Deserter - the Kris Longknife series, Book 2

Books:

1. Mutineer (May 22, 2009) – 3 out of 5
2. Deserter (May 22, 2009) – 4.5 out of 5
3. Defiant (May 22, 2009)
4. Resolute (July 28, 2009)
5. Audacious (July 28, 2009)
6. Intrepid (July 28, 2009)
7. Undaunted (October 27, 2009)
8. Redoubtable (February 1, 2011)

Author: Mike Shepherd 

Narrator: Dina Pearlman  – 3.5 out of 5 

Length: 14:02 hours, purchased on audible  

Summary:

In Mutineer, summarized here, Kris Longknife proves that she is Navy in the 24^th century and one of “those damned Longknifes” after she removes her maverick commanding officer, thereby stopping a war with Earth. Now, she is not only a 22-year-old daughter of the prime minister of the planet Wardhaven, but a “Princess” as she is the granddaughter of newly crowned King Ray, a legendary war hero who reluctantly took the newly created throne of the U.S. (United Sentients – about 80 planets) after the Society went belly-up at the end of The Mutineer. 

In the beginning of Deserter, for her heroic mutiny, Kris finds herself both promoted and shunned.  Sure, she saved Earth and stopped a war, but what Navy commander wants a subordinate with an insubordinate reputation?  Who wants a princess for an underling? Even her best friend and fellow Naval officer, Tommy, puts space between himself and trouble-prone Kris, taking a vacation without inviting her along.  No sooner does Tommy take off than he is kidnapped to the non-U.S. planet Turantic - a pawn to trap the princess. With a new side-kick governess from Earth, her sexy Secret Service body guard, and an improved personal pet computer, Kris must use her charms and her reputation to get herself and those she loves off Turantic alive.

"She almost smiled at that. Girl meets boy.

Girl invites boy into a world shaking conspiracy." 

Planet Traps & Booby Traps:

I swear, I wrote this review before I read the sequel. It's purely coincidental that Deserter seems to address everything I found lacking in Mutineer. In Mutineer, I found Nelly, Kris’s personal pet computer, to be not fantastic enough (probably a bit less powerful than the newest Android).  In Deserter, Nelly gets a major upgrade.  Nelly now docks into Kris’s head and talks with Kris mentally.  Nelly also starts developing a personality, one of a spoiled Justin Bieber fan.  In Mutineer, Kris seemed more a soldier than a 22-year-old chick.  In Deserter, with no military-appointed mission to follow, our heroine gets a lot more fem.  Thanks to Kris’s new governess, we have some serious wardrobe changes, clothes descriptions, and other womanly upgrades. Push-up bra? About time!

I had felt that Mutineer lacked cohesion – not Deserter.  This audiobook has a number of subplots, but they tie to together smoothly, and dip back to Mutineer, making the story flow easily from her arriving like a princess on Turantic via a Titanic-like luxury cruise ship to her going incognito as a poor Arabic boy with a limp in the midst of Turantic’s Islamic community. She seamlessly goes from a whore, to a maid, to a pregnant girl in a burqa. I also felt that Mutineer lacked the politicking I expected from a prime minister’s daughter.  There’s so much of it in Deserter: the royal “we,” the dressing up, the appearances.  Oh, and finally, things get sexier as well as more sophisticated.  There’s tension, there’s flirting – no sex, but it’s not really needed.  Also, I love the more-developed assisting character - Jack, the bodyguard, becomes a fixture in Kris's life, and Abigail becomes the Q to Kris’s Bond.  Hence the booby traps – actual falsies that turn into bombs.

On Narration:
I’ve reviewed Dina Pearlman’s reading of the Mutineer here. In Mutineer, I felt that Dina Pearlman did a great job with internal dialogue versus external dialogue. This becomes more important in Deserter since Nelly and Kris now talk both externally and in Kris’s mind.  On a textbook, that’s easy to figure out.  In an audiobook, it’s all Dina Pearlman’s skill.  I also enjoyed her treatment of the Arabic accents. The way she read the lines of Apu and his family was both humorous and solemn.

Mutineer – the Kris Longknife series, Book 1

Books:

1. Mutineer (May 22, 2009) – 3 out of 5
2. Deserter (May 22, 2009)
3. Defiant (May 22, 2009)
4. Resolute (July 28, 2009)
5. Audacious (July 28, 2009)
6. Intrepid (July 28, 2009)
7. Undaunted (October 27, 2009)
8. Redoubtable (February 1, 2011)

Author: Mike Shepherd 

Narrator: Dina Pearlman – 4 out of 5 

Length: 14:26 hours, purchased on audible

Summary:

In the 24^th Century, Kris Longknife is a 22-year-old daughter of the prime minister of the planet, Wardhaven.  She is also one of “those Longknifes” – a family with a formidable military and political reputation, having living grandfathers who are legendary war heros.  She should be smiling at bureaucrats, kissing babies and shaking hands at balls.  Instead, Kris is a newly minted naval officer, exploring space while trying to make her way up the ranks on her own merit.  In the beginning of The Mutineer, Kris saves the life of a little girl in a hostage situation, only to learn that the entire conflict was a staged trap to have the daughter of the prime minister of Wardhaven killed.  Dodging assassination attempts, Kris must go to the planet Olympia to help feed a distressed, lawless planet, while the universe is on the brink of civil war.

 

Join the Society’s 24^th Century Navy; see the Universe:

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 2004, 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.