Blade Dancer

Rating:
Summary: A Clan of Her Own
Review: Blade Dancer is a novel set in the same universe as the Stardoc series, but with a different set of characters. Jory Rask is a championship caliber shockball runback whose mother is Jorenian and father is Terran. After receiving an urgent message from her mother, Jory returns home to find her mother dead of chicken pox. Since they are both on Terra illegally, Jory buries her mother in the desert, but is caught by Planetary Residental Commission agents and deported.

After departing Terra, Jory bribes the Captain of the liner to take her as close as possible to Jorenian territory. She meets an Alliance Major on the liner who has the tools and skills to repair her damaged knee prothesis. She leaves the liner at a Rilken outpost and takes passage on a system trade ship, where she meets Black and Blurry, a blade dancer, and gets an invitation to visit Reytalon for blade dancer training, but she first must go to Joren.

Jory has a mission to fulfill on Joren. She has promised her mother to tell her story to the other six ClanChildren of Honor. Then she will be free to find her father and kill him.

This novel is written in the same style as the Stardoc tales, but covers a different aspect of Jorenian culture. It is action oriented, depends too much on coincidence, and is fairly predictable, but the story gains and retains the reader's interest throughout the book.

Recommended for Viehl fans and anyone else who enjoys action and adventure in a SF setting.

Rating:
Summary: Stardoc with a twist
Review: I didn't mind the tangent universe. I liked the story. The characters were strong and convincing. The plot was well-strung, with tension and resolution in the proper places.

What I didn't like, however, was that this was just Stardoc, with names changed to protect the innocent. Rebel daughter with genetic anomolies, secret about her birth, controlling father with exact-duplicate-of-my-perfection complex, mother who talks to her after death, issues about reproduction, betrayal by some stranger she trusted the instant she met him, issues with the Jorenian "Choosing," boyfriend with that strong Jorenian morality code, what about this is sounding one bit different from the first Stardoc book? Um, well, she didn't wisecrack quite as much as Cherijo, but other than that, it was all too similar for my taste.

I bought this one, I'd probably get the next one from the library or borrow from a friend. Not one I'd recommend to anyone who had already rad the Stardoc books and was expecting something new and different from SL Viehl

Rating:
Summary: fun
Review: I stayed up way too late last night reading it. Very exciting -- and the fight scenes were really well done. I have no experience with fighting, but I could see the scenes. I really liked the character of Jory.
However, I didn't like some things. My feelings for Kol - her partner...well I didn't have any. Parts of the book felt like a text adventure game. Also, I had to fight the urge to say "Luke, I am your father".
It was a fun romp. I hadn't read anything by Viehl before. I won't run right out and get another, but when I'm looking for another quick book to read, I'll try another.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I was so surprised at this book. It is great. I reminds me of the Miles Vorkosigan books. With the same pace, action, and wonderful characters.

Jory is half-human, but Earth is so xenophobic all alien,and part aliens are deported, and not considered human. Discovered as she buries her mother, she is despised and battered before being forced to leave earth.

Her mother has given her a quest, and Jory sets out to find her mother's home planet. There she finds predjudice and hatred for half-breeds like herself. Gathering 6 others who have been shunned and separated, she leads them off planet to find a way to get revenge on the slavers who raped their mothers.

They end up on Reytalon, learning to be Blade Dancers, the most feared assassins in the galaxy. They also learn to be a family. There are many trials and secrets to be overcome before we reach the end of our adventure.

This is an exciting, adventure. A wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: This author ROCKS!
Review: Jory Rask was one of the best professional shockball players. Yet when her secret was exposed, Terra shipped her off planet and banned her return. To honor her mother's last wish, Jory set out to find others like herself, those known as the ClanChildren of Honor. She located them on her mother's homeworld of Joren. Once they met, their lives changed forever.

Jory was determined to seek the vengeance denied their mothers. Her new found clan followed. To get vengeance, they must undergo training at the TÃ¥na, the school for assassins known as blade dancers - the most lethal killers in the galaxy. In the heart of that school was a deadly secret!

***** I have read this author from her first book release titled "Star Doc". I followed as the book became a series, eager for each new glimpse of Viehl's fascinating universe. Doing a search for the author's name on the net, over six months ago, I came across this latest title and began counting down the days until its release. I had begun to believe the day would NEVER arrive. But eventually, it did!

Well it was worth the long wait and then some! This Sci-Fi romp is unforgettable! It now holds a place of honor on my "KEEPER" shelf. Excellent! ***** Detra Fitch

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but an annoying flaw
Review: My first S.L. Viehl book, and I enjoyed it, but something really bothered me. When Jory first met Kol, a big deal was made about his terran skin. Then later in the book he was blue. Huh? Did I miss something, or was it just a screwup?

Rating:
Summary: Gripping
Review: This book grabs you by the throat from the first page and doesn't let go. Jory's voice is both believeable and infinitely entertaining. Viehl's dry, sarcastic wit is bolstered by non-stop action and suspense, thrilling fights, hateable enemies, loveable secondary characters, and romance liable to singe your eyelashes. It's been a while since a book kept me up all night.

Great stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but Confusing... At times.
Review: This book was outstanding, it was really a great read. I too agree that the whole Kol having Terran skin in the beginning and then Blue skin later to be quite confusing, but despite that, the book was awesome. I like the author, her writing is exquisite but not just in the middle, its an all around good read!

Rating:
Summary: From Athlete to Warrior
Review: This story takes place in the Stardoc universe. Jory Rask is a shockball player and a very good one. One reason is that she is half alien; a fact that comes out after her mother's death and results in deportation.

Jory knows some of her Jorenian heritage and has promised her mother that she will seek out others like herself and let them know the truth. The truth is that her mother and a number of other Jorenian women were captured, enslaved, and bore children of their slavers.

Truth can be a painful thing and Jory and the others wind up entering training to become warriors and assassins. But like in many schools, cliques form and rivalries form. But at a school of combat rivalry can be deadly.

The plot moves well and at one point you may wonder what the author is up to. Many surprises lurk beneath the surface but the planned shocking revelation is obvious for a hundred pages prior. Still, a good tale set in a rich universe (although medicine seems to be way behind the times).

Rating:
Summary: From Athlete to Warrior
Review: This story takes place in the Stardoc universe. Jory Rask is a shockball player and a very good one. One reason is that she is half alien; a fact that comes out after her mother's death and results in deportation.

Jory knows some of her Jorenian heritage and has promised her mother that she will seek out others like herself and let them know the truth. The truth is that her mother and a number of other Jorenian women were captured, enslaved, and bore children of their slavers.

Truth can be a painful thing and Jory and the others wind up entering training to become warriors and assassins. But like in many schools, cliques form and rivalries form. But at a school of combat rivalry can be deadly.

The plot moves well and at one point you may wonder what the author is up to. Many surprises lurk beneath the surface but the planned shocking revelation is obvious for a hundred pages prior. Still, a good tale set in a rich universe (although medicine seems to be way behind the times).