Valkyrie by Craig Alanson

Valkyrie by Craig Alanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WTF and You've got to be kidding me!
Those were my initial responses to reading the last line in the 9th novel of the excellent Expeditionary Force series written by Craig Alanson. Many a time a TV show has left you with a season finale cliffhanger that has you cursing the writers and producers but it's rare in a novel but Craig has managed to do so with Valkyrie. Naturally I am intensely interested in how our favoured characters are going to get out of this situation but it really did put a damper on the immediate joy of christmas after putting the kindle down. On the upside I needed a stiff drink so swings and roundabouts.
As for the novel itself, well after the terrible toll taken by Armageddon the Merry Band of Pirates have risen to the challenge and addressed the cold fact that Earth may indeed burn but any small victory is a victory when you consider the incredible obstacles a whole galaxy can throw up against them. I've got to admit the beginning of the novel had me laughing like an idiot which is no small feat given the low point (plot wise) we were in but it all kinda makes sense and that's something Craig proves himself capable of time and time again when creating situations and solutions to entertain us. Naturally Joe and the rest of the pirates face the dilemma of using their battlecruiser to maximum effect when faced with a senior species who begin to ask the right questions as to who is striking their ships but when intelligence indicates a few hundred human prisoners are being sold for bioweapon research there was never any doubt no matter what they risk they would find a way to help.
Valkyrie is without a doubt a valuable addition to the series and draws a line in the narrative, where is goes from now only Craig knows and while I have some trepidation I'm along for the ride.


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