Well, having read Assumption of Risk and Bred for War, I wanted to comment mostly about the latter. (I feel that the former is Stackpole's best so far, with the only problem being the logic of the get Peter killed scheme.)
So, regarding Bred for War, it starts out strong and is quite interesting, but starts to fail a bit toward the end.
There are mainly two problems:
- Morgan ignores to take Ryan into account when he decides on who had Melissa killed.
- Phelan's speech on Morges. You became Khan on your own merits, and it had nothing to do with blackmail? Yeah, right. ::) Also, Nicholas Kerensky this and Nicholas Kerensky that, you did not know Nicholas Kerensky and what he wanted. ::)
Another problem is that we are being told parts of what happens in the next Stackpole novel.
Going on, we still have not seen at this point proof from Katherine's point of view that she is guilty of having Melissa killed. That she is ambitious and scheming, yes. Going by the answers I got when I asked about it, I would have expected her to dance in the street and celebrate by now.
Additionally, this was the book where I started to dislike Victor, the Lyons Thumb issue being the main reason.
Finally this book helped me decide my long running ties in faction preference:
Wolf or Falcon -- Falcon
FWL or FS -- FWL
Overall I would say this is an important novel to read, and enjoyable even with the annoyances.
Now the question is what to read next. I am already a bit tired of the Victor vs Katherine story, and the Wolves. As I see it, I have the following alternatives interests me the most:
- The Falcon books.
- Highlander Gambit.
- Double-Blind & Binding Force.
Which ones would you recommend?