The Heart of Valor (Confederation)

From Publishers Weekly
The fast-paced third military SF novel in Huff's Confederation series (after Valor's Choice and The Better Part of Valor) examines how an interplanetary confederation might unite several distinctive species into an effective military organization despite widely differing physiologies, customs and mores. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Torin Kerr, recovering from injuries suffered in a first contact situation, accompanies a recruit platoon into the Crucible, a training planet where they apply their lessons in a realistic live-fire exercise against robotic drones. While the exercise is underway, the drones begin acting aggressively, without regard to fail-safes or their programming. Has the platoon come under attack by the mysterious Others, or is this related to the alien escape pod that everybody has forgotten exists except for Torin, her lover and an obnoxious reporter? The intriguing and well-designed aliens and intricate plotting keep the reader guessing. (June)
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From Booklist
Gunner Sergeant Torin Kerr, newly promoted because of her handling of combined diplomatic and combat duties in The Better Part of Valor (2002), discovers that her lover has made off with a life pod from a captured alien ship. Suddenly Torin and her convalescent commander, Major Svensson, are shipped out to a training planet with a company of recruits. Crucible turns out to be aptly named when the life pod shows up in the hands of hostile forces, including unknown alien races and some marines. Interstellar peace and Gunny Kerr survive—just. Expect more of this military sf saga, which is a vast improvement over Huff's earlier, mostly fantasy, fiction. Green, Roland --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.