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Note: No Spoilers
Summary: Young terran spacer, Jethri Gobelyn, begrudged and unwanted by his mother, finds himself apprenticed to a Liaden master trader after doing a good turn in the middle of a bad deal. He finds himself immersed in the Liaden culture while his old family finds the need to straighten out old secrets.
Review: I fear I came into the Liaden unverse a bit late. I'd read Lee & Miller's Conflict of Honors and found it an enjoyable day read, lightweight but filled with likeable characters. The Internet phenomenon around the promotion of L&M's later Liaden novels was a bit baffling, but after ignoring it for several years I figured there had to be something to it, so I picked up Balance of Trade.
Conclusion: It's a lightweight read, with likable characters, with what amounts to a 200 page story stretched out to a little more than 400. It frankly has even less conflict than Conflict, with the stakes set so low and obvious (will young Jethri prove himself in the Liaden world?) that there's barely a plot at all. Indeed, what little crisis there is in the book occurs in the last hundred pages, and is wrapped up in the last thirty with barely a murmur.
I'm trying to fight the desire to compare the book to any of LMB's novels, which are also filled with likeable folk. While that is a similarity, Lois is at least able to hang a compelling plot around her characters, and create genuine crisises for them to deal with. L&M aren't so skilled.
I'm just not sure what all the excitement is about.
Summary: Young terran spacer, Jethri Gobelyn, begrudged and unwanted by his mother, finds himself apprenticed to a Liaden master trader after doing a good turn in the middle of a bad deal. He finds himself immersed in the Liaden culture while his old family finds the need to straighten out old secrets.
Review: I fear I came into the Liaden unverse a bit late. I'd read Lee & Miller's Conflict of Honors and found it an enjoyable day read, lightweight but filled with likeable characters. The Internet phenomenon around the promotion of L&M's later Liaden novels was a bit baffling, but after ignoring it for several years I figured there had to be something to it, so I picked up Balance of Trade.
Conclusion: It's a lightweight read, with likable characters, with what amounts to a 200 page story stretched out to a little more than 400. It frankly has even less conflict than Conflict, with the stakes set so low and obvious (will young Jethri prove himself in the Liaden world?) that there's barely a plot at all. Indeed, what little crisis there is in the book occurs in the last hundred pages, and is wrapped up in the last thirty with barely a murmur.
I'm trying to fight the desire to compare the book to any of LMB's novels, which are also filled with likeable folk. While that is a similarity, Lois is at least able to hang a compelling plot around her characters, and create genuine crisises for them to deal with. L&M aren't so skilled.
I'm just not sure what all the excitement is about.
