A Confederation of Valor ~Tanya Huff

–published 2006
–DAW Books
–619 pages

An omnibus edition featuring:

Valor’s Choice

–published 2000
–282 pages
–4.25/5 stars

The Better Part of Valor

–published 2002
–308 pages
–4/5 stars

Tough-as-nails Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr is the heroine of the Valor series, written by author Tanya Huff. The recently released fifth book in this series, The Truth of Valor, caught my eye the other day on a gift-hunting expedition to Barnes and Noble. “Military Science Fiction” is a sub-genre of science fiction that I avoided, though not with forethought, for most of my reading life. That all changed a few years ago when John Scalzi became a (geek) household name with his much lauded Old Man’s War series. That series not only rekindled that old feeling I used to get from reading science fiction as a kid, it also made me cognizant of many classic and contemporary military science fiction books that my eyes used to pass quickly over when perusing bookstore shelves, including one of the most well known, Robert A. Heinlein’s award-winning novel, Starship Troopers. I read Starship Troopers earlier this year and was very impressed by it. As I gazed at the covers for Huff’s Valor series I was struck with a desire to step back into the kind of science fictional universe that I enjoyed in both Heinlein’s and Scalzi’s novels.

Without anything to go on other than a hunch, I decided to take advantage of the two-for-one nature of A Confederation of Valor.

Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.

In Huff’s Valor series, the Confederation is made up of a number of races, all of whom transcended violence long before achieving the kind of space travel that allowed them to peacefully coexist. All was well and good until another race, The Others, came along and started shooting. In order to keep from being subjugated under the rule of The Others, the Confederation set out to adopt a few races who continued to be well versed in the art of war. Not surprisingly, one of those races were Humans.

One of the best of these Humans is Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr. Huff opens her first novel in this series by dropping the reader right into the midst of a fleshed out universe. Kerr is a “battle-hardened” character, formed from a past that is revealed slowly, though not entirely, as the story plays out. Huff doesn’t waste the reader’s time with long exposition about the myriad races who populate her universe. Instead she sends you out on a mission with them, a “diplomatic” mission that turns out to be anything but. Although Valor’s Choice, at 282 pages, is a short novel by today’s standards, you can feel Huff taking her time to let you get to know the various characters, and their races, methodically building suspense until the inevitable first shot is fired. In doing so she sets the stage for the action that fills the second half of the novel.

I liked Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr right from the start. Tanya Huff is a writer with published work under her belt and it shows in the ease with which I found myself hooked, and held tight, by her prose. Valor’s Choice turns out to be a page-turner, particularly in the later part of the novel. When the dust settled and the score was tallied I found that I had a new literary character that I cared about and was anxious to dive right in to the second novel in this omnibus.

The Better Part of Valor picks up not long after the events of Valor’s Choice. Torin Kerr is called up for special duty, to escort a team of marines and scientists to explore a recently discovered derelict ship of unknown origins. Kerr is separated from her platoon for this assignment so the reader is introduced to a new set of interesting characters, including a roguish loner, the salvage operator who discovered the derelict ship to begin with. It wouldn’t be a military science fiction novel if something didn’t go wrong, and even though you are expecting it, Huff delivers an interesting adventure. I couldn’t help but think as I read The Better Part of Valor that it would make a great television miniseries or film. As the ship transporting Huff and her team come upon the enormous vessel for the first time, my imagination came alive. The suspense and sense of menace begins to simmer the moment the crew arrives at the alien ship and it does not stop building until the climax of the novel.

It was a pleasure to spend more time with Staff Sergeant Kerr. Additional revelations are handled in a way that allows for Torin Kerr to grow. I enjoyed the new characters introduced in this novel, even the ones meant to annoy. My only real complaint is that I felt like the novel was perhaps too long for the setting and the events which transpired. Given what she wanted to accomplish with the story I wish Huff would have trimmed it back by about 20 or 30 pages. In the grand scheme of things, that is a small complaint, especially in light of the fact that even though my week has been very busy, I finished reading in within a few days.

Some reviewers compare Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr to Ellen Ripley. While that is accurate in the sense that Huff’s character exudes strength and knows how to take charge, it is my opinion that Torin Kerr displays a little more humanity which adds dimension to her character.

You are not going to get a wholly unique reading experience with Tanya Huff’s Valor series. Be it in book or film–we’ve seen hostile, bug-like aliens and cocky marines, multiracial galaxy conglomerates and kick-ass female characters before. So what. When a story is entertaining, it is entertaining, and Tanya Huff tells a good yarn. If you haven’t given her work a try, this two-for-the-price-of-one collection is a great way to get immersed. I have already snagged a MMPB copy of the third novel in the series, The Heart of Valor, and look forward to seeing where Tanya Huff takes Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr, and me, next.