Valor's Choice (Confederation, #1) by Tanya Huff

Valor's Choice (Confederation, #1) Reviews

• 
  Gail Carriger

  Military Space Opera written by a woman who really knows what she's writing about. Marvelous characters and alien races, extremely snappy dialogue, an endearing and tough heroine, and lots of fast action. Torin Kerr is one of my favorite main characters ever written, and I am a particular fan of this book (the first in the series) because it opens with a post sex pheromone hangover and ends with a battle based one of the early moments in the Zulu War (late 1870s).
  
  Please, don't make the mistake of comparing Tanya Huff's different series to one another. She completely changes her author voice depending on the genre. A truly remarkable ability in an author.
  
  The tone of Valor is entirely different from that of her UF stuff (Blood and Keeper) and both in turn different from her fantasies (Quarter). SO if you have read Tanya before and not liked her, I suggest giving Valor's Choice a try.
• 
  Mimi

  Initial impression upon first finishing the book: 
  A rollicking good read, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would considering this is military sci-fi that's light on the sci-fi and heavy on the military.
  
  After a quick reread:
  My initial impression still stands. This was a surprisingly enjoyable read, although that will never not be weird to say about military fiction (even in genre). Another point in this book's favor is it's the beginning of a new series that looks like it could be really good, if the first book is any indication, and I'm looking forward to diving in further.
  
  Tanya Huff is a new author for me, one I've been meaning to read for years now, just never had the chance. She's favorite among my circle of friends, and now that I've read one of her books, I can see why.
  
  Her prose is exacting, to the point, and she doesn't waste space summing up things for you nor does she dwell too long on sentimentality. She strikes a balance between the physicality of war and the emotional toll it takes on troops on the ground, and between the personal and the political. I think it's just right for this kind of story where the balance of deftness and a delicate hand is required.
  
  That aside, the tone is actually neither heavy-handed or maudlin as one might expect from military fiction. There's a lot of humor, bantering, and camaraderie, even in the face of peril. And all of it feels authentic. As a matter of fact, this whole book feels authentic, if you don't count the space ships and lizard people.
  

  Every military organization needed heroes; tragic heroes if they were the only type available.

  
  The book kicks off by dropping you into the beginning of a new mission.
  
  The marines of Sh'quo Company have recently returned from a mission in which they suffered a great deal and lost a number of their own. They're currently on temporary leave at the start of the book. However, that doesn't last long as they get called to another mission. Not to another battlefield this time, but to a meeting of diplomats. The company is to escort a group of ambassadors to a new planet, Silsvah, that the Confederation (hegemony) is looking to bring into its circle.
  
  Along with the order, the company also receives a new commanding officer, Second Lieutenant Jarrat, to replace their recently deceased lieutenant. The new guy is good with diplomacy, but has zero field experience. He's basically custom-fit for this job, whereas the company, being a group of rowdy marines with the exception of their sargents, are not.
  
  Weird to call in battle-weary troops to be diplomatic escorts, yeah? That's what they thought as well. But an order is an order and they might as well see the new planet and meet its apex predators, the Silsviss, while they're at it.
  
  The catch is--of course there's a catch--the new planet is inhabited by a less advanced, rather primitive race of warmongering lizard people who are undecided about the Confederation and aren't easily impressed by its fancy techs. These people require a show of might before they agree to anything the Confederation has planned.
  
  What initially starts as an assignment to babysit a bunch of diplomats for a few weeks on a foreign planet turns into a siege and a series of skirmishes in the middle of a desert swamp in which the company is outnumbered by hundreds of Silsviss. It's a grueling fight, but in the end, tech wins out, even at the expense of the people using it.
  

  "We find it strange," the ambassador murmured, almost to herself, "how a species can be able to make such a sacrifice one moment and can kill another sentient being the next. This mix of caring and violence is most confusing--it must be a factor of bisymmetrical species."

  
  [...]
  

  It was by no means a truism that insight into a species could be gained by wholesale slaughter, but Torin was willing to bet that, right at this particular point in time, no one in the Confederation knew the Silsviss as well as she did.

  
  In the midst of all this is Staff Sargent Torin Kerr, the backbone of the company, main POV character, and someone who grew on me. She's got the weight of the whole universe on her, and I couldn't help but feel for her and the burden she lugs around. She's got a platoon to keep in line, a young officer to back up (who looks to her for confirmation), and of course, diplomats to keep alive.
  

  "It's all right," [Jarrat] said after a long moment. "I understand where it's coming from."
  
  It had come from places he's never been, from battles he's never fought. Torin turned, ready to challenge his assumptions, but his profile--carved out of the morning, too tight, too unmoving to be flesh--convinced her to hold her tongue. He couldn't understand it all, not at his age, not his first time out, but, unfortunately, he was on his way.

  
  All good stuff, but I have just one quibble. I always imagined the future of warfare to have more drones and fewer or no boots on the ground. The battle scene described in this book, while very well portrayed, is not unlike any battlefield from the last century, which is a little off-putting for me simply because, if humanity ever manages space travel and forms coalitions with alien lifeforms, would face-to-face combat still be a necessity? Wouldn't there be a more efficient way to eliminate a threat on a large scale?
  
  * * * * *
  
  Cross-posted at
  https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2...
• 
  Lilia Ford

  Series Review:
  I barreled through this series: Huff is an expert at crafting edge-of-your seat, against-all-odds showdowns, but also manages to underpin her books with a worthy (if somewhat limited) allegorical perspective.
  
  This is military sci-fi, starring "Confederation" marines, and so is infused with military culture, with the added sci-fi interest of imagining a force that combines humans with two other (fascinating) alien species into a single fighting force. I was not surprised to learn that Huff was in the military herself. In a thousand different ways her books reflect that intimate, detailed knowledge of attitudes and habits that is very hard to invent wholesale--for example there are dozens of inside jokes about the (mostly friendly) rivalry between the marines and the navy that just felt first hand. I also liked that the books respected soldiers and their sacrifices without ever slipping into uncritical glorification of war or the military--or vilification of the enemies.
  
  At its most basic level these are stories about the role and character of the senior NCO, embodied here by Staff (later Gunnery) Sergeant Torin Kerr, who manages to feel like a completely unique and original heroine at the same time that she practically embodies the Platonic Ideal of a Marine Sergeant. The story provides a truly fascinating look at the key role of the NCO in fighting an actual war--how they maintain discipline and morale among the enlisted, carry out much of the actual fighting, and quietly mentor less experienced officers. Torin herself sees her role as completing missions while keeping her people alive. The book manages the impressive feat of balancing out Torin's 'save-the-day' heroics with her understated, wry perspective, that is the polar opposite of an arrogant glory-hound.
  
  I'll just add one comparatively minor aspect of Huff's portrayal that really struck me: she provides almost no physical description of her heroine and never says that Torin is (or isn't) pretty. In fact, Huff consistently avoids any kind of evaluative commentary on her characters' relative attractiveness. Some of this is due to the sci-fi worldbuilding; humans are no longer the only species and so the human obsession with variations in our appearance has faded in the face of living and working with totally alien species. But I was impressed and a little unnerved by how refreshing it was to immerse myself in the world of this amazing heroine and have her appearance be consistently treated by author, characters and by Torin herself as utterly irrelevant. There is a less happy flip side of course: I am getting more and more fed up with the fact that it is so ridiculously unusual to find a book where the heroine is not portrayed as extremely attractive, and even more rare to fine one where her appearance is never mentioned at all. I say this though I am myself guilty of depicting my own heroines as fulfilling conventional standards of female attractiveness.
  
  Bottom line: I loved this series, could not put it down, and also found it thought-provoking and moving in the best tradition of sci-fi. Highly recommend for any fans of military sci-fi or anyone looking for a unique, refreshing and inspiring heroine.
  
• 
  HBalikov

  I wasn’t sure what I was getting, but I would call this a military/space opera that hit all the right notes (for those of you who are into this genre).
  
  Huff “knows her stuff” … (the extent of my poetic gift). She knows how the military should sound and how jarheads and grunts talk to each other and complain about their current situation, whatever that is. This is a story about combat troops “repurposed” for a critical event that should result in a new species being added to their allies. It is necessary because the aggressive “Others” are about to come calling in this particular quadrant of the galaxy.
  
  We follow their day-to-day experiences through the persona of Staff Sergeant Torin. She is saddled with a task she dislikes and a new lieutenant who has no combat experience. Part of a staff sergeant’s role is to support the lieutenant and make sure that the privates and corporals don’t spend too much time complaining about his orders or manners.
  
  “How do you think it went?” How did I do? They weren’t the words he’d used, but it was the question he’d asked. She hid a smile. Her baby wasn’t quite ready to leave the nest. “It went well, sir. You didn’t waste time talking at them and at no point did you talk down to them. The punishments were fair, hard enough so they’ll think twice about going out the lock again, not so hard they’ll say ‘fuk you’ and go just to show you they can.” “We came up with punishments together.” “Yes, sir. But you could have overruled me.” Relief made him smile. “Really?” Torin lifted a brow and said, in the dry tone her second lieutenant expected. “Not easily, sir.” “Thank you, Staff Sergeant. You’d better go see the doctor about your leg.” “Yes sir.” “Staff?” “Sir?” She turned, sucking air through her teeth as the movement pulled the damaged muscle. “Did we win?” She paused, waiting until she was certain she wouldn’t be overheard. “We kicked lizard butt, sir.” “Good work, Staff.” “Thank you, sir.”
  And……….
  "He swayed as he stepped forward, and without thinking, Torin reached out and slipped an arm around his waist, holding him until he steadied. When she released him, he stared at her for a heartbeat, eyes dark, and she wondered if she’d overstepped the line. It was one thing to keep him from making stupid mistakes—in fact, that was essentially her job description concerning second lieutenants—and another thing entirely to imply he couldn’t stand on his own two feet. Young males of any species tended to be overly proud and young male officers…"
  
  There are a number of species in this group of marines. Most have arms and legs but some are more like spiders and the indigenous species resemble lizards.
  
  Everything about this “show the flag” exercise goes south very quickly but Torin doesn’t know it when she trades her fatigues for a “dress uniform.”
  
  “And aren’t you just the picture of martial elegance.” “Aren’t I just,” she agreed handing him her belt. “I can’t remember the last time I got this tarted up.” “When you made Staff?” “No, that was a field promotion—I was covered in Staff Sergeant Guntah’s guts and the only thing black on me was my fingernails where frostbite had started to set in.” “I remember.” Anne Chou looked up from her slate. “Planet was barely habitable—we’d have ignored it if the Others hadn’t tried to set up a mining base.” “So now we have a mining base there, and someday we’ll have to go back to the frozen hole in the ass end of space to protect it.”
  
  Huff acknowledges that this novel is more military than sci fi. By that we both mean that the plot is timeless and its basic elements could be inserted in a situation happening yesterday or several hundred years ago. Having said that, Huff does an excellent job of creating various alien species and individuals within each species. If there isn’t a great deal of character development for each of them, at least they are consistent and well-integrated into the plot. My thanks to Mimi for getting me interested.
  
  
  
  Additional quotes to give you more of Valor’s flavor:
  
  "The three of them stared down at the final list of thirty-nine names. “You think the captain’ll rubber stamp this?” Amanda asked. “He’d better.” “Something I’ve always wondered…what’s a rubber stamp?”
  
  and
  
  "She’d been planning on scheduling his sergeant’s exam the day General Morris had given them their new orders. With Sergeant Trey dead, he’d have probably gotten a field promotion. Except that he was dead, too."
• 
  K.F. Breene

  I loved this book before I went and started writing books myself. There is a crazy thing that happens when you write books, though. You develop editing brain, and you can no longer read without picking up all the little issues that you might change in your own stuff.
  
  It is a real downer, let me tell you. I don't enjoy reading as much as I once did.
  
  A real downer.
  
  So I went back to this book, as I have a few other books I once loved, with a hopeful grimace. I really, really wanted it to be as good as it was.
  
  And for the first time, it was better!
  
  Bullet point list in no particular order-
  * Her heroine is kick-ass
  * Her story is unique
  * Her action is awesome
  * Her voice is fresh
  * Her pacing is great (I didn't get bored, which is abnormal)
  * Her humor is...well, humorous. And snarky. And cool.
  
  I'm so 'in', and will be re-reading the rest of the series, because I remember it being just as good. Not only that, but I'll be buying the paperbacks of this bad boy and giving some away just so more people can read awesomeness. Good stuff.
  
• 
  Mike (the Paladin)

  There's a statement made in this book that "troops" tend to remember the good part of service and not so much the bad. To an extent that's true, otherwise ex-militarily people wouldn't be fans of military reads...
  
  This is an excellent action/military science fiction read. The Confederation is made up of multiple species of people. Some of these are so very adverse to conflict that the word pacifist can't even apply. They are physically, emotionally and even mentally unable to deal with it (this by the way includes the giant spider race...go figure). Sadly there is a species "out there" known in the Confederation as "The Others" who don't have that problem. As a matter of fact they are very aggressive and expansionist.
  
  Happily enough for the super-pacifist races there are peoples in the Confederation like....well like us, humans. We aren't the only warrior race of course and more are thought to be needed. That's purportedly why a combat platoon of Marines is sent along as an honor guard for the VERY peaceful ambassadors to sign a new treaty with a new warlike race who the Confederation "brass" would like to see as new members of the confederation.
  
  Things (as you might imagine) don't go as advertised...this it turns out will not be a sort of "working vacation" for the Marines.
  
  This book is well put together. At first I thought I might need a program or something to keep track of which species was which as the story went on. But I got to know them as individuals and it was no problem. They became real characters. Both plot and characterization work hand in hand to make this an enjoyable novel.
  
  I am...reticent to hand out many 5 star ratings. It has to be reserved for the best of books. Even if we go to the "gold and silver" system recommended by a friend of mine here I don't like to hand out a lot of 5s. So I originally gave this a 4 star rating. But then as I wrote the review I had to ask myself...where was the flaw? Is it simply that I'm being a book snob? I mean the book is readable, never flags, doesn't lose the interest. The plot not only holds together or holds up but is well crafted and the characters come across as individuals.
  
  So...I'm going 5 stars. If we had a 10 star system i might say 9 as there are books I like much better but all in all this is an excellent read. So let's say it's a 5 star silver...okay?
  
  Think I'll move right on to the next in the series.
  
  Highly recommended.
  
  By the way if you are a military history buff like I am and the story here sounds a bit familiar I don't think that's a coincidence. The battle here is very reminiscent of Rorke's Drift. From the attack of local peoples using spears but with a few modern weapons to the defensive of the hospital you'll see parallels. That's not a problem by the way, I just found it interesting.
  
• 
  Wanda Pedersen

  Although this book is getting the same star rating as Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson series, I’m not quite so enamoured with it. It's good, and if I hadn't become acquainted with Vicki first, I'm sure I would love Torin Kerr. She's definitely a kickass female character right to the very end of the novel. I respect her, but my heart belongs to Vicki.
  
  Huff writes aliens well. The Confederation troops have members from at least four species from the alliance. Kerr has thoughts about why her combat unit has been assigned to a diplomatic mission, but she has been instructed to treat it as “light duty." Her suspicions are confirmed when the Confederation spacecraft is shot down over a wilderness area. Kerr must deal with an inexperienced commanding officer, people wounded in the crash, swampy surroundings, several species of ambassadors, and incoming hostile adolescent Silsviss (the lizard-like race that the Confederation is courting). (And I know it's not fair, but I envisioned the Silsviss like the Gorn from the original Star Trek.)
  
  In the afterword, Huff explains that the battle of Rorke's Drift was the template for the action. And there is a lot of action. Huff tries to keep Torin Kerr realistic, in that she makes some poor decisions and loses beings under her command. She feels responsible, but isn't paralyzed by guilt.
  
  Although I won't be in a huge hurry to read the next book, I have no doubt that I will continue on with the series. Kerr may have turned down officer training, but I have a hunch that she will continue to be interesting.
  
• 
  Tokio Myers

  “Hey, what’ve you got?” “Same fukking thing as you,” Juan grunted. “Hot bag of balanced nutrients in a tasty fukking paste.”
  
  It's no secret that Tanya Huff is one of my favorite authors so I'm a bit biased on her books. Still Valor's Choice is amazing. Filled with action, fun characters, weird alien species that I wouldn't want to hang out with, and a plot that is believable for a scifi book. Usually I'm not a fan of military science fiction but this was fun enough to have me hooked.
  
  “Torin had never been a great believer in luck, preferring to trust in training, preparation, and strong artillery support, but it was impossible to deny the good fortune that had caused them to crash precisely where they had.”
  
  The thing that really made this book amazing was Torin Kerr the main character. Usually when an author is prolific like Tanya Huff there's a repeat of characters with different names and settings but Tanya doesn't do that. Torin is strong, in control, and is almost always right. She knows what she is doing at every moment and cares for her underlings, yet she is also a follower that listens to her commanders. A hard balance to do in a book but Huff does it well. Unlike Vicki from Huff's Blood Series, Torin isn't a bitch about being in control and knowing when to step down. Don't get me wrong, I love Vicki and her bitchness. She's a different type of strong character then Huff's other works and I like that.
  
  Also the side characters are equally engaging and hilarious. A diverse cast of people filled with aliens, queer, and older beings who are believable, funny, head strong, and for the most part care for each other (though one wants to literally eat his squad). Plus Haysole is the most perfect being ever and I just want to hug him squeeze him and call him George!
  
  “A quick check on the platoon showed everyone more or less enjoying the flight.
  "Whatever it is you're eating, Ressk, swallow it before we land," [said Staff Sergeant Kerr].
  "No problem, Staff."
  "More like whoever he's eating," Binti muttered beside him.
  "You ought to count your fingers," he suggested. "You're too serley stupid to notice one missing."
  
  The only problem i had with Valor's Choice is the pacing at the beginning. It was a bit slow and confusing at first but I caught on around 20 pages in. All in all I highly recommend it and I will be continuing the series!
  
  
• 
  Andrew Obrigewitsch

  While reading this I remembered why I don't read much military Sci-Fi. And that's because I find it boring. Yes, that's right.
  
  I find that most military Sci-Fi revolves around cardboard cut out characters, that take part in wholly forgettable and uninteresting stories. This was no exception.
  
  I only give it 2 stars because it's not bad for the genre. But this is a genre that suffers from a lack of talented authors. There are only two author that I can think of that I thought wrote good military Sci-Fi and those are Robert Heinlein and Joe Haldiman, and Starship Troopers and The Forever War where great books.
• 
  Lizzy

  
  Valor's Choice, is the first of the
  Confederation series and my first book by
  Tanya Huff. It’s an excellent military space opera set in the very distance future. I enjoyed it from page one, but when action picked up halfway through I simply couldn't stop reading.
  
  It revolves around a great protagonist, Torin Kerr, a marine female Staff Sergeant. Hardened military veteran, Kerr has been put in charge of a platoon of marines to serve as honor guard to a group of diplomats on a mission to get a new alien species, the lizard like and warlike Silsviss, to join the Confederation before the Others can recruit them. This supposedly easy assignment naturally goes horribly wrong.
  
  I thought Torin was outstanding as female but specially as a NCO. In that Valor's Choice differs from the expected type of lead roles associated with military fiction. OK, it's a futuristic space opera and lately leading female characters have become all the rage, while we are used to stories with captains leading the plot. Torin Kerr is just a Staff Sergeant, in that it changes dramatically the perspective of the story.
  
  The book could be dry and unappealing: there is no romance and only some references to sex. We don’t get to know what Torin looks like and how old she is, just that she is strong. But the plot and the narrative could not be more engaging, and as I read along I could feel the restlessness of the marines while diplomatic discussions are under way. After the halfway mark, it changes into rapid fire as the action picks up. So we get the frenzy of combat. The 40 plus military, along with the civilians, end in a preserve facing some 3,000 hormonal and feral Silsviss adolescents (Battle based in the Zulu War, of the late 1870s). As the reader you can live through the combat together with this group, and suffer with each comrade that falls.
  
  Torin Kerr is revealed to us as the plot develops and we get to understand how she sees herself in each situation. She is strong and believable to the last maneuver and dialogue. She’s not interested in glory, only worries about getting out with the less possible casualties, at the same time as she mentors a green lieutenant into combat and command with tact and without any hidden agendas.
  
  The supporting characters are many, a rich mosaic of people that through their roles only enrich the plot. As it develops we start to discern who is who in this group where the army, marines and air forces are made up of three species fighting together plus two pacifists aliens that make up the diplomats. From a diverse bunch of different species and disparate backgrounds as the fight goes on it transforms itself into a de facto unit.
  
  Valor's Choice was a great read. If you enjoy military Sci-Fi, I highly recommend it.
  
• 
  Nooilforpacifists

  Every year, the weekend after the Superbowl, two months before real Baseball (World Champion Nats!) begins, I watch the movie “Zulu,” skipping the first 10 minutes. I did that again this year. About halfway through Tanya Huff’s “Valor’s Choice,” I thought “I recognize this!” Yet I would have liked the novel anyway.
  
  Huff’s Space Opera starts as a diplomatic mission. It should be no muss, no fuss for the senior (female) NCO who is the protagonist. But the bottom drops out, and they recreate a defensive stand where more Victoria Crosses were awarded in a single engagement (11) then in the history of the British Empire to this day. The last scene in the movie “Zulu” has a startling voice-over by Richard Burton, whose face never appears (but whose voice is unforgettable), tying the medals to the faces—and if you can make it through without a sniffle, you’re more reserved than I.
  
  Of course, here it’s space marines, their ET allies, fighting against a hostile planet of adolescent moronic males (but I repeat myself). And it turns out there is some purpose to all the killing. After action, were I the protagonist, I would have jammed someone’s head in the center of a “Star Trek”-type door, and opened and closed it until they (there was a choice) were bloody.
  
  Never mind: Huff is a convincing, fluid military writer. She made me care about the protagonist and the whole company, ETs included. Even though her protagonist is a “stiff upper lip” type.
  
  Sequel definitely goes to my TBR.
• 
  David Firmage

  3.5 stars.
• 
  Beth

  Military SF isn't a genre that I naturally turn to, falling somewhere between mystery and horror in the middle-to-lower half of my spectrum of reading interests. But my steadfast--and patient--buddy reader Mimi was interested in reading this one, and the first volume of the series was in that "less than $3" sweet spot in ebook, so I decided to give it a try, too. The result was a resounding "okay."
  
  The story: newly-promoted staff sergeant Torin Kerr is assigned to gather together a group* of Marines under the "Confederation" to act as a ceremonial guard for a diplomatic tour. The planet they're going to is on the outer edges of the Confederation, and it's important for them to get the diplomatic upper hand against their long-time enemies, the "Others."
  
  *I think it was a platoon? listen, I don't know this military stuff.
  
  Things on the tour are going well, if not terribly excitingly, before the Confederacy's air transport is shot down en route from one parade ground to another, and the Marines have to defend themselves and the diplomats in their care from an aggressive pack of native youths who are armed and organized for a land war. The ship that dropped them onto the planet has been called back to defend the space border from the Others, so they're on their own.
  
  It took quite a while for me to make any real headway with Valor's Choice. The early part of the story throws lots of details at the reader: half-a-dozen races, the various people in Torin's squad* and the platoon* as a whole, a sprinkling of politics. There were several occasions where a race, or someone's name, was mentioned, and I had no recollection of who or what they were. I couldn't even tell you Torin's name if I'd turned away from the book. A friend who commented on one of my updates called this phenomenon "a Teflon book," which I thought was both funny and appropriate.
  
  *again, don't count on me to use any of these terms correctly.
  
  This would usually be a bad sign, but things got much more interesting (and memorable) in the last third. The various one-note characters--the dark-skinned sniper, the dad, the jaunty guy who kept getting stuck with latrine duty, the guy who can hack anything, etc.--came into their own, and I felt little pangs as they were injured or killed.
  
  Torin had had a one-night stand with a guy named Jarret who ended up being her boss (a second lieutenant) for this diplomatic mission. Their relationship arc was pretty cool in some ways. They seemed to get over the fact that they'd slept together pretty easily, and as they tried to deal with the natives' attack, they developed a comfortable professional rapport.
  
  Torin's role as a staff sergeant seems to involve keeping the privates and [sergeants?] in good order, and also to subtly mentor Jarret into being a good leader in such a way that the grunts don't notice. She comes across as a know-it-all who never makes the slightest misstep, whose every decision or intuition is absolutely correct. I prefer my protagonists to be more nuanced than this, but if I were in the battle situation in the book, I'd prefer somebody in her position to be experienced and competent, so there's not much to complain about.
  
  "Not much to complain about" pretty much sums up this book for me. Also "not much to get excited about." Readers who enjoy military SF would almost certainly get a lot more out of it than I did. It's very unlikely I'll be continuing this series, but I'd be willing to give Huff's books in different genres a try.
• 
  Lata

  Enjoyable story, with a bit of a slow start to introduce the member species of the Confederation, which picks up rapidly halfway in. Staff sergeant Torin Kerr is smart, and really, really good at managing her officers and keeping her squad of marines busy and focused. What starts as a diplomatic mission to bring in a new species, the Silsviss, to the Confederation, becomes an attempt to protect a bunch of diplomats from a frightening and increasingly desperate situation.
  Likes: 1) The marines had several combat engagements under their belts, and had the cynicism and competence to show for it. Their dialogue and attitudes were frequently funny and felt real, and they were a surprisingly diverse bunch. 2) Watching Torin at work teaching her superior officers how to command her squad was fascinating. 3) Also, Torin's combat experience and quick thinking were on good display as she managed injured and frightened diplomats while determining how best to save their lives from a very determined and dangerous force.
  Not really a dislike: The ending chapter felt really abrupt, but I aim to follow Torin's exploits to book 2 to find out what happens next as the Confederation grows and continues its fight against the Others.
• 
  Donna

  As a non-aggressive, peace-loving, middle-of -the-road liberal, I have no idea why I am drawn to space military sci-fi books. It's baffling. I think this is at least my third series in that genre, including the Heris Serrano and the Honor Harrington series. These series do all have female protagonists so I'm sure that's one appealing aspect for me. This is the first book in the Valor series and I plan on reading the others.
  
  This series has a slightly different take as the main character is not the captain of the ship but the sergeant, so you get more of the grunt's perspective. The premise is that there is a peaceful confederation of planets who are beset by the Others (sounds Borg-ish to me). They recruit young, still aggressive new space cultures to do their fighting (i.e., humans and two other races). In this book we don't even meet the Others, I assume they will show up in the next book. This plot centers around a diplomatic mission to recruit another aggressive race into the Confederation.
• 
  Mardel

  I enjoyed Valor's Choice. I know I'm coming late to this series, and I have the next three books here waiting for me to read. I've read a lot of Tanya Huff's contemporary fantasy books, but this is the first science fiction that I've read from her.
  
  I was happy to find her humor throughout the narration of this book. The main character, Toren was interesting and a very strong personality without being overwhelmingly so. This book takes place in the future, a future so far in advance, that there are many of the sayings, or idioms that we use now that had all the characters saying..."huh?". Apparently one of the men had studied old earth idioms, and used them all the time. The Marines have evolved to recruiting not only humans, but other species and they all work together and train together in an interesting mix.
  
  In this novel, Toren is put in charge of a handpicked platoon that is to serve as an honor guard to a group of diplomants that are trying to get a new species to sign on as allies. This supposedly easy assignment of course goes horribly wrong, and the platoon ends up stranded on a preserve, being attacked by many hormonally hopped up males of the new planet. (New to the Federation anyway)
  
  Toren, with a newly promoted Luietenant has to keep not only the diplomats alive, but must do so while keeping their troop alive and fighting at maximum strength. The details of this was fun to read. Within the story, were details of fighting, marine life and attitudes, joking between the soldiers, and watching the diplomats rise to the occasion. The narration was good, the dialog between characters was fun, funny and believable. The fight scenes were pretty intense. There was a point when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse....then it DID. In the end though, well, The ending was satisfying - not a HEA type of book, but a good ending. I definitely want to read more. Huff's talent in writing had me a little stressed out for the characters though, so I have to pace it out with a "safer" book. LOL.
  
  This is a good book with military flavor, and yet for a non military person, still fun to read.
• 
  Veronica

  This was my first military style science fiction read though I'm not sure why. I've loved science fiction since I was nine years old and fell in love (as much a nine year old can) with my very first fictional boyfriend. You may have heard of him. Han Solo? Unfortunately, no Han Solos in this book but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This is the story of a far and away future where multiple worlds comprise the Confederation, and who are facing the threat of an encroaching hostile race. To help shore up alliances, a specially picked platoon of combat marines are dispatched to aid with what is supposed to be a diplomatic mission. The inevitable happens soon enough however and the platoon finds itself facing a combat situation, which is nothing new to them or to their tough as nails Staff Sergeant, Torin Kerr. But combat is very new to their fresh-out-of-officer-school First Lieutenant. I'm a sucker for war movies and the bonds that are forged among those bands of brothers so I liked the cameraderie that these marines had. In this future version, women are very much a part of combat troops. Staff Sgt Kerr is unlike any heroine I've come across to date. I'm used to reading urban fantasy where the typical heroines have a lot of growing up to do. Staff Sgt Kerr is nothing like that. She's smart, she's 100% competent and battle ready, but yet she's caring of her troops and doesn't flinch from showing her softer side when needed. She's confident and she absolutely knows that she has nothing to prove to either herself or to anyone else. I enjoyed how she handled her newbie First LT, Jarrett...always with respect but in such a manner that he allowed himself to be taught the ropes of command. The battles were rough and casualties happened and some marines that I really liked didn't make it out alive. That was hard but then, war is supposed to be ugly. There is no romance here though there was a nice spark between Torin and Jarrett. Given their respective ranks though, I doubt anything will come of it. That said, I hope to get to the rest of series soon.
• 
  Thomas

  Given the fact that I recommended this book to someone, I think it deserves more than just a rating from me. This is my favorite military science fiction series.
  
  I only joined Goodreads last spring and I read this book years ago. It's not just whiz-bang with tough-as-nails heroes, the foremost being Sergeant Torin Kerr, but is a very intelligent and thoughtful story, which also describes the entire series. Much consideration is given to not just what it takes to survive the crucible of war, but what it does to a person. These characters aren't just tough, they're likable and they'll keep you coming back to this series until book 8 which I did write a full review of since it only came out last year.
  
  Looking at other reviews and thinking about it made me realize this is, for me, a five star book. I’ve upgraded it accordingly.
• 
  Emily

  I enjoyed it - but I'm calling this a 3.5 - mainly because i don't think the author does good job of really describing the alien races and a lot of the characters seem to just run together. However, it was a fun, action-packed read, and I plan on picking up the next in the series.
• 
  Margaux

  DNF @ 40%...not rating it.
  The writing is really great and there is funny dialogue and decent characterization, but this is just a little too military-oriented for me. This book would be great for people who like straight-up military sci-fi! And the narrator, Marguerite Gavin, is fantastic for you audiophiles.
• 
  Timothy Boyd

  Good military SiFi book. Fast paced action and good combat scene writing. I'll definitly try more in the series. Recommended
• 
  Ryan Schneider

  I love military fiction, as well as science fiction, and so naturally I dig military science fiction.
  
  I really enjoyed this book. Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr was indeed a bad-ass, as other reviewers have noted. She gets the job done. One of the blurbs likens her to the Ripley character in the ALIENS movies.
  
  Huff's knowledge of military life rings completely true. The characters are all great fun, and she does a decent job of making the names unique in order to help the reader remember which character is of which species. The various races of beings are also great fun; clearly Huff had fun creating them and writing them, especially the di'Taykan!
  
  I'd like to see these books adapted to film.
  
  My biggest criticism is the unforgivable SLOPPINESS in the writing. The style/tone/voice are fine, but the typographical errors are downright embarrassing. I found this to be true of all 5 CONFEDERATION novels. Who the bloody hell was asleep at the wheel?
  
  My only other criticism is of one of Huff's technique's; she often begins dialogue without identifying the speaker, and you have to read a couple paragraphs and then go back and reread the dialogue so you can keep it straight in your mind. Tanya, would it kill you to drop in a 'said Torin' or 'said Craig' or 'said Cri Sawyes' for clarity? Criminy!
  
  Other than that, damned fine novels.
• 
  Jill Myles

  It's really interesting because I can't say that I was IN LOVE with this book the whole time, but I was very entertained by it. Torin Kerr is a badass-meets-soccer-mom-meets-marine and it's a really fun combination. She's so friggin COMPETENT. And not in a Mary Sue way. It's more like, she has to be to stay alive. And she's a strong female character that never tries to rip the nutsack off of the closest male, which seems to happen far too often in 'tough' female character books.
  
  I dig that. On to the next one!
• 
  Paulo

  DNF. Dumping dozens of characters(humans&aliens) all at once (literally) with very little descriptions makes it hard to know who is who. Much later into the book when finally it becomes somehow clear I couldn't care about any of the characters and the plot (bar brawls, meh), and everything else looked very cliched and predictable.
  Reading the reviews of this series and people mentioning the first and second books are the best in this series made me lose any interest in continue reading and investing my time on this.
• 
  Dana Stabenow

  I've been indulging in an orgy of military sf reading since February, when Patrick at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego got me hooked on it. This is one of the best by far, a splendid blend of characterization, setting, plot and hand-to-hand combat. I'd follow Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr anywhere.
• 
  Carolyn F.

  Reread by audiobook
  
  I love this book. This a re-read for me so it's nice to go over stuff I didn't remember. I love the ending where Torin calls her commander a bastard without saying the word. This is a fantastic series I would recommend to sci-fi fans.
  
  
• 
  Andreas

  Torin Kerr führt ihre Marines als Ehrenwache in eine diplomatische Mission: Sie sollen neben Menschen und „Elfen“ ein weiteres kämpfendes Volk - „Echsen“ - für den Beitritt in die Föderation gewinnen. Die aggressiven Spezies sind dringend nötig, da die älteren, pazifistischen Völker (darunter „Spinnen“) sich nicht gegen die ominösen Anderen wehren könnten. 
Ihre Rang als „Staff Sergeant“ - der zweithöchste Unteroffiziersrang - erfordert, ihren Trupp am Leben zu halten und den neuesten Junioroffizier anzulernen und von dummen Befehlen abzuhalten. Was ihr leichter fallen würde, wenn sie mit ihm nicht vor dem Einsatz geschlafen hätte. 
Einige Tage nach Ankunft auf dem Heimatplaneten der Echsen und einigen Paraden wird der Truppentransporter in der Wildnis abgeschossen. Es beginnt ein Kampf gegen eine Übermacht Wilder. 
Review: Der planetarische Kampf gegen Wilde ist so alt wie die SF (als Beispiel sei Ursula Le Guins „Das Wort für Welt ist Wald genannt“) und immer wieder unterhaltsam. Auch die Gegenüberstellung von Menschen gegen Echsen fand in „Enemy Mine“ eine einfühlsame Schilderung. Die Autorin wagt sich mit der Kombination beider Fremdheitsmotive - wilde Echsen - an einen interessanten Stoff, der vor allem von den Dialogen der Protagonistin mit ihren Marines und dem Leutnant lebt. 
Aber auch die Handlung selbst - getragen von Klassenclowns und Quotentoten - bleibt durchweg mitreißend und lässt sich in wenigen Lesesitzungen flüssig beenden. Die Handlung ist angelehnt an eine historische Begebenheit im Zulukrieg von 1879, bei der wenige Briten einer Übermacht an Zulukriegern gegenüberstand und die Mission von Rorke’s Drift verteidigten. Eine dreifach Klasse-Adaption dieses Themas in die Welt der SF!
Gleichzeitig startet mit der Protagonistin Torin Kerr eine vielteilige, sehr beliebte Serie, die nun ihre deutsche Erstveröffentlichung im Plan9 Verlag erlebt. Einziger Wermutstropfen sind die überaus häufigen syntaktischen Fehler in der deutschen Übersetzung, die ein sorgfältiger Editor sicher ausgebügelt hätte. Ansonsten ist die Qualität der Übersetzung nicht zu bemängeln.
Perfekte Urlaubslektüre für Freunde militärischer SF, die zwischendurch gerne mal ihren Kopf ausschalten und einfach nur unterhalten werden wollen! Den Vergleich zu Scalzi braucht diese Autorin nicht zu scheuen. Dafür gibts 3.5 Sterne und eine Leseempfehlung. 

• 
  Megan

  This book was an enormous amount of fun. Even towards the end, when the death count starting to rise, it was still fun. Which to be honest was a little jarring. A touch more gravitas could have made this a five star read. That, and a bit more depth to the characters, maybe a bit more attention given to the potential romance between the protagonist and her Lieutenant.
• 
  Alealea

  Great sf. Great main character. Hooked from first line to last.
• 
  edge of bubble

  The rating is for the entire series. I'm not an objective source for this book, or the rest, anymore because I'm fucking in love with this series. Torin is one of the best written female leads out there. The world building, characters, the serious effort that went to the romance part... Exceptional!