Title: Redoubtable
Series: Kris Longknife 8
Author: Mike Shepherd
Genre: Military Science Fiction
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: ACE October 26, 2010
Order from: Amazon US | UK | B&N | sfbok

Kris Lonknife: Redoubtable is now accepted by ACE and this is the final cover art according to Author Mike Shepherd [profile] website. This is the long awaited eight Kris Longknife Novel. There is a slight ’spoiler’ from the author below, it doesn’t reveal anything catastrophic I think. The blurb is from Penguin’s catalogue.

Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife has precise orders: seek out, engage,and destroy pirates, slavers, and drug lords operating beyond the rim of human space—without interfering in Peterwald family affairs. But when slavers kidnap a twelve-year-old girl, Kris’s mission becomes personal. And if destroying the pirate compound flattens some Peterwald interests—well, to hell with politics.

Kris and her charming wearable computer Nelly are among my literary friends. That they will be back with more intrepid and undaunted adventures later this year fills me with joy. Kris has that famous Longknife streak that always lands her in trouble usually at  the request of old grandpa Trouble. In the last book she had a little run in with the Iteeche, an alien race that almost wiped out the human race just a generation back. Being the nice girl she is she brought them with on a texmex adventure before they part ways after deciding to meet again.

Cover Art for the new novel is done. Artist Scott Grimando have  made the cover art for all the other Kris Longknife novells, so it would surprise me greatly if he wasn’t doing Redoubtable. And Surprise, surprise when visiting his homepage grimstudios.com I found the picture back in March. A real action shoot with a determined Kris firing an impressing looking rifle framed in what looks like a mountain area being struck from above by weapon fire from ships in orbit around the ringed planet. Kris looks very beautiful on the picture, I wonder if she is in love?

Mike Shepard adds some information that hints to the content beside what we know from the last book:

There was one surprise in the final chapter that I think I can let out of the bag early. Kris is no longer in the Wardhaven Navy. It’s official now, she is in the Royal U.S. Navy.

There is a glitch (how could there not be). U.S. does not stand for United Sentients like Grampa Ray wanted. It got changed during one of the last votes of the Constitutional Convention.

There were rumors about the Iteeche and meetings and things. Sentients sounded too open to those four eyed nasties, so US officially means United Societies. Kris has a bad feeling there is more behind the name change than meets the eye. She’ll have to talk to her big brother next time she’s on Wardhaven.

Source: krislongknifesblog.mikeshepherd.org