Kris Longknife Books

Kris Longknife is a daughter of privilege, born to money and power. Her father is the Prime Minister of her home planet, her mother the consummate politician’s wife. She’s been raised only to be beautiful and to marry well. But the heritage of the military Longknifes courses through Kris’s blood—and, against her parents’ objections, she enlists in the marines. She has a lot to live up to and a lot to prove in the long-running struggle between her powerful family, a highly defensive—and offensive—Earth, and the hundreds of warring colonies. And then an ill-conceived attack brings the war close to home, putting Kris’s life on the line. Now she has only one choice: certain death on the front lines of rim space—or mutiny...

A search for her lost friend leads the female space warrior into a galactic hellhole with no way out.

As part of an agenda to oust her father from his political position, Kris Longknife is relieved of command. But when an alien enemy launches an invasion, she defies both government and military authority to lead a rag-tag fleet against the threat.

Kris Longknife has been given her first independent command in the very remote system of Chance, an assignment that's as much exile as promotion. But Kris isn't on the job long when she captures pirates hiding the location of an uncharted and unpopulated planet of miraculous technology.

You can't keep a good woman down-Kris Longknife returns. Once again Kris finds herself caught in the crosshairs of unknown enemies who want her dead. Factions, both legitimate and underground, vie for control of the planet New Eden. And someone is taking advantage of the chaos to unleash a personal vendetta against Kris.

Kris Longknife has been assigned to The Wasp, the best warship beyond the Rim of Human Space. But while hunting for pirates, Kris stumbles upon something. It’s a plan to kill one of the members of the aristocratic Peterwald family—and the would-be killers are setting her up as the assassin.

Kris Longknife encounters some peaceful aliens who have come to warn humanity of an unidentifiable force that is roaming the galaxy, obliterating everything in its path-a path now leading directly toward the human worlds.

Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife has precise orders: seek out, engage, and destroy pirates, slavers, and drug lords operating beyond the rim of human space-without interfering in Peterwald family affairs. But when slavers kidnap a twelve-year-old girl, Kris's mission becomes personal. And if destroying the pirate compound flattens some Peterwald interests-well, to hell with politics.

An original novella in the “fast-paced, exciting”* Kris Longknife series from New York Times bestselling author Mike Shepherd. Proving herself a capable, if unorthodox, officer, Lieutenant Kris Longknife has been assigned to train inexperienced crews in piloting the newest, fastest, and deadliest attack ships in the fleet. But Kris’s training tour has not gone unnoticed by her enemies—and their hired assassins... Includes a teaser chapter from the Kris Longknife novel, Daring , and a letter from the author. *Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Moon

Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife leads a reconnaissance mission of the vast uncharted regions of space. No one, least of all Kris, expects to find a hostile alien starship. Now, she must determine the extent of the alien threat-and whether to start an interstellar war...

An original novella in the “fast-paced, exciting military SF series”* featuring Kris Longknife. Kris Longknife is back home from her galactic adventures, but her entire Fleet of Discovery has been annihilated. Now, humanity finds itself at war with an alien race more monstrous than anyone could have possibly imagined. General Terrance “Trouble” Tordon, Kris’s great-grandfather, is given the task of calming the panicked politicians, some of whom blame Kris for the disaster and would like to eliminate the ever bothersome Commander Longknife. But as “Trouble” struggles to defend his Kris, the level of uncertainty among the civilians leads to more panic and a rush to judgment that makes him believe that he’s facing a fight he’s bound to lose… Includes a preview of the newest Kris Longknife novel, Furious , available November 2012. *SF Site

Having used unorthodox methods to save a world—and every sentient being on it—Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife is wanted across the galaxy for crimes against humanity. For her own safety, she’s been assigned to a backwater planet where her Fast Patrol Squadron 127 enforces immigration control and smuggler interdiction. But Kris is a Longknife, and nothing can stop her from getting back to the center of things—not when all hell is breaking loose. Now she’s on the run, hunted by both military and civilian authorities—and since the civilian authorities happen to be her immediate family, Kris soon finds herself homeless, broke, and on trial for her life on an alien world…

It’s dangerous to get too close to one of those damn Longknifes. So Senior Chief Agent in Charge Foile volunteers to get too damn close to the whole family of Longknifes. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Kris Longknife feared the survival of the entire human race might hang on what her Grampa Al did next – but she couldn’t figure out what he was up to. After a career in the Wardhaven Bureau of Investigations, Foile was good at finding out what others wanted to keep hidden. Exactly why he found himself volunteering, he’d never know, but soon he was spending his annual leave digging into what the powerful Longknife family wanted hidden and is up to his neck in trouble of every kind. Note about cover photo: this is a file photo of Kris and Nelly when she was in college on the political stump for her father’s campaign. For the latest photo of Kris, check out Kris Longknife - Defender.

Kris Longknife is back in the good graces of the brass—and to demonstrate that, they've promoted her to Admiral.  Now her mission is to find the home base of the space pirates who are plaguing the fringes of the galaxy. But no mission is ever simple when your name is Longknife. And this time the complications range from the military to the personal, as Kris finds herself—reluctantly—having to make some command decisions about her future...

In the New York Times bestselling Kris Longknife novels, “fans of the Honor Harrington escapades will welcome the adventures of another strong female in outer space starring in a thrill-a-page military space opera” ( Alternative Worlds ). The aliens attacking the planetary system of Alwa are an enemy unlike any Admiral Kris Longknife has ever encountered before. She doesn’t know who they are, only that they worship a being known as the Enlightened One and are unafraid to sacrifice themselves against her fleet. But Kris faces more than just the fanatical behavior of an alien armada. A saboteur has infiltrated the military’s medical facility and unleashed an epidemic that has spread throughout the fleet without warning. Seventy-two career military women are down with something not even the aliens could do to them—including Admiral Kris Longknife…

Kris Longknife “can kick, shoot, and punch her way out of any dangerous situation,”* and her latest adventure in the New York Times bestelling series is as perilous as they come... Despite her role as a fleet Admiral and protector of a planetary system, Kris is still beholden to her great grandfather King Raymond’s commands. She has been personally selected for a mission that, should she succeed, will save millions of lives. The Peterwald Empire is in the midst of civil war. On one side is the tyrannical Empress, on the other is the last person Kris ever wants to see again—Grand Duchess Vicky Peterwald. Due to their shared history, the Emperor believes Kris can mediate between the factions and bring about peace. But before Kris even begins her mission, she survives multiple assassination attempts on her family home world. Someone doesn’t want her interfering in the Empire’s affairs. Kris immediately suspects Vicky or the Empress, only to learn that it could also be a traitor among her own people... * Sci Fi magazine

Ruthie Longknife is seven-months-old and enjoying her very first Christmas in the arms of Kris Longknife. She's got a sparkling tree to taste, a lot of presents under the tree, oh, and because she's a Longknife, uninvited guests for the Christmas goose. This is a short story of 6,800 words and says a lot about Longknife holiday family dynamics, including grumpy old Grampa Al. A must read for those of you who enjoy Kris's world.

Sandy Santiago is a woman with a whole lot of problems. She's ordered to replace Kris Longknife, but can any mere mortal fill the shoes of a Longknife, and Kris Longknife most of all? Follow Sandy as she's introduced to the mess on Canopus Station. Watch her as she meets cats (with nuclear weapons!) and birds and vicious alien raiders. Oh, and she has to share Alwa Station with Rita Nuu Longknife. How does a gal get so lucky?

Princess Kris Longknife is Viceroy for the Royal US government to the aliens of Alwa. She commands a fleet and an industrial base, and the humans manning the ships and working the factories would like some vacation time. They'd also like a stake in the Alwa they are defending. So Kris finds herself approaching natives for land. Her Native American heritage balks at the thought of her trading a few beads for land, so she will handle these negotiations herself. Of course, nothing ever goes down easy for a Longknife. She'll face beasties, angry natives and an assassin before she's done, but hey, she's a Longknife. That's what she does. This story was originally part of Kris Longknife - Unrelenting but these 7600 words had to be cut because the novel was too long. Now you can read the full story that was covered in one short paragraph in Unrelenting.

You knew when Kris asked for a desk job that it wasn't going to be pretty. Well, here's the bad, the worst, and the ugly. Budgets! This short story started out as the opening chapters to Kris Longknife - Emissary, but hey, we all know how bad an office job is. Who wants to start off an action adventure yarn with just another day at the office? So I cut it. But, I know there are some of you out there who must have wondered if a bad Longknife day at the office was as bad as yours. Who has wondered what Kris had been doing for the last (mumble, mumble) years? So here is it is. Enjoy, you masochists.

Kris Longknife has discovered that this desk job is not at all what she expected. Being desk bound hasn't even decreased the number of assassination attempts! Then Kris gets home to find her two kids playing with an Iteeche. Ron has come back to human space with a request. Should Kris honor it? Can she finally get some straight answers for her Grampa Ray, King Raymond to most? Does she risk taking the kids into a situation with a whole lot of unanswered questions? Oh, and what can go wrong? Kris know something will go wrong. Something always goes wrong.

You knew it had to happen sooner or later. Abby goes on strike. Of course, it took a lot to drive her to that extreme. Just saying.

Sandy Santiago has problems coming out her ears. Granny Rita is out of control. The workers are out on strike. Worse, the murderous alien raiders are testing Alwa's defense perimeter. Once she has her hous in order, Sandy is strongly thinking of getting her own good look at what appears to be the alien home world. Last time Kris Longknife visited the place, she threw some serious shade on the aliens. Dare Sandy return? Might the aliens be waiting for her? What could a serious, organized scientific look at this world tell Sandy? Assuming she survives the look!

Kris Longknife has discovered that this desk job is not at all what she expected. Being desk bound hasn't even decreased the number of assassination attempts! Then Kris gets home to find her two kids playing with an Iteeche. Ron has come back to human space with a request. Should Kris take it? Can she finally get some straight answers from her Grampa Ray, known as King Raymond to most? Does she risk taking the kids into a situation with a whole lot of unanswered questions? What could go wrong? Kris knows something will go wrong. Something always goes wrong.

Admiral Kris Longknife should have known the job offer was too good. Really, she knew by now that what was too good to be true really, really isn't. Still, she jumped at the chance to be the first human emissary to the Iteeche Empire.Only when she got there and met the Emperor, a teenage kid swamped by his throne, did Kris find out that there was a little civil war going on in the Iteeche Empire. The loyal forces were losing, and they needed the best fighting admiral they could get. So they got Kris Longknife.Now Kris is sweating out collecting a fighting force -- that won't make her their first target. Now she's trying to figure out how to fight ships identical to hers, that outnumber her four to one or worse. Oh, and she's got to keep the merchant princes in her embassy from making a mess of everything.A whole lot of people are hoping this Longknife can pull a grizzly bear out of her hat. A whole lot of other Iteeche are hoping the bear takes off her arm.This continuation of the Longknife Saga is 112,000 words of battle, intrigue and assassinations including a few wrong turns on Kris's part. Enjoy!

This is the third book with Grand Admiral Sandy Santiago serving as Kris Longknife's Relief, then Replacement, and now Successor, on Alwa. She has all the challenges a gal could ask for. Granny Rita is on the rampage, and the cats have gone on strike. Leaving the Colonials to deal with Granny Rita, Sandy heads off to work with the cats, only to discover she is not the only one who has a bone to pick with them - alien monsters have a vendetta as well! Sandy has to work to find a way of peace among the Alwans, feisty cats, and a new alien race.

Grand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife is up to her ears in problems . . . again. While summoned to the Imperial Iteeche Court to be humanity’s Emissary, it turns out that what the Iteeche really want is a fighting admiral!You see, they’ve got this huge civil war going, and the Imperial side isn’t doing so well. Kris now has command of the entire Imperial Combined Fleet. Sort of.The Iteeche Empire has a ten-thousand-year long history. There is nothing that won’t say, “We’ve always done it that way,” pointing to a track record lasting for thousands of years. Even when Kris reminds them they’re losing, many have a hard time changing.Many Iteeche also wonder if letting a human win this war for them isn’t losing everything already.Kris managed to win a defensive battle with a scratch force. Now she’s thrown together a larger force and is ready to take the fight to the rebels. It’s full speed ahead with Kris Longknife: Commanding.

Grand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife, commander of the Iteeche Imperial Combined Fleets has the enemy on the run. Literally. The last time she entered a rebel system, every disloyal ship picked up its skirts and ran.So why has she been ordered, as in requested and required, to make a formal report to the Emperor? Ron the Iteeche and his two young Iteeche Counselors have little to say on the subject except that some Iteeche think Kris is winning too much, too fast.What human combat commander has ever heard those words?Worse, when Kris returns to the capital, no one wants to sell her a ticket on the space elevator. Driving the streets is dangerous . . . not two roadside bombs, but three detonate! Now she's got her embassy in sight and she can't get in!What kind of games are the clan lords playing? What threats are being hatched against the young Emperor? Even more pressing, how does Kris get back into her embassy and back to her kids?The Iteeche Empire claims it has a ten-thousand-year history and traditions for every possible situation. However, they've never run into Kris Longknife Indomitable!

The foolish Iteeche clans that hauled Grand Admiral Kris Longknife back to the Iteeche Capital and interrupted her campaign against the rebels, are dead. Very dead. Their clans are disgraced and their palaces in ruin.However, while Kris was handling that noise, the rebels took back one of the planets she had recently captured, Arteccia, and are planning to take more. Now it's time once more again for Kris to kick butts and take names.However, life is never easy for a Human in the Iteeche Empire. The Clan Chiefs expect Kris to retake what the rebels took from the loyalists because that is the Iteeche Way. That is a tune she will not dance to. So, the Clan Chiefs play their ace: Do what we want, or we won't give you command of our ships. To their consternation, Kris does not give in. She gives them a literal middle digit salute and invites every minor clan to join the fun and games of capturing planets and gaining plunder.Unfortunately, the rebels have used their time well and they have their own plans for Kris, plans that should leave her fleet in ruins and the young Iteeche on the throne dead. Unfortunately for them, their plans can't really hold back Grand Admiral, the Stalwart Kris Longknife.

Everyone has known since Kris Longknife – Mutineer that Kris ran off to join the Navy after graduating college much to her parents’ dismay. However, the story has never been told of how that came to pass. Worse, how does a scion of the Longknife clan survive that massive drop in social levels, plummeting from the Prime Minister’s brat to a lowly Boot Recruit. Here, at last, is the story in all it’s fuss and feathers still on this rare bird. Enjoy.