Saltation

[b:Saltation (Theo Waitley, #2) 6669085 Saltation (Theo Waitley, #2) (Liaden Universe, #13) Sharon Lee http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1276362333s/6669085.jpg 6131174] is good enough that I finished [b:Fledgling (Theo Waitley, #1) 5585180 Fledgling (Theo Waitley, #1) (Liaden Universe, #12) Sharon Lee http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256005889s/5585180.jpg 5756422], then read it in one sitting. It simply has the sort of momentum that doesn't allow for good stopping points — something that is true of many of the Liaden Universe novels.At the end of Fledgling, Theo was sponsored into pilot school by Scout Cho sig'Radia. Saltation begins with her time there, just as politically naive as ever, but a much more confident person than she was at the beginning of Fledgling. Many of the characters from Fledgling reappear, including Win Ton, Kamele, and Jen Sar. There are new characters too, though, such as Kara ven'Arith and Orn Ald yos'Senchul (who, by the way, also appear in a free story, Landed Alien, that has just been released at the Baen web site and should be read after Saltation).Theo is a legal adult now, but a very young one, and she has plenty of growing up left to do. That said, this is a young ADULT novel, not a children's book — while it isn't discussed specifically, Theo does take a lover. She continues to flex and stretch into an admirable heroine. She isn't perfect, by any means, being sometimes short-tempered and not understanding social cues easily. She's someone readers can relate to, though, and that is important. We were brought up concurrent with the end of [b:I Dare 1103876 I Dare (Liaden Universe, #11) Sharon Lee http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181013406s/1103876.jpg 1644933], which was vastly satisfying. I will go right on with reading [b:Ghost Ship 9762449 Ghost Ship (Liaden Universe, #14, Theo Waitley, #3) Sharon Lee http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327880001s/9762449.jpg 14651808], because I definitely want to know more!

Short review - this is the first of the Liaden books I have read in years. But I jumped back in without too much problem remembering the threads of the different storylines. The beginning felt a little YA (in a bad way) but by the middle of the book I was pretty hooked and was quite surprised to see how the threads of the series were coming together. Already picked up the next book in the series.

A longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/saltation-by-sharon-lee-and-steve-miller/