This was good, I think it'd been too long since I'd read the other six though. I kept getting bogged down in the names, though this might also have been an audiobook vs. book issue. ( )

I had no idea this was a continuation of an ongoing cycle (even though it is listed as book one in a new series, the characters apparently continue on from an existing series, so I'm about to have to circle back to read those). Also, I was absolutely not expecting this to be a novel about zombie aliens but I am all over this idea.

The only thing to decide is whether to loop backwards to the previous series first, or just keep going with this one! ( )

An Ancient Peace
"An Ancient Peace" is the sixth book in the "Confederation" series. It follows straight on from "The Truth of Valor". Despite this, the publishers have decided to list it as "Peacekeeper #1". Don't start here, you'll miss all the fun. Start at "Valor's Choice".

"An Ancient Peace" is an entertaining mix of SF (ex-)Military and treasure hunt thriller, that steps beyond either genre by having a very non-martial view of the world ("kill the enemy" is replaced by "get the job done and get my people out alive") and an unfailing ability to surprise.

The book bursts into action from the first page, with Torin and her team taking down a para-military hate group called "Human's First". It's a nice action piece made better by Torin's disdain for a group that thinks "Human's First" needs an apostrophe.

One of the things I enjoy most about Tanya Huff's books is her ability to produce a fresh version of a familiar trope. In "An Ancient Peace" she does this at least twice.

The early part of the book is a potential "Rambo" situation - ex-soliders in peace time being viewed as too violent and uncivilised to be in the company of those they fought and died to protect - except, in Tanya Huff's version, the soldiers out-manouver the local authorities, the unprovoked violence doesn't escalate and yet you're still left with the certain knowledge that ex-Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr's small team are significantly more dangerous than Rambo. The situation also raises interesting possible future threads about how the allegedly n0n-violent "Elder Races" will treat the races they recruited to fight on their behalf, now the war is over.

The next trope is a sort of Lara Croft Tomb Raider theme - exploring the booby-trapped tomb of an ancient race in search of treasure, except in Tanya Huff's version, the searchers are either desperate or mercenary or both and the race that set the traps is depicted as insane.

Once again, Torin Kerr faces hard decisions that have become more morally ambiguous and more personal now that she no longer has the weight of the Corp behind her. The results are quite surprising and kept me guessing right up to the end of the book.

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The latest book to star Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr is the start of a new series. Granted the main players in the book have been in previous books and there is a backstory that you do get dripped in the story but a reader can start this one and have a good time reading it. Torin is retired but now works for the Justice Department doing the things she wants to do that she can no longer do in the military. Along with several of her former marine friends and her lover they are currently in pursuit of grave robbers that just might start another war if they find the weapons that are supposed to be left alone on the grave planet of one of the elder races.

I love these books and can’t wait for more of them to show up.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
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Fluffy fun adventure with some alien zombies and gore. ( )