The Truth of Valor

At the end of the last book, "Valor's Trial", Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr, disillusioned with a war that turned out to have been meaningless, left the Marine Corp for civilian life.

She is now with Craig Ryder on "The Promise", working as an independent salvage operator, trying to make the move from "Us" being the tight-knit, disciplined, family of the Corps, to "Us" being the loosely affiliated, fiercely independent, slightly anarchic group of salvage operators.

Tanya Huff does such a good a job of looking at the civilian world through the eyes of someone more at home in the military, that I began to see the civilians as the oddity.

Torin cannot help taking charge, can't walk away from a fight with those who prey on the week and show more struggles to understand the mindset of people who will not risks their lives for others in the face of imminent danger.

The danger this time comes from pirates. Normally they steal ore or salvage. This time they are killing people and have come into possession of something that could turn them into a para-military threat.

Then they take Craig and leave Torin for dead. In the hands of another writer, this would cue a Steven Seagal style blood-bath of revenge. We'd all know that the pirates were going to pay and we'd be cheering Seagal on as he brought them a world of pain.

Torin is just as deadly as Seagal but Tanya Huff takes a different route. She makes restraint Torin's biggest problem. She has the skills and experience to enable her to take on most of the people she meets and either coerce their cooperation or kill them. What she does not have is the moral authority to act. What was killing for a cause in the Corp is murder in civilian life. Torin is very aware that giving way to her rage and killing because she can would change her into someone she doesn't want to be.

The book is filled with ex-military who are trying to fit the person they became in the military to someone who can function in civilian life. We meet a solitary, cantankerous salvage operator who refuses to give in to torture, a medic so broken by his military service that he has become monstrous, a washed-out Navy officer who has gone rogue and former members of Torrin's platoon who are struggling to find purpose in civilian life and who mourn the loss of being part of something important and bigger than themselves.

I found this empathy with the ex-military to be the most engaging part of the book.

Of course there is also an action-packed plot, a huge amount of violence, clever weapons, further insight into how the different races work together and the creation of a "wild-frontier" in space that seems credible and vibrant.

This book also opens up a new story arc that starts with "An Ancient Peace" which is either Confederation #6 or Peacekeeper #1 depending on how the marketing is pitched. show less

Very interesting. Watching Torin outside the structure of the Corps is rather peculiar - her reactions are just slightly off from what those around her expect. Except when they're way off from what's expected... Her paranoia is perfectly reasonable, and apparently justified (arrgh!). I find myself eyeing bits of gray plastic with caution. I wonder what Craig thinks he meant by "we take care of our own" - I agree with Torin, they don't seem willing to actually take any action. Aside from going to look for bodies, afterward. Torin's miraculous survival is impressive, but nicely framed - memories of training to survive exactly this make it less miraculous and more reasonable. For her, at least. Though I do wonder if Big Yellow had any show more involvement in the business... Meeting Di'Takyan and Krai who are _not_ Marines is also interesting - we get to see a bit more variation within the alien races. Variation in nasty directions, admittedly, but we've seen some supremely stupid, selfish, arrogant, fill-in-the-blank idiots in the previous books and most (not all, but most) have been Human. The two alien races have been a bit one-note - heh, actually, one sex and the other food. Actually, seeing Werst and Ressk working together is interesting - two very different individuals, despite both being Krai and military. Nice ending; now I'm going to read the next book and see what Torin comes up with for her rather open-ended assignment. This is kind of a transition book - she's shedding her military life (not "has shed", but "is shedding" - she's got a lot of changes to make, internally and externally) and finding new footing. Last book was the epitome of her military life; next one is, presumably, the start of her new life. This one is in between. So it could have belonged to either series, but I'm glad it was given to the end of the military one - that worked well for me. show less

If you expected Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr's fifth adventure, The Truth of Valor, to be less exciting because she's left the marines to join sexy civilian salvage operator Craig Ryder in his business, guess again. It doesn't take many chapters for them to run afoul of pirates. Craig gets to be the one who's been kidnapped, and Torin the one to ride to the rescue -- along with a few friends from previous books.

NOTES:

Chapter 1:

a. Torin is 36.

b. We get some description of Torin's birthplace and family. Paradise was the first planet the humans received when they joined the Confederation.

c. See chapter 14 of book four, Valor's Trial, for how and when Torin learned the truth about the war between the Confederation and the Primacy.

d. Craig show more was born on Canaberra. Craig and Torin met in chapter 2 of book two, The Better Part of Valor.

e. We are introduced to the Heart of Stone, former Navy scout ship turned pirate ship, and its crew.

f. Craig is an orphan who last saw his cousin Joe six years ago. ("Fossick' is Australian, one of its meanings is 'rummage'.)

g. Tsk -- when Craig guessed Torin knew 25 ways to kill a man in chapter 14 of book 2, she said it was 26.

h. We're introduced to Pedro and his family, who are like family to Craig. According to a Spanish translator, Hombre! Empezabamos a pensar que no quisiste que los de mas te ven con nosotros = 'Man! We began to think that you did not want the MAS to see you with us'.

Chapter 2:

a. We're told how Torin's fellow Confederation escapees from book four are doing.

b. A di'Taykan's primary sexual partner is called a vantru.

c. A band called Toyboat does a power cord cover of a H'san Opera. Torin has a good opinion of their version of O'gra Morf Dennab

d. We're introduced to Vrijheid Station,the destruction of which William 'Big Bill' Ponner faked and then turned into a refuge for pirates. Don't try to stiff him of his 15 percent.

e. The Krai word for jaw muscle is amalork.

f. Torin tells Craig how many military families have received closure because of Civilian Salvage Operators.

Chapter 3:

a. BFFM = better fukking find me

b. VTA = vacuum to atmosphere

c. Sulun is a recent di'Taykan expansion planet. They have a Warden's office on Sulun Station.

d. We meet One Who Maintains Order at the Edge, a Dornagain Warden. No wonder the civilian salvage operators don't ask Wardens for help.

e. Craig brings up 'SpaceCops,' a vid show Torin loves.

f. The Krai phrase Gre ta ejough geyko roughly translates to 'sit on it and rotate'.

g. Torin jokes about magic beans. I guess human kids still hear about Jack and the beanstalk.

Chapter 4:

a. See chapter 7, book two, for when the plastic aliens deep scanned Craig and Torin's brains.

b. Torin Kerr remembers an incident involving a private Tom Weigand back when she was in basic training. We met her drill instructor, Staff Sergeant Beyhn, in book 3, The Heart of Valor. Kerr also remembers something she was told by a Captain Farmer. There's another Beyhn memory.

Chapter 5:

a. There's good news or bad news, depending upon how the reader feels about ace reporter Presit a Tur durValintrisy. See chapter 4 of book two for why Torin and Presit don't like each other.

b. Katrien fur is a minimum of 10 centimeters (3.98 inches) long. If 'a Tar' is in the name, the Katrien is male.

c. Presit's identification of Torin to two passersby is worth a chuckle.

d. Craig's crooked nose was broken six years ago.

e. See chapter 6 of book 4 for when Presit and Craig were at the battlefield where Torin supposedly died.

f. Presit quotes from Tennessee Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' which she had to read for XenoHistory class when she was at university.

Chapter 6:

a. I like Torin's opinion of the old saying about the enemy of one's enemy.

b. See book one, Valor's Choice, for why Torin knows about the Silsviss.

c. The Second Star has Sonrisa de señora Luck sobre nosotros scratched above one of its bunks. [Lady Luck smile above us]

d. The Krai colony planet of Prospect has been settled for barely 200 years.

e. We're told about what makes up most of Torin's vocabulary in any dialect.

f. The Dargonar has either has Krai pre-Confederation weapons or replicas of them.

g. See chapter 16 of book one for when Torin accepted the Silsviss' pack defeat.

h. Some recurring supporting characters arrive. Good!

Chapter 7:

a. We get Nadayki's family name and part of the crime that got him and his thytrin on the run. Nat tells Craig the rest.

b. 'Larrkin' is probably meant to be 'larrikin,' another Australian term. Craig is probably using it in the badly-behaved young man sense. (Sorry, didn't find a definition for 'skite' that seemed to fit Craig's context.)

c. The Grr brothers are ex-Marines.

d. Craig confuses Nadayki by using the old phrase 'it takes two to tango'.

e. Niln beer is watery and doesn't affect humans.

f. Torin once served with a man known as One Ball for no physical reason.

g. See chapter 3 of book 4 for how Torin killed Staff Sergeant Harnett and some of his thugs. The first two names on the list of soldiers who died come from the prison planet in book 4.

h. We learn about an unpopular Krai religious belief before Torin takes on the Grr brothers.

i. Werst gives his deduction about the Grr brothers.

Chapter 8:

a. The Vritan Kayti is a Di'Taykan bar on Vrijheid Station.

b. It's been three-and-a-half-days, at least, since Craig was captured. Torin thinks of an old Earth military saying.

c. Mashona and Ressk have known each other almost ten years.

d. Captain Cho has Craig punished.

e. Torin uses 'H'san' in place of an Earth animal in an Earth saying.

f. Big Bill's area is the old station administration area.

g. Alamber uses a di'Taykan phrase to proposition Torin.

h. See book four, several chapters, for Darlys wanting to deify Torin.

i. Torin find out what job Big Bill wants her to do. (I am amused that Big Bill uses 'free merchants' for 'pirates'.)

j. See chapter 14 of book four for the source of the scene with Presit playing on one of the screens.

k. Nadayki talks about what's rightfully his that has been denied him. Most of the rant could be present day.

Chapter 9:

a. Big Bill tells Captain Cho that Torin is the H'san's mother.

b. Yes, Torin followed a Primacy officer in the later chapters of book four.

c. Doc uses an old Earth pirate expression.

d. The old expression Nat partially quotes is probably 'loose lips sink ships'.

e. The Taykan home world has a sport called Dar peed.

f. Torin Kerr is remembering a scene from either chapter 3 or 4 of book four.

g. See book three for Torin's experience with Staff Sergeant Beyhn on Crucible.

h. We get Alamber's back story.

i. We learn what is probably the di'Taykan word for the main male genital organ.

Chapter 10:

a. H'san opera is mentioned.

b. We're told why the Navy court-martialed Lieutenant Mackenzie Cho.

c. The di' Berinango thytrins (not siblings) come from their species home world, which is not moving toward basing their society on merit instead of the number of letters in one's name as well as on their colony planets. Six-letter di'Taykan family names are solidly working class. A large percentage of di'Taykan in the Corps have six-letter surnames. Alamber's family name is di'Cikeys.

d. Laughed at Huirre's reaction to Craig's reaction to him. What did Huirre expect?

e. Jernil is the Krai word for grandmother.

f. Laughed at Torin mentally comparing Big Bill to General Morris (who appeared in books one through three).

g. Ryder uses the expression 'whole enchilada'. It doesn't get the reaction he expects.

Chapter 11:

a. Craig mentally calls the Grr brothers Thing Two and Thing One.

b. We get a bit of Doc's back story. Torin remembers what she thought about him when she saw him in chapter three.

c. Torin thinks about the difference between killing and murdering.

Chapter 12:

a. Cho thinks of an old Earth saying.

b. Both of Torin's brothers have used hartwood toiletry scent at one time or another.

c. We learn a bit about Krisk's back story.

d. Two of the other pirate ships at Vrijheid Station are Coat of Brown and Thegris Tay.

e. Torin's comment about Werst and herself being inside during the firefight this time refers to chapter 17 of book two.

f. The Grr brothers' real names were ex-Private Reerir, ex-Private Tirrik. Doc was Lieutenant Commander Doctor Christopher Stevens.

I spent a lot of this book being very, very worried. After all, recurring characters don't always survive in this series. Some of the last chapters were particularly nerve-wracking. The ending was very satisfying, despite the moment that would have been a cue for ominous music if this weren't a print adventure. It looks as if Torin and friends have a new career!

By the way, I enjoyed the little skulls and crossbones used instead of asterisks for scene changes within chapters. show less

Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr has mustered out of the Marines and is becoming a salvage operator along with her boyfriend Craig Ryder. They have met both the families and Torin is making big adjustments. When a couple of Craig's fellow salvage operators are discovered spaced with their cargoes missing, Torin is surprised to hear that pirates are making a resurgence. The pirates have stolen an armory and need a salvage operator's codes to get in.

The pirates attack Craig and Torin's ship, kidnap Craig and leave Torin for dead. But Craig knows that, if Torin survives, she will be coming for him and leaves him determined to survive himself until she shows up. After trying to get help from Craig's family with no success, she calls in some old show more friends who are also former Marines to help her rescue him.

This story was an exciting adventure. I liked that it was told from multiple viewpoints and that the world includes a variety of different alien species. References to the sentient plastic who had manipulated the various Elder and Younger Races into a war made me want to go back and read earlier books in the series again.

I like Torin's character. She is one kick-ass heroine with an iron-clad sense of justice. show less

Right so in the last book we learned that plastic aliens are behind everything, and I mean everything. There is no real war in a sense, just a bunch of plastic aliens watching and monitoring. So no wonder that Torin quits her job and becomes a civilian.

Most of this is a space book or a space station book, and I must confess that I do prefer when she is on land to to say. More things seem to happen then, like a prison planet and the escape from it. Anyway Torin and Craig is a team, salvaging stuff in space. But like she can keep away from trouble, as if. She seeks trouble and enemies like it's her destiny in life, but then she is a soldier.

Pirates are attaching salvaging operators. And soon they will be in the middle of it. She can take show more down anything and everything. The hunt for wicked pirates begin.

And the end, ha, yes, I guess we will see more of...that. I can't spoil it.

The war is not over and what will she do next? I do wonder how this series will end. show less

The war between the Confederation and the Primacy is winding down. Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr has resigned from the Marines and joined her lover in his independent salvage operation. She is surprised and unpleased to learn that pirates having been attacking salvage operators and stealing their cargoes--and the officials are doing nothing to stop it. When robbery turns to murder and the threat strikes close to home, she sets out to correct the situation.

Personal preference: One of the things I most like about military stories (SF or otherwise) is the military itself, from naval armada to infantry squad. This not being a military novel in that sense--since Torin is retired--that aspect is missing. To my taste, the book suffers for it.

So fantastic! Former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr is probably THE most badass of women - think Sigourney Weaver's Ripley times Katee Sackoff's Starbuck...that might come close...

Torin and her lover Craig are settling into life as commercial salvage operators when Craig is kidnapped by space pirates whose biggest mistake was in not confirming that Torin was *completely* dead. Look for appearances from a few of Torin's former marine buddies, and a whole lot of action and intrigue.

So very, very awesome!

Recommended!!