Some great, some good and a so-so

VALOR'S CHOICE: TANYA HUFF

Book Description
In the distant future, humans and several other races have been granted membership in the Confederation--at a price. They must act as soldier/protectors of the far more civilized races who have long since turned away from war.

What a great character Huff has given us in Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr. I loved this book and congratulated myself on bringing home all four in the series so I could continue the adventure. Great story, great characters, fantastic dialogue and writing. I haven't had as much fun with a science fiction military series ranking this one above Weber's Honor Harrington series for pace and enjoyability.

THE BETTER PART OF VALOR

From Library Journal
When Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr makes the mistake of speaking her mind to a superior officer, she finds herself tagged for a special mission for the interplanetary Confederation to act as protector to a scientific exploratory team assigned to investigate an enormous derelict spaceship. Along with her crew and her charges, Kerr soon finds herself in the midst of danger and faced with a mystery that takes all her courage and ingenuity to solve. This sequel to Valor's Choice, featuring a gutsy, fast-thinking female space-marine protagonist, establishes veteran fantasy author Huff as an accomplished spinner of high-tech military-sf adventure

Torin's adventures continue at the same fast pace in a worth sequel. I love this Confederation world Huff has devised with it's different 'old' and 'new' races all well thought out and described. I just know I am going to be a little sad when I get to the end of the series but I am certainly enjoying it page by page.

NAAMAH'S KISS : JACQUELINE CAREY

Product Description
Once there were great magicians born to the Maghuin Dhonn; the folk of the Brown Bear, the oldest tribe in Alba. But generations ago, the greatest of them all broke a sacred oath sworn in the name of all his people. Now, only small gifts remain to them. Through her lineage, Moirin possesses such gifts - the ability to summon the twilight and conceal herself, and the skill to coax plants to grow.
Moirin has a secret, too. From childhood onward, she senses the presence of unfamiliar gods in her life; the bright lady, and the man with a seedling cupped in his palm. Raised in the wilderness by her reclusive mother, it isn't until she comes of age that Moirin learns how illustrious, if mixed, her heritage is. The great granddaughter of Alais the Wise, child of the Maghuin Donn, and a cousin of the Cruarch of Alba, Moirin learns her father was a D'Angeline priest dedicated to serving Naamah, goddess of desire.

Unless I have nothing else to read I don't think I will bother with this series. It was OK but I am getting tired of the same old same old sex bits, that don't really add anything to the story as far as I'm concerned.

SANTA OLIVIA: JACQUELINE CAREY

Publishers Weekly
Departing from epic fantasy (Kushiel's Dart, etc.), Carey sets this powerful near-future tale in Outpost 12, a small town trapped in a "buffer zone" shielding Texas from pandemic-stricken Mexico. Two half-siblings chafing under General Argyle's military rule make very different plans to beat the status quo. Tom, the son of a soldier, lives at the gym, where he trains in boxing and hopes to win his freedom from the town by defeating the general's boxing champion. Loup, who has inherited her escaped father's oddly engineered genes, joins a group of church wards called the Santitos, a tight gang of vigilantes who masquerade as the local saint, Santa Olivia. Carey's fans will enjoy meeting another strong, fearless heroine with special powers, while new readers will appreciate the tight focus that intensifies the depth of character and emotion.

I found it a quick read. Not A totally original storyline but decent enough plot and characters. I must be getting old because I find myself flipping past the sex scenes and will admit to finding same sex sex becoming just a trademark piece for the author....Oh gee, lets spice it up a notch.

THE BLOOD PIT: KATE ELLIS

Product Description
Never has DI Wesley Peterson witnessed such a bizarre crime scene. The victim, Charles Marrick, has been murdered, his body drained of blood. Described by those who knew him as 'evil', it seems that Wesley isn't going to have any shortage of suspects until a popular local vet is murdered in an identical fashion...and a third body is discovered many miles away. And when Wesley's archaeologist friend, Neil Watson, starts getting disturbing anonymous letters written in gory detail about macabre events at a medieval abbey which Neil fears are being sent by the killer Wesley is looking for Wesley wonders whether there could be a connection between all these deaths and Neil's letters.

Out of published order so some of the personal storyline for Peterson was a surprise but not a hindrance to the plot. I will read all the books I can locate at the library but won't worry about any missed.

5 books