Dragon Ship

First of all yeah Korval!

This story had some wins and some losses.

There was a fairly big dose here of the Korval is ships, Korval has the luck, Korval breeds for pilots, don't cross Korval mystic so yeah for that. I love to see secondary characters responding to the sight of Tree and Dragon.

There were scenes with Val Con and Miri my favorite couple, The scenes were true to previous tone and character development.

Theo seemed to be finally coming into her own. She was making good solid decisions about her ship and not seeming to be just reacting to what happens to her.

Daav's story seems to be developing well. I don't mind Uncle although he muddies the plot with the DOI.

Thing which were problematic included some scenes that didn't seem show more to lead anywhere or that could have been shortened. Kamela's scenes for example. I get that we were being led up to the scene where she notices she's being followed but they weren't very interesting in and of themselves. Although I enjoyed Kamela's storyline, I was really only interested in seeing her get to Surebleak and interact with the Delm of Korval. Although I would have been happy to see the actual scenes of her negotiating her way to Surebleak after the incident rather that the slightly drippy before scenes.

There were several scenes where the ship, Bechimo, was thinking and even I, as well versed in the Liaden verse as I am, wondered what the heck was going on and what it had to do with anything? Bechimo was okay and I didn't 100 percent mind that he made up a character to be the comm man but I could have done without his own creation becoming sentient on its own. I'm stretching my willing suspension enough with the ship.

What I miss is the scintillating dialog of the earlier novels in the series, the way that Val Con and Shan can turn a phrase. Also lacking was a sense of things happening at a super speed that drove the series at a frenetic pace from Agent of Change through to I Dare. Here not that much actually happened that was important. Theo went from planet to planet and didn't accomplish much.

I expected Win Ton to play a bigger role. Maybe I'm spoiled from all the lovely romances in the previous books. But I really expected Theo and Win Ton to get together and work as a team as all the other characters have in their books. Here Theo seems to have hooked up with Kara which I'm not at all interested in. Why couldn't they have just been good friends? Sorry, hetero woman who likes to read hetero romance here and I'm not going to apologize for that. And Win Ton lost that cool, sort of brash edge he had in the first two Theo books. Here he just seems like a beta loser.

So all in all I enjoyed it but I probably won't be rereading it every 6 months like I do Agent of Change through I Dare. There seems to be plenty of story left to tell and you can sign me up for every further volume. I can't ever imagine not anxiously awaiting any new Liaden novel even if some of the magic seems to be gone. show less

Well. That was an abrupt ending. Not a cliffhanger, at all - in fact, everyone was in a safe (at least temporarily) spot. But many things were way up in the air. Many (many, many) developments for Theo and Bechimo, and quite a few for others - Win Ton and Kamele, in particular. Theo's getting quite a reputation, too. Very much a middle book - a lot of developments, but they all seem to lead to more questions, not to answers. The ship and the Tree, what Uncle is planning for Daav (well, what he's planning is rather obvious. The results are...less so) - a lot of threads set up and uncompleted. And I believe the next book is not the next step, but an in-between book, as Conflict of Honors was. Ghahh! So long to wait! I compose myself in show more anticipation... Reread: rather like Ghost Ship, I remember a (very) few scenes, but most of the story seemed to be new to me. Very unusual. show less

Theo Waitley and her self-aware ship Bechimo now have a contract with Clan Korval to explore a possible new long-loop trade route, unconnected to previous Korval routes that included Liad. She's got her first crew member, pilot Clarence O'Berin. And she and Bechimo are feeling out the delicate matter of whether he and Theo really want to enter into the symbiosis that would make Theo not acting captain but bonded captain.

So we know things are way too peaceful and some real excitement is going to come along and smack them all.

The world of Eylot, where Theo attended Anlingdon Piloting Academy, has continued to grow more and more insular in the few years since Theo was kickedGui out after being declared a "nexus of violence." Now they're show more trying to declare all piloting licenses not issued on Eylot invalid, and to seize control of the Guild-run Codrescu Station. Since Eylot authorities have made clear their intention to "make examples" of pilots not trained at Anlingdon and even the Anlingdon-trained who have been too friendly with the offworlders, no one is eager to comply. The Guild declares a "Pilots in Peril" emergency--and Theo and Bechimo are the first to arrive.

Meanwhile, Kamele Waitley is sufficiently alarmed by Jen Sar Kiladi's disappearance and what little information that Theo has sent her about him. He's "safe within the parameters of an active pilot" and "with Korval." Is her onagrata being forced to act as a pilot for Korval? She's taken a sabbatical to "do research" that will take her to Surebleak to demand answers.

Naturally the Department of the Interior is still out to destroy Korval, and has not overlooked Theo--or her mother. There is much intrigue, action, close calls, and general excitement--all the while further developing the characters and the Liaden universe.

Lots of fun Recommended! show less

I just couldn't wait until September to read this story. I bought the eARC from Baen Books as soon as it was available. This was filled with excitement and intrigue but is definitely not a place for a newcomer to jump into the Liaden Universe. This is the fourth book in the Theo Waitley arc of stories and follows immediately after Ghost Ship in time.

Theo is aboard Bechimo with Clarence O'Berin and a contract from Korval to explore a potential new trading route. Shan has given Theo some possible contacts on a variety of worlds but Theo soon learns that Korval is not necessarily welcome on those worlds now. The Department of Interior is not nearly so destroyed or disorganized as Korval hoped and they seem to have a particular interest in show more Theo and her Old Tech ship Bechimo. This leads to a variety of problems and near escapes. Bechimo is a major character in this story.

Theo even has to go back to Eylot to rescue pilots in peril though she has been marked there as a nexus of violence and more or less run off the planet. This causes a number of problems but does allow her to expand her crew with the addition of her old friend Kara ven'Arith who is a Second Class pilot but has tech skills that make her attractive to Bechimo.

There is also a thread which has Theo's mother Kamele taking a year's sabbatical and determining to visit the Delm of Korval to find out the fate of her onagrata Jen Sar Kiladi who is more widely known to Liadens as Daav yos'Phelium. She proves that scholars from Delgado, especially those who had a close relationship with Jen Sar Kiladi, can be very resourceful and can rise to unexpected challenges.

We also get glimpses of things that are going on with Daav and Uncle and a few glimpses of Val Con and Miri at home on Surebleak. We even get a closer look at the Norbears especially in the person of Hevelin. All in all this was a satisfying episode that leaves one aching for the next book to find out how all these plot threads resolve. show less

This entry in the series continues from Theo Waitley's point of view - an interesting one indeed! It occurs concurrent with that of "Necessity's Child" and others so there are some aspects that might be viewed as spoilers, though it is questionable to my mind how one might avoid these in such a densely layered sequence that these books in the series attempt to convey.

I like visiting this universe, but this felt a little...disjointed and unfinished. I'll definitely read the next one, but I hope it's got a little more plot to it, and a little more resolution. I'm getting tired of authors dragging things out for thousands of pages. (And that's not a dig at these authors in particular, they aren't the only ones doing it). Sure, I get it, they think this is what their readers want, to spend as much time as possible visiting old friends, but...not this reader. This reader thinks they need to write the best book possible, even if that means the story is finished when the book ends.

Infuriating. Takes forever to get going, and then when it finally does, it ends a few pages later. Like watching an exceptionally dull episode of a show you normally adore. You're caught between boredom and forced watchfulness just in case anything actually happens.

I'm a fan of Liad. Been so since the very first book came out 20ish years ago. Looks like the authors just aren't trying anymore.

Fans of the series will all buy this book because we're hooked. There's a pleasure in seeing your favorite characters even in a dull book. However this would be a very bad book to try as your first taste of the series. You won't have any idea what's going on, who's who or what universe you are in. Start with an earlier volume!