Defiant: Kris Longknife, Book 3

Courtesy of Lost Art Audiobook Review

Defiant starts out like Down Periscope. The Navy promotes Kris to command an experimental ship full of misfits no one else wants. Things change when Kris is arrested. Mike Shepherd describes the arrest with so much feeling and emphasis, I expected the trial to be a focal point. This changes when Kris is sent on a diplomatic mission to a planet Hikila (planet Hawaii), which turns into a hostage/terrorist situation. Sadly, very little of the book is spent on Kris’s rehabilitation from the arrest. About 8 hours into the book, Kris returns from Hikila and maybe five minutes of the audiobook are dedicated to a summary recounting of how while she was away a few people from Olympia talked to the media and charges were dropped. I would have loved to hear this part in detail. Instead, we have Tom and Penny’s wedding leading right into the major conflict of the book: the invasion. Disjointedness aside, the invasion was great. Mike Shepherd uses that third-person narration to present us with the enemy sans-Kris, making him more realistic and the conflict more suspenseful. Around 5 hours to the end of the book, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach you get when you are a few hours away from giving a big speech. About 4 hours to the end of the book, I could not stop listening. I stay up until 2 a.m., on a Tuesday night, to finish.

On Narration:
While I liked Dina Pearlman’s reading of the first two books, I had issues this one. Her reading after they land on Hikila slows down and becomes over-emphasized which makes it sound insincere. That aside, what really killed it for me was her reading of “the March of Cambreadth.” Mike Shepherd dedicates about 2 hours integrating that song to the fight. He quotes all the lyrics, and gives it a fake history. Kris and her crew screaming along to it. They even shoot on the song’s command! And Dina Pearlman reads the lyrics with the cadence you use when playing “patty cake” with a toddler.

Listening to the Kris Longknife saga to me is a real treat. During the last sale on 1st in series, I needed to find something new to follow. I chose 5 different series titles, but the Longknife saga is proving I made the right selection to follow. Sure, the narration could be a little better, but it's not all that bad. The character are developing very well and it's easy to get lost within any of these stories. Defiant brought both good and bad. We say goodbye to some well liked characters, but the plot thickens with the a rival clan. I LOVE IT! This is a great listen and I strongly suggest this to anyone. Keep them coming Mike. Please.

I am writing this because i think it is one of the best series books out there. Mike Shepherd always tells a good action packed story. This one has a female lead and she has some great friends that are willing to die for her and what she stands for. The narrator Dina Pearlman is also one of the best !!
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO READ THE BOOKS IN ORDER.

good narration, good story, good technology, very nice space action
you should read the first couple books of this series at least..after the third, it becomes same old same old

After reading the first two books, listening to this one was a disappointment. The narrator created an impressive array of voices. However, they all sounded like petulant children trying to imitate grown-ups. The book was also problematic. There are two seemingly unrelated stories in the book. The first story line moves along with good pacing. The second story is way to long and poorly paced. I guess I'll go back to the printed versions and hope they are more like the first two books.