Saltation (Liaden Universe®) (utgåvan 2011)

Continuing the story of Theo Waitley forward from the events of [Fledgling]. Theo has now joined Anlingdin Piloting Academy on the planet of Eylot, pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot. Away from the stifling atmosphere of Delgado University she hopes to find a place where she feels rather less of a misfit. But political change on Eylot intervenes, and Theo finds herself once more at odds with the cultural expectations of those around her ...

Initially a coming of age novel, as the reader follows Theo's progress through the Academy, in the last third of the book the plot meshes with the wider events going on in the Liaden Universe as a whole, as recounted in the [Agent of Change] sequence. As Theo reconnects with Win Ton, the Liaden Scout who had become her companion in [Fledgling], the ending of [Saltation] merged with that of the final pages of [I, Dare] from the earlier sequence.

Again, this was a fun read and I'll be following on with Theo's story in [Ghost Ship]. ( )

Theo Waitley has survived the tough year that culminated in pilot school on a planet very different from Delgado. Along the way she caught the attention of Master Pilot Captain Cho, and now she has a scholarship to an elite piloting academy. Surely now she'll fit in?

But no. She's behind in some things, ahead in others, and learned self-protection makes her seem to be looking for a fight far too often. And as she catches up on her math, and finally starts to make friends aside from her roommates, political conditions on this planet are changing. The offworld piloting students, especially the Liadens, are less and less welcome. And Theo, despite having just recently learned of her parentage, is obviously Liaden. After a series of incidents, Theo is declared "a nexus of violence," and expelled. To get offworld quickly, she takes her recently obtained guild card, and signs on as an apprentice pilot with a trading company.

Her life has only begun to get interesting.

Momentous events elsewhere produce major changes in trade routes, and her employers want to move quickly to take advantage of the openings. She gets a disturbing message from her old friend Win Ton, saying he needs to see her in person immediately.

And what Win Ton has to to tell her creates even more trouble.

This is a fun, fast-paced book. It suffers some of the disadvantages of being a middle book in a sequence, but the characters we know continue to develop, the new characters are developed nicely, and there's enough background included, I think, to let new readers catch up.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Recommended. ( )

Theo Watley's school days, in which she proves she is more than the Anlingdin Piloting Acadamy on Elyot can handle, indeed more than she herself is quite up to handling, but she is learning even as her socialization skills are lagging. This time through the book it's episodic nature was pretty apparent if not jarring. After Theo's initial adjustment to the school there is a large time gap just proceeding her next round of difficulties conjured up by Eylot localism and culminating with her expulsion. Another gap covers her two years training as a pilot for Hugglelans leaving her a first class pilot when she encounters an invalided Win Ton and leaves him in Uncle's custody as she becomes pilot for Uncle. This book ends at the same point as I Dare.

A decent episode in the story and OK for both space opera and school day naratives, Saltation has both the virtues and weaknesses of many Liaden™️ stories, in that, however well written it still seems like its own fan fiction. Norbears appear, indeed our oldest friend Havelin greets her at the Pilot's Guild office. Bowli ball features in the plot. ( )

This book follows "Fledgling" and brings Theo's part of the story up to the end of "I Dare". ( )

This 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. "