Ghost Ship

Clan Korval's relocation to Surebleak can't go without bumps, and of course there are those who think the new power on the Port Road will be as easy to take out as any street boss from the old days. Meanwhile, Theo Waitley is adjusting to finding herself a member of a large extended family, with siblings and cousins and aunts--none of whom grew up in the "safety" culture of Delgado, and whose reactions to her range from delighted to appalled.

Theo has temporarily shelved the question of what to do about Bechimo, the "old tech" sapient AI ship which Win Ton has given her the command key for. In the meantime, she's continuing to work as a courier pilot for the old and secretive person known as Uncle. But both as an employee of Uncle, and show more as, now, a known Clan Korval pilot, Theo has become a target for dangerous people.

And of course, the Department of the Interior continues its war against Clan Korval.

There are a lot of threads coming together here, and going off in new directions. Theo, Val Con, and their father, Daav, each in their own ways continue to grow and develop as characters. We also start to get to know Bechimo, who, well, Bechimo needs a lot of socialization!

This is a thoroughly satisfying entry in the Liaden series, continuing to build on what has gone before, and intertwining multiple ongoing threads in the larger Liaden universe. It might not be the best place for a reader coming new to the series to start, but still an excellent book.

Recommended.

I bought this book. show less

Very rich. I definitely need to read it a couple more times before I catch...well, most of it. Liaden books tend to have new discoveries on the tenth reading and more. The story is a little choppy - jumping back and forth between viewpoints, sometimes after only a page or two. And the Vandar bit was interesting - some repeated scenes, some left out here that the chapbook's story covered, and some new bits. It was great to see Clarence again, Bechimo is fascinating and needs quite a few lessons in dealing with people, Uncle is less than complete in his knowledge (how odd!). We don't get to see much of Surebleak - not as much as in Skyblaze - but what we do see is interesting. And...the book ends at a somewhat odd point (though I can't show more see where else it could have stopped - there's at least a full book's worth of story before there's any sort of conclusion). It stops at a point where everything is solidly begun, and some time is necessary before the next set of results happen. Dragon Ship...next year! Hmmm. Reread - I found I didn't remember portions of it, to the point of thinking I hasn't finished the book. I did remember the final scene, though. Well. Still excellent, and now I have Dragon Ship - the eARC, at least. It flows nicely. show less

Reassembling the whole Liaden™️ Korval clan with their arch enemies The Department of the Interior in disjoint pursuit. A majority of the action follows Theo Watley as she advertently but not quiet carefully follows Uncle's itinerary until Bechimo jumps in to save her ass. Somewhat disjoint and making a point to touch base with all our favorite clan members and most of their associates, but no norbears, the narrative has a gaping hole where story Prodigal Son goes. It was enjoyable to spend snippets of time with the many survivors of the Departments efforts, but this is about my least favorite book in the series. And it is the start of an increasingly long series of books in which my favorite characters, Shan and Priscilla are show more pretty much ignored. I guess only scout level pilots are of interest to the authors. show less

Next episode in the Liaden Universe sees Korval transplanted on Surebleak and adjusting it to their Necessities. Theo Waitley has come to the Delm of Korval to solve her problems. She needs help with the Old Tech ship whose captain's key she wears around her neck and with her damaged friend Win Ton. Meanwhile the Department of the Interior suffered a blow but is still determined to wipe Korval from the universe. Theo meets all sorts of family and we get a chance to meet characters we know from the series. Wonderful book that will be published on Aug. 2, 2011.

The sentient ship Bechimo wants its pilot - more, it wants to bond with its captain. Unfortunately, the pilot Theo Waitley doesn't seem inclined to come to him and take up her duty, so Bechimo continues to track her across the wide expanses between planets and solar systems. Theo, meanwhile, is coming to terms with the disappearance of her father, the Scholar Kilardi, and the reappearance of Daav yos'Phelium, Scout and Pilot and Korval.

For Korval, with Dragon and Tree newly settled on its new planet home, circumstances continue to be stressful. And the Department continues it's deadly stalking...

Lee and Miller have plotted a marvelously complex and many-threaded story that just keeps getting better.

We finally begin the story of the complicated problem Theo brought to the Delm of Korval at the end of I Dare. Fledgling and Saltation have been getting us caught up on how Theo came to have a complicated problem to begin with and now this book reintegrates these story lines with Clan Korval as a whole. The Liaden series has long been one of my absolute favorite things to read. This book was no exception.

Here are some of the things I loved about it. Possible SPOILERS. All my favorite characters made appearances. There were snippets of the clan getting adjusted to Surebleak. There was Theo meeting her family and starting to understand Melanti. The Department of the Interior is not so finished as we might have hoped and it’s still show more after Korval. And because it’s Korval, there is a ship. An intelligent, if slightly immature ship. It doesn’t get much better than this. show less

This book could have been called Ghost Ship or Clan Korval Finally Settles into Surebleak. This could be read by either a fan of the series or someone trying it out for the first time since anything that is referring to events from previous books is nicely handled without the feeling of infodumping. Of course I'm left sitting here waiting for the next book to come out in the series.