Kristine Smith (1)

Jani Kilian is a former military officer, now in hiding because she killed her commanding officer when he ordered her to kill a bunch of innocents; she was presumed dead in an explosion from which she was rescued by scientists who gave her augmentations that improved her strength but left her unable to feel with the reconstructed limbs and vulnerable to hallucinations and other problems if she doesn’t get regular “takedowns.” Also, she used to be the protegee of an alien ambassador who show more still thinks she’ll be useful to his plans. And that’s all backstory; her former lover finds her in hiding and brings her back to Earth to investigate the suspicious death of his wife, which is about to be used to depose him in classic palace politics style. There’s a lot of worldbuilding, though much about the alien idomeni remains to be explained. I ended up not engaged with any of the characters enough to want to continue, but those who like elaborate political sf might well differ. show less

Well written, interesting plot, protagonist well developed. Humanity has met an alien race and the start of a kind of melding of the two species has begun through a process of 'augmentation'. However some missteps have taken place and the process is not generally known by the public. Who is augmented is also not easily identifiable.
The book plays off of multiple themes of intrigue which plays well in today's atmosphere where numerous conspiracy theories are held by a significant number of show more people. Smith was somewhat prescient as she wrote/published this in 2015...well before the latest onslaught of conspiracies which have flowered in the days of covid, vaccine mandates, and the shut down of society. (Of course the Trumpian era was on the verge of exploding, so there was that.)
I did not find the story to my taste and thus have only given 3 stars...others may well think far more highly of it as it is really very well written. show less

Captain Jani Killian has been on the run for eighteen years. Trained as an expert in the ways of the alien idomeni, she committed the treasonable offense of taking sides in an idomeni civil war. Presumed dead after a transport crash, she was actually hidden and patched together by a trio of doctors using experimental technology. Now she is found by her former lover, Evan van Reuter, who is the current Interior Minister. He wants her to use her expertise to investigate the death of his show more wife.

Jani agrees to maneuver through the bureaucracy in the heart of the Interior Ministry. But the deeper she digs into the secrets surrounding Lyssa's death, the more she wonders if she is being set up to fail, and by whom? In the meantime the Exterior Ministry is hot on her trail and so is her idomeni teacher Tsecha. Jani's investigation turns into a struggle for survival as she tries to evade capture as she deals with the progressive breakdown of her patchwork body.

The characters are well-drawn and have complex, hidden motivations. The plot is definitely more character-driven than future-technology driven, but Smith includes some intriguing ideas about the importance of "smart" documents.

Code of Conduct is a surprisingly fast and action packed read, considering the fact that a good portion of the book involves chasing down paper trails and documentation. The author has created an intriguing alien culture and throws out little tidbits about their religion and social structures. Likewise, Jani's troubled past is meted out in spoonfuls through flashbacks. It's almost a tease in a way; leaving you wanting to know a lot more about the idomeni than is revealed in this first book by Smith. I like finding a universe that I want to visit again in other books, so this was a plus for me.

4 Stars show less

Jani Kilian has successfully escaped to civilian life, but the life of an experimental alien-human hybrid doesn't include the opportunity to sneak away to a nice quiet colony world lacking less-than-cutting-edge medical facilities. So she has to make the best of a bad lot and capitalize on her expertise in dealing with an alien species for whom bureaucracy and diplomacy are inextricably intertwined. It doesn't help that the alien ambassador and religious leader is insisting that she's show more supposed to inherit his place in society. And why is a crime syndicate trying to kidnap her parents?

Smith keeps the action running at all levels, from interstellar diplomacy to the complex personal life of the heroine. show less