Tag: Sharon Lee

Saltation (Liaden)

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9110cadde056760f6932ec3e7836bf4bThis review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge’s Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

 

 

Title: Saltation

Series: Liaden

Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Rating: Unrated

Genre: SFF

Pages: 453

Format: Kindle

 

 

My Thoughts:

Due to some of the subject matter, I will not be continuing with this series.

Longeye (Duainfey #2)

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 538eb7ffcb700d83de96f37e0410702dThis review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.  wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge’s Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

 

 

Title: Longeye
Series: Duainfey
Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Rating: 3  of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 416
Format: Kindle

 

Synopsis:

Things are going wrong, both in the human world and in the fey world. The magical barrier, the keleigh, is having unintended side effects and it will take all the power of all the fey to set things right.

 

My Thoughts:

No matter how good this book was, or could have been, it is tainted by the previous book, Duainfey. Even though there is no explicit sex, rape or group rape, I kept waiting for it to happen, as it was in the previous book for no good reason. That pretty much destroyed my enjoyment of this book.

One thing I figured out was that I also disliked these books so much because the 2 main characters, Meripen the fey and Rebecca the human, are both controlled by and act on, Fear. It defines who they are, what they think, how they react, how they plan [or don’t] for future events. It was very, very unpleasant. It wasn’t right up until the end of the book that they both got over it and became the kind of people I wanted to read about. Sadly, 20% of a second book isn’t nearly enough to redeem the previous 180%.

The ending seemed rather a cop out to me as well. A magical Deus Ex Machina. A completely selfless act by a whole group of people, who for thousands of years and up until this point, have exhibited nothing but selfishness and self-centeredness.

With that all being said, Lee and Miller once again do an excellent job of writing. I like their style of writing and I have to admit, I can’t tell who writes what, or how they divvy it up.  That just makes it even better.

Fledgling (Liaden)

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815904c7b0a56fb9a7fa6e1913fdbc3bThis review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge’s Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission.

 

Title: Fledgling
Series: Liaden
Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 528
Format: Kindle

 

Synopsis:

Daav yos’Phelium is on Delgado in his Jen Sar Kiladi persona. And he’s “married” with a 14 year old daughter.

This book is not about him.

It is about Theo, his daughter. And the politic’ing on a world full of eggheads who have no grasp on reality. This is about Theo growing up into her, unknown to her, Liaden heritage and piloting skills inherited from Daav.

 

My Thoughts:

I accidentally started Ghost Ship before this, which is 2 or 3 books ahead of this. And it wasn’t until I was at the 50% mark that I realized my mistake. Hence, a lot of what happened in this book was slightly referenced in Ghost Ship and I had pretty good idea of what was going to happen.

And I still enjoyed it. Not as much as the other Liaden books, as it is dealing with a 14 year old girl and the politics of scholars but it was still enjoyable. It was also good writing. I know it was good writing because it got me extremely frustrated, in several instances, at several of the characters and how they reacted. I am learning to enjoy moments like that because it shows that the authors know how to present a society, a character and their interaction. And that interaction isn’t always smooth, happy or rational.

By the end I was glad I had read this and was ready for more Theo Waitely, soon to be Pilot.

Duainfey (Duainfey #1)

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Title: Duainfey

Series: Duainfey

Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Rating: 2.5 of 5 Battle Axes

Genre: SFF

Pages: 496

Format: Kindle

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Rebecca Beauvelley is a ruined woman.

In a moment of girlish folly, she allowed a high-flying young man to take her up in his phaeton, not realizing that he was drunk. When he dropped the ribbons, she recovered them, but could not avoid disaster. The young man was killed. Rebecca survived, crippled, and with a reputation in tatters.

Against all expectation, her father has found someone who will marry her. Rebecca’s life seems set, and she resigned to it. Then, Altimere of the Elder Fey enters her life—and everything changes.

 

My Thoughts:

The synopsis is straight from the book page and it describes how this book starts perfectly, hence why I used it.

This is a story of good people and bad people, of good fey and bad fey. Rebecca is one of the good people. Her soon to be husband is one of the bad people. Meripen is one of the good fey, caught and tortured by humans with his lover who sacrificed her life so that he could escape. Altimere is one of the bad fey, a high fey who will do whatever he wants to regain his High status.

Things start out pretty average with poor crippled girl being swept away by enchanting fey who promises to save her from a horrible future. Problem is, the future with the fey is even worse.

And that “even worse” is why I could only give 2 1/2 stars here. I loved the writing, the story, the “overall’ness” of this, but the domination of Rebecca by Altimere was not only magical, it was sexual as well. It was explicit enough that it went beyond the boundary of “part of the story”. Also, Altimere uses Rebecca as a sexual lure for other Fey to steal their powers and she is raped, singly and by group and once again it was graphic enough that it turned my stomach. There are other ways to describe what happens without being sexually explicit.

I have enjoyed Miller and Lee’s Liaden Universe books a lot and so was really looking forward to this. So to have the above dropped on me was unexpected, unwanted and disappointing. There were several times I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted to finish the story.

Thankfully, it wasn’t all rape all the time. It was still a good story. I really enjoyed Meripen’s story, a fey ranger. We come across him as he is awoken from healing sleep and slowly learn of his past while he must deal with the present. The present involves Fey and Human working together, something Meripen can’t really comprehend due to what happened so many years ago.

I will be reading the finale to this duology but it isn’t on my “must read” mental list and I won’t be moving it up the line to read right away. Overall, my feelings are so mixed between the bad and the good that I’m not even sure of this middle of the road rating.

Mouse and Dragon (Liaden)

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Title: Mouse and Dragon

Series: Liaden

Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Rating: 4 of 5 Battle Axes

Genre: SFF

Pages: 512

Format: Kindle

 

 

 

Synopsis:

A direct sequel to Scout’s Progress. In which we see how Daav becomes the man we know him from in other books and what happened to Caylon.

Not much actually happens, but a lot of setup of events that shape future events.

 

My Thoughts:

I wish I had read this directly after Scout’s Progress instead of waiting 18 months. I didn’t actually realize that it had been so long until I went to look for the previous book and realized that, in publication order, there are several books between that and this. Next time around I’ll be reading in Chronological Order. But for now, Publication is the best I think.

Anyway, this was just as good as the previous Liaden books. Romance that I enjoy instead of gagging over. In space.

But it is definitely a sequel and not be read before Scout’s Progress. This would make no sense without that backdrop.

 

Crystal Dragon (Liaden)

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Title: Crystal Dragon

Series: Liaden Universe

Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: SF

Pages: 445

Synopsis:

The direct sequel to Crystal Soldier. And things get resolved in such a way as to show the creation of the Liaden Universe.

Intrigue, politics, fighting all come together from various places and planes.

My Thoughts:

I felt a little fuzzy reading this, as “Math” was suppose to save the day but obviously since Lee and Miller weren’t talking real math, it was just referenced to so it felt kind of Ex Deus Machina.

That aside, this was yet another lovely foray into the Liaden Universe. This was the second book chronologically, but I have to say, I think the Publication Order is a much better way to read things. That was the way it came from the authors’ minds and it should be transmitted to ours in the same fashion.

One thing I really liked was how much of an important part the Tree played. It has been referenced before, but it has almost been a non-existent side character, enough so that I never thought it was THAT special, not at all. Hope it plays a bigger part in future novels.

Crystal Soldier (Liaden)

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Title: Crystal Soldier
Series: Liaden Universe
Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 400

 

 

Synopsis:

If you ever wondered HOW the Liaden Universe came about, what with the vague and cryptic hints we’ve received so far, this book begins to answer those questions.

 

My Thoughts:

Lee & Miller obviously have a thing for coupling tall women with shorter men. Makes me wonder if they’ve based their characters on themselves?

Anyway, I enjoyed this Liad book, just like all the others. Hint of romance, large dash of action, mix with some space & ground adventures, throw in some vagueness and slightly ominous hints and BAM, you have this book.

I was kind of hoping for a sequel to Balance of Trade, but this works. And I know that the next book will finish this duology and show the beginnings of the Liaden Universe.

Something to look forward to.

Balance of Trade (Liaden)

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Title: Balance of Trade

Series: Liaden Universe

Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars

Genre: SF

Pages: 670

 

Synopsis:

Jethri, young spaceborn Terran, is hated by his mother and she wants him gone. In one of those upsets of circumstances, Jethri is taken as a new apprentice, on a Liaden ship.

Adopted as the new heir of the Captain, Jethri is plunged into the Liaden world, filled with Honor, Melanti, and pitfalls he has no idea even exist. Thankfully, he acquires allies who help him as he in turn helps them.

 

My Thoughts:

As with previous Liaden novels, I simply loved this. I cannot pin down exactly what Lee & Miller do to make me love their books, but it hasn’t failed yet.

One thought that did strike me was how much this reminded of “Jane Austen…..In Space!”  The light romance touches, the family/clan drama, it just struck as Austen-lite and I really liked it.

This story follows a different Liaden clan from the former books and I am glad of that. It actually follows a Terran who is becoming Liaden. So everything is from Jethri’s viewpoint. I am glad to have read the previous Liaden books, as it gave me a background that helped me know pieces that weren’t obvious.

Everything that characterized the former books was here as well. It does end incomplete, but not a cliffhanger.  Looking forward to the next book immeasurably. I wonder how long I can drag it out before I HAVE to read it?

*grin*

I Dare (Liaden)

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Title: I Dare

Series: Liaden Universe

Author: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Genre: SF

Pages: 416

 

Synopsis:

The Ministry of the Interior pretends to have killed off all the members of the Korval clan, except for Pat-rin the Playboy, in an attempt to bend him to their will.

Pat-rin’s playboy exterior only covers a true Korval core and he attempts to start the clan over on a new world, with new allies.

However, the Clan is NOT dead and Val Con the Head of the Clan formulates a plan to save himself, the Clan and all of Liad from the depredations of the Ministry.

 

My Thoughts:

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous Liad books, mainly because Pat-rin is too wracked with guilt, self-loathing and self-doubt.

However, seeing the Ministry of the Interior get theirs was pretty good.

The romance side of things was ok, with several couples spontaneously life-mating, one pair through a dream no less.  I rolled my eyes but I didn’t feel dirty or disgusted like I would with that smut that passes for romance these days.

Each book I read is bittersweet, as I enjoy them so much and each book finished means I’m one book closer to the end. I ration myself.

Scout’s Progress (Liaden)

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Synopsis:

Caylon, an abused middle child, now an abused adult, is a math genius. But it isn’t enough to get her from under her domineering brother’s thumb.

So she makes a bet, under her Delm’s protection, that she can make her portfolio do better in a year than her brother can.

It is all a ruse to prepare her for running away and leaving her life behind and starting a fresh.

What she doesn’t count on is running into Daav, head of Clan Korval.

 

My Thoughts:

With each Liaden novel, I enter with trepidation, wondering if “this” will be the book that falls flat for me.

Well, it wasn’t this one! 🙂

I absolutely love these books. Space Opera Romance, that while not of Jane Austen quality, are perfect for what they are.

A balance of light humor, dark emotions, people using their brains and some really good action.

Caylon was shown perfectly. An abused woman who was intelligent enough to know that she needed to run and made the plans accordingly. It was great to see her start out as a mouse and become warmer and stronger the more she interacted with her new friends and Daav.

We also get to see Daav move from a man who is jealous of his twin for his life mating while Daav must deal with contract marriages as the Clan leader to someone who finds his own lifemate. I love that type of thing.

Happy Endings and Justice for All, all around!

 

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Author: Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Scout’s Progress

Liaden