Light Raid

I expecting another collaboration from Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice to be similar to Promised Land.

But Light Raid is quite different. It's set in a world where various parts of North America are at war with each other, and teenaged Ariadne has been evacuated to neutral Victoria. When her parents' letters cause her to suspect all is not well at Hydra Corp, the scientific research facility where her parents work, she returns to Denver Springs determined to uncover what has happened.
However, the King's grandson is now in charge at Hydra Corp; he and his equerry are also searching for answers, and Ariadne is not sure if she is working with or against them.

This madcap mystery reminded me of Georgette Heyer, Perhaps because, even though show more they're in the middle of a war and frequently under lazer attack (the light raids of the title), the scientific research facility still holds their annual a Fete. In other words, a ball.
And Ariadne, who is in the middle of unravelling a mystery involving science and politics, plans to use the Fete to seduce someone in order to gain access to something she wants. And so she goes dress shopping and has to do some sneaky plotting to acquire the dress she thinks is going to best enable her to achieve her goal... The hijinks that ensue seemed like something from a Heyer novel.

Now that I think about it, in terms of character development and the way certain characters are very, well, flat, but kind of effectively so, is also reminiscent of a Heyer novel.

Light Raid is crazy and fast-paced. Light but definitely entertaining.

"Min, does it ever occur to you that you're getting entirely too intuitive for a computer?"
The screen went blank. "Light raid interference makes it impossible to complete your call at this time," Min said in a flat voice.
"I'll bet," I said. show less

A teenage biotech is evacuated from her parents and their corporation (she has an equal amount of loyalty to each) because they’re under attack, but returns when she suspects something has happened to her father. Ariadne cleverly maneuvers her way through checkpoints, rubble and other impediments of war time, but when she gets home, she finds her mother has been charged with sabotage. Has the water supply been sabotaged? Is her mother really a spy? And what are the true loyalties of the adults around her? Ariadne has to figure all this out while simultaneously fending off a prince and dealing with her attraction to the prince’s manservant. A fast paced, smart spy novel with a large dose of romantic YA. Ariadne and her family live in show more a world that has slightly better technology, a society based on ancient Greece, and completely different nations (for instance, Quebec is its own, warlike, country). I was very impressed at how smoothly it all fit together. show less

Set in a future North America where America is in a civil war. Protagonist Hellene Ariadne was sent to Victoria to escape from the dangers of the war, but she runs home when she has the suspicion that something has happened to her dad. She finds out her house has been destroyed by a light raid, her dad is in shock, and her mom is in jail, arrested for suspicion of sabotaging the war. What follows is an intense thrill ride full of twists and turns.

The book kept me guessing. I wasn't sure whether Ariadne's mom was guilty. I didn't know who to trust. I enjoyed following Ariadne on her journey as she put the pieces together and reacted to everything.

The book went a little too fast. I think that in exchange for the action and fast pace, show more the authors sacrificed some character development. Ariadne was a very likable character - smart, stubborn, quick-thinking, proactive. But the other characters - her dad, Essex, even Joss - remained one-sided. I like the romance, though. show less

Ugh. I'm not exactly sure which author was responsible for which parts, but the actual story taking place in this interesting sci fi setup is REALLY BAD. I mean like Lifetime/Hallmark movie bad. That's actually what it feels like. A cheesy Lifetime/Hallmark movie that has been dropped into an interesting but vastly underused sci fi scenario.

Labeling it YA can not excuse such a bad story.

Willis and Felice have collaborated on two other books, but I have no interest in giving them a shot after this clunker.

This is a decent enough science fiction story, about espionage and suspense in the midst of a future war between Quebec and the Western States, with laser rays from overhead satellites a constant threat. But I've decided that Connie Willis is not really well-served by her collaborations. The book is simplistic in theme and writing compared to her solo novels, and seems directed toward the high-school age reader. Still, it's a passably good story, even if Willis did just give the story theme to Cynthia Felice to flesh out, as I suspect.

Spy story/love story/science fiction with 17 y/o girl main character.