I had just read Seeker and thought it was pretty good. A Talent for War is even better than Seeker. The plot is well paced and not too predictable and there is always a new layer to the mystery that beckons you to read just one more page. This book is very fun and I hope the rest books in the series can match or exceed it.

I've just read the entire run of Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict series -- of which this novel is the opener -- in succession. "A Talent for War" was an immensely enjoyable read with a got-to-read-next-chapter-now plot. I've found each book in the series to be this way; they kept me guessing (and reading) chapter after chapter. Historical mysteries wrapped in a sci-fi shell. (As an aside; I bought the paperback of this book ages (ages!) ago -- 1990 or so, if I remember right. But I never read it until the eBook version (after picking up the second book in the series, POLARIS). Why? The cover. That image really threw me for some reason. Don't let it keep you from giving it a read.)