Rating: 
Summary: I could not put it down!!!
Review: A tale that grips you and will not let you go. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are masters at illustrating characters and their interactions. You are eased into a facinating world of culture, custom, drama, and excitement. Sucked deeper and deeper until you are totally enthralled. Definitely not the standard Sci Fi adventure that I normally enjoy, but somehow better. I still cannot figure out how I was so wholy drawn into the worlds of Liaden and this story in particular. I actually found myself wide awake at 3:00am still reading and just a few chapters to go. Work was only a few hours away. I literally could not put it down. I finally pulled myself away to bed. But, I just had to finish in the morning, then dragged myself into work a "few" minutes late. I own a couple of hundred Sci Fi and Fantasy books. This book and Liaden Series are perhaps my favorite of all. My thanks goes to the Author and I cannot wait for more Liaden books to come out.
Rating:
Summary: I could not put it down!!!
Review: A tale that grips you and will not let you go. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are masters at illustrating characters and their interactions. You are eased into a facinating world of culture, custom, drama, and excitement. Sucked deeper and deeper until you are totally enthralled. Definitely not the standard Sci Fi adventure that I normally enjoy, but somehow better. I still cannot figure out how I was so wholy drawn into the worlds of Liaden and this story in particular. I actually found myself wide awake at 3:00am still reading and just a few chapters to go. Work was only a few hours away. I literally could not put it down. I finally pulled myself away to bed. But, I just had to finish in the morning, then dragged myself into work a "few" minutes late. I own a couple of hundred Sci Fi and Fantasy books. This book and Liaden Series are perhaps my favorite of all. My thanks goes to the Author and I cannot wait for more Liaden books to come out.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful - I Loved It!
Review: Aelliana Caylon learned the hard way that she was powerless in her Clan. At first, she tried to defy her brother, Van Eld, when he attempted to exercise his authority over her as the next Delm, but after her first and only contract marriage to Van Eld's abusive friend, Aelliana no longer rebelled. She learned to feign meekness and remain quiet except when she was teaching her advanced math class to the irrepressible pilots in training at the academy. She had value at the university and was readily acknowledged as one of the most brilliant mathematicians of her day. When one of her pilot students convinced her to play a game of chance at a new gaming palace, Aelliana used her math skills to beat the cardshark and found herself the proud owner of a ship - and her chance to leave Liaden forever...But before Aelliana could leave Liaden, she had to get her pilot's license. Luckily, she was docked at Binjali's, where the pilots were irreverent and surprising, but genuinely friendly. Before she knew it, Aelliana found herself adopted in to a kind of family where her skills were valued and her opinion was asked. She quickly found herself looking forward to her lessons with Master Pilot Daav, who challenged her to become more and to take risks. What she did not know was that her quirky co-pilot was in fact Daav yos'Phelium, the Delm of Korval and arguably the most powerful man on the planet. She also did not know that Daav was in negotiations for a contract marriage or she never would have let herself fall in love with him.... Scout's Progress is the second book in the Liaden series after Local Custom, where we are first introduced to Daav. It was written after books 3-5, however, so most call it a prequel. I found this book to be just as well written and intriguing as Local Custom. I think that the Liaden universe is fascinating and every time I get my hands on one of the books, I am riveted and cannot stop reading until I am finished. All of the characters are interesting with quirks and strengths and weaknesses. I particularly enjoyed Daav's weird sense of humor and how he likes to play the game of life on Liaden. There are some who say that this is simply a romance with science fiction trappings and I would agree that the romance is very important to the plot, but I would also say that it is the characters and the world building that keep me reading, not the romance, although I enjoyed that as well. If you enjoy science fiction or space opera and have not yet read this wonderful series than you are in for a real treat! I cannot recommend this series highly enough!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful - I Loved It!
Review: Aelliana Caylon learned the hard way that she was powerless in her Clan. At first, she tried to defy her brother, Van Eld, when he attempted to exercise his authority over her as the next Delm, but after her first and only contract marriage to Van Eld's abusive friend, Aelliana no longer rebelled. She learned to feign meekness and remain quiet except when she was teaching her advanced math class to the irrepressible pilots in training at the academy. She had value at the university and was readily acknowledged as one of the most brilliant mathematicians of her day. When one of her pilot students convinced her to play a game of chance at a new gaming palace, Aelliana used her math skills to beat the cardshark and found herself the proud owner of a ship - and her chance to leave Liaden forever... But before Aelliana could leave Liaden, she had to get her pilot's license. Luckily, she was docked at Binjali's, where the pilots were irreverent and surprising, but genuinely friendly. Before she knew it, Aelliana found herself adopted in to a kind of family where her skills were valued and her opinion was asked. She quickly found herself looking forward to her lessons with Master Pilot Daav, who challenged her to become more and to take risks. What she did not know was that her quirky co-pilot was in fact Daav yos'Phelium, the Delm of Korval and arguably the most powerful man on the planet. She also did not know that Daav was in negotiations for a contract marriage or she never would have let herself fall in love with him.... Scout's Progress is the second book in the Liaden series after Local Custom, where we are first introduced to Daav. It was written after books 3-5, however, so most call it a prequel. I found this book to be just as well written and intriguing as Local Custom. I think that the Liaden universe is fascinating and every time I get my hands on one of the books, I am riveted and cannot stop reading until I am finished. All of the characters are interesting with quirks and strengths and weaknesses. I particularly enjoyed Daav's weird sense of humor and how he likes to play the game of life on Liaden. There are some who say that this is simply a romance with science fiction trappings and I would agree that the romance is very important to the plot, but I would also say that it is the characters and the world building that keep me reading, not the romance, although I enjoyed that as well. If you enjoy science fiction or space opera and have not yet read this wonderful series than you are in for a real treat! I cannot recommend this series highly enough!
Rating:
Summary: WICKED GOOD!!!
Review: As soon as I bought and read this book, I went out to get the rest of the books in this series. It is a lovely space opera, a prequel to Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, and Carpe Diem. (Avaliable in a new omnibus.) This book told the story of Val Con yos'Phelium's parents, Aelliana Caylon and Daav yos'Phelium. Aelliana lives in a household headed by her cruel brother, but after winning a starship by chance, she sneaks out to learn to pilot it, with the help of Daav, who does not tell her he is Korval (the clan that basically is in charge of everything - a paragraph somewhere states that he's king of the world. Not that our heroine knows that . . .) The plot is quick and easy to get a hold of. Even if you're like me, and usually only like fantasy novels, you should still give this a try. It's appealing to fantasy lovers and well as sci-fi. I only wish there was a little bit more romance, and that Aelliana appeared in at least one other book.
Rating:
Summary: ...or How I Learned Not to Hate Math
Review: Ayliana Caylon, math teacher extraordinaire--doesn't sound like someone I want to know, much less read about, but don't let her profession fool you! This is one feisty math teacher!
This wonderful "prequel" to the fantastic Liaden universe stories is full of exciting adventures with enough nuts and bolts to satisfy my techie friends, incredibly tri-d characters who are both intelligent and able to react in a way I can believe, and an undercurrent of humor that makes even the dangerous parts fun! Don't miss these authors, buy everything you can get your hands on!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I read Scout's Progress from the Omnibus "Pilot's Choice". I did enjoy the book and was unable to put it down for the last 100 pages. I love SF and that is my main draw to the Liaden universe. In reality, I regard this as 3.5 stars however, though 3 stars is a tad harsh, a 4 star rating IMO is too generous. The good: Some great characters, great description of the Liaden universe, great descriptions of the pilot heirarchy and process to become qualified. The bad: The characterization was wanting. The tree was the only character in the book w/ any depth. Daav was entirely too good, Ran Eld entirely too bad, Aelliana too naive. Essentially most of the characters were one-dimensional cliches of the Romance genre. A portrait of extremes, no nuance whatsoever. Summary: I liked the book but it is fluff. I wouldn't call it excellent SF by any means. In all honesty I am a little disappointed in this one after reading Local Customs. Daav was a character I really enjoyed in Local Customs. In this book he is a cardboard knight in shining armor. No chinks in the armor at all. It was a huge let down because he was a great character. Aelliana was portrayed as the damsel in distress w/ a brain. In this book, she's a genius but she is also a woman who must ultimately be taken care of. I guess that leads to what my overall complaint about this book in particular and the Liaden universe in general (admittedly I have only read 2 books). The portrayal of women in this universe is borderline misogynistic. Women in power (delms and port authority) are materialistic and status mongering. They seem to care little for their daughters well-being while their sons deficiencies can be overlooked. Aelliana's older sister was jealous and mean. Aelliana was naive and subserviant. Sammiv tel Izak (pilot/fiance) is having nightmares about the tree. All the women are either unfeeling shrews or scared of their shadows. The male characters in contrast were almost all good-natured, intelligent, good looking and well meaning. A very noticable contrast in characterizations based upon gender. All in all, it was a good, fun read. A rip-roaring, fast-paced novel which really doesn't slow down. It is however, a cliche festival. There is no real depth in this novel so don't come looking for it and you'll be fine. I will return to the Liaden universe.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I read Scout's Progress from the Omnibus "Pilot's Choice". I did enjoy the book and was unable to put it down for the last 100 pages. I love SF and that is my main draw to the Liaden universe. In reality, I regard this as 3.5 stars however, though 3 stars is a tad harsh, a 4 star rating IMO is too generous. The good: Some great characters, great description of the Liaden universe, great descriptions of the pilot heirarchy and process to become qualified. The bad: The characterization was wanting. The tree was the only character in the book w/ any depth. Daav was entirely too good, Ran Eld entirely too bad, Aelliana too naive. Essentially most of the characters were one-dimensional cliches of the Romance genre. A portrait of extremes, no nuance whatsoever. Summary: I liked the book but it is fluff. I wouldn't call it excellent SF by any means. In all honesty I am a little disappointed in this one after reading Local Customs. Daav was a character I really enjoyed in Local Customs. In this book he is a cardboard knight in shining armor. No chinks in the armor at all. It was a huge let down because he was a great character. Aelliana was portrayed as the damsel in distress w/ a brain. In this book, she's a genius but she is also a woman who must ultimately be taken care of. I guess that leads to what my overall complaint about this book in particular and the Liaden universe in general (admittedly I have only read 2 books). The portrayal of women in this universe is borderline misogynistic. Women in power (delms and port authority) are materialistic and status mongering. They seem to care little for their daughters well-being while their sons deficiencies can be overlooked. Aelliana's older sister was jealous and mean. Aelliana was naive and subserviant. Sammiv tel Izak (pilot/fiance) is having nightmares about the tree. All the women are either unfeeling shrews or scared of their shadows. The male characters in contrast were almost all good-natured, intelligent, good looking and well meaning. A very noticable contrast in characterizations based upon gender. All in all, it was a good, fun read. A rip-roaring, fast-paced novel which really doesn't slow down. It is however, a cliche festival. There is no real depth in this novel so don't come looking for it and you'll be fine. I will return to the Liaden universe.
Rating:
Summary: Another day in the Liaden universe
Review: I've been reading books in this series ever since the first one came out. The long pause when publishers didn't see how good they were was hard. I kept making up stories in my head and wondering how things would come out just because the characters were so real and so believable. Now I don't have to because they are back and getting into complicated situations at regular intervals. True, it's space opera, but literate space opera, well written, with female characters that act instead of being wall paper. Buy it, read it and then get all the other books so you have all of the story!
Rating:
Summary: Blending romance and exquisite tension
Review: In a world where family hierarchy counts for everything, scholar and brilliant mathematician Aeillina has spent her life at the mercy of a cruel and overbearing brother in Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Scouts Progress. When a chance win lands her a starship, it's up to Aeillina to learn how to fly it and achieve the levels of training which will ultimately free her from her bonds. Blending romance and exquisite tension, this is hard to put down.
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