Thread: Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?
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Old 09-06-2015, 06:08 AM   #22749
Rev. Bob
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I'm about a quarter of the way through Mike Shepherd's Vicky Peterwald: Target, first* in a spinoff series from his Kris Longknife books (which, in turn, are descended from his Jump Universe books... but I digress). The title character basically starts off as the closest thing to a stereotypical "space princess" I've seen in quite some time - sexy, a bit bratty, and horny, used to getting her way by using her body and bed, and rich daughter of an interstellar empire's ruler. Even she observes at a couple of points that she's not much good for anything beyond the bedroom. It's kind of like seeing a more canny Paris Hilton get drafted.

By the time the novel starts, she's been rushed through basic Navy training and forced into battle alongside her nemesis (shown in the Kris Longknife books from said nemesis's point of view), and now it's time for her to stop relying on her body and put her mind to work. It turns out that her ride home has been compromised; at least two factions are trying to stop her, and she has to find out who they are if she wants to survive.

So far, it's a good read, but the novella I mention in the footnote is very necessary as an "origin story" setup. It ties together some of Vicky's earlier appearances in Kris's books, filling in the gaps so her sudden character development makes sense. You get a few snippets of recap in this novel, but not enough.

* Unless you count the almost-novel-length introductory novella, Kris Longknife's Assassin. I do, so I think of Target as Book Two despite the "first in a new series" label. Read KLA first.
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