Code Of Conduct Essay, Research Paper

Code of Conduct is Kristine Smith?s debut novel. Mixing adventure and

politics, Smith tells the story of Jani Killian, a former soldier who has lived

incognito for nearly twenty years since shooting her commanding officer when he

tried to enforce an illegal order. While many believe Jani was killed in a fiery

crash shortly after that incident, portions of the Commonwealth?s government

believes she may still be alive. The alien idomeni, in whose culture Jani was a

specialist, also believe she may still be active. As the novel opens, the

Commonwealth Interior Minister, Evan van Richter, a former lover and comrade in

arms, manages to find Jani and offer her protection if she?ll help him

discover the truth behind his wife?s recent death. Skeptical at first, Jani

agrees to leave her haven on the world Whalen and travel to the capital of the

Commonwealth, Chicago, where she becomes involved in the intricate politics

within the government as well as with the idomeni ambassador, Jani?s former

mentor among the aliens. The politics surrounding Lyssa van Richter?s death

are Byzantine, made more so when Jani?s research begins to indicate that the

crash which almost killed her nearly two decades earlier may have been linked to

the death she?s currently examining. While doing her research, Jani must

carefully guard her identity, especially when she is kidnapped by a rival

minister who is intent on destroying van Richter and capturing the Jani Killian

who possibly died in the crash. Code of Conduct is clearly a first novel and

shows the potential Smith has to become a major author. The plot is complex, but

Smith manages to keep the various threads orderly. Most impressive of all are

the ideas which are touched upon but not fully explored, leaving Smith plenty of

material for future works.