Kris's family has their own issues and now that she has a place at the adult table I can't wait to see what she gets up to.
An adventurous read that had an narrator that was easy to listen to.
On to the next.
April 25, 2017
Kris Longknife is the daughter of a distinguished political family. Her father is the prime minister of the planet Wardhaven, a member of the Society of Humanity, a union of nearly six hundred worlds. She's joined the navy rather than pursuing either a political or a social career because she wants to do something useful.
She's smart and capable and sincere, and she has no idea what she's in for.
Her first assignment as an ensign is rescuing a kidnapped six-year-old girl, the daughter of another prominent political family on another planet. And Kris is nearly killed by a shuttle malfunction that only affects Kris's shuttle.
Her next is a relief mission on a planet that is suffering the climate disaster following a major volcanic eruption. Relief supplies that include modifiable boats and bridges also malfunction even though no similar equipment from those companies have ever malfunctioned. These crises aren't a coincidence. Competing political forces are stoking a crisis that will produce a war.
The plot is solid and keeps moving. I like the characters.
But Kris Longknife is improbably capable. She keeps being the best at pretty much everything, right through at least three quarters of the way through the book. Around that point, she starts to have experiences in which she really learns things, including that being smart doesn't always mean being right.
All in all, it's fun and enjoyable, but it has some over the top passages that flirt with being really annoying.
Still, it is enjoyable, and a worthwhile light read or listen.
I bought this audiobook.
She's smart and capable and sincere, and she has no idea what she's in for.
Her first assignment as an ensign is rescuing a kidnapped six-year-old girl, the daughter of another prominent political family on another planet. And Kris is nearly killed by a shuttle malfunction that only affects Kris's shuttle.
Her next is a relief mission on a planet that is suffering the climate disaster following a major volcanic eruption. Relief supplies that include modifiable boats and bridges also malfunction even though no similar equipment from those companies have ever malfunctioned. These crises aren't a coincidence. Competing political forces are stoking a crisis that will produce a war.
The plot is solid and keeps moving. I like the characters.
But Kris Longknife is improbably capable. She keeps being the best at pretty much everything, right through at least three quarters of the way through the book. Around that point, she starts to have experiences in which she really learns things, including that being smart doesn't always mean being right.
All in all, it's fun and enjoyable, but it has some over the top passages that flirt with being really annoying.
Still, it is enjoyable, and a worthwhile light read or listen.
I bought this audiobook.
September 12, 2020
In theory, I don't like this kind of book: pro-military, supporting the idea of elite family dynasties that keep the rest of us safe, a thinly built universe with good guys and bad guys. In practice, it turned out to be a solidly written, entertaining adventure with moments of reflection on the challenges of command and the real meaning of duty.
In this book, the start of the Kris Longknife series of military space adventures, Kris is a newly-minted ensign in her planet's navy. She has joined the navy to escape her family. This is a challenging thing to do: her father in the president of the planet and her grandfathers are both senior officers who're actions have shaped recent history.
We follow Kris as she grows as an officer, meeting challenges ranging from rescuing a kidnapped child, distributing disaster relief, through to her first space battle.
The action scenes are well done, the military situations are credible and clearly described. The weapons are perhaps better defined than the society using them. The characters are a little stereotypical but they fit the plot well and I slowly built an affection for them.
I was surprised and pleased to see that the book included some reflection on the challenges of command and how an officer grows.
I came to this book by following the narrator, Dina Perlman, who does a good job on Joel Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov series. At the beginning of the book, I thought she might have been the wrong choice for the book because she was emoting heavily on what was quite low-key scene-setting. After the first couple of chapters, she got into her stride and did a good job with one big, almost painful, exception: her Scotts accents are so bad, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry but either way, I was seriously distracted.
Still, the book was good fun. The next time I'm in the mood for military sci-fi, I'll be picking up the next one in the series.
In this book, the start of the Kris Longknife series of military space adventures, Kris is a newly-minted ensign in her planet's navy. She has joined the navy to escape her family. This is a challenging thing to do: her father in the president of the planet and her grandfathers are both senior officers who're actions have shaped recent history.
We follow Kris as she grows as an officer, meeting challenges ranging from rescuing a kidnapped child, distributing disaster relief, through to her first space battle.
The action scenes are well done, the military situations are credible and clearly described. The weapons are perhaps better defined than the society using them. The characters are a little stereotypical but they fit the plot well and I slowly built an affection for them.
I was surprised and pleased to see that the book included some reflection on the challenges of command and how an officer grows.
I came to this book by following the narrator, Dina Perlman, who does a good job on Joel Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov series. At the beginning of the book, I thought she might have been the wrong choice for the book because she was emoting heavily on what was quite low-key scene-setting. After the first couple of chapters, she got into her stride and did a good job with one big, almost painful, exception: her Scotts accents are so bad, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry but either way, I was seriously distracted.
Still, the book was good fun. The next time I'm in the mood for military sci-fi, I'll be picking up the next one in the series.
January 29, 2014
This was a reread - I'm doing the entire series as I stalled at around book 4/5 previously (can't even remember which or why!). This is standard military style space opera - young protagonist overcoming mighty odds and showing superior mettle/honour/cunning/skills etc. I love it, I love it all, mwah-ha-ha! No seriously, it's sort of a slighltly lighter, brisker paced, Honor Harrington-esque saga, and is basically fantastically aligned with my space-operatic tastes. If this is your thing you'll love it like me - but don't expect hard-core science and the philosophy/morality is minimal (not preaching or delving into societal quandaries in other words - which I also like but it's nice to just go with the action sometimes).
September 5, 2015
Entretenido pero sin sorpresas.
March 29, 2014
I changed the rating on this a couple of times. I almost went two stars but in the end the book was a disappointment. (I didn't even force my way through the final few paragraphs.)
Some of you will disagree with me on this and not all of you for the same reasons. This could have been a very good book. I started it with high hopes. I liked the opening sequence . But over all the book was slow and annoying though with periods of interest.
Now one thing I'll mention that WOULD NOT have been a deal breaker is that I have seen this character so often before. Off the top of my head I can think of 3 science fiction series with "this character". She's the rich daughter of a powerful family who has decided she needs to do something "good" and "meaningful". She has to put up with officers and/or superiors who resent her and give her a hard time. She then performs brilliantly to the surprise of all...the dismay of many and so on.
Now...let me give you the part that will please some and displease others.
I read in the review of another "military science fiction read" by another reviewer that "said" military science fiction is often told from a politically conservative point of view.
Well good news for all of you who don't like conservatives. this book is firmly in the "large government" corner. We get left wing slogans and even sarcastic shots at a famous Thomas Jefferson quote. So you've got your left wing military science fiction read, enjoy.
I tried to like the book. the problem was that as the book went forward it got more and more involved in it's political points and less involved with it's story. We had of course early on the "obligatory" trip home on leave where "the military daughter" wanders around the home planet, puts her nose in political problems...and goes sailing (don't ask me they always have to go sailing, or swimming, or horse back riding, or something to show their "wealthy background no matter what the writer's political stance).
When we got to the final big climax and the "villain" was such a caricature that he reminded me of Stephen Colbert's character it finished me.
No, could have been a great read. That said i assume the writer accomplished what he was going for and his target audience will be happy. So if that's you enjoy. As for me, not much actual military science fiction here, too bad.
Some of you will disagree with me on this and not all of you for the same reasons. This could have been a very good book. I started it with high hopes. I liked the opening sequence . But over all the book was slow and annoying though with periods of interest.
Now one thing I'll mention that WOULD NOT have been a deal breaker is that I have seen this character so often before. Off the top of my head I can think of 3 science fiction series with "this character". She's the rich daughter of a powerful family who has decided she needs to do something "good" and "meaningful". She has to put up with officers and/or superiors who resent her and give her a hard time. She then performs brilliantly to the surprise of all...the dismay of many and so on.
Now...let me give you the part that will please some and displease others.
I read in the review of another "military science fiction read" by another reviewer that "said" military science fiction is often told from a politically conservative point of view.
Well good news for all of you who don't like conservatives. this book is firmly in the "large government" corner. We get left wing slogans and even sarcastic shots at a famous Thomas Jefferson quote. So you've got your left wing military science fiction read, enjoy.
I tried to like the book. the problem was that as the book went forward it got more and more involved in it's political points and less involved with it's story. We had of course early on the "obligatory" trip home on leave where "the military daughter" wanders around the home planet, puts her nose in political problems...and goes sailing (don't ask me they always have to go sailing, or swimming, or horse back riding, or something to show their "wealthy background no matter what the writer's political stance).
When we got to the final big climax and the "villain" was such a caricature that he reminded me of Stephen Colbert's character it finished me.
No, could have been a great read. That said i assume the writer accomplished what he was going for and his target audience will be happy. So if that's you enjoy. As for me, not much actual military science fiction here, too bad.
February 28, 2008
Comes under "if this is the sort of thing you like, then this is the sort of thing you'll like." I would call it "Patrick O'Brian in space," but not having read any Patrick O'Brian, I might get myself in trouble that way. From this, however, you can probably gather it's not quite the sort of thing I like. (My rating may be a bit low for that reason.) I picked it up though, because it had a female protagonist and I remembered hearing the name somewhere.
Kris Longknife is likable enough, although a bit bland; she's certainly no Miles Vorkosigan, but she's clever enough, and has a bit too much initiative for an Ensign, which is where this book starts. In fact, she rather invites comparison to Miles in more than one respect: she's the daughter of her planet's oldest political family, and her family has been deeply wounded by politics. But while this book's title informs you she will mutiny, she takes longer to get around to it than Miles would have, and does it with much more procedure: this is a navy story, not a space opera.
As female characters go, Kris doesn't do anything that a male character in her place couldn't or wouldn't have, which is fair enough: some women are like that. I guess I've just been spoiled by Bujold's exploration of gender politics. There are several places where I would have appreciated slightly more gender analysis. For example, it's remarked that women are a minority in the navy, but neither the reasons nor the implications of this are looked at. Kris' mother performs femininity like a refugee from Confederate Atlanta, and while characters remark on this, it's never explored or challenged
Worth the read, probably not worth paying cover price for.
Kris Longknife is likable enough, although a bit bland; she's certainly no Miles Vorkosigan, but she's clever enough, and has a bit too much initiative for an Ensign, which is where this book starts. In fact, she rather invites comparison to Miles in more than one respect: she's the daughter of her planet's oldest political family, and her family has been deeply wounded by politics. But while this book's title informs you she will mutiny, she takes longer to get around to it than Miles would have, and does it with much more procedure: this is a navy story, not a space opera.
As female characters go, Kris doesn't do anything that a male character in her place couldn't or wouldn't have, which is fair enough: some women are like that. I guess I've just been spoiled by Bujold's exploration of gender politics. There are several places where I would have appreciated slightly more gender analysis. For example, it's remarked that women are a minority in the navy, but neither the reasons nor the implications of this are looked at. Kris' mother performs femininity like a refugee from Confederate Atlanta, and while characters remark on this, it's never explored or challenged
Worth the read, probably not worth paying cover price for.
July 6, 2009
Young woman from rich and powerful family makes her way in the Navy, discovers secession plot. I liked the fact she wasn't perfect, wasn't immediately tossed into bed with either possible romantic lead and that everything wasn't neatly wrapped up. It's also nice to see an SF tech novel where tech screws up or can't be used, and the avoidance of a cliched character in Hancock was welcome.
I'm less thrilled with her supercomputer or her l33t hacker Aunt, but overall enjoyable.
I'm less thrilled with her supercomputer or her l33t hacker Aunt, but overall enjoyable.
July 12, 2014
A good read, what I would call middle grade military scifi. Adequate characters and plot, an enjoyable read.
June 19, 2015
I'm very fond of space opera; Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series and Weber's early Honor Harrington books are among my favourite sci-fi reads. "Mutineer" kept showing up on my "recommended for you" list, so I decided to give it a try. While not the best space opera I've read, it was a very enjoyable read. Spoilers follow.
The story opens in the middle of a dangerous mission; Kris and her team have been sent to retrieve the young daughter of an important official from a group of kidnappers. Spurred by memories of her own little brother's death in a botched hostage situation, Kris leads her fellow soldiers through a minefield and combat, eventually rescuing the terrified child. Following the retrieval, Kris is sent home on leave with her best friend Tommy in tow.
Once home, she is faced with the typical family drama that has become the norm since her brother's death. Her parents are distant and her relatives seem to hate one another for various reasons. We also get a bit of Kris's background, as well as a look into how her new fame as the rescuer of the little girl affects her. It is also here that we meet the Longknife family's rivals: the Peterwalds. Her leave is cut short, though, and she is called back to duty.
Kris's next deployment is to Olympia, a planet suffering from climate changes as the result of a gigantic volcano eruption; its people are starving, the crime rate is high, and the navy seems to be doing little to keep things under control. Within weeks of arriving, Kris manages to get the naval base in top shape and sets up local food kitchens and militia to feed those in the towns. Later, she finds the root of the problems of crime in the rural areas and begins eliminating it, goes on a date of sorts, and rescues a farm-full of people from a raging river. Her time on Olympia ends and she is sent back to New Haven to be with her family once again.
While there, she solves a mystery related to the rescue of the little girl and events on Olympia. She also learns that the alliance holding the human-inhabited planets is crumbling with a high likelihood of Earth and New Haven becoming enemies. Kris is soon called back to service to take part in a fleet moving to attack and Earth fleet. Realizing something is wrong, Kris takes control of the ship (through a mutiny) and turns on the other ships in the fleet, hoping to stop them before they encounter Earth ships. She succeeds and is sent back to New Haven for a trial. She is found to not be guilty; she also finds herself in a higher social position when one of her grandfathers is given a prominent government position.
Clearly there's a lot going on in this novel. Despite the amount of events, it's still a pretty fast read. For the most part, everything is pretty straightforward and easy to understand, yet there's enough going on in the background (the mystery of who is trying to kill Kris, for example) to keep it from getting boring. It may not be the most original plot, but I personally enjoyed the amount of relevant, exciting events that took place. Ultimately, it didn't feel like the story was trying to be more than it was; it was supposed to tell an intriguing story about young woman in the navy, and it succeeded. It's hardly the deepest, most thoughtful piece of literature out there, but it's a fun read.
Sheperd's writing style is clear and simple, which works really well for this type of story. The plot isn't bogged down with unnecessary descriptions or too much prose. However, on the other hand, it does sometimes seems perhaps a little too simplistic. I found it to be hit or miss depending on the situation. For example, action scenes are pretty well written in terms of pace and describing what's happening; though scenes that are describing political or family happenings are sometimes hard to follow due to how little information is given. It can also be a little difficult to figure out how some things work (for example the aging or who is related to whom) within the story's world. So the writing overall is pretty mixed; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Moving on to characters, the titular protagonist, Kris Longknife is, in a sense, typical of heroines in this genre. She's moderately young, somewhat unsure of herself, very competent in what she does, and lacks in confidence regarding her looks. However, despite the seeming cliché for the genre, she's actually very enjoyable to read. Kris takes a lot of risks in her career, and she isn't always completely right; it's refreshing to read about a character that gets in over her head and sometimes has to muddle through it only to find that what she thought was certain isn't and that there are consequences for her actions. Of course, in a perhaps predictable turn, she is forgiven for her mutiny, but at least she takes risks. It's also nice to see a character get into the action on the ground in the gritty-ness of a gunfight rather than simply command from a ship.
Another thing that works well for Kris is her character development. Initially, I wasn't sure what I would think of the whole Eddy situation and how much she was fixated on it; as the story progressed, though, I found that I enjoyed watching her struggle through her guilt and feelings over her brother's death and move beyond it. She also grew as a person and member of the Navy; she grew in confidence and even went on a date (which I had not been expecting to see). Overall, Kris is a pretty relatable character for her growth while still coming off as an average person.
There are some negatives to the character, though. The biggest problem I had with her was that I didn't feel like I quite knew who she was exactly by the end of the novel. Sometimes she's joking with friends, but then in the next instant she's a strict commander who's barking out orders. She has the perfect manner for speaking with children, friends, superiors, and inferiors. To an extent, I expected this and found it believable, yet it also kept me from completely knowing the character. Perhaps she is better fleshed out in later books.
The next biggest character is probably Tom, Kris's best friend. Tom is also a very enjoyable character, but he's pretty much what you'd expect from a best friend. He does serve to make Kris realize that her decisions affect others, and in that way aids the main character in her growth. He has his own talents and personality, making him a pleasure to read.
The other minor characters are pretty hit and miss. Some (like Aunt Tru or the Peterwald heir) are enjoyable and unexpected. Others (like Kris's grandfathers or her superiors) are about what you'd expect from characters in their positions. Yet others (like Kris's parents) are somewhat unexpected, but aren't quite believable in their actions.
On a random note, the cultural stereotypes became a little tiresome. For example, Tommy is from a group of people descended from the Irish and Chinese; so he constantly talks about the ancestors and the wee folk. Or, to cite another instance, the Highlanders wear kilts, play bagpipes, speak with a brogue, and sword dance. I might have enjoyed this if a reason for the cliches was explained, but as it was, it became annoying and eye-roll inducing.
Overall, "Mutineer" is hardly the best space opera out there; it's predictable, doesn't have the most original plot, and some of the characters are lacking. However, the main character is a genuine joy to read and the book as a whole is entertaining and fun, which is primarily why I read. Three and a half stars, rounded up to four because of how much I enjoyed reading this book.
This review is also posted on Amazon.com.
The story opens in the middle of a dangerous mission; Kris and her team have been sent to retrieve the young daughter of an important official from a group of kidnappers. Spurred by memories of her own little brother's death in a botched hostage situation, Kris leads her fellow soldiers through a minefield and combat, eventually rescuing the terrified child. Following the retrieval, Kris is sent home on leave with her best friend Tommy in tow.
Once home, she is faced with the typical family drama that has become the norm since her brother's death. Her parents are distant and her relatives seem to hate one another for various reasons. We also get a bit of Kris's background, as well as a look into how her new fame as the rescuer of the little girl affects her. It is also here that we meet the Longknife family's rivals: the Peterwalds. Her leave is cut short, though, and she is called back to duty.
Kris's next deployment is to Olympia, a planet suffering from climate changes as the result of a gigantic volcano eruption; its people are starving, the crime rate is high, and the navy seems to be doing little to keep things under control. Within weeks of arriving, Kris manages to get the naval base in top shape and sets up local food kitchens and militia to feed those in the towns. Later, she finds the root of the problems of crime in the rural areas and begins eliminating it, goes on a date of sorts, and rescues a farm-full of people from a raging river. Her time on Olympia ends and she is sent back to New Haven to be with her family once again.
While there, she solves a mystery related to the rescue of the little girl and events on Olympia. She also learns that the alliance holding the human-inhabited planets is crumbling with a high likelihood of Earth and New Haven becoming enemies. Kris is soon called back to service to take part in a fleet moving to attack and Earth fleet. Realizing something is wrong, Kris takes control of the ship (through a mutiny) and turns on the other ships in the fleet, hoping to stop them before they encounter Earth ships. She succeeds and is sent back to New Haven for a trial. She is found to not be guilty; she also finds herself in a higher social position when one of her grandfathers is given a prominent government position.
Clearly there's a lot going on in this novel. Despite the amount of events, it's still a pretty fast read. For the most part, everything is pretty straightforward and easy to understand, yet there's enough going on in the background (the mystery of who is trying to kill Kris, for example) to keep it from getting boring. It may not be the most original plot, but I personally enjoyed the amount of relevant, exciting events that took place. Ultimately, it didn't feel like the story was trying to be more than it was; it was supposed to tell an intriguing story about young woman in the navy, and it succeeded. It's hardly the deepest, most thoughtful piece of literature out there, but it's a fun read.
Sheperd's writing style is clear and simple, which works really well for this type of story. The plot isn't bogged down with unnecessary descriptions or too much prose. However, on the other hand, it does sometimes seems perhaps a little too simplistic. I found it to be hit or miss depending on the situation. For example, action scenes are pretty well written in terms of pace and describing what's happening; though scenes that are describing political or family happenings are sometimes hard to follow due to how little information is given. It can also be a little difficult to figure out how some things work (for example the aging or who is related to whom) within the story's world. So the writing overall is pretty mixed; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Moving on to characters, the titular protagonist, Kris Longknife is, in a sense, typical of heroines in this genre. She's moderately young, somewhat unsure of herself, very competent in what she does, and lacks in confidence regarding her looks. However, despite the seeming cliché for the genre, she's actually very enjoyable to read. Kris takes a lot of risks in her career, and she isn't always completely right; it's refreshing to read about a character that gets in over her head and sometimes has to muddle through it only to find that what she thought was certain isn't and that there are consequences for her actions. Of course, in a perhaps predictable turn, she is forgiven for her mutiny, but at least she takes risks. It's also nice to see a character get into the action on the ground in the gritty-ness of a gunfight rather than simply command from a ship.
Another thing that works well for Kris is her character development. Initially, I wasn't sure what I would think of the whole Eddy situation and how much she was fixated on it; as the story progressed, though, I found that I enjoyed watching her struggle through her guilt and feelings over her brother's death and move beyond it. She also grew as a person and member of the Navy; she grew in confidence and even went on a date (which I had not been expecting to see). Overall, Kris is a pretty relatable character for her growth while still coming off as an average person.
There are some negatives to the character, though. The biggest problem I had with her was that I didn't feel like I quite knew who she was exactly by the end of the novel. Sometimes she's joking with friends, but then in the next instant she's a strict commander who's barking out orders. She has the perfect manner for speaking with children, friends, superiors, and inferiors. To an extent, I expected this and found it believable, yet it also kept me from completely knowing the character. Perhaps she is better fleshed out in later books.
The next biggest character is probably Tom, Kris's best friend. Tom is also a very enjoyable character, but he's pretty much what you'd expect from a best friend. He does serve to make Kris realize that her decisions affect others, and in that way aids the main character in her growth. He has his own talents and personality, making him a pleasure to read.
The other minor characters are pretty hit and miss. Some (like Aunt Tru or the Peterwald heir) are enjoyable and unexpected. Others (like Kris's grandfathers or her superiors) are about what you'd expect from characters in their positions. Yet others (like Kris's parents) are somewhat unexpected, but aren't quite believable in their actions.
On a random note, the cultural stereotypes became a little tiresome. For example, Tommy is from a group of people descended from the Irish and Chinese; so he constantly talks about the ancestors and the wee folk. Or, to cite another instance, the Highlanders wear kilts, play bagpipes, speak with a brogue, and sword dance. I might have enjoyed this if a reason for the cliches was explained, but as it was, it became annoying and eye-roll inducing.
Overall, "Mutineer" is hardly the best space opera out there; it's predictable, doesn't have the most original plot, and some of the characters are lacking. However, the main character is a genuine joy to read and the book as a whole is entertaining and fun, which is primarily why I read. Three and a half stars, rounded up to four because of how much I enjoyed reading this book.
This review is also posted on Amazon.com.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2017
30.12.2017 - 4,5*
Prvně jsem se bála, aby Kris Longknife nebyla příliš podobna Honor Harrington. Podívejte se na anotace a pochopíte proč. Ale damn, ty dvě by nemohly být rozdílnější, a zároveň více podobné. Autoři vzali armádu a cestu těch dvou každý trochu jinak, dost, abych je dokázala jasně odlišit, a zároveň jsou v tom nejlepším oba příběhy skvěle vykreslené.
Příběh má své zajímavé prvky, složitou politickou situaci. Kris se narodila do vlivné rodiny a jde to znát. A armáda zcela jistě nedostává dostatečnou finanční podporu.
Kris je zosobněná katastrofa. Má to v genech, rys charakteristický pro celou její rodinu. Příběh tak získal něco z toho odstínu a je to šílená jízda - kterou jsem si užila. Kniha mě chytla a nepustila až do konce. ^^
Prvně jsem se bála, aby Kris Longknife nebyla příliš podobna Honor Harrington. Podívejte se na anotace a pochopíte proč. Ale damn, ty dvě by nemohly být rozdílnější, a zároveň více podobné. Autoři vzali armádu a cestu těch dvou každý trochu jinak, dost, abych je dokázala jasně odlišit, a zároveň jsou v tom nejlepším oba příběhy skvěle vykreslené.
Příběh má své zajímavé prvky, složitou politickou situaci. Kris se narodila do vlivné rodiny a jde to znát. A armáda zcela jistě nedostává dostatečnou finanční podporu.
Kris je zosobněná katastrofa. Má to v genech, rys charakteristický pro celou její rodinu. Příběh tak získal něco z toho odstínu a je to šílená jízda - kterou jsem si užila. Kniha mě chytla a nepustila až do konce. ^^
November 28, 2017
Solid 3.75 - 1/2 star off for dragging the end a bit, even if it ended well.
Great Space Opera!
The protagonist is a young woman named Kris Longknife, the child of political parents and military grandparents. She decides to take the military route to the chagrin of her parents.
The story moves along at a perfect pace and her natural talent is displayed as well as her not quite best decisions. We follow her on missions and her less than perfect relationships. I love her development as well as all the characters introduced.
The writing is easy and flows well and it's just a fun and enjoyable book.
Great Space Opera!
The protagonist is a young woman named Kris Longknife, the child of political parents and military grandparents. She decides to take the military route to the chagrin of her parents.
The story moves along at a perfect pace and her natural talent is displayed as well as her not quite best decisions. We follow her on missions and her less than perfect relationships. I love her development as well as all the characters introduced.
The writing is easy and flows well and it's just a fun and enjoyable book.
September 10, 2018
Mini-Review:
Not a bad book but it is definitely suffering in comparison to other books with similar characters. I will probably continue the series but I need a nice long break between the next book of this series and the other space adventure stories.
Not a bad book but it is definitely suffering in comparison to other books with similar characters. I will probably continue the series but I need a nice long break between the next book of this series and the other space adventure stories.
May 18, 2019
Jeg føler at dette er en bok man enten kan si veldig mye eller veldig lite om, alt ettersom hva man vil se på. Boka er en veldig generisk SF-militærroman, forfatteren "grew up navy", og har åpenbar stor respekt for (amerikanske) soldater, men dette betyr ikke at han skriver godt om det. Noen deler av boken var ganske sjarmerende. De logistiske utfordringene fenrik Longknife møter når hun får i oppdrag å få en forsømt militærbase på bena var artige å følge, men de kunne jeg simulert selv i Sim City. Resten av boka var så som så. Karakterene er ikke særlig troverdige, selv til SF å være, og jeg stussa over mye av dialogen og handlingene til karakterene. Det er ikke et originalt atom i boka, men den var helt ok likevel. Den klarte nesten å være kritisk av det militærindustrielle komplekset, men så huska Shepherd i siste liten på at han jo er storfan av militæret, så da får vi "noen dårlige egg"-forsvaret.
July 17, 2021
[4 Jun 2021]
TW: violence, but nothing gruesome
This book was on my Maybe list for a long time. I'm not sure why it took me so long to try it. But I'm glad I finally got around to it. Kris Longknife, a new Ensign in the Navy (space navy), undergoes a series of adventures in which her life and those of the people she's responsible for are at risk, but she manages to find and engineer solutions much beyond what might be expected of a raw ensign. A lot of the reason for that is that she takes responsibility for a situation way beyond her remit. And that's probably because she grew up as the daughter of the powerful prime minister of the current instellar authority. So, although to some extent the plot was unlikely, it was at least possible as written. But in any event it was exciting and pretty well written. The tech was mostly believable, the characters were sympathetic and well drawn, and the world building was good. I will definitely read the next installment in the series.
TW: violence, but nothing gruesome
This book was on my Maybe list for a long time. I'm not sure why it took me so long to try it. But I'm glad I finally got around to it. Kris Longknife, a new Ensign in the Navy (space navy), undergoes a series of adventures in which her life and those of the people she's responsible for are at risk, but she manages to find and engineer solutions much beyond what might be expected of a raw ensign. A lot of the reason for that is that she takes responsibility for a situation way beyond her remit. And that's probably because she grew up as the daughter of the powerful prime minister of the current instellar authority. So, although to some extent the plot was unlikely, it was at least possible as written. But in any event it was exciting and pretty well written. The tech was mostly believable, the characters were sympathetic and well drawn, and the world building was good. I will definitely read the next installment in the series.
April 13, 2012
Fabulous New SF Series!
Since all the Scifi TV shows, except for Doctor Who, I have watched up until May 2011 have been cancelled (my beloved Stargate Universe, SG-1, SGA, The Event, Outcasts, Caprica, Farscape, BSG, etc.) I have been cruising around, looking for a good SF book. This new series [well new to me] totally satisfied my huge SF appetite.
This book had all the essential features that makes a great SF series. The story begins with Kris in the middle of a dangerous rescue scene and the action is pretty much consistent from there. The author grabbed my attention right from the beginning. This high adventure series is now right up there with my all-time favorite SF series, Galaxy Unknown by Thomas DePrima.
I highly recommend this book to fellow SF fans. To those fellow dark urban fantasy readers, looking for a good SF but don't want to end up with space romance; I highly recommend this book to you, as the style of writing is similar to an urban fantasy read. I also look forward to the next book in the series Deserter.
I also recommend:
Against All Odds (A Galaxy Unknown, Book 7)
Peacekeeper: A Major Ariane Kedros Novel
Children of Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus, Book 2)
Space Trippers Book 1: Trippin'
The Darkest Edge of Dawn (Charlie Madigan, Book 2)
Since all the Scifi TV shows, except for Doctor Who, I have watched up until May 2011 have been cancelled (my beloved Stargate Universe, SG-1, SGA, The Event, Outcasts, Caprica, Farscape, BSG, etc.) I have been cruising around, looking for a good SF book. This new series [well new to me] totally satisfied my huge SF appetite.
This book had all the essential features that makes a great SF series. The story begins with Kris in the middle of a dangerous rescue scene and the action is pretty much consistent from there. The author grabbed my attention right from the beginning. This high adventure series is now right up there with my all-time favorite SF series, Galaxy Unknown by Thomas DePrima.
I highly recommend this book to fellow SF fans. To those fellow dark urban fantasy readers, looking for a good SF but don't want to end up with space romance; I highly recommend this book to you, as the style of writing is similar to an urban fantasy read. I also look forward to the next book in the series Deserter.
I also recommend:
Against All Odds (A Galaxy Unknown, Book 7)
Peacekeeper: A Major Ariane Kedros Novel
Children of Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus, Book 2)
Space Trippers Book 1: Trippin'
The Darkest Edge of Dawn (Charlie Madigan, Book 2)
December 30, 2013
Read at least (2) times
...
Some time I have to go back and read all the prequels by Mike Moscoe... but ugh... prequels >.< so meh.
I really like Kris, but I'm living in my head a bunch of books ahead, I think it's going to do me a lot of good reading all the books again but they're really dense and convoluted - not a bad thing at all but they take up a lot of energy and concentration to read. However! I gotta because I forgot stuff that happened from the beginning (dense and convoluted, remember?) so, might as well enjoy the ride? (and take it easy! 'cuz they're not going anywhere)
...
Some time I have to go back and read all the prequels by Mike Moscoe... but ugh... prequels >.< so meh.
I really like Kris, but I'm living in my head a bunch of books ahead, I think it's going to do me a lot of good reading all the books again but they're really dense and convoluted - not a bad thing at all but they take up a lot of energy and concentration to read. However! I gotta because I forgot stuff that happened from the beginning (dense and convoluted, remember?) so, might as well enjoy the ride? (and take it easy! 'cuz they're not going anywhere)
August 1, 2013
What an excellent book! Exactly what I was looking for in a sci-fi story: the perfect mix of space exploration, military action and political intrigue. Amazing characters and perfectly written women. Yes, Kris' wealth sometimes worked as a sort of "deus ex machina" way out but that's the only gripe I have. Everything else was top notch good! Can't wait to read the next book in the series. If you like Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet", you will like this one too.
January 6, 2015
Really loved this novel about Kris Longknife. I am surprised I haven't gotten to this one before. Very similar to the Vorkorsigan series, in the sense that this is a young lady trying to break away from a rich political family to make a name for herself. And she does indeed make a name for herself even if it is not the reputation she was hoping for.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 293 reviews