I Dare

Rating:
Summary: I sooo need to be Liaden!
Review: The spectacular saga, which started with Agent of Change, concludes with as many questions as there were answers. I can't wait for another! I wish the illustrator gave as much detail to Val Con as he did to Pat Rin. Val Con and Miri are characters we've grown to love and adore through the years, they are so 3 dimensional, and I didn't want it to end. Can I get a lifemate, too?

Rating:
Summary: Another Liaden Universe Hit!
Review: This fifth book in the main storyline of the Liaden Universe novels (Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, Plan B, I Dare) is a major pleasure. Val Con and Miri together make a most dangerous Delm of Korval. And Pat Rin shows that even a (supposedly) lesser member of Clan Korval cannot be taken for granted. Read these five books and discover one of the most enjoyable and exciting creations in science fiction.
I have a couple of small problems with this series. The travel times between planets seem much too short for a society where the major tradeships spend years on their rounds. Also, coincidence plays a major part in series events, but that could be explained by a most ancient (and huge) ally of the Clan. Another reviewer's comments about a breeding program spring to mind.
In addition to these five novels, the authors have also written several short stories in the Liaden Universe. "To Cut An Edge" describes the first meeting of Val Con and The Edger, "Breath's Duty" illuminates Daav's Balance and the Battle of Nev'Lorn, and "Changeling" tells of Ren Zel's "death" before he signed on Dutiful Passage. Hopefully, these and other short stories will be published as an anthology to join the series. Until then, they are most available directly from the authors.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely the best in the series so far!!! Great!!!
Review: This is, depending on how you count, the seventh novel in the Liaden Universe series. However, Meisha Merlin published two novels, _Local Custom_ and _Scout's Progress_, as one volume (entitled _Pilot's Choice_), and another three novels as one volume, so depending on what editions one buys, there are only four volumes so far. The authors predict a total of seven volumes, so we have more to look forward to. And this book certainly leaves one eager to order anything and everything else they care to write in the series!

It's a good idea, if you're not familiar with the series, to read them all; while this is a rousing good space opera in its own right, it is even better if you have followed the series. You could get by without the _Pilot's Choice_ volume, but you really need, at the very least, _Agent of Change_, _Carpe Diem_, and _Plan B_ to get the most out of _I Dare_. Agent and Carpe are two of the three novels in the _Partners in Necessity_ volume, so if you get that, you'll get _Conflict of Honors_ too. That's the first one I ever read of the series, initially published as individual paperbacks.

The series starts with Er Thom yos'Galen and Daav yos'Phelium, in _Local Custom_ and _Scout's Progress_. _Conflict_ takes up with Shan yos'Galen, Er Thom and Anne's son. _Agent_ takes up Val Con yos'Phelium, Daav and Aelliana's son. The rest of the books so far, including _I Dare_, continue to follow Shan and Val Con, and the various employees, friends and lifemates they drag into the ongoing story of Clan Korval. In _I Dare_ many of the separate threads from the previous volumes come together. We have the Juntavas, the interstellar Mob who actively appeared in _Agent_; we have the return of Daav; we have also Shan and Val Con's cousin Pat Rin as a major character. (That's Val Con and Pat Rin on the cover.) Surebleak, the planet Miri Robertson was born on, suddenly shows up again. Korval has already noticed that the Department of the Interior is trying to take over Liad and eliminate their family; in this book, Korval actively confronts the Department.

A large chunk of the book is taken up with battles and battle strategy; however, this didn't turn me off, even though I'm not that gung-ho on war stories. And there's a larger element of fantasy in this book than in the previous ones, in that more and more people turn out to have psychic powers. I'm not that much of a fan of psychic powers, but I didn't mind them here- it's just one element that keeps the story moving right along. The plot is extremely brisk; don't skip a page!

The end of the book does contain what seems to be a clear lead-in to a next book, since a new character shows up... I won't give away the details. One of the nice things about this book, and this whole series, is that there could be short stories written about it for years to come, because there are so many interesting characters. What exactly was Daav doing all those years at a Terran university? Whatever happened to Aelliana Caylon's younger sister? Can we find out more about Richard Davis, Anne's brother and Shan's uncle? Did Vin Sin chel'Mara ever reform after being exiled? More about Clonak ter'Muelen! Oh, and Nova yos'Galen - by the end of this book, all the current generation are lifemated save her; does she ever get true love? There are a few short stories that were only ever published in chapbooks; if Miller and Lee would write a couple more short stories, there'd be enough for an anthology, and I'd be sure to read it.

It's difficult to convey how much I like this series, and I like this book the best so far. If you like humor, romance, and battle in your science fiction - if, say, you already like Miles VorKosigan (Lois Bujold) - then I'm sure you'll like the Liadens!