In Her Name: First Contact

First Contact by Michael R. Hicks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First Contact is the initial book in a prequel trilogy of the In Her Name series and as you may expect by the title tells the story of the Humans first encounter with what became known as the Kreelan Empire. In many ways this is a much simpler story than any of the books from the first cycle (Empire, Confederation and Final Battle) as it concentrates on the physical aspect of the interaction between the Aurora and her crew with the Kreelan fleet when battle is joined on and above Keran. I've no doubt the political, social and economic aspects of merging multiple states and military will be covered in a lot more depth in the next two books but for now revel in the blood and guts offered up by vast energies flashing through the voids as starships battle each other and the total flipping of the world-view as duels with swords are taking place where nothing is more important than honour.
As a primer to the whole series First Contact does an excellent job and as a new chapter in the history of the Human race and Kreelan empire for those who know what happens a century later it's just unashamedly entertaining.

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