I like Mike’s Science Fiction. He is good at bickering characters and his world building contains some spiffy concepts like smart metal ships that can reconfigure in flight.

Let me tell you about his books.

Series

Society of Humanity

The series is prequel to the Kris Longknife novels.

1. First Casualty
2. Price of Peace
3. They Also Serve

Kris Longknife (under the name Mike Shepherd)

The tale of one of those damn Longknifes. Kris joins the Navy to earn her own way as much as to get away from her relatives. And then they make her grandfather King and her a Princess. On top of that their old enemies the Peterwalds are at it again, again and again, you get the picture.

1. Mutineer
2. Deserter
3. Defiant
4. Resolute
5. Audacious
6. Intrepid
7. Undaunted
8. Redoubtable (ACE 2010)
9. Daring (Late in 2011)
10. Furius (2012)*

* according to Mike’s homepage, they are not out on Amazon.

Links

• Everything tagged Mike Shepherd on this blog including Mike Moscoe’s.
• mikeshepherd.org - Official hompage for both Mike Moscoe and his alias Mike Shepherd.

After reading Undaunted I got an urge to reread Intrepid. I thought it came out this summer, but it was the summer of 2008 it did.

Kris is heading out into the Rim on the starship Waspto explore and hunt down pirates. Masquerading as a merchant ship they happen on a pirate. They capture the ship after a short battle. After returning their prisoners for trial, they happen on a colonist trying to get home. So they decide to head that way. First they stop at Xanadu, the next planet before Panda. Xanadu is govern by a religious cult hiding from what they believe is an unavoidable alien invasion. They also keep their people drugged and obedient. After slapping the Elders on their fingers they head off to Panda only to find Kris first captain, Thorpe there with two ships in orbit. There is a filibuster operation going there. A bunch of Mercenaries, the majority of them are religious fanatics from New Jerusalem, have taken over the planet.

The rest is again an entertaining rumble with our favorite princess.

After the rumble they return via Xanadu only to discover a plot to start a war between Peterwald and United Setiends with foreseeable consequences.

Ta ta, brilliant. I can’t wait on the next novel.

The next Kris Longknife novel to be out in 2010 will be Superb Redoubtable and the 2011 one is Daring according to mikeshepherd.org (See New Releases)

Kris have the watch and the rest of the crew are asleep when The Wasp enter another of those newly discovered worm holes out in the Rim. It comes out just as the probe sent ahead is destroyed by laser fire from 2 Peterwald cruisers engaged in a fight with an alien Death Ball.

To her surprise the Iteeche don’t fire back, they are indeed on a diplomatic mission to her grandfather Trouble. If you expected that to play out in this book you are wrong. Kris is sent to the planet Texarkana to keep it in support of the king in the coming constitution poll bringing the Iteeche along.

The rest is an enjoyable rumble.

I don’t know when the next book will be published. Maybe next summer? It ought to be about the next mission kris is sent to before she is sent to the iteeche (quite annoying to be honest, why all these side stories before the big beef)

I must have been really focused on my work today because I totally missed their arrival (I worked from home today). But there they where on top of the desk in the hallway when i foraged out of my room for dinner. Must have been the stealthy B. that recovered them for me.

I have been waiting since summer for the next Longknife novel and now it’s here, I will read it now. I have no impulse control when it comes to books I like.

The Devil’s Eye will have to wait with the other 30 or so unread books in my night stand. I’ll get to them sooner or later.

Ta ta for now!

Kris gets her first command PF-109 one out of 12 fast patrol boats commanded by other Navy misfits. She and Nelly prove that they can take out a Battleship when used right when she is arrested for misappropriation of government funds on her mission to Olympia. Her father’s party lost a vote of Confidence in the Parliament and the interim government haste to make clean house in the military while promoting anything that can embarrass the old government. King Ray sends her to hold an old friends hand while she dies. Kris dance nude on the beach and free some hostages before returning home where her accuser has been shredded to pieces by her friends from Olympia.

They can all relax and celebrate the marriage between Tom and Penny. Almost on cue 6 battleships of unknown origin arrive, demanding surrender. Since the new government sent the whole fleet away there is only Kris and her motley crew to defend them all.

Kris discovers what sacrifices are when people all over volunteer to fight.

One very good Longknife book.

In Deserter Kris personal computer: Nelly really comes out of the box. Kris friend Tom takes off on leave with Penny (his former interrogator. See Mutineer). They head for an archaeological dig when Tom is somehow waylaid. Kris comes to the rescue.

Introducing Abby, Kris mysterious maid. Hired by her mother so at first Kris resist her, but she has an uncanny ability to produce what Kris needs from her luggage. There is much going on there.

Also introducing Jack, Kris new handsome bodyguard.

Kris and Company rushes of to Turantic, a planet boiling a stew that threatens to change the map in humanity’s part of the galaxy for the next century or so. And of course Kris does the damn Longknife thing and havoc commence.

Hank the handsome Peterwalder are there, so are also ghosts from Kris past.

There is lots of spiffy tech here: Nano spies, three artifacts and true Booby traps (Kris gets a temporary boob job or 2).

Really entertaining, fast action, mystery and a lot of sass. If you like military scifi with more than testosterone this is a good read.

Mike Sheperd is a pseudonym for Mike Moscoe.

In this universe humanity has settled on more than one hundred planets. Travel is done by wormholes left by aliens. Heavy taxation and low prices for the raw material they produce have caused a lot of anger in the colonies. Large corporations are the real players behind the governments. The Unity is formed around a strong leader as the colonies make war on their oppressors in the Society of Humanity.

We get to follow Ray Longknife a Unity Marine Captain in battle and as a recoveree on Wardhaven. Rita his Navy pilot wife to be keeps him going.

We also get to follow Mary Rodrigo’s as the former Miner is transformed by the war. She starts out as a elected Society Marine Sergeant and trough ingenuity and leadership she ends up a Captain.

Mattim is a Trader drafted together with his ship. He will cause the greatest changes in the long run when he stumbles on on knowledge that the powers behind the government will do anything to suppress.

Mike Moscoe has written a follow up series under the pseudonym Mike Shepherd about Kris Longknife.

This one is not as catchy as the later Longknife series, it’s a decent read. I’ll give it a strong 3 out of 5.

Mike Shepard is a Pseudonym for Mike Moscoe. He’s trilogy Society of Humanity continues in the stand alone Kris Longknife series.

Kris is a young ensign in the Society of Humanity’s Navy. She isn’t just any young ensign, she is the daughter of a Prime minister of WardHaven and a descent of those Longknifes known from the history books (they are still alive though). Joining the Navy was her way to rebel against her parents.

She is confronted with the death of her little brother when her ship is called to free a kidnapped little girl. The story unfolds around her family’s history and the split of humanity into fractions as Earth and the Rim go their separate ways.

There is some spiffy technology here: Smart metal used to transform a starship from a spacious peace time ship to a compact war machine. Kris have a personal computer called Nelly made out of smart smart metal.

There are a lot of interesting characters, grandfather Trouble, Aunt Tru and more.

It’s an entertaining read. I like the plot, the world building and the characters. Ill give it a weak 4.