Book #95 - The Legend of the Sword

The second book of the In Her Name series, Legend of the Sword takes place six months after the first one ends. Young Sato has command of a vessel, patrolling and shaking down one of the newer heavy cruisers as most of humankind prepares for the next battle with the Kreelan.

This book was just as captivating as the first, with more depth being given to some of the characters and fleshing out the future galaxy. Tesh-Dar occupies a lot of this book as she leads and assault on Saint Petersburg, a planet settled by former Soviets. We hear about her past, and her journey to become a high priestess. It’s an interesting look at the culture of the Kreelan. She must choose a successor, and chooses one of her warriors from book 1, Li’ara Zhurah, who must face her own demons.

For the humans, we see a bit more of Ichiro growing up, and we see the problems in politics rearing their heads. The Earth government sends a fleet to Saint Petersburg, both to defend the nearby planet Riga, which is like a Soviet vassal state, and to contain nuclear weapons the Russians have. It’s almost like the cold war again, and we find a new spy, Valentina, who infiltrates Saint Petersburg.

As with a great story, the timing works out, with the Kreelan arriving in system just after the Earth fleet, and the military joining forces. There are some shaky situations, and with so many characters dying, I was always wondering who might go next. Another exciting book, and looking forward to Book 3.