Kris Longknife: Commanding

This follows on immediately after the last. It clearly ends right before the next book. In fact, the actual ending is abrupt. Next after all the "aliens are alien" stuff, these aliens start behaving pretty much like humans. All the elaborate ceremony and manners from the previous book? They get skipped. What's also not here is a sense of danger. "Oh we're outnumbered 4:1? How nice." Megan gets the most character development. As a admiral, Kris likely to high up to lead a landing party or or hand to hand with a BEM.

I rate this "5 stars" for fans of Kris Longknife, like me. Otherwise, for those looking for light adventure science fiction, I rate it "4 stars". Mike Shepherd hasn't lost his touch. He keeps coming up with new problems and situations Kris has to learn about and/or overcome. Relations continue or evolve. Her universe fills out a little more. We learn a lot more about the Iteechee and their empire. This is a typical Kris Longknife novel. He delivers what you expect, and he does it well. Kris has to fight bureaucracy, battles, dodge assassins, try find time for the kids, etc. I enjoy Shepherd's writing and plotting. I'm ready for the next chapter in Kris's life.

I'm seriously debating on whether to stop buying these books. There's not much there anymore. The established characters seem to have become shells, no personality, no story, very little emotion. The recent stories have become completely impersonal; the shells are just chess pieces being moved around in a war game. Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Trouble have be relegated to babysitters-they are just background-no lines of speech, nothing. Though Abby's in the area, she's not even mentioned in the book. Nelly shows up for one, that's ONE, scene. Jack shows up a couple of times, but that's perfunctory. Kris might as well not even be in the book. At times, it seems like the story wants to shift to Megan, but there has been little or no effort to develop her character or give her a back story.It seems like, even though I still love the characters, the author no longer does.

I love the Kris Longknife series! I also really enjoyed the Vicky Peterwald books and am looking forward to seeing Vicky again. I really enjoy the Longknife series because these people are heroes and they have feelings of what is right and what is wrong. Keep writing this series and I will definitely keep buying this series!

This is a great series to start reading. Kris is a human first and a warrior second, although, her warrior skills are excellent. Start at the first book. Read the novellas as well, it rounds out some of the characters. And like many of us, she escaped her childhood, traumatic as it was.

Great read. Lots of action and high tech. Publisher looks like he has his act together as I didn't notice any typos. Moving right on to the next in the series.

Another great Longkife adventure from Mike Shepherd! Once again, Kris Longknife is up to her eyeballs in a very sticky situation with the odds very much against her. Can she out-think and out-smart the enemy? Read the book and find out...

Book was as described and quality was as described. Pleased with how quickly I received my order. Thanks!

Seventeenth volume in the 'Kris Longknife' series of military science fiction novels.Not a jumping on point. New readers should start with book on 'Kris Longknife: Mutineer.'Regular ones, read on.This volume runs for 377 pages and is divided into fifty six chapters. There's lots left hanging at the end, so it's definitely not the end of things.As with the last two books in the series, this is self published, so there are very occasional problems with type setting and proof reading. But not really enough to put me off.Following on from the end of the last book, Kris has won a major battle and kept the Iteeche Emperor in power. But there are lot of rebel Iteeche worlds to be dealt with. Her latest battle is only just beginning...This far into a series you do know what to expect from it. Or so you think. Because, in addition to being as readable as ever, this did manage to do a few different things.As ever the early sections concern themselves with planning military things rather than actual battles. And are well considered. But the dilemmas Kris faces here are quite interesting, and very good world building. Which is true of the Iteeche empire as a whole. The more we see of it, the more it comes to life and feels appropriately alien at times.Some of the supporting cast don't feature all that much, but there is an appearance of her kids and their grandparents in a chapter that is very well written.And then Megan Longknife comes to the fore, getting even more action than Kris does. Even though the latter still plays as big a part in the narrative as she should. Megan is a character who is getting appealing, and since she doesn't have the experience her cousin does, she works well and comes over differently in the narrative.There is one very good action sequence. And one space battle does initially look as if it's going to be too similar to one from an earlier book, but then manages to be individual after all.It's a book about war as it is, in that there's no final victory by defeating the death star. There's much else to consider after. And it does show that. Which is good.Jack doesn't get much to do other than stand by Kris's side, but the two have such chemistry that comes over well. Which does make for less of their more intimate moments - not quite the writer's strength, so that's good - and as ever that line about what to expect from Longknifes does get a bit annoying. But you're used to it. So it's only a minor complaint.An excellent and entertaining read in a solidly reliable series. Hoping for more to come.

Admiral Kris Longknife has been on the defensive ever since entering the Iteeche Empire: fighting to get to an Imperial audience, then fighting off an attack by the rebels. Now she decides to take the initiative, and take the war to the enemy. Not in the Iteeche way, though: in the Longknife way.We get a couple more space battles, but the main interest here is seeing life down on an Iteeche planet, away from the ruling castes. Kris is horrified by some of the Iteeche traditions when a planet is conquered, and instead has her own, somewhat less genocidal, way of imposing order. Kris’ way is bound to set up even more problems for the Iteeche rulers in the future, which I look forward to seeing.

Not great KL but pretty good none the less. I'd like to see a bit more of the aliens in the motherships but while we wait for that the oddness of the Itichee will do for now. Some good battles, a build up of a minor character to provide some variation for the future and all in all a usefule addition to the Jump Point Universe.

Good sci fi book good writer well written lot of twists and turns lots of fights skirmishes battles and ambushes part of a series

Great pace to the story action scenes really well written grips you from the start , keep them coming loved it