Volume 1 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Mutineer (2004)Kris Longknife is a daughter of privilege, born to money and power. Her father is the Prime Minister of her home planet. Her mother the consummate politician's wife. She's been raised only to be beautiful and marry well. But the heritage of the military Longknifes courses through Kris's blood-and, against her parents' objections, she enlists in the marines.
Reviews of Mutineer:
The books are military structure, strategy, and battles blended with alien races and technology, long-standing family feuds, and hostile takeovers of corporations and planets. So..
http://readingandwritingcafe.com/review-kris-longknife-series-by-mike-shepherd/
I liked this novel, don’t get me wrong. However, there are many elements that the reader should just read and not spend another moment thinking about. This novel (and the charac..
https://aqsreviews.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/kris-longknife-mutineer/
Volume 2 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Deserter (2004)Kris Longknife had no choice about growing up rich and pampered. When she did have a choice, she joined the Marines. But now, a friend needs help halfway across the galaxy and with a military heritage coursing through her blood, it's time for Kris Longknife to be a hero. BUCKLE UP. SHE'S BACK. When Kris Longknife's best friend vanishes, she boards the next ship to Turantic, the last place he was seen alive. But there's more to the rescue than meets the eye. Turantic is not only the moss twisted hellhole in the galaxy, but it's also under quarantine because of a deadly plague. And after a sudden, suspicious loss of communication with the outside world, Kris realizes the length some enemies will go to for a life threatening bait and trap. But she is willing to go even further and deeper into Turantic's secrets to survive...
Reviews of Deserter:
It's a series which, to read and enjoy, you need to turn off certain analytical parts of your brain, and take a very large grain of salt, and if you're willing to do that, you ca..
http://ianwoodnovellum.blogspot.com/2016/02/kris-longknife-deserter-by-mike.html
Really entertaining, fast action, mystery and a lot of sass. If you like military scifi with more than testosterone this is a good read...
http://www.cybermage.se/deserter-by-mike-shepherd-kris-longknife-2/
New characters join familiar ones from the previous books. I found the new characters to be even more interesting and certainly Kris is developing quite a support system. It will..
https://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/deserter-by-mike-shepherd/
Volume 3 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Defiant (2005)Born into a family of wealth and political power. Kris Longknife turned her back on high society and followed a different family tradition by joining the Marines. But now she finds herself relieved of duty. She's gotten in the wag of someone's agenda to bring down her father, the Prime Minister of Wardhaven. Now, with the fleet off on a propaganda mission. Wardhaven is left vulnerable to enemy warships that establish orbit around the planet demanding surrender. With the remnants of the fleet ordered to stand down. Kris declares herself Commander in Chief and plans a desperate gambit to defend her world. Commandeering every spaceworthy vessel she can get her hands on and recruiting every able bodied person willing to risk their life. Kris leads the most important mission of her career and it may be her last...
Reviews of Defiant:
That said, this was an entertaining romp if you check you brain at the cover and don't put it back on until the last page is done. On that basis and that one alone, I recommend t..
https://ianwoodnovellum.blogspot.com/2016/02/kris-longknife-defiant-by-mike-shephard.html
One very good Longknife book...
http://www.cybermage.se/defiant-by-mike-shepherd-kris-longknife-3/
Volume 4 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Resolute (2006)Kris Longknife has been given her first independent command in the very remote system of Chance, an assignment that's as much exile as promotion.But Kris isn't on the job long when she captures pirates hiding the location of an uncharted and unpopulated planet of miraculous technology.
Reviews of Resolute:
The bits with Kris are pretty decent, as she struggles under the load of remembering what the casualties were like last time she had to do this, but she could really use some sma..
https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2016/09/Resolute__Mike_Shepherd.html
It took a while for this story to really engage me, but once it did, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable space opera with some interesting and non-standard characters, a bit of lea..
http://myshelf.com/scifi_fantasy/06/resolute.htm
Volume 5 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Audacious (2007)
You can't keep a good woman down Kris Longknife returns. Once again Kris finds herself caught in the crosshairs of unknown enemies who want her dead. Factions, both legitimate and underground, vie for control of the planet New Eden. And someone is taking advantage of the chaos to unleash a personal vendetta against Kris.
Reviews of Audacious:
A smart blend of science fiction and spy novel, it is easy to understand why there are four books preceding this one and easier to guess there will be more to come. The witty dia..
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=19706
There is plenty of action and tension as this is a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for science fiction fans...
http://genregoroundreviews.blogspot.com/2007/09/kris-long-knife-audacious-mike-shepherd.html
Because I didn’t read any of the previous books, I had no idea of Kris’s past struggles and because of this, she seemed a bit too perfect. There were hints and references to prio..
http://www.ancestralstars.com/wp/sff-books/kris-longknife-audacious-by-mike-shepherd/
Audacious goes back to the wonderful military feel of the original Mutineer. I know not whether Mike Shepherd is politically conservative or liberal, but Audacious can be read as..
http://literaryurbanfantasyreview.blogspot.com/2011/03/audacious-kris-longknife-series-book-5.html
Kris Longknife has been assigned to The Wasp, the best warship beyond the Rim of Human Space. But while hunting for pirates, Kris stumbles upon something. It's a plan to kill one of the members of the aristocratic Peterwald family and the would be killers are setting her up as the assassin.
Review of Intrepid:
An action packed saga highly reminiscent of some of Elizabeth Moon's best work, the Longknife series is an incredible chronicle. Mr. Shepherd has created a highly complex charact..
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=22974
Am I reading too much into things? Perhaps. What counts, though, is that Intrepid is a fun addition to the series, and I'll be looking forward to the next one...
https://www.sfsite.com/04b/kl294.htm
She will remind readers of David Weber’s Honor Harrington with her strength and intelligence. Mike Shepherd provides an exciting military science fiction th..
http://genregoroundreviews.blogspot.com/2008/09/kris-longknife-intrepid-mike-shepherd.html?m=0
This may be my favorite thus far. Any hint of the tentative beginning of the series is gone. The characters are well fleshed out and the plot is interesting. Shepherd has also ma..
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2011/10/22/kris-longknife-intrepid-kris-longknife-vi-mike-shepherd/
Volume 7 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Undaunted (2009)
Kris Longknife encounters some peaceful aliens who have come to warn humanity of an unidentifiable force that is roaming the galaxy, obliterating everything in its path a path now leading directly toward the human worlds.
Review of Undaunted:
Mr. Shepherd has injected the same humor into this book as he did in the rest of the series. Kris may be a princess but she answers to so many poeple. She has the computer, Nelly..
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=25079
Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife has precise orders: seek out, engage, and destroy pirates, slavers, and drug lords operating beyond the rim of human space without interfering in Peterwald family affairs. But when slavers kidnap a twelve year old girl, Kris's mission becomes personal. And if destroying the pirate compound flattens some Peterwald interests well, to hell with politics.
Reviews of Redoubtable:
Kris Longknife is an über-competent, unstoppable, always-impressive legend in the making, and it's easy for readers to buy into her legend just like the characters do. This may n..
https://www.sfsite.com/01b/rd336.htm
This eighth in the Kris Longknife series does not disappoint. Kris Longknife is a hero to the core, with plenty of juice left for future installments...
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=27874
I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of the Iteeche, the alien race humans fought decades ago in a crippling war, as I really wanted to know what was going on there!..
http://www.afantasticallibrarian.com/2011/05/mike-shepherd-redoubtable.html
I enjoyed it immensely but this is the second novel Mike teases an alien threat. Mike, no more suspense and procrastinating in sideshows please. Tell me Kris will take a look at ..
http://www.cybermage.se/redoubtable-kris-longknife-8-by-mike-shepherd-book-review/
Volume 9 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Daring (2011)
Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife leads a reconnaissance mission of the vast uncharted regions of space. No one, least of all Kris, expects to find a hostile alien starship. Now, she must determine the extent of the alien threat and whether to start an interstellar war...
Review of Daring:
Daring is a great addition to the Kris Longknife series. Yes, it follows roughly the same setup in its narrative as the previous books: we start in the middle of an action scene ..
http://www.afantasticallibrarian.com/2011/12/mike-shepherd-daring.html
Having used unorthodox methods to save a world and every sentient being on it Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife is wanted across the galaxy for crimes against humanity. For her own safety, she’s been assigned to a backwater planet where her Fast Patrol Squadron 127 enforces immigration control and smuggler interdiction. But Kris is a Longknife, and nothing can stop her from getting back to the center of things not when all hell is breaking loose. Now she’s on the run, hunted by both military and civilian authorities and since the civilian authorities happen to be her immediate family, Kris soon finds herself homeless, broke, and on trial for her life on an alien world…
Review of Furious:
Fabulously written and frenetically paced, the Kris Longknife series is one of the best in science fiction. Each book is complete but ends with a major cliff hanger making it har..
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=35139
Lots of humor, but, if you’re familiar with the series, you’ve heard most of it before. Plenty of excitement and suspense. Likable characters, particularly Princess Kristine and ..
https://havebookswillreview.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/a-review-of-kris-longknife-furious-kris-longknife-10-by-mike-shepherd/
I found the story itself to be very disjointed. The whole caper was absurd, though it had its moments of fun. Things picked up considerably in th ..
https://www.books.rosboch.net/2013/10/04/kris-longknife-furious-kris-longknife-x-mike-shepherd/
And what's with the subtitle? Furious? There is no fury here at all. Kris kicks a wall at one time but otherwise there's plodding and endless fantasizing about jack which never g..
http://ianwoodnovellum.blogspot.com/2016/09/kris-longknife-furious-by-mike-shepherd.html
Volume 11 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Defender (2013)
Kris Longknife is back in the good graces of the brass and to demonstrate that, they've promoted her to Admiral. Now her mission is to find the home base of the space pirates who are plaguing the fringes of the galaxy. But no mission is ever simple when your name is Longknife. And this time the complications range from the military to the personal, as Kris finds herself reluctantly having to make some command decisions about her future...
Reviews of Defender:
The plot progresses in several interesting directions, as Kris meets aliens, fights other aliens, tries to find out more about alie..
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/books/pages/s/MikeShepherd.htm#12865
There’s no rest for a Longknife even if you’re a newlywed. Vice Admiral Kris Longknife’s honeymoon gets cancelled when she hears that the space raider’s home world may have been discovered. Finding where the raiders came from could be the key to saving humanity. If only uncovering their secrets was that easy… As Kris returns home, she ends up tangling with a mutinous crew determined to take off on their own. The dissident group leads Kris straight into a new mess a system filled with strange, deadly enemies poised to wipe another sentient civilization out of existence. Kris and her squadron are ready to prevent total annihilation, but the mutineers have other plans…
Volume 13 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Unrelenting (2015)
The aliens attacking the planetary system of Alwa are an enemy unlike any Admiral Kris Longknife has ever encountered before. She doesn’t know who they are, only that they worship a being known as the Enlightened One and are unafraid to sacrifice themselves against her fleet. But Kris faces more than just the fanatical behavior of an alien armada. A saboteur has infiltrated the military’s medical facility and unleashed an epidemic that has spread throughout the fleet without warning. Seventy two career military women are down with something not even the aliens could do to them including Admiral Kris Longknife…
Review of Unrelenting:
There is an initial big battle, a bunch of pregnancies, and the final humongous battle. T..
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/books/pages/s/MikeShepherd.htm#13843
Despite her role as a fleet Admiral and protector of a planetary system, Kris is still beholden to her great grandfather King Raymond’s commands. She has been personally selected for a mission that, should she succeed, will save millions of lives. The Peterwald Empire is in the midst of civil war. On one side is the tyrannical Empress, on the other is the last person Kris ever wants to see again Grand Duchess Vicky Peterwald. Due to their shared history, the Emperor believes Kris can mediate between the factions and bring about peace. But before Kris even begins her mission, she survives two assassination attempts on her family home world. Someone doesn’t want her interfering in the Empire’s affairs. Kris immediately suspects Vicky or the Empress, only to learn that it could also be a traitor among her own people...
Review of Bold:
Everything ends rather too easily, as the baddies are too stupid for their own good...
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/books/pages/s/MikeShepherd.htm#13843
Volume 15 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Emissary (2017)
Kris Longknife has discovered that this desk job is not at all what she expected. Being desk bound hasn't even decreased the number of assassination attempts! Then Kris gets home to find her two kids playing with an Iteeche. Ron has come back to human space with a request. Should Kris take it? Can she finally get some straight answers for her Grampa Ray, King Raymond to most? Does she risk taking the kids into a situation with a whole lot of unanswered questions? Oh, and what can go wrong? Kris know something will go wrong. Something always goes wrong.
Review of Emissary:
Despite the plot being quite linear, this is very readable. We’ll have to wait for the next instalment to see how the job pans out...
http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/books/pages/s/MikeShepherd.htm#13843
Volume 16 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): Admiral (2017)Admiral Kris Longknife should have known the job offer was too good. Really, she knew by now that what was too good to be true really, really isn't. Still, she jumped at the chance to be the first human emissary to the Iteeche Empire. Only when she got there, and met the Emperor, a teenage kid swamped by his throne, did Kris find out that there was a little civil war going on in the Iteeche Empire. The loyal forces were losing, and they needed the best fighting admiral they could get. So they got Kris Longknife. Now Kris is sweating out collecting a fighting force that won't make her their first target. Now she's trying to figure out how to fight ships identical to hers, that outnumber her four to one or worse. Oh, and she's got to keep the merchant princes in her embassy from making a mess of everything. A whole lot of people are hoping this Longknife can pull a grizzly bear out of her hat. A whole lot of other Iteeche are hoping the bear takes off her arm.
Review of Admiral
I give this book 8 out of 10. I liked learning some more about the Iteeche culture and the various problems Longknife encountered because of Iteeche beliefs and ta..
http://thegamecalledrevolution.blogspot.com/2018/02/james-review-kris-longknife-admiral.html
Volume 17 Book Kris Longknife Series (Mike Shepherd): CommandingGrand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife is up to her ears in problems . . . again. While summoned to the Imperial Iteeche Court to be humanity’s Emissary, it turns out that what the Iteeche really want is a fighting admiral! You see, they’ve got this huge civil war going, and the Imperial side isn’t doing so well. Kris now has command of the entire Imperial Combined Fleet. Sort of. The Iteeche Empire has a ten thousand year long history. There is nothing that won’t say, “We’ve always done it that way,” pointing to a track record lasting for thousands of years. Even when Kris reminds them they’re losing, many have a hard time changing. Many Iteeche also wonder if letting a human win this war for them isn’t losing everything already. Kris managed to win a defensive battle with a scratch force. Now she’s thrown together a larger force and is ready to take the fight to the rebels.
Review of Commanding:
I greatly enjoyed the deeper look into Iteeche culture and how it affected, aka hindered, their military as well as a peek into the mindset of some of the rebels. ....
http://thegamecalledrevolution.blogspot.com/2018/09/james-review-kris-longknife-commanding.htmlFirst pages / excerpts and first chapters of The Shadow Reader / The Shadow Reader Series (Sandy Williams):
