From Publishers Weekly No one who read Drake's first account of Lt. Daniel Leary's adventures in With the Lightnings will be surprised at the appearance of this sequel; that novel clearly launched a series. What is surprising, however, is the wonderfully strong quality of the follow-up. Although Drake starts off on an odd note (with a panoramic view of a military-SF hierarchical society), his Dan Leary and Signal Officer Adele Mundy prove an uncommonly engaging pair of protagonists. Mundy in particular is something of a novelty in the fieldAnot particularly attractive, she's not only older than Leary, but she's also a formidable pistol shot, a genius with electronics (albeit something of a klutz otherwise) and not romantically involved with Leary (or anybody else). Finding themselves aboard the Royal Cinnabar Navy ship Princess Cecile, the two plunge into a multilayered sequence of adventures. They survive bureaucratic pettifogging as well as the machinations of charming and unscrupulous political exiles trying to get home, peril in space, attempted assassinations and an encounter with a den of pirates they hope to make into allies against Cinnabar's enemies. The suspense on the way to the climactic battle is genuine, and the action scenes are up to the author's very high standard. To top that off, Drake has also managed to rein in his sometimes tedious cynicism, replacing it with dry wit. (July) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Given command of the Princess Cecile, a space-faring corvette of the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, Lt. Daniel Leary receives an assignment to travel to the planet Strymon to reinforce that volatile world!s alliance with Cinnabar. Instead of a routine voyage, however, Leary contends with an unwelcome passenger, political sabotage, and an attempt to maroon him on a backward planet. Drake!s sequel to With the Lightnings continues the saga of a brash and brilliant young man determined to make his way by his own merits. Filled with battle scenes on the ground and in the far reaches of space, this sf adventure should appeal to fans of military sf. Suitable for most libraries. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Lt. Daniel Leary, based on his adventures in "With the Lightnings", finds himself in command of a corvette with a loyal and hyper-competent crew, and a mission to deliver a political exile back to his home planet. Or so it would seem.More space opera goodness, with a good bit more planet-hopping and space-battling than the first go-round, and it ends up being just about as satisfying as the first book.Just about. The opening quarter or so of the book felt bloated to me, with Drake giving in to the temptation to catalog things rather than just give the essential, evocative detail. Some of this may be due to the nature of the story -- neither Leary nor Adele Mundy have the slightest clue what is going on for a large chunk of the book and, therefore, neither does the reader. Until about halfway through, it's clear that something's not right, but you only begin being able to put together just what in the latter half of the book. (You may view it as either blessing or curse, but Drake does not drop long explanations on his reader, expecting that the reader should be able to put pieces together himself in the end.) Even taking that into consideration, I felt the opening was slow, and not as fun as the first book (or as the later stages of this one).That said, this was still a very enjoyable read, and I'm probably going to jump into the next one before other, more important things which I likely ought to read first.
What do You think about Lt. Leary, Commanding (2001)?
Lieutenant Daniel Leary of the Republic of Cinnabar Navy and Signals Officer Adele Mundy become embroiled in a political situation in a far off protectorate. Pirates, foreign interference and the usual incompetent superior naval officer feature, all resulting in an enjoyable story with the relationship between the two protagonists being of ongoing interest.The way in which space ships move through hyperspace, called the Matrix in this universe, is directly analogous to ships sailing on the sea, such that the hull of a space ship is fitted with masts, sails, yards etc. to enable this movement. Every time this stuff is mentioned, it takes me right out of the story. The author may well love Patrick O'Brien books, as I do, but I think this was a mistake.Read 17 Oct 2013
—David
After the heroic deeds on Kostroma in “With the Lightnings“, Leary is unexpectedly permitted to retain command of the captured corvette Princess Cecile. Mundy becomes an intelligence officer for Cinnabar’s elusive spy chief, Mistress Sand. Leary and his crew must catch up with a squadron en route to prevent a rebellion on a vassal planet. Through high level machinations, one of their passengers is the putative heir of the planet’s ruling family.The main plot is not terribly strong, but it doesn’t matter much. This series is about high-flying adventures, exciting locales and interesting characters, not exact plotting. There is a certain disjointed feeling to the story. For example the incident with the pirates could have been a self contained short story and feels like an excuse to provide some amusing action more than a necessary story element. But as mentioned, all that doesn’t really matter. Revisiting Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy is a treat unto itself.http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=671
—Andreas
