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Resolute
Kris Longknife Book 4

by Mike Shepherd



      This fourth book in Shepherd's Kris Longknife series suffers a bit from the classic problem with series - balancing things to keep both new readers and those familiar with prior books happy. As someone new to the series, reading this entry felt like being at a party, listening to interesting people tell genuinely interesting stories that unfortunately are based in shared experience you don't have. Fun but frustrating.

Lt. Kris Longknife, aka Princess Kristine of those Longknifes, has been given her first independent command. It's not much - a remote station set on an obscure planet. Kris, whose ability to attract trouble and miraculously get out of it is already becoming legendary, suspects that remoteness and obscurity are behind the assignment. But she has her own reasons for wanting to be in that sector of space, having to do with mysterious aliens called the Three. Just as Kris is starting to settle in, an old and unwelcome acquaintance appears. Hank Greenfeld is heir to the family who have been been waging covert and overt war with Kris's imperial family to divide known space between them. Next up to conquer is Kris's current home, with her presence just the piquant sauce to make it especially enjoyable to swallow.

It took a while for this story to really engage me, but once it did, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable space opera with some interesting and non-standard characters, a bit of leavening humor, and plenty of highly enjoyable action. However, I'd definitely recommend reading the earlier books first to get all the backstory and hopefully explanations of details like smart-metal and spider-silk clothing.

The Book

Ace
October 2006
Mass Market Paperback
0441014534
Science Fiction
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Kim Malo
Reviewed 2006
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© 2006 MyShelf.com