An Officer’s Duty is the second installment of Theirs Not to Reason Why. Like A Soldier’s Duty, An Officer’s Duty is a military science fiction novel that has plenty of action and some military philosophy in it.

Ia is an interesting character to get to know. With the fate of the universe in her hands she is quite driven and tends to forget that she is a human (well, half-human). Fortunately, she has other characters in this novel that keep her grounded.

Being only mortal, Ia knows that she will have to find a way for future generations to take her letters seriously. The answer lies in her ancestry and on her birth-planet Sanctuary. Her brothers and mothers support her in her work and do everything they can to make it possible to save life in the Milky-Way.

Enrolling in officer’s school (the Navy kind) helps Ia accomplish her goal of becoming an officer. Her example, both in school and later on duty, brings the respect needed from her fellow-soldiers. She is brought closer to her goal, step by step and fight by fight.

The goriness from A Soldier’s Duty is reduced. You will have to read A Soldier’s Duty to get the needed background for An Officer’s Duty. That will mean wading through a bit of blood and body-parts. I’ve enjoyed both books of this series thus far. I expect I will get the rest once they hit the market.