Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Riveting - I Loved It!
Review: Val Con yos'Phelium, Clan Korval, future Delm and Second Speaker, was just doing a routine mission on some backwater planet in the middle of the universe when his life changed. After completing his mission, he encountered a small spitfire of a woman and saved her life, for which she promptly repaid him by bashing his head in. When Val Con woke up, the spitfire dumped him, but Val Con was intrigued, so he followed her and saved her life again. Now Miri Robertson, whose life he had saved twice, was forced to deal with Val Con, honor demanded it. She was intrigued by Val Con, whom she nicknamed "Tough Guy", but definitely didn't want a partner. As a former mercenary and bodyguard, she could handle herself and, as a target for the powerful Juntavas crime ring, she couldn't trust anyone...However, both Val Con and Miri, both of whom were used to working alone, soon found that they worked well as partners, at least they would if Miri would stop trying to ditch Val Con at every opportunity. Val Con knew that Miri was something special, she made him feel things that he hadn't felt in years, she made him feel alive again. Miri didn't know what was wrong with Val Con, but she knew it had something to do with what he called The Loop, some kind of brain implant that gave him the odds of success on every mission/action he made. As they grew closer together, both Val Con and Miri realized that the Department of the Interior, who had trained Val Con as an agent, must have some ulterior motive in plan. But in order to find out what it was, they had to stay alive... Agent of Change is the 4th book in the Liaden series if you read them chronologically (which I recommend). As with the other books, I simply loved Lee & Miller's characters and world building. They spend time on the details and it shows that they have carefully thought out and executed another masterpiece. I really feel as if I know the Korval family and am taking a remedial course on Liaden etiquette, these books are that well written! If you enjoy any kind of science fiction or space opera then this book has something for you - great characters, lots of action, enemies on all sides, high tech battle sequences, romance, family relations, honor, and much, much more! You can read this book as a stand-alone novel, but I would not recommend it as you will miss a lot of background, even though you should be able to follow the plot without too much trouble. Also, you definitely should not miss out on any book in the wonderful Liaden universe - all of them are very highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Not NEW
Review: While I liked this book do check because if this is not new. It is probably a new issue but the book has been out for years.
Rating:
Summary: Partners in Necessity
Review: You can now buy this book as part of the three novel compilation "Partners in Necessity."
Rating:
Summary: Enthusiastic story with vivid, enjoyable characters!
Review: _Agent of Change_ is the first published of an ongoing series (the second chronologically, following _Conflict of Honors_), the one I read last, and my personal favorite. Here are introduced the characters of Edger, his brother Val Con yos'Phelium, and Miri Roberson, a retired mercenary soldier trying to collect on an overdue debt. Although the three books by Lee & Miller form an ongoing story about members of a Liad family, the individual characters have as much importance as the overall storyline, and while Val Con is the central figure in _Agent of Change_ by virtue of his being the head of his family whose story the books follow, he never entirely holds center stage alone; instead, he's joined by the delightful characters of Miri and Edger among a host of others. Val Con's and Miri's paths tangle accidentally and, once Edger is pulled in as well, the story becomes an entrancing romp through a world where the cops are after the wrong guys instead of the bad guys, and the good guys have had about as much as they can survive already. Another treat for the reader--in addition to the captivating interlacings of the individual stories of the main characters--is the level of development given to the backstories of Edger, Val Con, and Miri; and the ways in which they both complement and provide contrast for each other. Although the technical development occasionally makes me think more of my toaster oven's levers than my microwave's digital buttons, _Agent of Change_ is not centered around the exploration of scientific possibilities much moreso than the variety of shapes and societies sentience can take, and the myriad of ways in which Miri and Val Con are able to use the trappings of their SF world to their own benefit, doing so with panache and wit. Thoroughly enjoyable, I consider _Agent of Change_ a highly recommended reading.
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