Tanya Huff can write! I loved this book. I adore Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr. She rocks by the book, proving there's a reason "the book" was written! Good imagery, well-drawn characters, believable but not predictable plot, good description without an info-dump in sight--as with the others in this series, this book is a keeper. ( )

This is the third novel in Huff's Confederation series, following the adventures of Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr (here promoted to Gunnery Sergeant). The first two novels, Valor's Choice and The Better Part of Valor have been conveniently reissued in the omnibus volume A Confederation of Valor in case you missed them the first time round, and all three are well worth picking up, but each novel can stand alone on its own merits. Huff does develop a story arch across the series, but the mystery of confederation politics takes a distant second to the up close and personal action of platoon combat.

Huff is the undisputed master of militaristic SF: her novels are superbly researched and beautifully choreographed, keeping the reader pinned down in page-turning house-to-house combat. Huff's careful characterization of the individual grunts under Sergeant Kerr engages the reader in the fate of each of these Marines, forcing us to identify with Kerr's desperate (and ultimately doomed) need to keep everyone in her platoon alive. This stands in sharp contrast to much of the genre in which anonymous spear-carriers are routinely sacrificed to the greater glory of the hero-general. Huff's protagonist has little use for the officers who insist on placing her platoon in harm's way, and seeing the clash of stellar empires from the point of view of those actually doing the fighting makes for far more engaging reading.

Another advantage of Huff's Confederation series is that Canadian Huff avoids the right-wing rants that so often render other writers in the genre (Steven White comes to mind) unreadable. Huff actually seems to believe in ideals such as democracy and a free press, in contrast to her American counterparts who seem to favour futures dominated by autocratic royals, Reaganomics, and genocidal protagonists. Huff's Confederation series is militaristic SF for those who think they hate militaristic SF; though fans of the likes of David Webber will not be disappointed either. Highly recommended.

Gunnery Sergeant's latest mission seemed easy- babysit a rebuilt-from-the-brain-up Major as he accompanied the latest crop of recruits to the Marine Corps training planet. But the training scenario doesn't go to plan and it's up to Kerr to keep all of her team alive as well as figure out who exactly is attacking them.
I enjoyed most of this except for the battle scenes. I'm often bored by battle scenes in books or on film, so it's not really a reflection on the book.

http://rivkat.livejournal.com/203530.... ( )

The third book in the Confederation series is as good a space opera as the others in the series, although contains a little too much info dump about the previous adventures of Torin Kerr. Anyone starting the Confederation series should be able to do so without difficulty. The importance of these adventures become obvious later in the book, where their bearings to Torins current predicament become clear. A very clever plot, executed with style and lots of action.

Torin is stuck on Ventris Station giving lectures on her past glories - how to impress and control a murderous alien race - so when a restituting Captain asks her to be his aide while he field test his new limbs on the Marine Corps training planet, she jumps at the chance. A month going through a Marine training scenario, with only the Captain and his doctor as her responsibility is vastly preferably to lecturing and dealing with politics.
Shen the Staff sergeant in charge of the recruits begins to act oddly it is a nuisance, but when the training bots begin to make unscheduled attacks, it becomes deadly.
Leadership defaults to Torin and her Captain, and it is up to them to get all the recruits of the planet alive. Meanwhile her offplanet lover is exposing a cover-up connected to Torins situation. There is a wealth of gritty details in the description of Torins exploits that tend to be absent in the somewhat more sterile space operas which mainly takes place in space - like David Webers Honor Harrington books.
This is a wellwritten fastpaced novel with a tightly woven plot. Torin never disappoint as a ressourcefull hero, whose anxiety for those in her care, and sense of responsibility rounds her of as a more complexe character than a mere space opera hero. The minutia of soldier life, and their social interaction rings true. ( )