The Heart of Valor

Tanya Huff

Book 3 in the Valor sequence

Torin Kerr is now one of the most famous marines around. Having singlehandedly brought the Silsviss into the Confederation, and escaped an organic plastic alien being, everybody has heard about her. She has also been promoted to Gunnery Sergeant, and is immediately tasked with a personal security posting. An old friend asked for her to accompany him as he joins a class of cadets through their final training tests. He is going solely as an observer to test out some new organic plastic prosthetics that have been used in an arm he just regrew. (See the foreshadowing - organic plastic prosthetic). Again, all new characters, and again, everything goes wrong. It is up to Kerr to impose her Gunnery Sergeant will upon the universe to keep her people alive. 

4 stars (out of 4)

The Better Part of Valor

Tanya Huff

Book 2 in the Valor sequence

Torin Kerr is tasked by the general that she nearly killed at the end of the last book, to lead a recon mission to investigate an unknown alien spaceship. This ship was accidentally found by a salvage operator and, upon viewing, becomes affectionately known as The Big Yellow. Once on board, there are no life signs, but the ship itself seems to be throwing up road blocks. In fact, Kerr's recon team is fighting a deck by deck battle to get to an escape hatch just to get off the ship. 

This book feels entirely episodic - unrelated to the prior other than the world that was created. Otherwise, only Kerr is a consistent character and we are introduced to an entire new cast otherwise. Quite fun. 

4 stars (out of 4)

Valor's Choice

Tanya Huff

Another series in the Space Opera/Military Sci-Fi genre that I discovered from the Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers anthology. Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr is the protagonist for this 5 book series. The world that Huff has created is a Galactic Confederation consisting of many species, most of whom refuse to fight. So the Confederation has allowed Humans, Krai and di'Taykan species into the Confederation since they are historically violent, with a condition that they fight any wars. So Kerr is in this Confederate Marine Corps, fighting against "the Others". For the first book, Kerr is assigned with her unit to be a ceremonial protective detail supporting the negotiations with a new species (a fourth battle species - the Silsviss) to enter the Confederation. Turns out, not all is as it seems and Kerr gets to show how good she is at her job. 

4 stars (out of 4)

The Lost Fleet: Victorious

Jack Campbell

In this series ending volume, Geary has returned The Lost Fleet home, navigates the political landscape of popularity and power that comes with it, and convinces the politicians to send him back out immediately to "end the war". Along the way, he (of course) does that and then engages the alien threat in a way that settles the issue while allowing for a whole new series (good job Campbell). I appreciate that this is not just an epilogue for the series, but really a full fledged story in and of itself, while still bringing closure to a set of characters and a world that have developed quite nicely. If you are into military Sci-Fi and Space Opera, highly recommend the series.

4 stars (out of 4)

Genesis Fleet: Triumphant

Jack Campbell

Volume 3 of The Genesis Fleet - Geary extends his legend as a space jockey who can win naval battles, and uses his legend to convince others (or more likely make others believe that they have had the good ideas) to pursue pirates and rogue states in order to make a safe area for living and for commerce. It is the beginning of the Alliance and a nice touch is an epilogue jump to the Jack Geary of The Lost Fleet reflecting on the connections between the Genesis Fleet characters and his own contemporaries. In all, an excellent prequel sequence that stands on its own.

4 stars (out of 4)

Genesis Fleet: Ascendant

Jack Campbell

Volume 2 of The Genesis Fleet - Geary is pulled back into space battle and makes a few decisions that save a neighboring star system (Kosatka) from the aggressors. This is also the introduction to the "ground battle" on Kosatka and the feeling here is very much like the world building that happens in the Red Mars trilogy. Lots of politics and thinking about what it means to set up a brand new society. Of course, this telling is centered on the military conflict, with the culture building just an strong undercurrent. 

4 stars (out of 4)

Genesis Fleet: Vanguard

Jack Campbell

While waiting for the last volume of The Lost Fleet to show up at at my library, I started the Genesis trilogy. Here we are treated to a story of the beginning of the Alliance as settlers move away from Earth and out the arms of the galaxy. Campbell does a great job sprinkling little easter eggs of people names (the ancestors) and places from Lost Fleet and providing a context for Geary's mindset in that series. Vanguard follows Rob Geary as he settles on the new planet Glenlyon, and gets drawn into protection of the fledgling planet colony from nearby pirate systems. Same stuff I love about The Lost Fleet I love about this. Quality storytelling and a well developed world and characters.

4 stars (out of 4)

Record of a Spaceborn Few

Becky Chambers

Book 3 of the Wayfarers series

Set in the same world as the ...small angry planet, this story takes place right at the end of that timeline, but in a different part of space. We are set in the Exodan Fleet, which is the group of homestead ships that left Earth generations ago when the Earth was final abandoned as a destroyed ecosystem. There isn't a single protagonist, and the 6 stories that Chambers bounces us between really aren't intertwined. At about half-way through, I nearly gave up,  not finding "excitement" in the story. But stick with it my friend. It helps to realize that this is not a traditional space opera. Instead, it is an anthropological telling of what it means to be an Exodan, a people who has lived for generations without a home. As I wrote that, I probably now need to re-read this with an eye to how it might mirror the biblical exodus story???  What I did appreciate is the reflection on imperialism, colonialism and violence. There is a really good sequence discussing identity and value for both the colonizer and the colonized and the role that violence plays for both individuals and cultures. Once again, Chambers has shown us outstanding science fiction that asks us to think about who we are and why we are. 

4 stars (out of 4)