A review by ncrabb
Mutineer by Mike Shepherd
4.0
This book got kicked around a lot by the Goodreads community, and that fills me with a certain level of consternation and disquiet. I'll give you the reality that this guy isn't David Weber or Elizabeth Moon. But he doesn't have to be for me to like him. Others objected because the main character, Kris, apparently comes off merely as a man with boobs rather than as a complex female military person. Well, maybe; but I have to tell you I liked her a lot! Let me try to explain:
First, a bit of background: Audible offered this as a daily deal a few months ago, and since it was the first book in a series, and since it was cheap, I bought it. I don't mind admitting I'm glad I did; I have no regrets.
Kris Longknife's dad is the prime minister of her planet; her mom takes drugs sufficient to enable her to carry out the tedious social requirements of the politician's wife. Kris was brought up to be the ultimate girly-girl who, poised and frilly, would marry well, breed sufficiently to carry on the family line, and do little else. The problem is, those old family stories about the military prowess of her grandfathers had a far greater influence over her than anyone realized. It was those stories combined with her discontentment about constantly being the family trophy girl expected to perform on demand like a wind-up mechanical thing that caused her to join the navy and be assigned as an ensign to a group of marines. Her first assignment is to rescue a little girl who had been captured by terrorists. ,ironically, Kris ultimately takes the lead in the rescue, and she barely avoids death in the process. ,as the rescue continues, you are given a clue into the life of a youthful Kris. ,her little brother was murdered when they were both small, and Kris constantly felt responsibility for his death. Can this rescue of the little girl assuage some of Kris's inner demons that resulted from her brother's death?
There are some wonderfully supporting characters here. Her sidekick is a young man of mix race--Chinese and Irish--and he's wonderfully funny. An elderly woman who is both a computer expert and a nonconformist serves as both friend and role model.
So here's the thing: This is a candy and popcorn read. It's military space opera stuff that's low on science and high on plot--some aspects of which are more believable than others. I promise you, if you're facing 80 minutes on a treadmill, this book is a great antidote to that kind of drudgery. There is plenty to enjoy about this book. I liked Kris, and I don't find her as silly and unbelievable as apparently most who have read this. I liked her take-charge organizational traits. I cheered for her when it looked like her world was headed for unavoidable revolution and war, and I felt compelled to keep reading when it became apparent that someone desperately wants her dead.
If you need an additional reason to like Kris Longknife, it is that she isn't dropping her high-tech clothes in an effort to sleep her way to a promotion. In addition to a lack of unoriginal or tiring sexual descriptions, the book is relatively free of profanity. It's just fun brain candy space opera, and you know what? It's just good enough for me to want to find book two in the series and read it.
First, a bit of background: Audible offered this as a daily deal a few months ago, and since it was the first book in a series, and since it was cheap, I bought it. I don't mind admitting I'm glad I did; I have no regrets.
Kris Longknife's dad is the prime minister of her planet; her mom takes drugs sufficient to enable her to carry out the tedious social requirements of the politician's wife. Kris was brought up to be the ultimate girly-girl who, poised and frilly, would marry well, breed sufficiently to carry on the family line, and do little else. The problem is, those old family stories about the military prowess of her grandfathers had a far greater influence over her than anyone realized. It was those stories combined with her discontentment about constantly being the family trophy girl expected to perform on demand like a wind-up mechanical thing that caused her to join the navy and be assigned as an ensign to a group of marines. Her first assignment is to rescue a little girl who had been captured by terrorists. ,ironically, Kris ultimately takes the lead in the rescue, and she barely avoids death in the process. ,as the rescue continues, you are given a clue into the life of a youthful Kris. ,her little brother was murdered when they were both small, and Kris constantly felt responsibility for his death. Can this rescue of the little girl assuage some of Kris's inner demons that resulted from her brother's death?
There are some wonderfully supporting characters here. Her sidekick is a young man of mix race--Chinese and Irish--and he's wonderfully funny. An elderly woman who is both a computer expert and a nonconformist serves as both friend and role model.
So here's the thing: This is a candy and popcorn read. It's military space opera stuff that's low on science and high on plot--some aspects of which are more believable than others. I promise you, if you're facing 80 minutes on a treadmill, this book is a great antidote to that kind of drudgery. There is plenty to enjoy about this book. I liked Kris, and I don't find her as silly and unbelievable as apparently most who have read this. I liked her take-charge organizational traits. I cheered for her when it looked like her world was headed for unavoidable revolution and war, and I felt compelled to keep reading when it became apparent that someone desperately wants her dead.
If you need an additional reason to like Kris Longknife, it is that she isn't dropping her high-tech clothes in an effort to sleep her way to a promotion. In addition to a lack of unoriginal or tiring sexual descriptions, the book is relatively free of profanity. It's just fun brain candy space opera, and you know what? It's just good enough for me to want to find book two in the series and read it.