Carpe Diem

Having been introduced to the Liaden Universe by a fellow LTer, I knew that I would enjoy Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and, of course, I did. This author has a deft touch with both her storylines and her characters that make these science fiction stories totally immersive. In Carpe Diem, we are treated to two of my favorite couples that are connected to Klan Korval.

Val Con and Miri are stranded on a distant planet that is a number of generations away from developing advanced technology while Shan and Priscilla are involved in the hunt for them. The story is a wonderful adventure and we are given more information about the Klan and the political situation in Liaden. As an added bonus both Edger and Sheather come to the aid of Val Con and show more Miri, and one learns that crossing a member of the Clutch can have devastating results.

Originally published in 1989, one has to make a few allowances for the slightly dated devices that are still in use in the Liaden Universe, such items were cutting edge or futuristic in the 1980’s but seem more like historical artifacts today. I admit to noticing these mis-steps but I am so caught up in the adventure and romance of the story that they are easily ignored. I am looking forward to continuing to travel through the Liaden Universe in future books. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Val Con and Miri are stuck on a backwoods planet but no problem, Val Con is a First In Scout. It's great fun to watch their bond grow while they adapt to the unfamiliar world they're stranded on. I love the way with just a few brush strokes, Val Con's love for and protection of Miri is shown without any beating of breast or wailing about. It permeates the whole story but is barely mentioned in the hurly burly of the advancing story arc. Others of Clan Korval are starting to show up and have their own bits of the story. Just great writing and great space opera.

I really enjoyed this. Our hero's are trapped on a non-techy world and must survive until they are either assassinated or rescued.   We are re-introduced to both couples we've met in book 1 and 2.  Having both their histories helped me relate to this story a lot more. It would have been very disconcerting to read about the society of Liad without the previous history. "

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 show more Priscilla (Steve & Sharon had to write a whole book in between AoC and CD to make sense of those two!). Very good. show less

Miri Robertson and Val Con yos'Phelium, having escaped both the Juntavas and the Yxtrang, are now stranded on Vandar, a planet without spaceflight and therefore interdicted. Without a ship of their own, they have no realistic prospect of getting home anytime soon. They settle in to learn the language and build new identities--and incidentally learn how to be a couple, while each fights the demons from their respective pasts.

Meanwhile, Val Con's clutch brothers, Edger and Sheather, continue their hunt to find and rescue their adopted brother and sister. And on Liad, Nova, Shan, and the rest of Clan Korval, also seeking Val Con, discover the Department of the Interior and its terrible plot against the clans.

This is a fun, fast-paced show more adventure in a nicely intricate universe. The relationship between Miri and Val Con is interesting and believably complex, while the planetbound culture and its citizens are treated with respect and some depth.

Recommended.

I bought this book. show less

While the main storyline was generally solid, there were too many excursions to secondary plotlines involving superfluous characters and only marginally relevant events. Errors in continuity abound. If that's just because I did not read the previous book in the sequence, then the book merely fails to stand by itself.

I can't shake the impression that this book was not polished, not planned well, and was rather poorly copy edited. Despite the writing style smelling of writing workshop, Lee and Miller don't seem to get the job done.