"Liaden Universe - 06 - Scout's Progress" - читать интересную книгу автора (Miller Steve)

Scout's Progress

Steve Miller and Sharon Lee

How to Find a Lifemate in Several Hundred Not-So-Easy-Steps

Or

How to Find Authors You Really, Really Love on the Very First Try

by Susan Krinard

I discovered Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's work when their first novel,Agent of Change , appeared from Del Rey lo, these many years ago.

At the time I was strictly a reader, and had no notion of becoming a published writer in any genre, SF/fantasy least of all. But I was a professional reader. I lived for the hours when I could immerse myself in an author's universe, become the characters, leave behind the all-too-real world that didn't always please me. I was—and remain—an inveterate escape artist. And books were my method of choice.

Good books. Books that stayed with me, long after the last page. Among the authors who fulfilled this requirement—and my increasingly stringent standards—were (and are) C. J. Cherryh, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

Each one of these authors writes what I call "intelligent space opera." For some, them's fightin' words; "space opera" is an insult worthy of the dreaded anti-romance expression "bodice-ripper." But I use the term with love, awe, and admiration. The above-mentioned authors are masters and mistresses of the ultimate escape adventure, fully developed characters, complex plots, careful and imaginative world building. When I read a story by these folks, I feel as I did when I first sawStar Wars on the big screen—utterly swept away.

As such a devotee of adventurous, dare I say it, romantic science fiction, it would have been natural for me to write it myself. Instead, I fell, almost by accident, into writing in a genre often scorned by SF readers: romance. But my love of the fantastic led me to incorporate fantasy elements in my work, and I devoted a year to writing my own science fiction romance,Star Crossed .

Very few authors of either romance or science fiction have succeeded in "crossing" between genres, appealing to readers of both SF and romance. Sharon and Steve have done so, with bells on. My greatest hope is that the Liaden Universe books will be among the seminal, classic works in a growing genre of romantic science fiction novels.

Scout's Progresswill hold a place of honor on this list. It is the latest in the beloved series of books about the world of Liad and the folk of Clan Korval. In this episode, we witness the courtship of Daav yos'Phelium and Aelliana Caylon, parents of Val Con yos'Phelium, protagonist inAgent of Change .

The stakes are high for Aelliana, shy mathematical genius, who faces a dismal future unless she can qualify to become a pilot, and thus escape the rigid caste system of Liaden society and the barbarous treatment of her scheming brother. In the course of her studies, she meets Scout and Master Pilot Daav, who just happens to avoid mentioning that he is the Delm of Clan Korval (and one of the most powerful men on the planet) even as he slowly, subtly finds himself falling in love. The obstacles are many—not least of which are the rigorous demands of melant'i and Balance—but the potential reward is the winning of that most prized and rare object in a culture of contracted marriages—the precious bond of lifemates.

The love story inScout's Progress harkens back, in part, to the hallowed roots of Regency romance and the work of Jane Austen—it is a comedy, and drama, of manners set on a world bound by ritual courtesies and the dangerous undercurrents of potential savagery kept in check. One leaves this book—as with all the others—in love with all the marvelous characters, and with the longing for more insights into Liaden history and culture.

With any luck, Sharon and Steve will keep 'em coming.

Susan Krinard November, 2000

For the binjali crew: past, present and future

CHAPTER ONE

Typically, the clan which gains the child of a contract-marriage pays a marriage fee to the mating clan, as well as other material considerations. Upon consummation of contract, the departing spouse is often paid a bonus.

Contract-marriage is thus not merely a matter of obeying the Law, but an economic necessity to some of the Lower Houses, where a clanmember might be serially married for most of his or her adult life.

—From "Marriage Customs of Liad"

"Sinit,must you read at table?"

Voni's voice was clear and carrying. It was counted a good feature, Aelliana had heard, though not so pleasing as her face.

At the moment, face and voice held a hint of boredom, as befitted an elder sister confronted with the wearisome necessity of disciplining a younger.