Ghost Ship

Liaden Universe, Theo Waitley, Book 3

By: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

New novel in the Liaden Universe series. Over a quarter million copies sold in this series to-date! Space ships, action, adventure – all tied together with a strong dollop of romance and family saga – make this a compelling series for a wide range of readers, from romance to military SF lovers alike.

Theo Waitley is an ace starship pilot – and pure maverick. Her mom is a renowned Terran scholar and her birth father is an interstellar aristocrat in hiding. She still feels like a socially challenged misfit. But after being selected to train with the best-of-the-best at the pilot academy, she figures she can leave behind those gawky, misfit days of teenage angst that made life so complicated before! But for Theo, life is about to get even MORE complicated – and deadlier still. For even though she’s survived the Academy and become one of the best pilots in the galaxy, the past is about to blast her with gale-force winds. Theo can run, but she can’t hide. Her destiny as master pilot and leader of a powerful Liaden clan calls, and there are lots of enemies who will try to make sure she’s quite dead before she has the chance to make an answer.

©2011 Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A great new Liaden adventure

Clan Korval's relocation to Surebleak can't go without bumps, and of course there are those who think the new power on the Port Road will be as easy to take out as any street boss from the old days. Meanwhile, Theo Waitley is adjusting to finding herself a member of a large extended family, with siblings and cousins and aunts--none of whom grew up in the "safety" culture of Delgado, and whose reactions to her range from delighted to appalled.

Theo has temporarily shelved the question of what to do about Bechimo, the "old tech" sapient AI ship which Win Ton has given her the command key for. In the meantime, she's continuing to work as a courier pilot for the old and secretive person known as Uncle. But both as an employee of Uncle, and as, now, a known Clan Korval pilot, Theo has become a target for dangerous people.

And of course, the Department of the Interior continues its war against Clan Korval.

There are a lot of threads coming together here, and going off in new directions. Theo, Val Con, and their father, Daav, each in their own ways continue to grow and develop as characters. We also start to get to know Bechimo, who, well, Bechimo needs a lot of socialization!

This is a thoroughly satisfying entry in the Liaden series, continuing to build on what has gone before, and intertwining multiple ongoing threads in the larger Liaden universe. It might not be the best place for a reader coming new to the series to start, but still an excellent book.

Recommended.

I bought this book.

Decent story, ok reader

I'm a long time fan of the Liaden Universe, and this arc always seemed to hover between adult drama and young adult. I realize this is a function of the protagonist's journey to adulthood, but something always struck me as tentative, almost juvenile, as though the writing was growing up with young Theo Waitley. It is a good story, though. This does not detract from the story so much as flavor it.

My only issue of substance is that the reader made some pronunciation errors that jarred when I encountered them. While this is almost de rigueur for science fiction or fantasy, the words themselves being coined, these authors have guides for such things online. Also, some regular English words skittered by the reader rather mangled. But all in all, a good enough work.

Great story, poor narration

The continuing saga has not lost its charm. The narrator, however, is not the best. Ms. Stevens mispronounces words on a regular basis, and her reading of Edger the Clutch Turtle is terrible. She makes this very large creature sound small. Andy Caploe's narration is far superior in this regard.

Continues the story

Theo's continuing story as well the continuation of Korval landing and integration into Surebleak society. Love the Liaden universe, but sometimes the narrator makes even the most exciting scenes dull.

So Many Mis-pronounced Words!

I love this story but there were so many mispronounced words that threw me out of the narrative. Not sure who did the editing on this recording, but they did a pretty lousy job. Still, it's a fantastic story.