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Kris Longknife #13
Unrelenting
In the New York Times bestselling Kris Longknife novels, “fans of the Honor Harrington escapades will welcome the adventures of another strong female in outer space starring in a thrill-a-page military space opera” (Alternative Worlds).
The aliens attacking the planetary system of Alwa are an enemy unlike any Admiral Kris Longknife has ever encountered before. She doesn’t know who they are, only that they worship a being known as the Enlightened One and are unafraid to sacrifice themselves against her fleet.
But Kris faces more than just the fanatical behavior of an alien armada. A saboteur has infiltrated the military’s medical facility and unleashed an epidemic that has spread throughout the fleet without warning.
Seventy-two career military women are down with something not even the aliens could do to them—including Admiral Kris Longknife…
The aliens attacking the planetary system of Alwa are an enemy unlike any Admiral Kris Longknife has ever encountered before. She doesn’t know who they are, only that they worship a being known as the Enlightened One and are unafraid to sacrifice themselves against her fleet.
But Kris faces more than just the fanatical behavior of an alien armada. A saboteur has infiltrated the military’s medical facility and unleashed an epidemic that has spread throughout the fleet without warning.
Seventy-two career military women are down with something not even the aliens could do to them—including Admiral Kris Longknife…
392 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2015
65 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Mike Shepherd
78 books563 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
December 7, 2015
Another good installment in a very good series.
July 8, 2020
I used to like the Kris Longknife books. Strong female heroine. Space battles. Kicking butt. But in this dreadful, disjointed effort, we have the heroine giving up the butt kicking (except for sitting in a command chair) to find the conservative dream of fulfilment in monogamy and childbearing! Really? Perish the thought that a strong female heroine should find fulfilment in multiple partnerships, childlessness and enjoying herself.
(I don't count the author's sex scenes because, quite frankly, they're just bad.)
(She caresses her baby bump)
If you want a really good space opera with a female heroine, Debra Doyle and James MacDonald's Price of the Stars trilogy is much better. A fabulous read, in contrast to this!
(She touches her baby bump)
Some book quotes. You may complain they are out of context. I would answer WTF are they doing in a space opera that promises action?
(She smooths her baby bump)
"We're here to tell Jack that his job is to listen a lot. And give good foot massages..."
(She rubs her baby bump)
"So I better get used to being everyone else's Viceroy but Granny Rita's honey child. Or baby cheeks. Or worse, the youngest tossed in. Suddenly I'm honey bear pumpkin..."
(She strokes her baby bump)
"Jack I may need your help if I start to, ah, I don't know. Let my hormones affect my command decisions..."
(She pats her baby bump)
Oh, and guess what I got sick of her doing every couple of pages...
'Scuse me while I vomit.
(I don't count the author's sex scenes because, quite frankly, they're just bad.)
(She caresses her baby bump)
If you want a really good space opera with a female heroine, Debra Doyle and James MacDonald's Price of the Stars trilogy is much better. A fabulous read, in contrast to this!
(She touches her baby bump)
Some book quotes. You may complain they are out of context. I would answer WTF are they doing in a space opera that promises action?
(She smooths her baby bump)
"We're here to tell Jack that his job is to listen a lot. And give good foot massages..."
(She rubs her baby bump)
"So I better get used to being everyone else's Viceroy but Granny Rita's honey child. Or baby cheeks. Or worse, the youngest tossed in. Suddenly I'm honey bear pumpkin..."
(She strokes her baby bump)
"Jack I may need your help if I start to, ah, I don't know. Let my hormones affect my command decisions..."
(She pats her baby bump)
Oh, and guess what I got sick of her doing every couple of pages...
'Scuse me while I vomit.
November 12, 2015
unrelentingly irritating overuse of the word 'gal'....indicative of the very dated language and world-views throughout.
The integration of technology reflected the experience of an older person from our current era (the author) trying to understand its possibilities rather than a far future world were such things are second nature. Don't think Shepherd has really thought this stuff through very well.
What this highlighted for me was how very little these books engage in actual science-fiction. They really are pretty thinly veiled second world war novels.
The whole scene sitting the happy couple down with 6 other couples to explain what a mother and a father can expect from a pregnancy made me cringe. Surely we are more enlightened? Surely Nelly would tell them anyway? Does Shepherd not understand the real potential of a personalised AI?... oh, wait... I forgot...
Overall this book is in desperate need of a very serious edit! Chapter after chapter of tedious logistics and techno 'ahah' moments that served no actual role in the progression of the (somewhat slim) storyline. This was a real struggle to finish. ..I scanned about a third of the book in the end.
Don't think I'll keep reading these; Shepherd seems to have lost his way and is struggling to progress the story.
Spoiler
what really ticks me off about this book, though is that there is no story. .. just a rather protracted genocide of poorly conceived aliens. Nothing really goes wrong they just play shoot'em up with terrible dialogue and unprofessional behaviour. Unimaginative, trigger happy rubbish.
The integration of technology reflected the experience of an older person from our current era (the author) trying to understand its possibilities rather than a far future world were such things are second nature. Don't think Shepherd has really thought this stuff through very well.
What this highlighted for me was how very little these books engage in actual science-fiction. They really are pretty thinly veiled second world war novels.
The whole scene sitting the happy couple down with 6 other couples to explain what a mother and a father can expect from a pregnancy made me cringe. Surely we are more enlightened? Surely Nelly would tell them anyway? Does Shepherd not understand the real potential of a personalised AI?... oh, wait... I forgot...
Overall this book is in desperate need of a very serious edit! Chapter after chapter of tedious logistics and techno 'ahah' moments that served no actual role in the progression of the (somewhat slim) storyline. This was a real struggle to finish. ..I scanned about a third of the book in the end.
Don't think I'll keep reading these; Shepherd seems to have lost his way and is struggling to progress the story.
Spoiler
what really ticks me off about this book, though is that there is no story. .. just a rather protracted genocide of poorly conceived aliens. Nothing really goes wrong they just play shoot'em up with terrible dialogue and unprofessional behaviour. Unimaginative, trigger happy rubbish.
May 17, 2016
Fans of the series will find much to like in this latest volume. Fans of military fiction should also enjoy this book.
There's lots of action in space and on the ground. The space battles were thick and inventive. Lots of expedient military style problem solving with enjoyable characters and faceless alien villains getting killed. It was a good page-turner and I didn't put it down.
As books like this go, it's a good one and lots of folk should enjoy it.
I had a number of issues with the book. Like Heinlein's women as either props to male characters or men in drag, Kris Longknife is an unauthentic woman. Her emotional dialog and physical relationship with her husband are seemingly pulled from the mind of a fourteen year old boy of the 1950's.
One of the central challenges in the story was the mining of resources feeding the construction of fabricators feeding the the production of military components. This felt like every space game of the last ten years and it received a lot of pages. The primary planet in the story had two really interesting types of alien people and they get less than a paragraph each.
The technical challenges are another large part of the story and they are repeatedly solved by convenient external forces and resupplies.
The worst are the religious zealot aliens who die in the faceless billions. One dimensional cardboard people who throw themselves onto the protagonist's spear with abandon.
I enjoyed the book as a continuation of the Longknife series but I would suggest an earlier book as an entry point.
There's lots of action in space and on the ground. The space battles were thick and inventive. Lots of expedient military style problem solving with enjoyable characters and faceless alien villains getting killed. It was a good page-turner and I didn't put it down.
As books like this go, it's a good one and lots of folk should enjoy it.
I had a number of issues with the book. Like Heinlein's women as either props to male characters or men in drag, Kris Longknife is an unauthentic woman. Her emotional dialog and physical relationship with her husband are seemingly pulled from the mind of a fourteen year old boy of the 1950's.
One of the central challenges in the story was the mining of resources feeding the construction of fabricators feeding the the production of military components. This felt like every space game of the last ten years and it received a lot of pages. The primary planet in the story had two really interesting types of alien people and they get less than a paragraph each.
The technical challenges are another large part of the story and they are repeatedly solved by convenient external forces and resupplies.
The worst are the religious zealot aliens who die in the faceless billions. One dimensional cardboard people who throw themselves onto the protagonist's spear with abandon.
I enjoyed the book as a continuation of the Longknife series but I would suggest an earlier book as an entry point.
May 12, 2016
This is the 13th book in the Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd. In this one Kris finds herself pregnant, along with many of her fellow female Navel personnel. It is found out that the Navy's supply of birth control implants have been sabotaged in order to discredit Kris's command of the Alwa system defenses. Kris, along with many of her fellow female personnel decide to have their babies even though they are in a fight for their lives and that of the entire human race. The hostile aliens in the meantime keep sending suicide ships into the system in order to try and destroy the plane of Alwa, while building up their ships and weapons in order to attack Kris and her fleet. After receiving more support and ships from human space Kris decides to take the battle to the enemy, all the while while preparing for the arrival of her and Jack's new baby. This book is somewhat different than the previous ones because of the addition of the pregnancy's, but it is still a great read with many scenes of space battles and plenty of action. I recommend it to all fans of Space Opera/Military Science Fiction and fans of Mike Shepherd/Mike Moscoe. This is currently the latest book in this series in print with a new book due out in October 2016. It will be entitled "Bold". I am greatly looking forward to reading it.
February 1, 2016
Published 2015. Book #13 in the series. I have to think Sheppard is ready to conclude this saga. Pretty much in the earlier books it was one battle per book. This battle has gone for 4 books now and is not over. I like the action as usual. I'm not so fond of the kiss/sex/domestication theme between Kris and Jack. I really feel it detracts from the author's strengths.
As I said before perhaps I'm being too hard on this. I suppose it was logical at some point that Longknife's character had to change as true love entered the scene. It just seems to take up so much of the space without enhancing the story to me.
I think the editor's saw this to a certain extant because the teaser on the book cover talks about a saboteur unleashing an epidemic "...with something not even the aliens could do to them..." Maybe it's tongue in cheek but it also is somewhat disingenuous to the reader.
As I said before perhaps I'm being too hard on this. I suppose it was logical at some point that Longknife's character had to change as true love entered the scene. It just seems to take up so much of the space without enhancing the story to me.
I think the editor's saw this to a certain extant because the teaser on the book cover talks about a saboteur unleashing an epidemic "...with something not even the aliens could do to them..." Maybe it's tongue in cheek but it also is somewhat disingenuous to the reader.
February 19, 2016
I'm not sure if it's a sign of changing tastes in the reader, or a change in the books (or maybe a lack of change) but the last 2 didn't quite do it for me.
There is virtually no tension when it comes to obstacles (not too surprising maybe, when some of the more local ones seem to have been created solely to be obstacles, with no dimensions beyond that).
The tendency to list up titles at all times seems to indicate the author is proud of his character and wants to show off all she's accomplished, but it just comes off as a bit "tryhard" (not helped by the aforementioned way obstacles just melt away). While I normally never stop reading a story before the end (always wanting to know whats next), I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this series to its conclusion.
There is virtually no tension when it comes to obstacles (not too surprising maybe, when some of the more local ones seem to have been created solely to be obstacles, with no dimensions beyond that).
The tendency to list up titles at all times seems to indicate the author is proud of his character and wants to show off all she's accomplished, but it just comes off as a bit "tryhard" (not helped by the aforementioned way obstacles just melt away). While I normally never stop reading a story before the end (always wanting to know whats next), I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this series to its conclusion.
April 23, 2016
Well, weirdly enough it's very much like a really long Epilogue for this corner of the galaxy.
This is a transitional book because I think the author thought she needed more to juggle.
I think that another 7 or 10 of those mother ships are attacking the itchci or about to attack them. I also think Ray might be dying soon making Kris an unwilling queen. one or two books
This is a transitional book because I think the author thought she needed more to juggle.
I think that another 7 or 10 of those mother ships are attacking the itchci or about to attack them. I also think Ray might be dying soon making Kris an unwilling queen. one or two books
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2016
What happened? Boring, boring, boring . . . .
Because of my past experience with the author I read all the way to 44% of the book. I was ready to quit with all the boring discussion about pregnancy. Then came seemingly endless talk of logistics. I quit.
Sorry, Mike, any book I can't finish gets a 1
Because of my past experience with the author I read all the way to 44% of the book. I was ready to quit with all the boring discussion about pregnancy. Then came seemingly endless talk of logistics. I quit.
Sorry, Mike, any book I can't finish gets a 1
December 21, 2019
quelques réserves : Kris et Jack, couple un peu à l'eau de rose, pas assez sur les aliens d'Alwa et les "cats", des ennemis très nombreux, impressionnants mais assez prévisibles dans leur attitude kamikaze, des renforts arrivant bien à propos ... mais j'ai retrouvé avec plaisir Kris, ses amis, Alwa, Nellie l'IA, il y a un sentiment de danger permanent et les batailles sont prenantes. J'aime aussi Kris prenant des décisions. Donc pour ce volume, 4 étoiles généreuses.
November 17, 2015
I have to admit that it was a long time since I read the first couple of Kris Longknife books and my memory may be a bit hazy on those. However, I do think that this is one of the better books in the series. At least it is a “my cup of tea” kind of book.
In this book Kris is pretty much in charge instead of constantly being pushed around which I really like. She does make good use of it as well. Not bad use but good.
The insane and fanatical aliens are knocking on the doorstep and Kris has to prevent them from braking the door down. There are plenty of good action in this book. In particular there are plenty of good fleet action.
It also has a lot of build up, logistics etc… although due to the use of fabbers, nanites, smart metal and these kind of sci-fi goodies it is perhaps done in a somewhat simplistic way. Ships are reconfigured, even recycled and rebuilt into something completely different, at the snap of a finger. Yes I know that in the book it takes a few months to actually do it but still… Having said that I did like it though. It is sci-fi after all.
The middle of the book has a few slow downs. I am not sure that I like this “epidemic” part of the story and all the bla bla that came with it. I am pretty sure that I did not like the guy that caused it. I cannot describe what I feel about that asshole without being blacklisted all over the internet. Let us just say that I thought his punishment was way to weak. But then I would probably say that about any kind of punishment anyone could dream up that did not border on the supernatural (you knew, being eternally roasted over the fires of hell and all that).
Chris also has to deal with a whole bunch of logistical and human problems from people that apparently thinks it is more important to have a good life than to stave of an invasion of fanatical aliens who’s only purpose in life seems to be to exterminate anyone who is not them. I always gets riled up by these kind of nincompoops.
The end? Well Kris survives and she does so victoriously. However then the author throws in a twist which causes the book to end in a pretty huge cliff-hanger. I am not sure that I liked that very much. It felt too much like he did not know where he wanted to go with the next book so he just screwed up things for Kris in a generic way and left it at that.
In this book Kris is pretty much in charge instead of constantly being pushed around which I really like. She does make good use of it as well. Not bad use but good.
The insane and fanatical aliens are knocking on the doorstep and Kris has to prevent them from braking the door down. There are plenty of good action in this book. In particular there are plenty of good fleet action.
It also has a lot of build up, logistics etc… although due to the use of fabbers, nanites, smart metal and these kind of sci-fi goodies it is perhaps done in a somewhat simplistic way. Ships are reconfigured, even recycled and rebuilt into something completely different, at the snap of a finger. Yes I know that in the book it takes a few months to actually do it but still… Having said that I did like it though. It is sci-fi after all.
The middle of the book has a few slow downs. I am not sure that I like this “epidemic” part of the story and all the bla bla that came with it. I am pretty sure that I did not like the guy that caused it. I cannot describe what I feel about that asshole without being blacklisted all over the internet. Let us just say that I thought his punishment was way to weak. But then I would probably say that about any kind of punishment anyone could dream up that did not border on the supernatural (you knew, being eternally roasted over the fires of hell and all that).
Chris also has to deal with a whole bunch of logistical and human problems from people that apparently thinks it is more important to have a good life than to stave of an invasion of fanatical aliens who’s only purpose in life seems to be to exterminate anyone who is not them. I always gets riled up by these kind of nincompoops.
The end? Well Kris survives and she does so victoriously. However then the author throws in a twist which causes the book to end in a pretty huge cliff-hanger. I am not sure that I liked that very much. It felt too much like he did not know where he wanted to go with the next book so he just screwed up things for Kris in a generic way and left it at that.
November 23, 2015
Admiral Princess Kris Longknife is in charge of Alwa’s defense, a planet under imminent threat of attack from a homicidal race. Her resources are limited. But it’s hard for her to remain focused when an act of sabotage within her own ranks neutralizes a number of military women’s birth control devices. Kris is one of the affected officers who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. With a baby on the way, she faces her biggest battle yet. The survival of the planet depends on her. Will her forces be strong enough to defend this one world and prevent the aliens from eradicating humanity elsewhere in the galaxy? Natives, colonialists, scientists, and soldiers join forces to the ultimate confrontation.
Kris Longknife is a sympathetic, strong female protagonist who keeps being forced into military space battles when she’d rather seek peace. But with her brilliant strategic mind, she’s best suited to lead her forces toward victory. I’m eager for the next installment.
Kris Longknife is a sympathetic, strong female protagonist who keeps being forced into military space battles when she’d rather seek peace. But with her brilliant strategic mind, she’s best suited to lead her forces toward victory. I’m eager for the next installment.
December 21, 2015
Once again Kris is behind the eight ball. The aliens are converging to wipe out life on Alwa and it is up to Kris to stop them.
Unrelenting is mostly a battle driven book. Not just one battle either. There are several before Alwa is safe for the moment. Most of the characters from the previous book return. Don’t look for a lot of character development. Do look for a lot of action.
There is a bit of a shocker. We see it in the first sentence in the book.
“Admiral Kris Longknife bent over the toilet and explosively lost her breakfast.”
What else could it be but morning sickness? Oh! She is supposed to have a birth control implant. Since she is not the only one with an unexpected pregnancy it seems there is a problem.
Uurelenting could be read as a stand-alone but is best if you have read the other 12 books.
Unrelenting is mostly a battle driven book. Not just one battle either. There are several before Alwa is safe for the moment. Most of the characters from the previous book return. Don’t look for a lot of character development. Do look for a lot of action.
There is a bit of a shocker. We see it in the first sentence in the book.
“Admiral Kris Longknife bent over the toilet and explosively lost her breakfast.”
What else could it be but morning sickness? Oh! She is supposed to have a birth control implant. Since she is not the only one with an unexpected pregnancy it seems there is a problem.
Uurelenting could be read as a stand-alone but is best if you have read the other 12 books.
November 16, 2015
Kris and crew are still on Alwa and the war continues in book 13 of the series. Kris not only has to deal with the enemy she also is having problems with her own command and with the ability to manufacture war supplies. A new problem is added to her already loaded list of problems. The contraceptive implant that was provided to the women spacers is defective and many women are pregnant including Kris.
Each episode of this space opera is getting better. The book is well written and loaded with nail biting action and suspense. Shepherd adds his usual humor and the characters are growing with each episode. I can hardly wait for the next episode. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Dina Pearlman does an excellent job narrating the series.
Each episode of this space opera is getting better. The book is well written and loaded with nail biting action and suspense. Shepherd adds his usual humor and the characters are growing with each episode. I can hardly wait for the next episode. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Dina Pearlman does an excellent job narrating the series.
May 17, 2016
Unrelenting is the thirteenth book in the Kris Longknife series. I am giving it four stars but very grudgingly. The reason: though the book starts with a bang and ends with a climax, the middle is truly boring. Sandwiched between two epic space battles? Economics. Mike Shepherd spends too much time talking about the allocation of resources of an outpost in deep space. It put me to sleep-there was just too much of it. Also the odious Abby (please kill this character Mr Shepherd) shows up long enough to utter her annoying catchphrase. (I'm not kidding she has to go.) This series may be heading in an entirely new direction, or at least that is what I am thinking after that ending, and I am excited for that.
October 25, 2015
The latest in the long-running (and ongoing) Kris Longknife series, 'unrelenting' is a good word for this. It consists mostly of space battles and logistics, with just a bit of Kris's personal life for leavening.
Changes are coming, but for now Kris is still locked in the fight to keep the implacable alien menace away from Alwa and from the rest of human space. It isn't easy, but she is up to the challenge.
An adequate military SF adventure, this is not the strongest in the series. Fans of the Longknifes will definitely want to read this one, but it is emphatically not a good place to begin.
Changes are coming, but for now Kris is still locked in the fight to keep the implacable alien menace away from Alwa and from the rest of human space. It isn't easy, but she is up to the challenge.
An adequate military SF adventure, this is not the strongest in the series. Fans of the Longknifes will definitely want to read this one, but it is emphatically not a good place to begin.
March 15, 2016
Series is really just treading water. In this episode KL's pregnancy plays larger than the multiple billions of planet-destroying nihilists gathering to descend on Alwa, and anyway the faceless baddies are so outgunned and outmaneuvered by her fleets that the battles lack any sense of urgency, much less suspense.
There are still a few good lines, of which this is the best:
"She heard Jack moving beside her but did not open her eyes. He began to massage her right foot. 'I'll give you thirty minutes to stop that,' Kris said."
There are still a few good lines, of which this is the best:
"She heard Jack moving beside her but did not open her eyes. He began to massage her right foot. 'I'll give you thirty minutes to stop that,' Kris said."
June 23, 2016
I've really enjoyed this series. However, this book seemed to drag. I'm less interested in newlywed Kris and even less interested in pregnant Kris. In addition, far too much time is spent dealing with logistics. I've been committed to the series and the world created for the Longknife family but this book may have just ruined it. Its not that I didn't like the book but mainly it is my longtime love of the world created. The earlier books were far far better. I dare say this book bored me.
April 25, 2017
Unrelentingly boring! I think what bugged me most was forgetting rules of the game and changing things to suit the story at hand... things like suddenly the computer no longer records every minute of every day... so they don't know who the saboteur was. And the weaponry had a lot of these issues too...
But basically it's one very long very slow very boring battle with aliens that refuse to talk. I want the "original three alien races", I want action Kris who actually fails every so often, gets her butt kicked, and learns from it.
But basically it's one very long very slow very boring battle with aliens that refuse to talk. I want the "original three alien races", I want action Kris who actually fails every so often, gets her butt kicked, and learns from it.
November 14, 2015
I enjoyed the latest in the series, with one rather major exception: a ship captain who rapes one of his crew members is barely punished and returns to another ship command and a promotion within a few months. Yes, they're in a war and need people, but the guy who made the pregnancies happen is sent to work in the mines for the rest of his life. A rapist gets only a slap on the wrist from Kris Longknife? I don't think so.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2015
Typical Kris, but the book is perhaps too pregnant with ideas; Shepherd tries to do too much, I think. Story should have either been longer or split into two books, or a book and a novella. Still, enjoyable; Kris Longknife is so much a part of my reading life now that it's like having an old friend drop in.
January 31, 2016
An action adventure hero with a baby on board. But it takes a lot more to slow Kris Longknife down. Plenty of action, both in space and on the planet below as Kris faces her biggest problems yet. How to defend a planet for the long haul.
July 31, 2022
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
In this book, in which Kris continues to battle the aliens in mass numbers, we get a secondary focus on Kris becoming pregnant and dealing with that issue. It feels very disingenuous and warranted far more of a focus than we really needed or wanted. It was a distraction rather than an integral part of the plot.Story: There are still those in the system who resent being left there to fight or die instead of being able to return home. One finds a way to get back at Kris by sabotaging the birth control systems. Kris, along with many other women, find themselves suddenly pregnant while in the middle of a war of survival. The aliens, meanwhile, continually change their tactics and are sending in suicide bombers to take out Kris' fleet. Kris now has even more to survive for - but can she do it against the aliens' newest level of insanity?
I wouldn't have minded the pregnancy arc if it wasn't so repetitive (she rubs her baby bump every 5th page or so, it felt). Yes, there are a lot of ramifications; at the same time, I would think the survival and battles to be far more pressing (and interesting to the reader). Certainly, we wouldn't want it glossed over - but as a woman who has had a child, I found the whole thing rather tedious and silly.
There are plenty of battles, the usual Alwa politics, and Kris finding the resources needed to mount defenses against whatever the aliens want to throw at them. I especially appreciated that in this book, Kris becomes proactive rather than reactive with how she approached her defense of Alwa.
I listened to the audio version and it was read by Dina Pearlman. Other than some pronunciation issues, she does a fine job of creating distinct character voices.
July 14, 2023
In UNRELENTING, Kris and 72 other career military women find themselves pregnant because of a sabotage of their birth control implants. Besides dealing with her pregnancy, Kris has to get ready to face an implacable enemy planning to come at Alwah with overwhelming force.
Kris is also dealing with a near mutiny of the support people who are working to produce the goods Kris needs to fight the war. A section of this story has her putting on her Nuu Enterprises hat and her Viceroy had to work with people to find out how to get the supplies they need and still meet the needs of all of the beings on Alwah.
But the main focus of this one is the battle against four mother ships that are getting ready to come at Alwah with the goal of completely destroying the planet and the people who live on it. Luckily, just as the battle is about to begin, help arrives from King Ray which really beefs up Kris's defense forces.
This was a shoot-em-up episode but didn't stint on quieter moments between Kris and her baby-to-be and Kris and Jack.
Kris is also dealing with a near mutiny of the support people who are working to produce the goods Kris needs to fight the war. A section of this story has her putting on her Nuu Enterprises hat and her Viceroy had to work with people to find out how to get the supplies they need and still meet the needs of all of the beings on Alwah.
But the main focus of this one is the battle against four mother ships that are getting ready to come at Alwah with the goal of completely destroying the planet and the people who live on it. Luckily, just as the battle is about to begin, help arrives from King Ray which really beefs up Kris's defense forces.
This was a shoot-em-up episode but didn't stint on quieter moments between Kris and her baby-to-be and Kris and Jack.
February 16, 2021
Shepherd does a great job when writing about space battles, a somewhat soapy romance with Gen. Jack, and even anthropomorphic computers appearing as supporting actors/actresses. However, his inner accountant emerges in this book, and we get deathless prose like:
"Okay, folks, you can make policy later," Pipra cut in. "What I'm here to tell you is I can boost Navy production from its present low of thirty-two percent, which, if I may point out, in actual tonnage of product is only a bit below what you were getting before at sixty percent, to fifty percent in two weeks. Maybe two..."
"Okay, folks, you can make policy later," Pipra cut in. "What I'm here to tell you is I can boost Navy production from its present low of thirty-two percent, which, if I may point out, in actual tonnage of product is only a bit below what you were getting before at sixty percent, to fifty percent in two weeks. Maybe two..."
March 21, 2025
The enemy attacks & Kris is Unrelenting
The humans & their bird warriors have advice from their feline friends. They all agree that it’s an unlikely mix but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of Kris they make it work.
They periodically get new reinforcement from various worlds and alliances to at least make the situation less grim. But the new kamikaze attacks by multiple groups of enemies are forcing them to react instead of taking the initiative. So Kris and her cadre have to get creative.
The humans & their bird warriors have advice from their feline friends. They all agree that it’s an unlikely mix but thanks to the unrelenting efforts of Kris they make it work.
They periodically get new reinforcement from various worlds and alliances to at least make the situation less grim. But the new kamikaze attacks by multiple groups of enemies are forcing them to react instead of taking the initiative. So Kris and her cadre have to get creative.
November 12, 2017
You know it's going to be interesting when it starts off with Kris throwing up her breakfast. Later, there's treachery and a lot of battles. Big battles. Quite a bit of advancing battle tech out of necessity.
January 27, 2019
Recent Reads: Kris Longknife Unrelenting. Mike Shepherd's space opera comes close to a conclusion. Thousands of light years from home, can Kris finally put an end to the threat of the berserker worldships? Oh, and how to deal with the fact that she's pregnant? Fleet actions ahoy!
November 9, 2017
There is a ship named Stonewall in here! As a member of the Stonewall Brigade I endorse that ship name!
November 10, 2017
This was a good entry into the Kris Longknife saga. I am glad that Kris and family are moving again as I was getting tired of the Alwa system.
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