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4 out of 5 stars
By
Mariya
on
03-17-11
How many of them can we make die?
Courtesy of Lost Art Audiobook Review
Defiant starts out like Down Periscope. The Navy promotes Kris to command an experimental ship full of misfits no one else wants. Things change when Kris is arrested. Mike Shepherd describes the arrest with so much feeling and emphasis, I expected the trial to be a focal point. This changes when Kris is sent on a diplomatic mission to a planet Hikila (planet Hawaii), which turns into a hostage/terrorist situation. Sadly, very little of the book is spent on Kris’s rehabilitation from the arrest. About 8 hours into the book, Kris returns from Hikila and maybe five minutes of the audiobook are dedicated to a summary recounting of how while she was away a few people from Olympia talked to the media and charges were dropped. I would have loved to hear this part in detail. Instead, we have Tom and Penny’s wedding leading right into the major conflict of the book: the invasion. Disjointedness aside, the invasion was great. Mike Shepherd uses that third-person narration to present us with the enemy sans-Kris, making him more realistic and the conflict more suspenseful. Around 5 hours to the end of the book, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach you get when you are a few hours away from giving a big speech. About 4 hours to the end of the book, I could not stop listening. I stay up until 2 a.m., on a Tuesday night, to finish.
On Narration:
While I liked Dina Pearlman’s reading of the first two books, I had issues this one. Her reading after they land on Hikila slows down and becomes over-emphasized which makes it sound insincere. That aside, what really killed it for me was her reading of “the March of Cambreadth.” Mike Shepherd dedicates about 2 hours integrating that song to the fight. He quotes all the lyrics, and gives it a fake history. Kris and her crew screaming along to it. They even shoot on the song’s command! And Dina Pearlman reads the lyrics with the cadence you use when playing “patty cake” with a toddler.
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8 of 8 people found this review helpful
3 out of 5 stars
By
Jean
on
12-10-14
A page turner
This is book three in the Longknife series. In this episode Kris faces the imminent threat to her planet. Kris is accused of stealing fund that were to go to farmers, while on leave awaiting a hearing her great grandfather King Al sends her to see an old friend of his dying on a different plant. She returns to Wardhaven as an invasion is pending. She skirts the law and organizes a flotilla to defend Wardhaven against a force of hostile warships.
In this book we see Kris develop her command skills as she takes command of a large force of her own. The humorous prose adds delight to a fast pace, action packed suspenseful story. On the negative side I am getting tired of Shepherd’s constantly repeating the phrase “one of those Longknife’s.” I am beginning to enjoy “Nelly” Kris’s computer. I find Nelly’s development fascinating. Dina Pearlman narrated the story.
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3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful
5 out of 5 stars
By
Michael
on
06-12-10
Another good adventure
I had read all of the Kris Longknife books previously (as e-books and paperbacks incidentally) and was re-reading the series as another appeared so thought I would try one as an audio book. It was a wise decision for I think I enjoyed this more than either paperback or e-book. There is sometimes tendency to 'speed read' certain parts of a particular book: you cant really do that with an audio book so, somehow, this seemed more interesting. I would recommend the story to anyone interested in space opera. It is well written, good characters, and interesting situations. It has made me want to listen to the other books in the series and to move to my other favourite space opera series, that of Honor Harrington.
So, finally, a good story read well - the female voice is a nice change for science fiction and soothing as well as interesting. If you have a mobile device (I have and iPAQ) you can even listen in the bath.
Highly recommended
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By
Amazon Customer
on
11-17-17
two wonderful adventures for the price of 1
loved the two connected stories in this one and that Abby got some time in this book. thought there would be more on the chip...
the book was also wonderful portrayal of courage and fighting for freedom and the teribble price we sometimes have to pay 4 it all. what a tear jerker.
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