Rating: 
Summary: Borrrrrriiiing
Review: If you are trying to get to sleep, maybe. I could not finish it.
Rating: 
Summary: It hooked me
Review: Intellectually it seems like I should be able to resist the almost-common plot of pure-hearted hero/oine in a dirty world. I couldn't. It was a pleasure to read and this book integrated well with the previous book in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: About RULES OF CONFLICT...
Review: Jani Kilian knows what she faces if the Commonwealth Serviceever catches up with her-execution for the murder of RikartNeumann. Even though Neumann masterminded the horrific events at the idomeni hospital at Knevçet Shèràa, he was still her commanding officer, and Service justice must be served. The evidence against Jani is formidable, and she knows her ex-lover, Evan van Reuter, is supplying her accusers with more. But she's grown tired to running, tired of changing names. Most disturbingly, however, she's also gravely ill, and the fact that only physicians from the Neoclona medical conglomerate can treat her leaves her vulnerable to discovery. When desperation drives her to seek medical treatment, her cover is quickly blown. Recaptured and returned to Earth, she knows it's only a matter of time before she faces the Fort Sheridan firing squad. Evan van Reuter agreed to give evidence against his former lover in exchange for leniency for his own crimes. Facing multiple murder charges, having lost his standing, prestige, and power, he has one thing left of value--his memory of crimes past. And then there's Sam Duong. Sam works as a civilian documents archivist at Fort Sheridan, but he's in danger of losing his position since he's developed a medical problem that affects his memory. To his doctor's consternation, however, he refuses treatment. Sam fears doctors, although he can't remember why. Sometimes, he can't remember his name. Other times, he thinks he's someone else, someone Jani Kilian would be very interested in meeting.
Rating: 
Summary: Captain Jani Rides Again!
Review: Kristine Smith has done it again! In CODE OF CONDUCT she gave us a wonderfully complex future filled with believable characters, realistic aliens and timeless conflicts. I dived into RULES OF CONFLICT wondering if she'd be able to do it again, and she *did*! It's a terrific read that will pull you in from the start and hold you through the last page. I can't wait for the third one! Kristine? Write faster!
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, but ... why was I reading this again?
Review: Rules of Conflict is a well-written book in a fairly interesting sci-fi world. There's intrigue and mystery and, to its credit, this is the first book I've read where 'paper-pushers' are the heros/heroines ... wait a minute, is that a good thing? To the cynic, one would say the the aliens in this novel are all afflicted by a severe obsessive-compulsive eating disorder, the heroine, Jani, spends much of her time afflicted by paranoia and the aforementioned eating disorder, and Jani's past/future/present lovers spend all of their time either trying to use, save or ruin her. All-in-all, it was an interesting ride, but I'm not sure I got the point of it ... unless this was merely a bridge to the last book of the a trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Detail!
Review: Smith's second venture is every bit as good as her first book. The wonderful detail and her accessable writing style brings this world alive! If you like fast-paced, adventure Science Fiction, you'll like this story. An excellent read!
Rating:
Summary: Promises Kept
Review: This is the second of Kristine Smith's "Jani Kilian" novels, and it's a great read. Smith's first offering, "Code of Conduct," showed promise: it was brilliantly written although confusing and overly flashbacky. This one is even better written, if that's possible, and not at all flashbacky. At the end of the first book Jani, the cat-eyed "augmented" hybridized (against her will) military document examiner who once apparently killed her commanding officer during a civil war among the alien Idomeni (some of whose DNA she now carries) seemed to have got clean away after solving a murder mystery. But in this tale she quickly gets pulled back in, and the next thing she knows she's up to her neck in diplomatic negotiations, while her body enhancements are failing (fix the chick's knee and get her a new liver--STAT). Smith's plotting is delightfully over the top although confusing, and maybe she's done that on purpose. She obviously wants to focus attention on Jani and her mob (a few chapters are told from viewpoints other than Jani's) while the diplomatic events, having to do with delicate human-Idomeni negotiations, are kept murkily in the background. And so what I took, in the first book, to be "first novel" faults may in fact be deliberate. No doubt more shall be revealed in the author's next volume (the third of four), "Law of Survival." I look forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: Promises Kept
Review: This is the second of Kristine Smith's "Jani Kilian" novels, and it's a great read. Smith's first offering, "Code of Conduct," showed promise: it was brilliantly written although confusing and overly flashbacky. This one is even better written, if that's possible, and not at all flashbacky. At the end of the first book Jani, the cat-eyed "augmented" hybridized (against her will) military document examiner who once apparently killed her commanding officer during a civil war among the alien Idomeni (some of whose DNA she now carries) seemed to have got clean away after solving a murder mystery. But in this tale she quickly gets pulled back in, and the next thing she knows she's up to her neck in diplomatic negotiations, while her body enhancements are failing (fix the chick's knee and get her a new liver--STAT). Smith's plotting is delightfully over the top although confusing, and maybe she's done that on purpose. She obviously wants to focus attention on Jani and her mob (a few chapters are told from viewpoints other than Jani's) while the diplomatic events, having to do with delicate human-Idomeni negotiations, are kept murkily in the background. And so what I took, in the first book, to be "first novel" faults may in fact be deliberate. No doubt more shall be revealed in the author's next volume (the third of four), "Law of Survival." I look forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: Rules of Conflict
Review: This second book in the Jani Killian series outperforms the first, which was also excellent. It's military science fiction, but intelligently plotted and well-written. Smith keeps tension high despite the relative lack of violent action -- Killian is physically falling apart, diplomatic relations between humans and between humans and aliens are tense, and old crimes are on the verge of being discovered. Characterization is excellent here, with a number of very appealing, well-drawn characters. The SF setting is believable and strong, and the plot is clearer than in the first installment. Smith's grasp of personalities and institutions is deft, sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous. I enjoyed this very much and highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Phantom Novel
Review: Upon finishing "Rules of Conflict", I had to ask myself, "What the heck did I just read?" This book had no real plot or purpose, it was just a 370 page ramble that finally drifted to an arbitrary conclusion, where Jani Kilian gets retired from the Service and sent on her merry way. The flaws from "Code of Conduct" continue in the sequel. There are far too many instances of characters talking to themselves or thinking internal soliloquies to drag the murky plot ahead. There is little action of any kind, certainly nothing to keep readers wanting to read more. Smith's novels are a great illusion: you read the book and then at the end wonder if you really read anything at all. The problem is that these books don't have the science topics to be considered "hard" sci-fi, nor the action/adeventure to be considered lighter "space opera" sci-fi, nor the mystery to be a sci-fi mystery. To wax philosophically, it is something, and yet it is nothing. Having read the first two, and starting on the third (simply because I could find nothing better), I recommend shunting these books to the end of your reading list, there's simply nothing of substance to be had.
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