Confederation

In Her Name: Redemption #2

by Michael R. Hicks

In the second book of the In Her Name science fiction & fantasy series, Reza Gard has been banished from the Kreelan Empire and is once again a stranger in a strange land as he returns to the human Confederation. Befriended by a marooned Confederation naval officer leading a desperate fight against the Kreelans on a distant colony world, she reunites Reza with Nicole Carré. With their help, he fulfills his childhood dream of becoming a Confederation Marine. Reza will need all the help he can get, for dark forces are at work at the heart of the Confederation, and Reza becomes a pawn in a lethal power struggle that leads him back to the planet Erlang. There, a heartbreaking reunion awaits him, along with the discovery of an ages-old power that the Kreelan Empire will stop at nothing to control...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Fiction, Aliens

312 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2008

About the author

Born in 1963, Michael Hicks grew up in the age of the Apollo program and spent his youth glued to the television watching the original Star Trek series and other science fiction movies, which continues to be a source of entertainment and inspiration. Having spent the majority of his life as a voracious reader, he has been heavily influenced by writers ranging from Robert Heinlein to David Weber, and many in between. Having finally retired from government service, Michael and his lovely wife, along with their Siberan cat, Nina, are enjoying life as expats in France.

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 2 out of 5]

A typical iteration of middle book syndrome, Confederation has some interesting plots which are unfortunately too underexplored to be truly intriguing, and it mostly serves as filler material before the series inevitably brings the reader back to what matters.

Unfortunately, it also has some minor absurdities, including a scene where a key gay female character (who is very vocal about her sexual preferences from the very first few sentences of the book) decides it's a good idea to go have sex with the male protagonist and he, who has basically sworn abstinence out of love for his soulmate, agrees. It does not add anything but confused annoyance to the story.

[Daniel Swensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been four stars if not for the bewildering and unnecessary inclusion of the lesbian character who "goes straight" just long enough to have sex with the male protagonist. The character spends the entire book vehemently declaring her own sexual orientation, then suddenly decides to be attracted to the protagonist because she's "lonely." I don't think so.

It may seem a petty thing to get irate about, but I thought it was unbelievable and completely undermined the integrity of my favorite supporting character. It marred the whole story for me, and the sad part is, it was totally unnecessary to the plot. I don't mind a sex scene, even if it's gratuitous -- I do mind it when it makes a mockery of a character's identity.

I'm still going to read the remaining book of the series, because other than this one gaffe, I thought it was a fast-paced, enjoyable read, and I still recommend this series. The plot is still compelling, and Hicks does a pretty masterful job with the intricacies of the Kreelan culture.

[Kirkus MacGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Her Name: Confederation has more of a science fiction feel than the first in the series. It is similar to the first book in that we follow Reza Gard over a period of years. I'm not sure if I'm more into the story, or if it's because Hicks gained confidence as he went on, but the writing seemed more in the scene in the second book. Probably a combination of both confidence and my enjoyment.

Gard appears in the story shortly after it begins and immediately takes control of the show. After spending years with the Kreelans, his personality, his spirit, and even his physiology is changed. We are shown new tricks that Gard learned as a Desh-Ka Priest. Hicks does a great job of releasing these tidbits throughout, all the way until the end.

Although it is the second in a series, I love that In Her Name: Confederation has a great build up and climax. In another series I'm reading, it feels like each book is only meant as a precursor to the next. I don't get that with Hicks at all. Each of the first two books can stand on its own.

There were two things keeping In Her Name: Confederation from a five, but I'm a bit of a stickler so I'm not surprised.

The second book didn't seem as clean to me as In Her Name: Empire, or Season of the Harvest, a thriller also written by Hicks. It wasn't bad, the grammar was fine, but there were areas throughout that could have been crisper.

The second reason is that I'm not 100% sold on how much I love the characters. Like them yes, love, not yet. This tells you how much I love the plot and every other element in the series since I'm still at four out of five stars. There is no doubt however, that as the story progresses I will only enjoy it even more. Part of my enjoying a specific author is becoming used to their writing style.

In Her Name: Confederation is a great second book in the series and anybody looking for a science fiction or fantasy series would do well to get this one on their bookshelf.

[Deborah Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't wait to get to this second book after reading the first. I was not disappointed. I was wondering how Reza's relationship would play out once he was reunited with his first love (innocent though it was), Nicole. I think Hicks handled their reunion well and developed their relationship realistically. I almost didn't rate this as a five because I truly believe someone like Reza would be handled much differently than how Hicks has portrayed, but this is his story and who am I to inflict my own thoughts on how it should be written. I'm a little disappointed with how this book ended for I just can't see how Reza would be put in the situation that Hicks now has him in. I think his life actions since returning to the human race would speak in higher volume than it has. To give more honor to the word of someone like Thorella (a hated character) is beyond me. But, I can only guess it is a necessary plot development to how the rest of the story will play out. I loved the reunion scene and wept for it as well.

This book, though some of the plot annoyed me because I just couldn't see some of those things happening, I still couldn't put it down. I had yet another sleepness night for I couldn't stop until I was done. I cannot wait to see how this is all going to conclude.

[Cameluta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 4.5 stars, and here is why is not full five stars.

As the title of the book suggests, "Confederation" tells us the story of Reza after he returned in the human Confederation, how the humans welcomed him and his struggle to reintegrate in the world he does not remember... And Michael R. Hicks does a wonderful job here. The problem for me was that I was more connected with the Kreelan word than with what happened in the human part of the galaxy. All the time I wanted to know what's new in the Empire, and not so much what was new in the Confederation.

[Steven Ellsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book of the trilogy that kept me reading from start to finish. I really enjoyed this trilogy and can best describe it a story that has a good blend of combat, action, political intrigue and a good love story with plenty of twists and turns in between. Great follow up to Empire and I recommend that you read this series.

[Samantha Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Half star off for ending the book almost mid thought (book 3 starts off immediately)and for a few spots where it went into details that I didn't care about. Overall though the writing is stellar, if he mentions someone, they have a role and depth. He doesn't waste your time with needless info (for 99.9%) or false herring plot points.

This part of the story Reza has returned to humans and you really just kind of loath humans after spending so much time with Kreelans. Kreelans, violent and stubborn they may be, but they value honor above all and they operate with absolute unity among all. This is stark contrast to humans who seem to undermine, lie, cheat, turn on each other whenever it serves their purpose. It reminds me a lot of how I feel about people in general... not everyone is an enemy by any means, but there are a few handful you can trust and bring to the table of your inner circle.

[Phillip M Lewallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a masterpiece . . .

In this, book 5, of the In Her Name series Michael Hicks continues to mesmerize with heartfelt love, exciting action and tense situations. The continuing saga is not to be missed! I still highly recommend the entire series!

[Edward T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the ongoing developing story

I really like this series of books. Each book is developing the storyline in very interesting ways. We learn more about the Confederation and Kreelans in this book.

[Patrick Philbin · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a waste

This is a good story, well written and most of the main characters are pretty solid. Where it loses me is in the plethora of cliche, almost pantomime, villains. It's just seems too ridiculous to me.

[Jim Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t get over how this science fiction series keeps me intensely emotional involved in the story. There are also many things that reflect our current national and international scenarios. Well written and certainly enthralling to keep you wanting more.

[Lois Elson · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this!

This is one of the best sci-fi books. The entire series all eleven books I’ve read at least 3X except for book 11 which just came out! Re-reading confederation was thrilling as was the first time I read it. Now for “Final Battle”. Highly recommended

[Lauren Knijn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only one type of villain in this series but it’s such an accurate display of humanity as a whole both good and bad I think that can be overlooked. My heart was literally pounding the last few chapters of the book! I absolutely love Reza

[Motherbeaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book. Too many holes and contradictions. This is why authors need early readers to ask questions.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boys and girls what we have here is genuine space opera.

[John Dunlop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Volpot · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 good sequel

[Laura Zinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I enjoyed this series. It's a thrill ride and very entertaining. Great story line as well. I am working on finishing the whole series.

[Jeff Wombold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-fi

As the same as all the rest of the In Her Name books I have read, this was just as exciting. I cannot wait to read the final battle and learn the fate of Reza.

[Sunwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond words

I can hardly believe it but these books keep getting better. They are absolutely as far beyond the normal "Military SF" books as a supernova is beyond a G-type star.

[Jo Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like this series. great world building, characters, adventure, action, science fiction, well drawn civilization not Earth.

[James Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a finish!

It started slowly but I persevered and it built to an amazing and emotional crescendo, can't wait to start the next one.

[Steven Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her name,book 5.

Very good can't wait too read next book in series.


Very good can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[Cordenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kneel down in a Kreelan salute to this book and its creator! In the first book I wondered if I could ever make something like it, always wanting to be an author myself. I shrugged and put the thought off for the moment. Now I have my answer. NEVER? Where did this author get the storyline of such a book? It seems humanly impossible that he formulated this whole book out of pure patience and thought. Maybe a dream perhaps. All I know is that I never could have just thought anything like that up out of thin air or could have dreamed it. I've considered that Michael Hicks could have experienced something similiar his lifetime. But just reading the book was so enchanting and magical again it doesn't seem possible. This has led me to consider that he himself is an alien. Hmm? In this book Reza Gard again finds himself an outcast in an alien world. Interesting enough, he's been there before. Unfortunately he doesn't remember much of the twelve or thirteen years he once spent there and is forced to learn everything anew. But like among his fellow Kreelan warriors, he makes the most of it, and in a place where he was looked down upon he soon gains respect. But alas like Empire tears are still shed? But while Empire was a tear-jerking read almost the whole way through a new character, Jodie, gives me some laughs in the sequel, Confederation. Unless you have not read Empire you should know that Reza has many situuations and worries he can brood over so there will be more tears. But tears of sadness and joy![return][return]If you wish to continue be warned:[return][return]SPOILER ALERT[return][return]Since book 1 I've actually been expecting a baby. When the Empress dismissed Reza to go live among his human race thinking that maybe he was not The One I said to myself, "Don't be so sure." Ever since the day of the forbidden ritual that awoke Reza's Bloodsong I thought maybe men will come back to the Kreelans afterall. Although the baby will more than most likely be different, a halfbreed, it would be the start of something new to the Kreelans that could live on forever. I never thought to baby would not be a boy until Esah-Zhurrah talked about her boy-child for a bref moment and I was like, "But what if it were a boy." Fortunately it wasn't and Reza isn't dead which brought a new hope to the series. In TV the heroes come back from the dead so quickly I really thought Reza was gone and pondered before reading the final pages of Confederation what the final book in the trilogy would be about. Maybe his child? Nevertheless I kept reading through my tears and found that The One still lives as does the next Empress who is forever joined with him. [return][return]This book came to a sudden end (and a laugh. She peed herself. Ha.) So without hesitating for more than a moment I brought the final book, Final Battle, despite the fact that it was five dollars, the cheap self that I am. I finished the last book in with no sleep in short time as I hope to do the same with this book because I am eager to discover the endinfg of one of the best trilogies ever read by CordeTheAwesome.[return][return]I believe one day if it weren't for the few sexual descriptions this book could become as popular as The Hunger Games, loved by kids and adults of all ages. This can be reached too but mostly teens and above but unfortunately not many teachers will reccomend this to the young 'uns like me. But for this fact it still has the potential to be as popular and probably more popular than The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And I'll do my job and reccomend this to as many peers as possible.

[D.G. Speirs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second books in a trilogy often suffer from what I call "Jan Brady Syndrome." They have to create their own interest while being burdened with standing in the shadow of the first story in the series. It can be a daunting task, especially when trying to present vital information that was already dropped on the reader earlier. You could do a "previously on 'In Her Name'" exposition dump, or drop little bits here and there in dribs and drabs throughout, reminding and informing. I'm a fan of the latter and so is Mr. Hicks, which is a good thing, as I'll explain below.

In Her Name: Confederation is the second part of a three-part space opera in the tradition of Heinlein, Asimov, or Sturgeon. Specifically, it's the continuing adventures of Reza Gard, who in the first book was captured by the Kreelans, an alien species involved in a 100-year war with the Human Confederation across the galaxy, trained by them to be in their ways to be a warrior, and then returned to human civilization. Now Reza, facing the galaxy's worst case of Stockholm Syndrome ever, must find his way to assimilate back into a society he is completely unacculturated from, with practically no social skills and really only one marketable talent - killing things. What's a growing boy to do? Well, there's this war that's been going on...

It's an entertaining read. Michael really likes how detailed his world is, sometimes to the detriment of his pacing, and it jumps back and forth inside the heads of characters during a conversation like a ping-pong match, but those are quibbles. There are a few minor grammatical things, mostly with verb tenses, but a lot of those have to do with the way some of the characters talk. Michael has striven HARD to give every single character a unique voice, much more so than I've seen from any other author I can remember. It's an impressive undertaking, an amazing amount of effort.

The one thing I don't see, though, is a growth arc for the main character. He hits a plateau, and then he stays at that point, despite everything that happens to him and around him, for the remainder of the book (and based on the behavior, the remainder of book three as well). I hope I'm wrong because he could be such an awesome character.

Overall, though, a definite recommend - not just this, but the whole In Her Name trilogy.

[Phoenix Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had been a long time since I read science fiction, but I decided to expand my reading to new genres and picked up Empire (In Her Name: Redemption, #1) by Michael R. Hicks. I found it to be a wonderful blend of epic fantasy and sci fi.

So read it, loved it, and immediately bought Confederation, and Final Battle.

Michael Hicks created the world of Earth after it had taken to space, having built far-flung, loose colonies that behaved similar to our own nations here on Earth - mistrusting, not necessarily ready to help or support one another, and having fierce differences of opinion.

Humans were not sure they were the only sentient species in the universe and had not given up looking.

I love the characters, which Michael Hicks is a master at creating, a massive number of them as the series progressed, and some wonderful key players such Ichiro Sato.

But the best characters in the series were among the Kreelans, a society whose ideals were so foreign that it was easy to hate them. And yet, the author managed, at a point, to gain my understanding for them and even empathy. Imagine a society of female warriors, whose lives were totally dedicated to battle. And they were so skilled at war that there was no one left anywhere to conquer - they have taken on every sentient society they found and annihilated them.

To die in battle was the ultimate glory to the Empress. So they fought and were happy to die in her name. Until they found the humans, they had the problem of having no more wars to win. So this war-like society was excited to have a new game of war to play with what they felt were somewhat worthy opponents. Even though the humans were Neanderthals when it came to technology. Nor did they have their powerful magical skills. So the Kreelans had to use ancient technology to even the odds. Because if the win was easy, it was not honorable.

You ask, were there only females in this strange society? Well, no. But to tell you about that would be a spoiler.

So we had a clash of two completely different societies - the Kreelans who had terrible powers, and who did not find killing immoral, and the humans who found killing abhorrent but a necessary evil of war - a war in which they were powerless to win.

I was riveted to the entire exciting series.

[Kirkus MacGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Her Name: Confederation has more of a science fiction feel than the first in the series. It is similar to the first book in that we follow Reza Gard over a period of years. I'm not sure if I'm more into the story, or if it's because Hicks gained confidence as he went on, but the writing seemed more in the scene in the second book. Probably a combination of both confidence and my enjoyment.

Gard appears in the story shortly after it begins and immediately takes control of the show. After spending years with the Kreelans, his personality, his spirit, and even his physiology is changed. We are shown new tricks that Gard learned as a Desh-Ka Priest. Hicks does a great job of releasing these tidbits throughout, all the way until the end.

Although it is the second in a series, I love that In Her Name: Confederation has a great build up and climax. In another series I'm reading, it feels like each book is only meant as a precursor to the next. I don't get that with Hicks at all. Each of the first two books can stand on its own.

There were two things keeping In Her Name: Confederation from a five, but I'm a bit of a stickler so I'm not surprised.

The second book didn't seem as clean to me as In Her Name: Empire, or Season of the Harvest, a thriller also written by Hicks. It wasn't bad, the grammar was fine, but there were areas throughout that could have been crisper.

The second reason is that I'm not 100% sold on how much I love the characters. Like them yes, love, not yet. This tells you how much I love the plot and every other element in the series since I'm still at four out of five stars. There is no doubt however, that as the story progresses I will only enjoy it even more. Part of my enjoying a specific author is becoming used to their writing style.

In Her Name: Confederation is a great second book in the series and anybody looking for a science fiction or fantasy series would do well to get this one on their bookshelf.

[Lisa Hapney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confederation, Book 2 of the In Her Name: Redemption trilogy has us following Reza Gard as he tries to acclimate to being human. I enjoyed the book, but didn't find it to be as gripping as Empire, the first book in the trilogy. However, it is a necessary piece in an evolving story. There's a lot of exploration of the human attachments that Reza makes and though he is still the proud and dangerous warrior that we know him to be, he is also out of his element in his dealings with his own kind shall we say. That isn't at all unexpected at this point in the story and though I completely understood the reasoning behind all of that and how it affects the story arc, I just wasn't as drawn in by this volume as I was with Empire and the fascinating Kreelan culture. Book 2 is more about exploring humans at their best and worst and there's a lot of character and relationship building taking place to set up for the third book. As with the other books in this series by Mr. Hicks it was quite enjoyable and I dove into the next one right away. It really picks up after the second half of the book and propels the reader forward toward the third book, but the start of this one was a little slower paced. I'm further ahead in the reading than I am in the reviewing, but can comfortably say that this series will be one I read over in the years to come and will wait expectantly for new stories in the fascinating universe created by the author.

This review originally posted at http://tjsbookblog.blogspot.com/

[Joe Russomanno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I get started I want to point out that the book description is wrong. It's referring to another installment in the In Her Name series, First Contact I believe.

I think Mr. Hicks is a modern day Homer, in that he gives us an modern day Odyssey. The plot, characters and narrative are genuine. This is in my opinion a Literary masterpiece and I can think of nothing else to describe it.

Now I said masterpiece, not flawless. There were some things I found lacking in the story which, to me were nagging but shouldn't be enough to deter anyone from reading. What I found puzzling in this (possibly the overall series) was Mr. Hicks' shortcomings with understanding military technology. Don't get me wrong if this was taken place maybe 20 years from now, he's just about hit it on the head. However we have humans in this story doing things that are already being replaced by machines. There's almost no mention of robotics in this story other than cleaning drones. We have squadrons and fleets of automated ships and aircraft now, in a thousand years I have to think human beings won't even have to blow their nose.

For most people the technological shortcomings probably won't matter and really if most people don't I can understand. Otherwise a great read.

[Erin Penn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book of the series and where did the aliens go? Oh there they are in the last third of the book. Mr. Hicks sometimes digresses into other side stories from the primary hero in this book; I would have like at least one of those digressions earlier in the book to include the aliens so important to the first book. Instead he switches to the standard military/political mix with no unique twists to make it his own.

I have just finished the book and it had none of the sparkle of physiological journey of the first, but retained all the bad science. None of the new characters are ones I want to spend more than my normal day of reading with. I had hoped to see the Hicks evolve as a writer, not devolve into clique-dom.

For most of the book the main hero, Reza, so interesting in the first book of the trilogy, is a non-entity. But in the final third he comes back into his own - he continues to be a person the universe tries to change and discovers instead it must change for him.

While the first book is a good story, this one is just passable until the very end. And now I need to go to the final book to see where it falls in the spectrum of boring to pretty darn good. The final bit of this books was pretty darn good. Just wish the rest was written at the same level.