D.A. (Hardcover)

by Connie Willis (Author), J. K. Potter (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Some high school kids would do anything to be an IASA space cadet, but not Theodora Baumgarten in Willis's cheerfully tongue-in-cheek SF novella. "There's no air, you're squashed into a ship the size of a juice can, and it takes years to get anywhere interesting. If you... aren't killed first by a meteor or a solar flare or a systems malfunction." But somehow, without submitting an application, Theodora is accepted to the Academy. Soon, she's green with space sickness aboard the Academy space station (named, appropriately enough, the Robert A. Heinlein), learning the ropes with a class of robust, gung-ho cadets. Getting out will require solving the mystery of how she got into the Academy in the first place, but it might have something to do with the annotation "D.A." in her station records. Willis (Inside Job) turns a cherished SF theme completely inside out. (June)
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Product Description
Theodora Baumgarten has just been selected as an IASA space cadet, and therein lies the problem. She didn't apply for the ultra-coveted posting, and doesn't relish spending years aboard the ship to which she's been assigned. But the plucky young heroine, in true Heinlein fashion, has no plans to go along with the program. Aided by her hacker best friend Kimkim, in a screwball comedy that has become Connie Wills' hallmark, Theodora will stop at nothing to uncover the conspiracy that has her shanghaied.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean Press (June 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596061200
• ISBN-13: 978-1596061200
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #162,732 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm probably too generous..., July 26, 2007

By	William C. Garthright (Lincoln, NE United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm probably too generous in giving this 4 stars, but it's fairly clever, mildly humorous, and an enjoyable read. And it IS a juvenile, after all. But I've read short stories that were longer. At best - perhaps - it's a novelette. Definitely too short to be a novella. And there's really only one character. The whole story is a gimmick, basically. Well, that's fine for a short story, I guess...

But Connie Willis is one of my all-time favorite authors. When is she going to write another novel, like the superb "Passage" of 2001? And in the meantime, if she's going to write short fiction, why cheat her faithful readers by selling them as individually bound books? I wasn't very pleased when she did this with "Inside Job," her expensive 2005 novella, but it's really getting ridiculous with this book.

"The Winds of Marble Arch" is supposed to be coming out in September, but that's a collection of short fiction - many (most?) of which have been published in previous collections. OK, yeah, I'll still buy it. She is, as I say, one of my very favorite authors. But I hate to be taken for a sucker. This... short story would make a nice little gift for a kid, but nothing more than that.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Have Spacesuit, Will Travel for the modern generation, March 30, 2008

By	Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you are an SF fan of a certain age, you remember the Heinlein "juveniles" -- books written for young readers that included good stories, appropriate messages (such as "think for yourself"), and definite, forward-thinking science fiction elements. Most of those stories stand the test of time, I think; certainly I loved every one, even when I read them as an adult.

Connie Willis, whose science fiction and fantasy has made plenty of adults laugh and sigh, turns her attention to the same young audience in D.A. It's a very quick read for a grownup -- I zoomed through it in 40 minutes -- which makes the book pricey, if you judge it on a cost-per-page basis. (I got mine from the library. I recommend you do, too.) On the other hand, I have a 12-year-old grand-niece who probably wouldn't get through a long book, and I am very tempted to send her a copy at the next gift-giving occasion.

The values imparted by our heroine are appropriate for the 8-to-12 reader (though I do wonder about the stink bomb...).

Did I mention that it's entertaining? It is, very. To an adult, this is a chuckle; I suspect the references to annoying teachers and even-more-annoying classmates would be more powerful.

I've read every word of Connie Willis's that I can get my hands on, and I admit that this isn't on the must-have pile. But I like this book, and I think it'd be a great way to turn a youngster onto science fiction.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 17, 2007

By	Fionna Ingram "Bookworm" (Bremerton, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After waiting for 2 years for Connie to tell us another story, I was very disappointed to find this wasn't a novel, nor even a "novella" ( like Inside Job) , but a short story. I read it in 30 minutes flat. Definately not worth the $20 plus $7 shipping and handling.Wait for " The WInds of Marble Arch " - it is probably included in that collection.