Defender

Kris Longknife, Book 11

By: Mike Shepherd

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Kris Longknife is back in the good graces of the brass - and to demonstrate that, they've promoted her to Admiral. Now her mission is to find the home base of the space pirates who are plaguing the fringes of the galaxy.

But no mission is ever simple when your name is Longknife. And this time the complications range from the military to the personal, as Kris finds herself - reluctantly - having to make some command decisions about her future....

©2013 Mike Moscoe (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Make Love (then war .... then some more love ...)

Overall a very good addition to the Kris Longknife saga, although the story periodically switches between something that feels like a Harlequin romance and something else that feels like a battle from Master and Commander. On the one hand, Kris and Jack finally get married and Mike Shepherd provides a fairly graphic description of their "honeymoon activities". Based on that alone, this story is decidedly not PG. On the other hand, the battles, particularly the last one, are exciting (in a much different way) but are described in a similar level of "high" detail. The story has some interesting and colorful cross references to events from the Jump Universe series although it is not at all necessary to have read that series for context It also has a satisfying ending while leaving strong hints about the next book.

Mike Shepherd Can't Do Romance

This is one of the most aptly titled books in this series. When last we left our intrepid adventurers, they had made contact with a human colony on a far flung world half a galaxy away from Human Space. In this book, we see Kris prepare for the inevitable conflict with the genocidal aliens from the last book, here dubbed "The Bastards".

Shepherd once again shows his ability to make bureaucracy and battle prep interesting and fun to read. All of the plans and prep make one really look forward to the coming battle. That said, 2 things really bothered me about this entry into the Kris Longknife series. 1.) While it is nice to see Jack and Kris finally come together (seriously, 11 freaking books now), Shepherd can't do romance to save his life. Scenes that were meant to be sexy were decidedly unsexy. 2.) There were a few parts when the narrator used personal language while describing things. As this book is written (like all of the series) in 3rd person limited, it was jarring when the narrator said things like "our ships". It only happened a couple of times, but it was enough to catch my attention.

Dina Pearlmen is and always will be Kris Longknife to me. She's gotten so good at voicing the main cast that most times I knew who was speaking before I was told. She does a great job bringing in new cast members. The only reason I didn't give her 5 stars is because she does not pronounce the Japanese names of the Musashi ships well at all. I realize that is going to bother me more than most people, but if you studied Japanese at all, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

All in all, another fine addition to the Kris Longknife saga.

I Like this series

If you could sum up Defender in three words, what would they be?

Fun, bit different, good new characters

What other book might you compare Defender to and why?

Pretty much all MS books in the series

Which character – as performed by Dina Pearlman – was your favorite?

I like all the long knifes and a new character we meet in this book.

Any additional comments?

I find this a good series MS always writes a good book and this universe is always on par. i have yet to read or listen to one of his books i don't like. he has finally gotten away from the tag line of those d*mn longkifes, it gets real old. so i was happy to only hear it once or twice in this book. And seems that Kris gets off on here own allot more in this book.

Enthralling, fast pace

This is book eleven in the Longknife series. You must read the books in order or else you will be lost.

In the last book Kris had found her Grandma Rita (King Ray’s long missing wife- she went missing during the Iteechee War). Rita’s war ship disappeared during a bad jump. Rita and her crew were living on the bird plant Alwa that Kris had saved from destruction by the huge alien ship.

In this book Kris is back in the good graces of Wardhaven and has been made first a Commodore when King Ray arrived at Alwa with a fleet of war ships for Kris, then an Admiral when the second fleet of war ships and repair base ships, supply ships and a space station arrived for her to command. She also has to prepare for a pending war with the aliens. King Ray made Kris the Viceroy of Alwa, to rule and make contracts, treaties and so on. The Alwa human colony and the Alwans decided not to join the United Societies but accept associate status, and accept Kris as the Viceroy.

The story is fast paced with lots of action, suspense and space battles. The suspense of rescuing the crew of the missing USS Hornet was typical Shepherd. As with all the books there is pithy dialogue and humor. I still like the smart computer “Nelly” best of all.

I get the feeling the series maybe coming to a close soon as numerous things are explained, some plot threads are tied up and some are left hanging for the next book. Dina Pearlman narrated the series.

great story

but sometimes I think the narrator does her job in a room with no dampening material. otherwise a great listen

A Greate Series and preformances by Dina Pearlman

I have now listened to the whole series. I love it... I think this is another series I will listen to more than once.

If you like space battles salted by political intrigue you will like this series.

Most of the series does not have even a mention of sex. This one has some sex scenes but nothing really hardcore..

Will there be a wedding?

Well, I won't spoil the suspense. There may be a wedding or maybe not. What is interesting is seeing Kris going through what all spouses (or perhaps not) experience when a loved one goes off to battle. I'm not sure this book should be read without reading earlier ones in the series. Actually, I am sure. Read earlier ones first. If you have, this one is well worth the credit..

A disappointing read/listen

I have enjoyed all of Mike Shepherd other books but this one misses the mark. It was really hard to listen to..... the story and plot are were way below my expectations and I don't know how comfortable I feel about trying to continue the series. There is a little bit of a love story but it hurts it more than helps. I don't know what to do with this book!!

A New Arc Begins

With this novel, we begin the next big story arc as Kris takes governance control of the Alwa planet. There are a lot of politics, clash of cultures, and the need to quickly set up a defense and supply infrastructure on the undeveloped planet. The aliens are coming - and Kris will have to scramble to be ready for them.

Story: King Ray has tasked Kris with the defense of Alwa. This means a jump in status, a new title or two, and a fleet to manage. But it also includes being the viceroy of an independent colony that has no interest in joining Ray's Kingdom. Kris has to bridge starving colonists who need supplies and relief, an alien race of bird-like creatures with their own motivations, and a looming threat of Alien attack in the near future.

The book begins with Kris' marriage and honeymoon on Alwa. It is a long and overly written section that really didn't add much to the story, characters, or plot. Fortunately, it is interrupted by news that requires Kris and Jack to get back to business. Kris is finding her grandma Rita to be as annoying as a born Longknife, King Ray discovers his wife might be glad to be rid of him, and Rita is about to find out that her precious son is somewhat of a misguided villain himself. All the while, Kris has to figure out how to get the infrastructure in place to not only save the colonists from starvation but also feed a huge fleet. Cue Smart Metal (TM) to the rescue.

This book is a bit of a change because it is more about terrafarming and creating infrastructures on both the planet and in space. It is clearly a thankless job but one that is desperately needed - and quickly - in order to be able to face the incoming alien attack. To do this, Ray has given Kris key resources (such as a space station) and key people who will become very important in the coming books. At the same time, Penny is sent on a mission to find the homeworld of the nameless aliens and try to gain an understanding of who they are and why they are so relentless.

This begins the Alwa defense arc which will cover several novels. Note: I listened to the audio version and it was read by Dina Pearlman, who does a fine job.

This was a story in futility

What did you like best about Defender? What did you like least?

The Love scenes were something I would expect from a pre-teen. Too much focus on the sexual relationship and poorly written. Please leave the sex out of your writings, your stories are more enjoyable that way.

What do you think your next listen will be?

The story stands on it's own, solid foundation and action scenes

Have you listened to any of Dina Pearlman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but she always does a bang up job in the Kris Longkife series

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Cut out the sex scenes, yes I would.