Law of Survival

I love this series. Kristine Smith draws an amazing world and realistic characters. A joy to read and escape into.

Kris Smith has created a protagonist to treasure in Jani Killian. Kick-[bottom], cranky, smart and rapidly becoming more than human, Jani is not your typical sci-fi sweetie. The alien race is excellently written. The author doesn't assume her readers want to be spoon-fed the story, so it has weight and depth, which is most appreciated by many of us sci-fi fans. So, start with the first in the series, Code of Conduct,go directly to the second, Rules of Conflict, then come tothis one and savor some of the best of recent science fiction.

Kristine Smith seems very comfortable with her protagonist, her antagonists and her aliens. This comfort shows in the most straigtt-forward and most upbeat book of the series to date.

Smith's stories remind me of C. J. Cherryh, taut text fraught with tension and rapid discovery of characters and events that scream along the plot line in often unexpected directions. These are involving characters depicted with "real" dialog. The fascinating mix of medicine and aliens, the mingling of the cultures provides intersting explorations and depth of universe to adventure in. Good, intelligent read you won't want to put down. I liked the whole series for much the same reasons.

I have read all three of Kristine's books now and I have to say I was not disappointed by this one. In fact as soon as I had finished this one I had to go back and reread the first two. There was so much in this book that fleshed out details from the previous. Please don't get me wrong, Law of Survival stands on its own as a good book, and it is not really necessary to have read Code of Conduct or Rules of Conflict, but it will certainly increase your enjoyment. Jani is a civilian now and satisfied with her life. She still faces problems as she tries to walk a tightrope balancing the expectations of a distrustful government and the idomeni who think they have finally begun to understand the strange humanish.Read the book and enjoy it.