Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant buzzing confusion
Review: Kristine Smith's first novel is a propulsive if confusing and over-plotted noirish science fiction adventure that in the end frustrates. She's a great writer (although she seems at some point to have undergone some aversive therapy that prevents her from using the word "like," even when it's ok to do so). On the very first page she writes about a cat that "poured to the ground and vanished into an alley." What a perfect description of feline behavior. Unfortunately the book's far from perfect--it's flashback filled and confusing: something to do with this ex-service woman named Jani, who got mixed up in an alien civil war, got herself killed, or so they think, but who's actually been fixed up with an "augmented" body--and everybody's looking for her and somebody finds her and brings her back to Earth to find out who killed his wife and she sets out to do so and all the good guys turn into bad guys and vice versa. Whatever. At the end, I knew who did in the wife and (I think) why they did it, but I never did figure out why she killed her commanding officer, or did she?Just a wild guess, but maybe Smith developed this out of a writing class exercise in which the instructor assigned the class to write a story using flashbacks. I expect she got an A if that's the case. And that's fine for learning your craft, but for readers, it's like picking up the second volume of a trilogy first. But no doubt about it--Smith's future is bright. And if she decides to go on with Jani's story, I'll probably go along for the ride.
Rating: 
Summary: A rare SF gem
Review: Nice to find a true SF plot, with an author who takes time to build it, good characterisation and intriguing. A+
Rating:
Summary: A rare SF gem
Review: Nice to find a true SF plot, with an author who takes time to build it, good characterisation and intriguing. A+
Rating: 
Summary: Excelent book
Review: The plot and characters drew me in, making me anxious to discover the ending, which turned out (unlike many books) to be satisfying. My only complaint is there were a few "clues" to the ending that were added merely for the purpose of misdirecting the reader. All in all I am glad I read the book. I recommend it highly to others.
Rating:
Summary: Creative science, but ....
Review: The reviews had me hooked, and alot of the science is very original, but I could not relate to the main character. I agree with the reviewer who said there should be a prequel. I did try to like this book, but the writing style left me cold.
Rating:
Summary: What a great first effort
Review: This is a most excellent first effort by an author unknown to me. While I found that it echoed THE PATH OF THE FURY by David Weber in some ways, overall it was a most interesting and satisfactory read.
Rating:
Summary: A Mediocre Book
Review: You look at the reviews, by professionals and amateurs, and this sounds like an amazing novel by an up-and-coming author. Once you start reading, you realize that this book is nothing special at all. It's supposed to be a sci-fi mystery, but almost the entire book takes place in the same building, which limits how much the reader can explore Smith's world. Although mystery is not really the word I'd use to describe Jani Kilian's investigation, audit is more like it. She reviews papers, talks to a few people, and stumbles onto the truth. My main question about Smith's world is why PAPER has so much value in the future. Even now businesses are phasing out paper with E-mail and networks, so why in a few hundred years would paper still be so important? Smith does what other sci-fi authors do, which irritates me to no end: she never explains her world, but forces the reader to accept it all on faith. I'd like to know why paper is important, what these enigmatic Gateways are, and why is the capital of the world in Chicago? (and why does Smith make Chicago sound like the Arctic?) That's hard to do in a first-person story, but in third-person narration like in this book, it's easier to work that background in and satisfy the reader's curiosity. Finally, the most irritating thing about Code of Conduct is the non-stop internal narration and characters talking to themselves. It's fine if characters talk to themselves or if the author gives their internal thoughts sometimes, but too much becomes a distraction. In summary, Code of Conduct lacks the action and mystery to be as good as critics make it out to be. At best it is adequate reading for a rainy day, or when there just isn't anything else at hand. Since it was Smith's first book, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and am reading the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: A Mediocre Book
Review: You look at the reviews, by professionals and amateurs, and this sounds like an amazing novel by an up-and-coming author. Once you start reading, you realize that this book is nothing special at all. It's supposed to be a sci-fi mystery, but almost the entire book takes place in the same building, which limits how much the reader can explore Smith's world. Although mystery is not really the word I'd use to describe Jani Kilian's investigation, audit is more like it. She reviews papers, talks to a few people, and stumbles onto the truth. My main question about Smith's world is why PAPER has so much value in the future. Even now businesses are phasing out paper with E-mail and networks, so why in a few hundred years would paper still be so important? Smith does what other sci-fi authors do, which irritates me to no end: she never explains her world, but forces the reader to accept it all on faith. I'd like to know why paper is important, what these enigmatic Gateways are, and why is the capital of the world in Chicago? (and why does Smith make Chicago sound like the Arctic?) That's hard to do in a first-person story, but in third-person narration like in this book, it's easier to work that background in and satisfy the reader's curiosity. Finally, the most irritating thing about Code of Conduct is the non-stop internal narration and characters talking to themselves. It's fine if characters talk to themselves or if the author gives their internal thoughts sometimes, but too much becomes a distraction. In summary, Code of Conduct lacks the action and mystery to be as good as critics make it out to be. At best it is adequate reading for a rainy day, or when there just isn't anything else at hand. Since it was Smith's first book, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and am reading the sequel.
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