Yay, I finally got the omnibus. Two books in one is good, it fits better on my shelf. I've reviewed both books recently in the separate editions, so I'll just say:
I like Torin, she's very...solid. I can't quite say realistic - I've never really known anyone like her - but she fits with herself as she's presented. The Confederation is interesting and I like the way Huff managed to have dozens of alien species but she really only has to deal with a few - two (or three) deeply, three lightly in the first book, and then another one or two lightly in the second (the Mid and Elder (are there any Elders in these?) races are only dealt with lightly). ( )

There is nothing I hate worse than a military story written by someone who obviously has never served in or had prolonged contact with anyone that has served in any sort of military anywhere in the world. Or, wasn't at least a historian in the subject. From the first few paragraphs I could tell that Tanya Huff, whose friends and family have served, wouldn't have any problems in terms of writing military.

This is a very solid space military story in a softer, but similar vein to David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series. She doesn't shy away from the morality involved in killing, or species/cultural clashes, or the sorts of hairy issues that might come up when attempting to integrate many different alien species together. She doesn't delve too deeply, and at times I think she might have been a little bit too pat in her solutions, but she doesn't shy away from mentioning that these issues do exist.

Then again, this is the military, and not some free wheeling democratic culture. Also, I think that Huff is focusing more on the way these species are actually quite alike, rather than their differences. They also sound very North American military. Aside from some deliberately mangled popculture references, and some fancy sounding new rank names, what is described in the pages of this book may as well have been the US army/Navy. As I slung through the pages at high speed, I had distinct flashbacks to the game Starcraft and even the Firefly tv series/movie.

I suppose the only bad thing about this is the fact that it is a military story and therefore one is resigned to have to deal with casualties... Oh, and I suppose the love interest that shows up in the second novel in this omnibus. I suppose he was meant to be endearingly quirky-- however, his quirks ended up irritating me. I can't deal with people who deliberately get in the way during a serious situation by mocking people who are only doing their jobs/standing in their path/forcefully distracting people by constantly demanding their attention. I don't find that quirky. I suppose he redeems himself in the end, but... by the time the end of the book arrived, I was so irritated that I wish he'd gotten blown to bits.

Alright, and everything is a bit cliche, the alien species aren't different enough, and the military bits reads as a little too 20th American (which David Drake mostly manages to avoid, at least in the Hammers Slammers series.)

Still, for what it is, I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on the third installment of this series. The Smoke series was an intense disappointment, but Valor has renewed my faith in Huff's ability to spin light, engaging stories with realistic characters and entertaining interactions. Literature? Not really, but still worth passing the time with, even if you don't end up keeping it. I think the first book/novel is the stronger of the two, but the second is still quite enjoyable. ( )

You know, I'm not sure when this was written but it comes across as a bit generic - the stalwart female sergeant who accidentally sleeps with a guy who turns out to be the new officer she reports to. The aliens, the war, the incredible odds, the unfairness and craziness of it all, the fact that a few of the huge cast of characters die, (2 of which were so similarly named, and they were meant to be different alien species, so they could have had different names! but I kept confusing them.) it was good, but felt a bit generic. I read the first in the omnibus but only skimmed the second. Not an unpleaant way to pass an hour, but definitely not a keeper. ( )