This is a science fiction war story. It follows four main characters - two from each side of the war - as it unfolds. Major Ray Longknife and his wife Senior Pilot Rita Nuu Longknife are on the Unity side of the conflict. Asteroid Miner turned drafted Marine Mary Rodrigo and freighter owner turned drafted captain of a warshop Mattim Abeeb fight for the Society of Humanity.

The story is filled with space battles and political intrigue. Each of them comes to learn that the wars they are fighting are designed for profiting some wealthy special interest groups on both sides of the conflict.

I liked the action and adventure and liked getting to know the four main characters. I found the worldbuilding to be interesting. I liked the idea of gates that travel great distances quickly and that are still not understood. I liked that Captain Abeeb and his crew discover a whole new star system when they accidentally enter a jump incorrectly. I liked the way they found their way home and the way the powers that be wanted to hide Abeeb's crew's discovery.

I liked the romance between Ray and Rita and the way they were willing to do the hard thing as long as it was the right thing.

This is the first book in a six-book series, so I wasn't surprised that things were left unresolved. I'm eager to read more in the series to follow their adventures and lives. ( )

It's not bad, but really confusing. I had a hard time keeping track of which of the many many characters were on which side (not helped by my confusion over the fact that Earth was converting merchantmen while the "colonists" had a standing Navy (not large, but more solid than Earth's, apparently)). And of course there were more than two sides... Some of the scenes looked rather familiar, after reading all the Kris Longknife books. And some of the shocks weren't so shocking, since I know what will become of the characters a good many years later. I like Matt and Mary quite a bit; I _dislike_ Ray Longknife quite a bit. Rita is rather a cipher (well, we never get her as a viewpoint character - only from Ray's viewpoint). There are also several word errors that threw me right out of the story - when a military superior accuses a man of "cowardism", it's...it makes me wonder if that's a special word. But I think it's just an error, along with several others of the same sort. Not bad, I'm not sorry I read it, but I doubt I'll bother to reread. ( )

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer   Synopsis: A sequel series to Mike Shepherd's [aka Mike Moscoe, or vice versa] Kris Longknife series. Takes place during her Grandpa Troubles time and before humanity encounters the aliens. This is the battle between the inner planets and the diaspora.   My Thoughts: This was pretty much like the Kris Longknife series, just without all the whining. However, the sexual side of things was a bit more blatant.   On the positive side, the action was a bit more, the self-indulgent rants didn't exist and there were no references to non-existent boobs or hips. Lord, that last one alone made this one book better than the whole KL series.   Looking forward to the rest of the books in this trilogy. ps, Leafmarks didn't have this book in their system, period. I tried title, author, isbn and asin. So I'm done with them for a couple of months or a year, if they survive that long.

ETA 7.25.14
Now in the system AND I'm a librarian.   Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Author: Mike Moscoe " ( )

Just reread this after enjoying 11 or so Kris Longknife books. Not a bad start to the universe. ( )