The Heart of Valor

It's been said that a defining aspect of Canadian literature is the realization, on a certain level, that your environment is trying to kill you. This is true in Heart of Valor in a way it usually isn't meant - Torin Kerr's environment, a training planet called Crucible, has literally turned on her and her Marine recruits.

This book felt like it was trying to synthesize the first two in the series - it felt a lot like the first book, with Torin hopelessly outmanned and outgunned, with only her Marine training and stubbornness keeping her alive, while also advancing the plot surrounding Big Yellow introduced in book two. As such it was kind of the best of both worlds.