ZB5

Direct continuation from Agent of Change. These four books are pretty close to a four-volume novel - and yet manage to have satisfying endings for each one. AoC ended with them escaping two major enemies. That scene is repeated as the first chapter of CD, then they get to deal with the results of the successful escape. Again, Val Con exercises his trained talents and a few more, and Miri develops her talents in new ways (and starts - only starts - to believe in herself). Vandar and its society are great, Zhena Trelu and Hakim and all the others they encounter are neatly drawn, the raid is exciting and its consequences major. And then everything happens at once at the end. We also get to learn more of the Department and of Shan and Priscilla (Steve & Sharon had to write a whole book in between AoC and CD to make sense of those two!). Very good. ( )

This was the actual third of the books written about the Liaden universe, I believe. My favorite of this series thus far is #4 Local Custom, with #2 Conflict of Honors rating second, of the three books that I have been fortunate, so far, to read. I plan on reading more books by these authors, including those about the Liaden Universe. ( )

Light hearted and dramatic with action, adventure and angst all wrapped up in some of the most enjoyable characters I've hit for a long time. Miri and Val Con are in hiding, Shan and Priscilla are rightfully worried and trying to track them down - as are Val con's ex-employers, the intergalactic mafia and some giant turtles.

This is the second book I have read in Lee and Miller's Liaden Universe setting. The first, Conflict of Honors, was reasonably entertaining but nothing special. I found Carpe Diem to be a much better book, one of the better space operas I have read in recent memory. The protagonists Val Con and Miri are great characters skillfully revealed as the story progresses: complicated, likeable yet humanly flawed, extraordinarily talented yet insecure in a way that rings true. And their romance is one of the more compelling ones I have encountered in science fiction. I particularly enjoyed the role of music in their lives and how music helps them connect with the world on which they find themselves stranded. The bad guys are also complex, much better characters than the corresponding heavies in Conflict of Honors.

The plot develops slowly, and offers a few nice surprises. We don't really understand who the bad guys are, what they are doing, or why until about halfway through this book. And when we do understand, it is certainly a dark menace worthy of risking deep sacrifice to stop. Highly recommended. ( )