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Editorial Reviews
As a marine of Wardhaven, Kris Longknife has a lot to live up to and a lot to prove in the long-running struggle between her powerful family, a highly defensive-and offensive-Earth, and the hundreds of warring colonies. But an ill-conceived attack is bringing the war close to home and putting Kris's life on the line. Now she has only one choice: certain death on the front lines of rim space-or mutiny.
Related Reviews
Fun but sloppily written military SF
Not to be too repetitive but Kris is a better Honor Harrington. I can't help but wonder what I would think of the book without the Honor Harrington series to compare it to. This was more fun and gosh darn it, what's wrong with a main character that's a bit more likable...
Oddly enough, while I enjoyed most of the Honor series, most other military sci-fi leaves me yawning, including other David Weber books. But somehow, the snappy writing and enjoyable characters, boneheads included, make for a book with very few places where you can set it down long enough to grab a cookie.
The Laiden novels probably do a better job at character, of the people and the culture, and might edge this novel down to 4 3/4 stars in comparison, but there are darn few 5 stars on my list to quibble over a tiny margin.
Oddly enough, while I enjoyed most of the Honor series, most other military sci-fi leaves me yawning, including other David Weber books. But somehow, the snappy writing and enjoyable characters, boneheads included, make for a book with very few places where you can set it down long enough to grab a cookie.
The Laiden novels probably do a better job at character, of the people and the culture, and might edge this novel down to 4 3/4 stars in comparison, but there are darn few 5 stars on my list to quibble over a tiny margin.
My mixed reaction to a book I enjoyed
Other reviews have pointed out some of the sloppiness in the editing and the writing and even occasionally the plotting, which are my reasons for dinging this book a star. Space opera is often driven by a single character, and this particular character is fascinating.
So first, let me lay out my biases. I am a big fan of the early Honor Harrigton books, less so of the later ones (although I read them religiously anyway), and I also like Weber's Shadow of Saganami series, where he follows people who haven't risen to the astronomical heights attained by Honor (and thus are free actually to head out into space and shoot things up). What I loved about the early Honor books is that the twisty plots and the character mesh so nicely. I also love the Liaden books, and consider them to be better written than the Weber books. Lately, I've been enjoying the Alex Benedict books and the USS Merimack books. What these books all have in common is interesting characters who are tossed into situations that call up the best and the worst they have to offer.
This is also the strength of this book. Kris Longknife is a vividly drawn young woman, and unlike many heroes of such novels, she is a realistically young 22-year-old. At the start of the book, she doesn't have a good answer for "Why did you join the Navy?" or more specifically, "Why will you stay in the Navy?" In the course of the book, she finds better answers. She has innate leadership skills, but she hasn't grasped the responsibility of command as deeply as she thinks she has, and the sequences where this is pointed out to her (first rather brutally and later very movingly) are well-designed. What's more, she learns from them, and the Kris who walks out of the book at the end is not the same one who walked in on the first page. She's more mature, and more aware of her own faults, and (maybe most importantly) she understands her family/career situation in a more nuanced way than she did at the start.
The book was an easy fun read, and I'm looking forward to the others in the series.
So first, let me lay out my biases. I am a big fan of the early Honor Harrigton books, less so of the later ones (although I read them religiously anyway), and I also like Weber's Shadow of Saganami series, where he follows people who haven't risen to the astronomical heights attained by Honor (and thus are free actually to head out into space and shoot things up). What I loved about the early Honor books is that the twisty plots and the character mesh so nicely. I also love the Liaden books, and consider them to be better written than the Weber books. Lately, I've been enjoying the Alex Benedict books and the USS Merimack books. What these books all have in common is interesting characters who are tossed into situations that call up the best and the worst they have to offer.
This is also the strength of this book. Kris Longknife is a vividly drawn young woman, and unlike many heroes of such novels, she is a realistically young 22-year-old. At the start of the book, she doesn't have a good answer for "Why did you join the Navy?" or more specifically, "Why will you stay in the Navy?" In the course of the book, she finds better answers. She has innate leadership skills, but she hasn't grasped the responsibility of command as deeply as she thinks she has, and the sequences where this is pointed out to her (first rather brutally and later very movingly) are well-designed. What's more, she learns from them, and the Kris who walks out of the book at the end is not the same one who walked in on the first page. She's more mature, and more aware of her own faults, and (maybe most importantly) she understands her family/career situation in a more nuanced way than she did at the start.
The book was an easy fun read, and I'm looking forward to the others in the series.
I love Elizabeth Moon's space navy books for their excellent characters and great politics and battles. In Kris Longknife: Mutineer, Mike Shepherd visits similar territory, but the Longknife family runs the place, and Kris's family are in the history books and sometimes in her parent's house (her great grandfathers are still alive and kicking). Kris is young, smart, and most important, she pays attention.
I enjoyed this book immensely, and am looking forward to the next one. (I wonder what Mike's title was; this title sounds more like marketing than anything else.)
Sloppy writing but a pleasent read none the less
Kristine Longknife is your typical prime ministers daughter, billionaire in her own right, member of a extreamly weathy-powerful multi-generational family, and navy ensign. This books is the beginning of Kris's adventures as old family enemies come to try and finish what they started when Kris was a young girl.
The story itself in a interesting one and a fun read. But there are so many inconsistancies; name changes, tense changes, several places the word "a" or "an" is missing, there are spelling errors of the most basic sort and etc, that they take away from the punch of the story. Oh don't get me wrong this is a fun read but it could have used some serious proof editing.
Kris has spent much of her life trying to avoid her mothers plans to turn her into a lady, the usless sort of lady. So Kris joins the navy and carries on the tradition of being one of those "damn Longknives!"
The story itself in a interesting one and a fun read. But there are so many inconsistancies; name changes, tense changes, several places the word "a" or "an" is missing, there are spelling errors of the most basic sort and etc, that they take away from the punch of the story. Oh don't get me wrong this is a fun read but it could have used some serious proof editing.
Kris has spent much of her life trying to avoid her mothers plans to turn her into a lady, the usless sort of lady. So Kris joins the navy and carries on the tradition of being one of those "damn Longknives!"
The story is interesting, and the world in which the story is told is interesting. I even thought that the politics that drove the world were well crafted.
The characters are pretty decent as well. I'm not going to call Kris Longknife another Honor Harrington by a long shot, but there are moments where she is very likable.
But the writing.... my god, the descriptive writing is weak and awkward. And the dialogue was equally awkward until I started imagining everyone talking with stiff upper crust British accents. Even then, there are a few conversations in the book (especially when the Highlanders show up) which I just could not stand to read for more than 2 minutes at a time because they were so cheesy.
I might give the second book a chance to see if the writer improves any and find out where the over-all story goes... but my advice for anyone considering this book is to wait until you don't have anything better to read, and then give it a chance if you're desperate.
The characters are pretty decent as well. I'm not going to call Kris Longknife another Honor Harrington by a long shot, but there are moments where she is very likable.
But the writing.... my god, the descriptive writing is weak and awkward. And the dialogue was equally awkward until I started imagining everyone talking with stiff upper crust British accents. Even then, there are a few conversations in the book (especially when the Highlanders show up) which I just could not stand to read for more than 2 minutes at a time because they were so cheesy.
I might give the second book a chance to see if the writer improves any and find out where the over-all story goes... but my advice for anyone considering this book is to wait until you don't have anything better to read, and then give it a chance if you're desperate.
I bought this book together with Tanya Huff's "A Confederation of Valor" and I thoroughly enjoyed Confederation of Valor. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Kris Longknife's book.
I fully admit I did not read the whole book. In fact, I only read the first fifteen pages. I just found the main character to be weak and the constant flashbacks to be, well, unconducive to good reading. I understand she's young, scared, has hangups about her history. But when she's in the middle of a mission and she's having these wimpy italised moments, I just want to roll my eyes and skip forward.
There are many reviewers who did enjoy this book, and the fact that there are many more in this series shows many people out there do like this book. I'm just being honest and putting my 2 cents on the table.
I fully admit I did not read the whole book. In fact, I only read the first fifteen pages. I just found the main character to be weak and the constant flashbacks to be, well, unconducive to good reading. I understand she's young, scared, has hangups about her history. But when she's in the middle of a mission and she's having these wimpy italised moments, I just want to roll my eyes and skip forward.
There are many reviewers who did enjoy this book, and the fact that there are many more in this series shows many people out there do like this book. I'm just being honest and putting my 2 cents on the table.
I had heard so much about this series that I'm glad I finally got around to reading the first book. This military science fiction novel seemed to contain at least 3 novels in one as we follow Kris Longknife, a 'boot' ensign, along her first military assignments. The first mission starts out with a bang as Kris heads up a dangerous kidnapping assignment that kicks off the start of a mystery potentially connected to Kris's own past. Her second assignment lands Kris squarely in the middle of a humanitarian aid mission on a bandit infested planet and then finally Kris is involved in a space battle that opens up an inter planetary political mess the size of a gas giant.
Kris is not the gritty protagonist of other military science fiction works such as say Ripley from Aliens although neither is she a bubble head. I thought this book was fun and fast but yet tackled many serious subjects such as post traumatic stress, survivor guilt, and even alcohol abuse. We watch Kris mature through her mission assignments and at the same time she tries to unlock not only the mysteries of the galaxy but her own seemly related interlocking mysteries of her own family dynamics.
Note: Although I'm reading the 2nd novel in the series in print, and so far it is just as good, I listened to Mutineer on audio books. The voice actress did an amazing job and it seemed like there were at least 30 characters in which to differentiate. It sure made a long drive go fast!
Kris is not the gritty protagonist of other military science fiction works such as say Ripley from Aliens although neither is she a bubble head. I thought this book was fun and fast but yet tackled many serious subjects such as post traumatic stress, survivor guilt, and even alcohol abuse. We watch Kris mature through her mission assignments and at the same time she tries to unlock not only the mysteries of the galaxy but her own seemly related interlocking mysteries of her own family dynamics.
Note: Although I'm reading the 2nd novel in the series in print, and so far it is just as good, I listened to Mutineer on audio books. The voice actress did an amazing job and it seemed like there were at least 30 characters in which to differentiate. It sure made a long drive go fast!
I found this book to be good entertainment and decent sci-fi military fiction. It kept me occupied for four hours.
The main character, Kris Longknife, starts out as a fresh ensign. As the book goes on, Kris has many experiences. She learns more about herself and why she's in the Navy.
Some things I didn't like about the story: In some places I found it hard to follow scene changes, and follow who was talking to who. I also thought the political and technological background were very generic. These characters and this story could have been placed in almost any timeframe and location. There wasn't anything about the story that makes it "sci-fi", particularly.
I discovered one interesting thing after reading the book. I looked at the copyright statement on the first page and discovered Mike Shepherd is a pseudonym for Mike Moscoe, who has written other stories in the same universe. I don't know why he changed names, unless his previous stuff has a bad reputation, but I haven't read any of it.
I am rather puzzled by the people comparing Kris Longknife to Elizabeth Moon's characters or to Honor Harrington. Honestly, from the first chapter, she struck me as a whiny little rich kid who seems to be magically able to lead troops, pilot planes and do virtually anything anyone throws at her without even blinking an eye. Somehow, despite being an ensign, she magically is the superior officer to everyone more than once. She single handedly saves her first mission. She can follow 5 conversations at once in a room and is an amazing politician. Everyone loves her unless they're just giving her a hard time for the sake of appearances. The words "you're one of those Longknives" appears at least once a chapter, which is tedious. I mean how many times do we have to get beaten over the head with the fact that she's amazing and rich and perfect? She comes off as a very typical wish-fulfillment character who manages to fix any problem without breaking a sweat. Honor Harrington at least had some real problems to deal with both emotionally and physically. She had self doubt and anxieties that weren't brushed away with a few convenient sentences and abuse of exclamation marks. Yeah, Honor manages to kick some serious butt, but at least she's a believable, well-rounded character and the world around her is described (to death) and developed. Too much in Mutineer is left conveniently unexplained or is passed off as inconsequential. The relationship Kris has with her parents seems very contrived and superficial, as are her relationships with pretty much everyone. Her family is described as insanely famous, but a bunch of them are thrown at us all at once without really explaining who they are except for cardboard, two dimensional characters whose only purpose is to make Kris look good by either explaining her behaviour to others or setting her up for doing something epic.
Part of this is the writing style, which I never really got into. It was pretty simplistic, had an overabundance of exclamation marks and random capitalization of things that may have been meant as jokes but that fell flat. I had this book recommended by Amazon.com when I purchased Tanya Huff's latest book from her Valor series and I am seriously disappointed that the bot was comparing Huff's witty, strong, amazing Gunnery Sergeant Kerr to the barbie-doll with no substance that is Kris Longknife. You may like this book if you enjoy mindless wish-fulfillment in a space-navy setting, but not if you actually want a strong, well-written character in a gripping story.
Part of this is the writing style, which I never really got into. It was pretty simplistic, had an overabundance of exclamation marks and random capitalization of things that may have been meant as jokes but that fell flat. I had this book recommended by Amazon.com when I purchased Tanya Huff's latest book from her Valor series and I am seriously disappointed that the bot was comparing Huff's witty, strong, amazing Gunnery Sergeant Kerr to the barbie-doll with no substance that is Kris Longknife. You may like this book if you enjoy mindless wish-fulfillment in a space-navy setting, but not if you actually want a strong, well-written character in a gripping story.
Must be Good, I'm ReReReReading
I just finished ReReading my Kindle Version and who knows how many times I ReRead the Hard Copy. I don't. Doesn't matter. It was still a good Book to Read!
As an Army Brat, it has a special appeal for me because it "feels" like a Book written (which it is) by someone who understands Military Life instead of a Book written by a Civilian trying to imagine Military existence. I can't make the same claim for the Political side of Life since I avoid that Arena like the Plague. Yet it "feels" right and appropriate.
In fact, I think Appropriate is the perfect word to describe the whole Book. Everything fit where it was placed. I didn't find myself having to stop to gather my thoughts or go back to see what I must have missed since something didn't make sense all of a sudden. It flowed from one scene / conversation to the next.
The story never began to drag. I was caught by the descriptions, the action, and the conversations from the very beginning and stayed caught until the end. A most excellent SciFi Action Tale!
With one exception, the language stayed within my "Blush" level. Nothing worse than what you hear on TV on a regular basis ... even on Fox News ... and some shows supposedly geared towards youths. Even more importantly, there was nothing that I had to skim over because there was too much sex or too graphic sex scenes.
That one exception was within a conversation with a "Sailor". And even I was able to accept the couple of words that went above & beyond my Blush Level because they fit the context.
The Kindle Version only had a couple of conversion errors that caught my attention. And they only slowed me down for a second or two. The Table of Contents works perfectly. The Copyrights Page is there. The Cover's there, but it sure ain't much to look at! The images aren't there. But that has no impact on my enjoyment whatsoever.
As an Army Brat, it has a special appeal for me because it "feels" like a Book written (which it is) by someone who understands Military Life instead of a Book written by a Civilian trying to imagine Military existence. I can't make the same claim for the Political side of Life since I avoid that Arena like the Plague. Yet it "feels" right and appropriate.
In fact, I think Appropriate is the perfect word to describe the whole Book. Everything fit where it was placed. I didn't find myself having to stop to gather my thoughts or go back to see what I must have missed since something didn't make sense all of a sudden. It flowed from one scene / conversation to the next.
The story never began to drag. I was caught by the descriptions, the action, and the conversations from the very beginning and stayed caught until the end. A most excellent SciFi Action Tale!
With one exception, the language stayed within my "Blush" level. Nothing worse than what you hear on TV on a regular basis ... even on Fox News ... and some shows supposedly geared towards youths. Even more importantly, there was nothing that I had to skim over because there was too much sex or too graphic sex scenes.
That one exception was within a conversation with a "Sailor". And even I was able to accept the couple of words that went above & beyond my Blush Level because they fit the context.
The Kindle Version only had a couple of conversion errors that caught my attention. And they only slowed me down for a second or two. The Table of Contents works perfectly. The Copyrights Page is there. The Cover's there, but it sure ain't much to look at! The images aren't there. But that has no impact on my enjoyment whatsoever.
Great Start to a Very Good Series
This was a great start to a very good series, introducing the heroine, Kris Longknife, scion of a highly wealthy and influencial family, who chucks the life style to join the space Navy, only to have that life style rise up and bite her continually.
Some will compare this to Honor Harrington, although the two series are quite different in tone and focus. I enjoyed the Honor series (at least until the end, when they became a bit repititious and also too military tactic heavy for my taste), and this new series has more of an emphasis on character development.
Plenty of action, interesting concepts, all part of the old fashioned space opera sagas. But this one does not require a list kept to the side to remember scores of characters, and the descriptions are sufficient to give one an understanding of context, but not so detailed as to encourage one to skip the paragraphs for more action-oriented material.
This started the series. While the series itslef is a bit uneven, it does have flashes of excellence (along with the unfortunate minor errors in text that good editing would have caught). And while it's not necessary to read them all to understand any one standing by itself, there is a sense of character development which is enhanced by reading them in order. Plots shifts are explained, but it's fun to watch the development of some of the characaters (expecially her pet computer) over time.
Not great literature, but a highly pleasant diversion.
Some will compare this to Honor Harrington, although the two series are quite different in tone and focus. I enjoyed the Honor series (at least until the end, when they became a bit repititious and also too military tactic heavy for my taste), and this new series has more of an emphasis on character development.
Plenty of action, interesting concepts, all part of the old fashioned space opera sagas. But this one does not require a list kept to the side to remember scores of characters, and the descriptions are sufficient to give one an understanding of context, but not so detailed as to encourage one to skip the paragraphs for more action-oriented material.
This started the series. While the series itslef is a bit uneven, it does have flashes of excellence (along with the unfortunate minor errors in text that good editing would have caught). And while it's not necessary to read them all to understand any one standing by itself, there is a sense of character development which is enhanced by reading them in order. Plots shifts are explained, but it's fun to watch the development of some of the characaters (expecially her pet computer) over time.
Not great literature, but a highly pleasant diversion.
"Kris Longknife Mutineer," the first of a series that currently is five novels long, should appeal to fans of both Honor Harrington and Miles Vorkosigan. Striking a fine balance between the solemnity of the former and the playfulness of the latter, in this novel we're introduced to Kristine Longknife, daughter of a politician and a social striver, who joins the navy to escape from her parents.
Kris's strong points aren't strategy and tactics so much as organizational skills and the ability to get people to believe in her. And she succeeds in this in three separate tests of her skills--one involving a kidnap rescue, another a mercy mission to a disaster-stricken planet, and then finally she is involved in Clausewitz's "diplomacy by other means."
Mike Shepherd has a clear no-frills writing style, his plotting is first-rate, and his characters are believeable.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the novels in this promising series, especially as the author appears to have deliberately left some ends loose.
Kris's strong points aren't strategy and tactics so much as organizational skills and the ability to get people to believe in her. And she succeeds in this in three separate tests of her skills--one involving a kidnap rescue, another a mercy mission to a disaster-stricken planet, and then finally she is involved in Clausewitz's "diplomacy by other means."
Mike Shepherd has a clear no-frills writing style, his plotting is first-rate, and his characters are believeable.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the novels in this promising series, especially as the author appears to have deliberately left some ends loose.
Fun enough, but definitely no Harrington
While Honor Harrington is more cold and analytical, Kris Longknife is lively and adventurous. Great! They both fill a needed niche in female-driven military sci-fi.
The problems tend to come not with Longknife herself, who is well-fleshed out, but everyone around her--all flat, some stereotyped. I'm not sure why someone from an Irish-Chinese planet HAS to go on and on repeatedly in casual conversation about "his ancestors" and the "wee folk"; no Irish or Chinese people I know do that whether or not that's their culture and/or beliefs. All of her superiors have one mode: crush her, either career-wise or worse.
All in all, Kris Longknife: Mutineer (a misnomer, taking the book as a whole and not as the last couple chapters) is a good concept, a good seed, but the fruit isn't yet ripe.
The problems tend to come not with Longknife herself, who is well-fleshed out, but everyone around her--all flat, some stereotyped. I'm not sure why someone from an Irish-Chinese planet HAS to go on and on repeatedly in casual conversation about "his ancestors" and the "wee folk"; no Irish or Chinese people I know do that whether or not that's their culture and/or beliefs. All of her superiors have one mode: crush her, either career-wise or worse.
All in all, Kris Longknife: Mutineer (a misnomer, taking the book as a whole and not as the last couple chapters) is a good concept, a good seed, but the fruit isn't yet ripe.
A fun adventure story without too much angst, this novel nonetheless has some wit and introspection, but not enough to interfere with the fast pace of military action in space or the sometimes deadly political intrigue surrounding it.
The main character, Kris Longknife, is young and plucky, and almost too capable, and yet has enough demons and doubts to be likable.
Overall, an exciting and amusing story, much like the earlier Honor Harrington installments.
The main character, Kris Longknife, is young and plucky, and almost too capable, and yet has enough demons and doubts to be likable.
Overall, an exciting and amusing story, much like the earlier Honor Harrington installments.
Pleasant read, avoids standard scifi pitfalls
I enjoyed this book a lot, mostly because the characters are interesting and human. One of the most satisfying aspects of this book is the humor that crops up among the characters. So many novelists forget that in times of stress, people tend to crack jokes, and also when people who know each other get together, they josh each other. Sheperd inserts this into the novel, and it's like a breath of fresh air. Also, where some novelists have their characters twist and turn on a rope of their own guilt, Sheperd allows his protagonist to forgive herself and be rational about things that happen. I sure hope there's another episode in this series.
a thrilling read that i couldnt put down-
I just finished reading this book and now ive ordered the 2 followup sequels. A very well written novel and as a former military man myself, I couldnt get over how the dialogs read like the characters were actual real conversations from real people.
This is some of the best science-fiction writing I've read in recent years. Reminds me of Jerry Pournelle's works on Falkenberg's Legion, and with all the gutsy raw combat definitions that keep you glued to every page.
I rarely recommend an author's book, but this one you sci-fi lovers of space warfare--empires have really got to read.
This is some of the best science-fiction writing I've read in recent years. Reminds me of Jerry Pournelle's works on Falkenberg's Legion, and with all the gutsy raw combat definitions that keep you glued to every page.
I rarely recommend an author's book, but this one you sci-fi lovers of space warfare--empires have really got to read.
Solid adventure with a good cast of characters.
I liked this book (3 1/2 stars would be my real rating). The characters are enjoyable. There's some fun dialogue which balances nicely with the more serious moments. There's plenty of action and adventure. The story line moves along at a good pace. It's not a perfect book, but if you like military SF, with a female lead, you'll probably enjoy this story.
Ensign Mary Sue saves the galaxy, does 4 impossible things before breakfast and
looks damn good doing it.
This was so bad I couldn't finish it. Imagine watered down David Weber and you'll have the general idea of this book. Plucky junior officer who'd smarter, braver and so much better than anyone else in the universe. An uber Mary Sue who, as a brand new "ensign" leads a successful marine hostage rescue (after a brilliant orbit to ground landing of a disabled shuttle craft forces them to use `plan B' which she developed on her own time after her superior officers decided a backup plan wasn't needed)
Cartoon villains. An example of the wretched purple prose of the `evil' captain Thorpe:
"Those orders come from the people with the guts to take what you money-grabbing wimps have hoarded for yourselves. You have no use for duty, honor. You let power lie around, wasted. Well, some of us know how to use power. There's Earth's power, sitting fat and dumb. In one minute we're going to blast it to bits. How's that for power?" Thorpe raised his fist. "And if Earth comes back, we'll blast them again. We've had enough of being your bootlicking dogs, Longknife. Now we'll do what is right. Gunny, shoot that dog."
The entire story is hamstrung by purple prose, nonsensical and confusing plot and idiot characters.
Try a library copy first to see if you like it.
The only way I could suspend disbelief on this one would be with a couple of Chinook Sky Cranes.
This was so bad I couldn't finish it. Imagine watered down David Weber and you'll have the general idea of this book. Plucky junior officer who'd smarter, braver and so much better than anyone else in the universe. An uber Mary Sue who, as a brand new "ensign" leads a successful marine hostage rescue (after a brilliant orbit to ground landing of a disabled shuttle craft forces them to use `plan B' which she developed on her own time after her superior officers decided a backup plan wasn't needed)
Cartoon villains. An example of the wretched purple prose of the `evil' captain Thorpe:
"Those orders come from the people with the guts to take what you money-grabbing wimps have hoarded for yourselves. You have no use for duty, honor. You let power lie around, wasted. Well, some of us know how to use power. There's Earth's power, sitting fat and dumb. In one minute we're going to blast it to bits. How's that for power?" Thorpe raised his fist. "And if Earth comes back, we'll blast them again. We've had enough of being your bootlicking dogs, Longknife. Now we'll do what is right. Gunny, shoot that dog."
The entire story is hamstrung by purple prose, nonsensical and confusing plot and idiot characters.
Try a library copy first to see if you like it.
The only way I could suspend disbelief on this one would be with a couple of Chinook Sky Cranes.
If you like the Hornblower or Honor series you will like Kris Longknife: Mutineer. Lots of combat, both planet side and in space, lots of plots within plots, good characters, a happy ending and the plot is not weighed down by the science.
Kris Longknife is from a rich and powerful family yet joins the Navy. Why? Even she didn't know at first but as we follow her from conflict to another we watch she develop and become more than just a confused Ensign to a complete human being.
Kris Longknife is from a rich and powerful family yet joins the Navy. Why? Even she didn't know at first but as we follow her from conflict to another we watch she develop and become more than just a confused Ensign to a complete human being.
A good read if abit raw, reads like a first novel, alot of the story is politcally motivated with backstory that is never really explained. While a good and interesting read, it lacks the depth and absorbtion that comes of a truly amazing novel. Still not bad, would recomend.
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)
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)
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Join the Society's 24th Century Navy; see the Universe
Courtesy of Lost Art Audio
This book has some really wonderful elements. First of all, it's sci fi/high fiction, so we're in the 24th century, on a few different planets. Even so, it's more a military novel, following the Navy career of Kris Longknife and the political structure of the Society among over 100 planets that have human life expansion. We don't see any aliens, and most fantastic elements have to do with computers and technology. I should mention that the book was written in 1994, meaning that Nelly - Kris's personal (pet) AI computer - is probably a bit less powerful than the newest Android.
Be it as it may, the story is excellent, and very, very military. If you're into the politics of internal command hierarchy, or into rescue and humanitarian distress mission, it's a fun read. It's also interesting to hear a man write a story where the heroine is a 22-year-old female. He gets a lot of things right, but I think it's more because she's a soldier, and Mike Shepherd was Navy himself, so he knows a thing or two in the regard.
My only real criticism is that this book was a lack of cohesion - it seemed to be separated in three parts: rescue mission & return home (very well done; we really understand Kris's history from the mission, and we get a good understanding of her family - the prime minister family of an entire planet - from her return home); humanitarian mission on Olympia (this part sags. It tells us a lot of Kris's character and leadership abilities, but it gets too bogged down in the moral implications and reflections on a soldier's duties); and mission to attack (this is the crowning moment and the name-sake of the book). Unfortunately, these three parts don't meld too well. I would have liked to see a bit less soldiering, a bit more politicking, and maybe even a love interest beyond one guy asking Kris out to lunch.
On Narration:
Dina Pearlman is excellent. If you are familiar with Jeanne C. Stein's Anna Strong series, or Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series, you know what I mean. She does a wonderful Irish accent, which takes up a good half-hour of reading when the Highlanders visit Olympia. She also does a great job with internal dialogue versus external dialogue. At times in the book, Kris makes comments basically to herself. Since the book is written in third-person, the way Dina Pearlman reads these lines versus external dialogue is very important to the listener, and she does it successfully.
This book has some really wonderful elements. First of all, it's sci fi/high fiction, so we're in the 24th century, on a few different planets. Even so, it's more a military novel, following the Navy career of Kris Longknife and the political structure of the Society among over 100 planets that have human life expansion. We don't see any aliens, and most fantastic elements have to do with computers and technology. I should mention that the book was written in 1994, meaning that Nelly - Kris's personal (pet) AI computer - is probably a bit less powerful than the newest Android.
Be it as it may, the story is excellent, and very, very military. If you're into the politics of internal command hierarchy, or into rescue and humanitarian distress mission, it's a fun read. It's also interesting to hear a man write a story where the heroine is a 22-year-old female. He gets a lot of things right, but I think it's more because she's a soldier, and Mike Shepherd was Navy himself, so he knows a thing or two in the regard.
My only real criticism is that this book was a lack of cohesion - it seemed to be separated in three parts: rescue mission & return home (very well done; we really understand Kris's history from the mission, and we get a good understanding of her family - the prime minister family of an entire planet - from her return home); humanitarian mission on Olympia (this part sags. It tells us a lot of Kris's character and leadership abilities, but it gets too bogged down in the moral implications and reflections on a soldier's duties); and mission to attack (this is the crowning moment and the name-sake of the book). Unfortunately, these three parts don't meld too well. I would have liked to see a bit less soldiering, a bit more politicking, and maybe even a love interest beyond one guy asking Kris out to lunch.
On Narration:
Dina Pearlman is excellent. If you are familiar with Jeanne C. Stein's Anna Strong series, or Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series, you know what I mean. She does a wonderful Irish accent, which takes up a good half-hour of reading when the Highlanders visit Olympia. She also does a great job with internal dialogue versus external dialogue. At times in the book, Kris makes comments basically to herself. Since the book is written in third-person, the way Dina Pearlman reads these lines versus external dialogue is very important to the listener, and she does it successfully.
I found the pacing just right and the story line compelling, enough self doubt and introspection to make the character both believable and likeable. I enjoyed reading this enough to order the rest of the novels in the series to read. This was an easy read, not challenging, but quite entertaining.
This is just one of the great books in this series. Interesting, clever and full of action and human interest.
A Fun Quick and Entertaining Read
I'm giving this book 4 stars. It's a hoot and I like the whole series. The Heroine is great but not TOO great; she has her flaws. Not great literature perhaps, but in its genre it's good!
Mutineer was a fun read that started fast out of the gate and never let up. While Kris comes off as a Mary Sue, she's a likable enough character to keep her from getting on the reader's nerves. The supporting cast of friends and relatives were particularly enjoyable. The universe is well thought out and the liquid metal technology was interesting. I can't wait to read further in the series so I can see Kris put the screws to the Peterwalds.
This series of four books (with number five on the way) is fantastic. Each is impossible to put down once started, so pour yourself a refreshing beverage and pick a comfortable chair to read in. The characters are well drawn and quickly become people you care about. The situations are realistic, the combat sequences intense. It's always such a pleasure to make a find like this.
Mutineer starts with a well written rescue of a kidnap; victim, But it soon becomes apparent that it really was a
trap aimed at Kris most likely by Henry Peterwald. This makes things interesting as Kris is feeling some
attachment to his son Hank. There is some humor here, the ships of the Kamikaze class are made out of
smart metal that can be reconfigured on the fly to give better armor or more interior room-but it doesn't
quite work as expected. Lockers and gear don't turn up where they are supposed to among other things. The
Society of Humanity is starting to come apart due to Earth having very different priorates than the Rim. For
instance the Senate approved a full navy funding bill but the Earth president refused to appropriate the
money to fund it. So now fast attack squadron 6 and Kris are inactive for 3 months. This lets the Navy sip her off
to Olympia where a volcano explosion has created a disaster with a years worth of acid rain. She gets Colonel
Hancock and his command straightened up (Hancock was found not guilty on charges that he needlessly
opened fire on some unarmed farmers but his actions were not approved and when he refused to resign he
was put in charge of a real mess with no way out.) The mutiny comes later when a huge Earth fleet is sent out
to the Rim as a part of the dissolution of the Society of Humanity nearly starting a war. This is one of the weak
spots in the book as it is not explained. Similarly there appears to be evidence that the Peterwalds had a astroid
dropped on the volcano to trigger the disaster-but this is never confirmed.
Overall a good story with a few flaws, well written with good chacterization, not up to Weber but still much
better than average.
trap aimed at Kris most likely by Henry Peterwald. This makes things interesting as Kris is feeling some
attachment to his son Hank. There is some humor here, the ships of the Kamikaze class are made out of
smart metal that can be reconfigured on the fly to give better armor or more interior room-but it doesn't
quite work as expected. Lockers and gear don't turn up where they are supposed to among other things. The
Society of Humanity is starting to come apart due to Earth having very different priorates than the Rim. For
instance the Senate approved a full navy funding bill but the Earth president refused to appropriate the
money to fund it. So now fast attack squadron 6 and Kris are inactive for 3 months. This lets the Navy sip her off
to Olympia where a volcano explosion has created a disaster with a years worth of acid rain. She gets Colonel
Hancock and his command straightened up (Hancock was found not guilty on charges that he needlessly
opened fire on some unarmed farmers but his actions were not approved and when he refused to resign he
was put in charge of a real mess with no way out.) The mutiny comes later when a huge Earth fleet is sent out
to the Rim as a part of the dissolution of the Society of Humanity nearly starting a war. This is one of the weak
spots in the book as it is not explained. Similarly there appears to be evidence that the Peterwalds had a astroid
dropped on the volcano to trigger the disaster-but this is never confirmed.
Overall a good story with a few flaws, well written with good chacterization, not up to Weber but still much
better than average.
Due to a lack of Scifi books at the book store in my area, I have limited to reading the first three books by this author and I am very dissappointed in them. 'Kris Longknife' makes for a good read for a kid in grade school but in isn't a book someone looking for something for adults. Also for a man to claims to know the Navy the author knows very little about the service and nothing about The Chain of Command that is the basic core of service life.
Kris Longknife Mutineer by Mike Shepherd is a fun space opera adventure featuring a naval officer who is also the daughter of a highly placed politician. An ensign serving her first assignment, she has to contend with comrades who think she is a spoiled little rich girl and that she has risen not on the basis of her ability but because of who she is. This book brings the Honor Harrington and Herris Serrano books to mind-- there's nothing particularly unique in it, but it is a fun read with an exciting plot. Kris is an admirable heroine who manages to walk the fine line between honor, service and politics. Without using her familiar connections as a crutch, she does find a way to turn them into an asset for her and the other soldiers. I look forward to reading more books in the series!
i really have liked the kris longknife series,a rich girl who decides to join her planets military instead of being just another spoiled brat, with a family tradition of service to live up to from both her grandfathers. if you like the kris longknife books then you might want to read the three earlier novels that deal with her grandparents. writen by mike sheperd under the name mike moscoe, they are in order, The first casualty, Price of peace and They also serve. fyi
I read Mutineer on my Kindle, and I enjoyed it. I think that it started off a little slow, but by the time Kris was sent on the relief mission, I was hooked. For the last half of the book I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
This is an excellent tale! Mike Shepherd's naval military experience rings true in the space-based action advernture. Well worth the read!
There might be some weak spots, but I missed then and found it a good read. Not a sword or wizard in the darned thing which rates it high right from the start.
action-packed outer space military science fiction
In the twenty-fourth century, mankind has colonized other planets but since they went to war with the alien species, expansion has become slow and cautious. The rim planets have built their own space armadas to police the space lanes in the far reaches of the galaxy. Kris Longknife is the daughter of wealth and privilege, her father the prime minister of Wardhaven, her grandfathers were military heroes.
Wanting to give something back to society, Kris joins the navy and her first assignment in a leadership position is to rescue a kidnapped child being held by men who have technology not available to the public. On her second command, she almost single handedly brings relief to the planet Olympia, falling apart due to volcanic activity and bad weather. Yet her greatest danger comes in a form she could never expect, one that will force her to take the road least traveled and faces the consequences.
No one who has read KRIS LONGKNIFE MUTINEER will hope there with be further adventures starring this brave, independent and intrepid heroine. Mike Shepherd has written an action-packed, exciting space opera that starts at light speed and just keeps getting faster. This is outer space military science fiction is at its adventurous best.
Harriet Klausner
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Good points:
- Good characters, well portrayed.
- Good action scenes.
- A neat technology, 'smart metal,' which lets ships change shape depending on what you need them for. Though we never really see how it happens--we just see before and after.
- The protagonist was probably an alcoholic as a child, something I've never seen done in literature before, but again the camera blinks and we later hear that 'maybe it was just the pills her mother made her take,' and she occasionally has a drink, and except for some angst it doesn't affect her.
- The Palm Pilot equivalents of the future with personalities. It's been done before, but it's handled nicely here.
Bad points:
- The title is poor, since Kris is only a mutineer for a few pages, about 350 page into the book.
- The name Longknife is implausible enough, but a kris _is_ a long knife. That's just over the top...
- Enemies are sometimes straw figures. After an initially convincing setup they often roll over and play dead as needed. Allies too--why wouldn't her father, the Prime Minister of her planet, investigate attempts on her life?
- Technology often appears just to do some job, isn't explained, and then goes away.
- In a similar vein, her great-grandfathers are over a hundred and still active, but the longevity situation is never mentioned and there are no other old characters.
- Somewhat muddled politics, only explained gradually over the course of the book.
- The family relationships are also only explained hundreds of pages into the book.
- Both of Kris's paternal grandfathers are named Longknife. Either there's inbreeding going on or it didn't occur to the author how names are handed down.
- Quiet a bit of heavy-handed sermonizing, which I skipped over.
- Lots of minor errors, e.g.,
+ p.297 has Grandpa Ray storming Black mountain instead of Grandpa Trouble
+ we've been told it's the 24th century, but p.319 has a date in the 25th century
+ Kris is described as tall, but on p.364 we're told she weighs 123 pounds.
In a nutshell, it's a fun enough read if you don't take it too seriously, but it needed more editing.