Scout's Progress - Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Book Review

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"Scout's Progress"
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TOP SCHOLAR: Debbie

SCHOLARS: Michelle Michelle Richie

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Review Summaries

"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!

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
Debbie, Resident Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Romance Yes
Romance plotlets: - love among disparate social classes
Training/Apprent. Yes
Working up the ranks of... - civilian space pilots
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Genius
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Setting
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society - very controlled society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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