Kris Longknife: Tenacious (Kris Longknife Series Book 12)

Tenacious (2014) is the twelfth SF novel in the Kris Longknife series, following  Defender . The initial volume in this sequence is  Mutineer .In the previous volume, Kris was taking Gramma Rita and six Light People to see the mother ship the Wasp had stopped. The birds didn't think like humans and the recordings didn't have the desired affect on their discussions. So Kris was showing their representatives the reality of the giant ship.The Light People were agitated by the mother ship, but they didn't understand the significance of the lack of response to the human efforts to communicate. Then three battleship size ships appeared at the jump point.The Wasp crew went to the high acceleration eggs. The birds were put into water baths. Then Penny put the new Wasp into Condition Zed, with most of the Smart Metal on the outer hull. The older Chief Beni tracked the ships coming out of the jump point.The Wasp had been hiding behind the wreck of the alien mother ship. At the request of the Light People through Gramma Rita, Kris had Nelly create a drone that issued a multitude of messages to the alien ships. All three promptly lased the drone.In this novel, Kristine Anne Longknife is a Captain in the United Societies Navy. Kris is also the great-granddaughter of the King of the United Societies. So she is also a Princess of the US and married to Jack. She is an acting Rear Admiral and Commander of the Alwa Sector.Jack Montoya is a Captain in the United Societies Marines. He is junior in rank to Kris, but is also her security chief. He is now married to Kris and an acting Colonel within the Alwa sector.Penny Pasley is a Lieutenant in the US Navy. She started in Intelligence, but became Kris' liaison with local police departments.Meade is the chief medic on the Wasp. She is is the best doctor that Kris has.Raymond Longknife is a great-grandfather of Kris and was married to Rita. Ray was a general on Savanna and is now the King of the US.Rita has been stranded on Alwa for eighty years. She is the head of the human colony on the planet. She was married to Ray before she disappeared and is the great-grandmother of Kris.Sampson is a Commander in the United Societies Navy. She can be irrational at times.In this story, Kris has fought and won five fights with the aliens. She has tried to communicate with them before each battle. They either fight to the death or commit suicide.She receives more ships and supplies from her great-grandfather. Kris is promoted to acting Vice Admiral by Ray. Yet she is told not to allow the ships to return to protect the home planets from the aliens.Kris had her honeymoon interrupted after one day. So she is lounging on the beach with Jack. Now she gets two more days before Penny calls her.Penny has found the home planet of the aliens. Kris informs Rita that she is leaving and appoints an acting Commander. Then she takes her squadron out to see the alien planet.Two planets have skies matching the star maps in the mother ship. One had been bombed and hit by kinetic rounds. Then the aliens stripped the air and water from the planet.The other planet has been nuked and lased in a few places, but otherwise is habitable. The planet even has a population. Apparently the aliens have exiled small groups of people on the planet. Yet even the exiles will suicide rather than talk to her.Then a tribe of exiles capture a science team and their Marine guards. They want the Enlightened One of the ship. Kris heads down to the surface.The grandson of the tribal leaders has injured himself. Gangrene has set in and he has a fever. He needs immediate help.The medics with Kris treat the boy, but they do not have the required skills. Kris calls Meade and has her come down from the Wasp. Meade gathers the vital signs of the boy and everybody in the tribe.This tribe seems to be more flexible than the others. The grandfather of the boy is willing to go with Kris to stride among the stars. The grandmother, however, doesn't like Kris.Kris knows that the aliens look like humans, but have differences in their DNA. They have three extra chromosomes. Meade informs her that the aliens also have modifications in their brains structure. Apparently they have been genengineered.This tale has Kris returning to Alwa with more information about the aliens. Kris learns from the radio intercepts that Sampson has stolen a freighter to return to the US. She is heading for the Beta Jump. Kris chases the ship through two jumps before she catches her.The propulsion system overheats and the stolen ship loses acceleration. The Marines board the ship and capture the crew. None of the ship officers are with the mutineers.Kris courtmartials Sampson. The next installment is  Unrelenting .Highly recommended for Shepherd fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of brainwashed aliens, space combat, and a bit of romance. Read and enjoy!-Arthur W. Jordin

I have to excuse myself before starting this review. My reviews are normally fairly short and I have never pretended to be a professional reviewer but I finished this book shortly before attending the funeral of a close family member back in Sweden and now it has taken me a few days before I got around to write anything so my memory might not be the best nor my attention during my reading the last few days.Anyway, I found this installment of the Kris Longknife series fairly enjoyable. Enough to place it slightly above average. To me this series have been a bit of a bumpy ride and the first one that got an above average rating was the previous installment in the series. I think the main reason I gave this one the rating I gave it is because it is really a nice space adventure as opposed to many of the previous books that took place down on planets and focused on petty politics between the main power blocks.This one follows fairly straight on from the previous book. Kris won the first major engagement against the space raiders but more is to come and Kris has to build up their defenses…again. As the book blurb states, a mutiny complicates things for Kris and although the mutineers are promptly disposed of, their actions do indeed have some consequences.Kris is still the Longknife we have come to know during what now amounts to 12 books and I at least like the character. She is now an admiral but that does not mean that she is not going out on various adventures in person although a number of her entourage does their best to dissuade her from taking risks.There are quite a few revelations concerning the space raiders in this book and although I have to give credit to the author for cooking together a depiction of aliens that was somewhat new and original, at least for me, I felt it was a bit over the top at times. The fanaticism of these guys makes the Taliban or Al Qaida look like quite moderate and reasonable political factions!The space raiders and the aliens on Alwa are not the only aliens though. The book manages to throw in a first contact situation into the story as well. First contact for the aliens of course. I quite liked this alien race. I hope there will be more involvement from them in future books.On the whole it was an enjoyable read though. Obviously the main story arc is far from finished so I certainly hope that the author plans to write more books in the series.

As always, Kris Longknife delivers fast-paced sci-fi action.This book continues her exploits as the commander of the US forces at Alwa and the conflict with the alien race that's desecrating any populated world they find. Along the way, Kris defends a new felinoid alien race from destruction and visits the homeworld of the mothership aliens to find out why they're bent on genocide. Kris continues to 'kick butt' while maturing as a character and the series does not disappoint.I do have a couple of quibbles with the direction that the books seem to be headed in.Kris' (and the author's) preoccupation with sex seems like it's growing. As Kris is a newly married woman, a certain amount of that is understandable. But I hope that the author will 'dial back' the details of her sexual relations with Jack and handle them with dignity rather than titillation. If the books tilt too far toward erotic themes, I will regretfully have to stop reading. This kind of thing is already preventing me from trying the Vicky Peterwald book.The other thing that's bothering me is how Jack seems as if he's becoming a bit character who's only there to satisfy Kris' emotional needs, and the fact that he's the CO of the Marine forces is not much more than a side issue. He's becoming a bit too passive and it seems out of character for him. While I get that the series focuses on Kris, I'd like to see the author continue to develop Jack as a character and not let him stagnate. I'm almost wondering if he's being set up to die in a future book.That would be a shame. I hope that's not where this is going.

Twelfth book in the 'Kris Longknife' series of military science fiction novels. It's not a jumping on point for new readers, who should start with  Mutineer (Kris Longknife Novels) .Regular readers, read on.This volume runs for three hundred and sixty nine pages. It's divided into seventy chapters.There's some adult moments. One bit of strong language. And some very mild violence.It's also not the end of the on-going storyline about the alien threat.Picking up from the end of the last book, Kris and Jack get to resume their honeymoon. Which of course is soon interrupted by duty calling. There is naturally a lot more of the romantic couple moments that the two had since they got together. How well the writer does this kind of thing is going to be a matter for reader opinion. But they do make a very nice couple, with a great chemistry together. And some effective moments of him being a rock for her when she needs the support.There aren't too many of the game changing character moments that the last few books have seen, as the thrust of this one is the alien situation. Starting with the usual round of meetings and getting things going, this one takes about fifty pages t click. But once it does, it's a real page turner.Because it's very good science fiction. Although it doesn't end the alien story, it allows it unfold at a decent and steady pace, with just the right amount of revelation and discovery to keep the plot moving. Some of these being things you will not forget in a hurry. It does ask some good moral questions of the reader, as Kris has to make some tough calls. It also does first contact with alien races in an intriguing and readable way.The world building is impressive as this has now become quite a big fictional universe, but the reader never feels lost. There are some good space battles. And the whole thing ends with the promise of big events to come. In a way that makesyou desperate to know what will happen next.I look forward to finding out. This is another entertaining read in a consistently good series. Mutineer (Kris Longknife Novels)

I am sure by now that you have read the other reviews and I agree that this is another great read from Mike Shepherd.However I do have one minor criticism, in the battle for Alwa told in the "Defender", Kris Longknofe and her team generate a battle plan that takes advantage of the Longer Range weapons of her space navy, by continuing to retreat from the enemy to keep their much more numerous but shorter range weapons out-distanced.In the battle for Sasquan they threw away that advantagous plan and ended up attacking head on. Would a battle hardened and experienced bunch of warriors really give up such a battle winning plan that has proved to work?This change caused great damage to her ships and cost many lives.They also do not appear to understand the advantages of Mine Fields around Jump Points either.For this apparent lack of continuity, which detracted a bit from the pleasure of the story for me I dropped Mike a star.

Kris Longknife is rather overworked as the local boss of everything: commander of the Alwa Navy, SEO of Nuu Enterprises, Viceroy of the local humans, and Ambassador to the Alwa bird-aliens. So she goes off on a spot of alien-homeworld hunting.This is another rip-roaring instalment as the team discover many alien civilisations, most extinct, but one in dire need of protection from the planet-sterilising enemy. They also have to deal with mutineers, as some of the merchant ship crews aren't happy to find the trip to Alwa is strictly one-way. Kris deals with it all with her usual aplomb, sarcasm, and head-cracking; although the space battles are getting positively Weberian in scale, Honor she is not (and Nelly is no treecat, either).

Yet another thrilling instalment from shepherd! Kris is up to high speed right out of the blocks, the action never stops and the threats grow apace. The book progresses the storyline just a fraction with info on the aliens being fleshed out, we get to meet an actual talking one! (nasty blighters what?). More of those exciting space battles and a new race of aliens for kris to chew on, more allies from home for kris to chew on, and her new husband to chew on!. Overall a great read that was hard to put down once started and easy to feel bereft once finished, so here I am waiting for the next one!

A nice follow on from the previous books but it is not a finished book, too many openings left for the next one in the series and there is too long a wait for the next one to enjoy being left hanging this is why I have only given 4 stars