Agent of change (original 1988; edition 2002)

Started and finished today.

Fun sci-fi, part of a series I hadn't read before. I think I enjoyed it enough to keep going. Although I felt like parts dipped perilously close to cliche territory, it never quite got there. And I loved Edger and the other turtles. (Yes, turtles.)

So far:
7 hours 15 minutes spent reading
1211 pages read
four books finished (two middle-grade, two adult) ( )

Starts off OK, but after about six chapters it the plot starts to drag and it feels like nothing is happening. At this point I lost interest. ( )

Val Con yos’Phelium has just completed his latest covert mission when he runs into a young woman being attacked by five or six mercenaries. Against his better judgment, he enters the fray and helps her to fend off her attackers. As a result, he learns that Miri Robertson is a mercenary and ex-bodyguard who has run afoul of the Juntavas, a kind of interplanetary mafia. Both on the run, Val Con and Miri decide to team up: together they will acquire adequate money and transportation to make good their escape. Of course, their plan is complicated by several more attacks from both the Juntavas and the local police. As they fight their way to freedom and encounter various friends and foes, Val Con and Miri also begin to develop feelings for each other beyond simple partnership.

You know that saying about judging a book by its cover? Well, this is one situation where you can absolutely do it. This book is a fairly conventional (to the best of my knowledge — I haven’t read that much sci fi) space opera with a hint of romance. And yes, there are giant turtles! I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but afterward I started noticing a lot of unanswered questions. For example, we know that Val Con is a spy and that his handlers have somehow rewired his brain; he’s able to make precise calculations about his chances of survival over a given period of time. But we don’t really know anything about his employers or the nature of his work as a spy. There are several other novels in this series, and I’m guessing this is not the first one, although it’s proven hard for me to verify the order of the books. So maybe that’s why I found the story a bit confusing. I’m not curious enough to track down the rest of the books, so I suppose I’ll just have to live with those loose ends. Still, this novel is a fun read for what it is.

A tale of daring-do, or how the world underestimates the determination and pure stubbornness of the small. A bodyguard who unfortunately lets her boss get killed, finds herself without funds, and pretty much without hope. She's in a firefight with little hope of escape. Along comes a trained 'spy' who is running from his own pursuers. Why not team up for a bit?

Well drawn characters in a wild and crazy romp through a future world that includes sentient turtles. What more can you ask for for a light and quick read? I'll definitely be diving further into the Liaden Univerise. ( )

One of the more obvious starting places fro the Liaden series of novels, however it doesn't explain very much if anything at all about the backstroy, so you're pretty much jumping straight in at the deep end. Sometime in the future ... humanity has fled the earth and established itself in space, probably just the local galaxy, through a 'Jump' technology. In the process a degree of genetic alteration has occured leading to an almost seperate race the Liadens, (based on the planet Liad) and more normal Terrans. There are also a scattering of aliens of which only the turtle like Clutch seem to be around.

Val'Con is Liad, and a Scout cum Spy. He complete his latest mission, sucessfully as usual, before entangling himself in a group of gangsters chasing a pretty girl. She's able to handle herself, but he finds that his chances of evading persuit from his own 'crimes' increase if they escape together. And so fate's die is rolled.

Needs a lot more universe background for a beginning. Nothing is explained at all, and even circumstantually it's quite hard to piece togethre under what rules the universe operates. The characters are ok, but the writing is frequently chopping and changing between them which is extremely annoying at times Especially when it's just for a paragragh or two of someone we don't meet again. The somewhat complex family arranements are also unclear, which doesn't aid understanding.

That said it was fast paced and fun. the dialogue just about stands well enough to drive the whole thing through. Probably best read as an omnibus with the next few of the series. ( )

Delightfully fun - I'd be hard pressed to believe any fan of space opera-style science fiction wouldn't enjoy following Miri and Val Con's adventures. Action, intrigue, a dash of romance, and giant turtles! I have no idea how I've managed to miss this series until now. ( )

Absolutely wonderful story. Complex weaving of characters and situations, a wide and rapidly changing set of attitudes from and between the characters - just great. This was the first Liaden book I read, back when it was first issued ('88 - 20 years ago!), and I've reread it countless times since then. But I can still find new things, new richnesses to enjoy on every reread. Val Con and Miri meet up and end up sticking with each other - through many and varied adventures. Two enemies aren't all that much worse than one... ( )

(Alistair) So, I begin my adventures in reading the Liaden universe books here, which I seem to recall being mentioned as an advised starting point.

The worldbuilding, to pick something right off, is excellent. Absolutely excellent. Some might be a little surprised to hear me say that, given that I'm generally more of a harder-SF reader, but I can appreciate high-quality social and cultural worldbuilding, too, and this would appear to have that. And in plentiful quantities.

(It certainly does not hurt either, I suppose, that my personal philosophical predilections are such that I am predisposed to appreciate the Liaden culture.)

It also has, I will go on to add, deep and delightfully drawn characters and a thundering good plot that weaves together espionage, romance, and good old-fashioned spopera in such a way as to keep 'em all flowing and working well together.

And then there's the turtles...

A pleasure to read, and I look forward very much to the pleasure of reading more. Fortunately, Partners in Necessity is not very far at all down my reading list. Enthusiastically recommended!

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/cerebrate/2009/03/agent_of_change_sharon_lee_... ) ( )

http://www.starbaseandromeda.com/Reviews/2005reviews.html#LiadenNovels ( )

Sample Chapters: http://www.webscription.net/chapters/1587870096/1587870096.htm

Pretty ordinary secret agent type on the run story. The fun bit is that he gets probability calculations of his likely demise along the way. Basically, Lee is no Fleming or Ludlum.

Should appeal more to those that like a romance/action story in a different setting.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/11/agent-of-change-sharon-lee.html ( )