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Jump Universe #3
They Also Serve
Adversaries in an interstellar war are now working together to keep the peace. But can they protect themselves from an enemy they can't even see?
357 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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316 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 17, 2017
Ray Longknife, young. Just good stuff.
An Alien planet. With an Alien super-computer.
Doesn't get better than this.
An Alien planet. With an Alien super-computer.
Doesn't get better than this.
December 22, 2017
Not much in the way of space battles, but plenty of on-planet action. There's a touch of spirituality and ancient alien constructs with which to interact. There's even weather warfare. The story is decently paced so it's not boring.
August 11, 2022
Sabotage flings the spaceship Colonel Ray Longknife and Marine Captain Mary Rodrigo are travelling on thousands of light-years away from home where they discover a planet settle by the descendants of a spaceship lost 300 years earlier.
While the ship's captain and crew try to find the way home, Ray and Mary are on planet trying to be ambassadors to the castaways. They discover a planet that seems peaceful and prosperous until they look closer. The descendant of one of the settlers, who claimed all the mineral rights on this mineral poor planet, is getting ready to make herself the ruler of the world.
But what is more troubling is that the humans are not alone on the world. There is a massive computer in the ground that has been tampering with the new settlers since they arrived - engineering them to survive on the planet and encouraging the growth of a new organ in their brains.
Ray has been tampered with which is actually a good thing because it means that he can communicate with the computer that calls itself Teacher. But after a million years of isolation, the computer is going insane. It has decided that the humans infesting it have to be eliminated.
It is up the Ray with three young human children and nodes of the disintegrating computer to fight against the large piece of the computer that wants humans dead. While he is battling, Ray learns a lot about the jump gates that humans use but don't understand and which were built by the three long-vanished races that the Teacher taught.
This was a fast-paced and engaging space opera. I liked getting to know more about Ray, Mary, and the Marines who were on planet with them. There was a lot of intriguing stuff about war and fighting and making choices.
While the ship's captain and crew try to find the way home, Ray and Mary are on planet trying to be ambassadors to the castaways. They discover a planet that seems peaceful and prosperous until they look closer. The descendant of one of the settlers, who claimed all the mineral rights on this mineral poor planet, is getting ready to make herself the ruler of the world.
But what is more troubling is that the humans are not alone on the world. There is a massive computer in the ground that has been tampering with the new settlers since they arrived - engineering them to survive on the planet and encouraging the growth of a new organ in their brains.
Ray has been tampered with which is actually a good thing because it means that he can communicate with the computer that calls itself Teacher. But after a million years of isolation, the computer is going insane. It has decided that the humans infesting it have to be eliminated.
It is up the Ray with three young human children and nodes of the disintegrating computer to fight against the large piece of the computer that wants humans dead. While he is battling, Ray learns a lot about the jump gates that humans use but don't understand and which were built by the three long-vanished races that the Teacher taught.
This was a fast-paced and engaging space opera. I liked getting to know more about Ray, Mary, and the Marines who were on planet with them. There was a lot of intriguing stuff about war and fighting and making choices.
May 6, 2018
Not bad military style scifi. Characters are not really fleshed out and fights and battle are not very gritty or realistic considering the genre.
July 17, 2016
This is the 3rd book in the Jump Universe series by Mike Moscoe/Mike Shepherd. In this one Colonel Ray Longknife along with Marine Captain Mary Rodrigo are leaning Wardhaven for another planet when an act of sabotage causes them to make a bad jump thru a jump point. They end up hundreds of light years from their destination with no idea how to get home. They discover a habitable planet with human survivors of a ship lost 300 years before. They make contact with the survivors and land with and idea of helping these people and end up in a mutual struggle with them and a computer intelligence which has been laying dormant until lately. They must also contend with ambitious locals who are out to take advantage of their superior technology. Things slowly build to an exciting climax where Colonel Longknife and Captain Mary Rodrigo, her Marines and a group of locals must defeat the computer intelligence and other locals under it's control. A great read for fans of Space Opera/Military Science Fiction.
August 22, 2011
The third and final book in the Society of Humanity series sees Ray Longknife leading a exploratory expedition, and getting lost. The expedition finds the descendants of a ship’s crew thought lost three hundred years ago. But all is not as it seems. The planet is literally alive with remnants of an ancient civilization. And it’s not happy.
Unlike the somewhat flawed predecessor volumes, this is a very respectable story. The “planet as supercomputer” elements are interesting, as well as the evolution of the individual characters components of that computer. The contrast between the arriving expedition and the locals is also well done, with a good grasp of factional politics. All in all, a great conclusion to the series.
Note: Mike Moscoe is more well known under the pen name Mike Shepherd. The Society of Humanity series is set in the same universe as the Kris Longknife books, but several decades earlier.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1012
Unlike the somewhat flawed predecessor volumes, this is a very respectable story. The “planet as supercomputer” elements are interesting, as well as the evolution of the individual characters components of that computer. The contrast between the arriving expedition and the locals is also well done, with a good grasp of factional politics. All in all, a great conclusion to the series.
Note: Mike Moscoe is more well known under the pen name Mike Shepherd. The Society of Humanity series is set in the same universe as the Kris Longknife books, but several decades earlier.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1012
November 25, 2013
This book is notable as an exception to the general rule that military SF authors seem to worship libertarian ideals. Instead, in this book our heroes encounter a planet that was settled three hundred years ago and has developed in complete isolation. The settlement was founded on strong libertarian principles, and when things start going wrong, the fragility of that foundation becomes clear. Indeed, they already have an urban/rural divide when Ray Longknife lands, as well as a capitalist family whose current underhanded, greedy leader will stop at nothing to maintain her wealth and monopoly.
Don't get me wrong; the book is by no stretch of the imagination a political screed...but it was nice to see those elements dropped in. It's a nice counterpoint to the books where The Free Market can fix everything.
Now to wait until February for the fourth book...
June 20, 2011
This felt a bit phoned-in. The plotline is concurrent with the previous volume, the Price of Peace, following the other set of major characters from the first volume. Once again, the Sheffield/Second Chance gets lost in a wormhole jump and discovers a lost colony. The discovery could have major implications for the series' universe and the follow-on Kris Longknife novels, but it gets neutralized by the end of the novel. Some minor character deaths felt pro forma and ill-motivated within the novel.
September 18, 2012
Another strong outing, with some actual twists and unique elements to it. This book definitely defines a lot of the universe that the author's Kris Longknife series exists in, and clears up a lot of the references made in the second Longknife book.
The more metaphysical battles that take place in this book are somewhat unclear, but the more conventional combat descriptions are spot on.
Still confused as to how, after writing this, and the previous book, the first two Kris Longknife books ended up at such lower quality.
The more metaphysical battles that take place in this book are somewhat unclear, but the more conventional combat descriptions are spot on.
Still confused as to how, after writing this, and the previous book, the first two Kris Longknife books ended up at such lower quality.
June 3, 2014
They Also Serve was a great book, but I have read better books from this author. Ray Longknife is now a planet with these computer images who is trying to take over the minds of the people. The people were survivors of a previous space ship that was lost. Longknife can't walk unassist because of bullet to his back. The women who shot him, Mary, goes along with the ride to help. The planet has heal Longknife, but has left him with a tumor in his head. What happens next and how they got off the planet? You need to read the book.
August 28, 2014
I found this reasonably entertaining. The story is stand-alone, so you don't have to have read other books in this universe to enjoy it.
Unfortunately, it has so many typos (about one every few pages) that they continually interrupt the story line. Most are either inappropriate homophones (e.g., "break" instead of "brake"), or OCR errors (e.g., "m" instead of "r" "n"). Better proof reading is needed.
Unfortunately, it has so many typos (about one every few pages) that they continually interrupt the story line. Most are either inappropriate homophones (e.g., "break" instead of "brake"), or OCR errors (e.g., "m" instead of "r" "n"). Better proof reading is needed.
June 6, 2015
Jump Universe #3
What happened to the Santa Maria - first ship that disappeared exploring new worlds 300 years previous? When Ray Longknife's ship is sabotaged and makes a very bad jump, he finds Santa Maria, a sentient computer, and a weapon that can make mountains disappear.
Enjoyable. I really like the who Longknife Universe. Very entertaining. Make sure to read book 1 in this series before this one (Book 2 follows a parallel story line which occurs at the same time as They Also Serve).
What happened to the Santa Maria - first ship that disappeared exploring new worlds 300 years previous? When Ray Longknife's ship is sabotaged and makes a very bad jump, he finds Santa Maria, a sentient computer, and a weapon that can make mountains disappear.
Enjoyable. I really like the who Longknife Universe. Very entertaining. Make sure to read book 1 in this series before this one (Book 2 follows a parallel story line which occurs at the same time as They Also Serve).
October 5, 2011
It wasn't that great of a book. Too much of it just didn't make sense or seemed completely irrelevant. Parts of it were interesting and there was a thread of a unified plot through the book but there were so many tangents that I became too distracted to get into it.
Read a more detailed review on my blog.
Read a more detailed review on my blog.
September 2, 2014
The third book in the Jump Universe where we finally see some of Kris Longknife's ancestors meeting.
Another enjoyable sci-fi military book with strong female role models and great sense of adventure and exploration with the human element.
Still prefer his later Kris Longknife books but then I'm a big Kris fan!
Another enjoyable sci-fi military book with strong female role models and great sense of adventure and exploration with the human element.
Still prefer his later Kris Longknife books but then I'm a big Kris fan!
March 4, 2013
A fitting finish to the trilogy, and a far more enjoyable read than the prior two books in the series. This one really showed character development, maturing the characters into what I grew to know and love in the Kris Longknife series.
October 2, 2013
Did I read this in a previous life? Not as much fun as i expected.
August 21, 2015
Messed up the order and read this one before the second, it was good i personally like the second book more something about ray kind of makes me hate him in a very strong way.
November 17, 2015
What would you do if a supercomputer went schizophrenic, and then went into denial? Read and find out.
August 9, 2016
I found it entertaining and good. I am ordering the next one from Amazon.
October 2, 2016
Cyberwarfare?
It's interesting how the events in this book all happened, and it shows why arrogance and sitting on your duff can have consequences.
It's interesting how the events in this book all happened, and it shows why arrogance and sitting on your duff can have consequences.
February 5, 2017
Interesting to get more of the Longknife back story.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews