Customer Reviews

Plan B

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a long wait, I am delighted to report that this book is an excellent continuation of one of my all time favorite series. I read the 3 earlier books years ago and have been on the lookout for this one ever since. I often reread those three earlier books (they are being republished early next year BTW)and am pleased to add Plan B to my list of all time favorites.

While this book does build on the earlier novels it can be read & enjoyed entirely on its own merit. Of course I strongly recommend picking up the other three as they become available, I know I will be picking up additional copies. :-)

Warning this book can be hazardous to your job. Do not pick it up unless you have the time to read it in one sitting. Everyone I have talked to or loaned my copy has been unable to put it down.

Happy reading!

I waited for 10 years for this book to be published. I have been a fan of Lee and Miller since the first three books in the series were published in the late 80's, and being left in mid-crisis at the end of Carpe Diem was torture. Finding Plan B a week or so ago was like rain in the desert. I've read it three times now, cover to cover, in 5 days, and can honestly say that the book is an excellent read. The characters are developing nicely, and the background of the universe is also starting to fill in very well. It's paced well, has a lot of humor in it, and still has all the "golly - gosh - gee whiz" that good space opera should have.

If you're a fan of Moon, Weber or Brust, this should be right up your alley.

If you haven't read Lee and Miller before, do it now. (I envy you your first taste!) If you do know them, but haven't read Plan B, do it now. (I've read it and you haven't, nanny-nanny-boo-boo!)

The biggest danger posed by this book will be your inability to put it down and the immediate need for another fix of Liaden Universe novels! I don't know how this series escaped my attention back in the 80's, but I started with Partner's In Necessity (omnibus of the first three novels, Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change and Carpe Diem) and was instantly in love. I read the whole book in under a week and immediately had purchase all the available books, including Plan B, which follows hard on the heels of Carpe Diem. I spent a weekend reading them all together in order, and even though I think Plan B is well-crafted enough to be read on its own, the background information and hints that you pick up in the earlier books makes it worth your while to start at the beginning and work your way to Plan B.

I was impressed that Plan B fit so seamlessly with the previous novels. The action picks up right where it left off, and the characters words and deeds are so consistant with what has been written before you never would have guessed there was a ten year publishing gap between them. The strengths of these books is in the wonderful cast of characters. Val Con, Shan, Nova, Anthora, Priscilla, Miri, Edger...they are all so well drawn with their own mannerisms and speech. Part of the dramatic tension in Plan B is getting the various members of Clan Korval all in the same place/space at same time since many of them haven't even met each other. You just know that Shan will approve of Val Con's lifemate Miri, but you want them to meet and talk to each other and interact, though perhaps it would be better to save Aunt Kareen for later...

While Plan B isn't strong on technological details, it is big on heart. The driving force is to preserve Clan Korval from the evil Department of the Interior, a xenophobic and power-hungry shadow organization within the Liaden government. They fear and resent Clan Korval's power and influence and the current clan members' partial Terran heritage. This sets the stage for planetary invasion, conspiracy, sabatoge, family reunions, long-lost heirs, galatic mobs, eccentric ancestors, talking tress, truces with enemies and a host of other difficulties to be overcome and it all makes for great reading.

By my measure, any book that makes you want to buy the sequel and/or prequel(s) sight unseen must have something going for it, and for all the faithful readers who had to wait 10 years (!) to get Plan B in their hands, well, they have my deepest sympathy. Right now I'll be re-reading my copies until I Dare makes its appearance. Thanks to Meisha Merlin Publishing for picking up this series, and let's hope there will be many more adventures yet to come!

This book is a direct continuation from the stories found in these author's "partners in necessity". While it can be read as stand alone novel, it is recommended that "partners" and "pilot's choice" be read first to bring the characters and their backgrounds into context.

Most of the main characters in the previous novels in this series either get an outing or a mention in this book, which is part of an evolving series. However, "Plan B" is an action-adventure novel, rather than a straight love story which is the core of most of the previous Liaden novels.

Having said that, it's also half a book in a way and is a definite set up for the conclusion of the current series in "I Dare" which is due out in 2002.

This is an enjoyable, well paced novel, with well defined characters. At the end of it you will wish "I Dare" were already published so you can finish the story.

Many authors can create either a great plot and gripping action, or sympathetic and memorable characters. It takes a great writer (or in this case, two of them!) to create both in the same series... which is exactly what Steve Miller and Sharon Lee have done with "Plan B." As the fourth book in a series, "Plan B" makes a *little* bit more sense if one has read the previous novels - but it isn't a requirement. Even if you have no prior exposure to the Liaden Universe, I believe that Miri, Val Con and company will touch your heart, tickle your funny bone, and have you perched on the edge of your favorite reading chair. The gap between the books' publishing may have been nearly 10 years, but the story picks up almost precisely where it left off, and proceeds to take the reader on a wild roller-coaster ride. If you enjoy your SF with a warm human (or Liaden) side, you should definitely give "Plan B" a try!

"Plan B" is, quite simply, the deeply laid plans of the Liaden Clan Korval to see to the safety of their entire clan, in the face of a catastrophic enemy. And then there's that little Liad matter of Balance. Liads, "within human mutation tolerances" but almost homicidal without their highly developed and nuanced Code to keep them in line, use Balance for everything from minor insults to death attempts. The secret Department of Interior (so secret, most of Liad doesn't know it exists) has decided that if they cannot recover their Scout and Agent of Change Val Con yos'Phelium, heir to Korval, then it's time to squash the entire clan. But Korval doesn't squash easily. Born of a line founded by a space pirate, a soldier, and the scion of a merchant house, Korval has become something strange and wonderful, a line of master merchants, pilots and telepathic wizards. But first, last and always, Korval is ships. They buy them, use them, mothball them, give them as gifts-and never, ever forget that there must always be a back door, even to a planet.

There's action and adventure galore-but never mistake the Liad Universe for just another space opera. This is literate, witty dialogue, brilliant characterization, excellent construction of cultures and aliens who are truly alien even as many of them seek bridges between each other. Liad books tell stories of people who depend on their friends, and who make bad enemies. Here are characters that inspire others to search a galaxy for them. You'll fall in love with Sheather, the huge Clutch turtle, as he stands with great eyes dreaming upon the scarred wood of a real door, accepting the awful dignity of the barrier. How could you resist an 8-foot alien built like an all-terrain vehicle who is fascinated by humans, and constantly trying to learn how to interact with them-no matter how small.

"Closer to hand, another music spoke. 'The lady gone away.' Carefully, for he was well aware of the fragility of even full-grown humans, Sheather turned. Carefully, he looked down. A human eggling stood by his knee, face uptilted like a flower, brown eyes opened wide."

Warning-if you liked PARTNERS IN NECESSITY, maybe you'd better order I DARE before you start PLAN B. It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but Lee & Miller like to slice their tales right out of a vast history. You will want to know what happens next!

Val Con yos'Phelium is future Delm and member of Clan Korval of Liad, lately deadly agent of change for the Department of the Interior. The only thing that saved his sanity was the loving song of his lifemate, Miri Robertson, half-Terran, half-Liaden former mercenary. When last we left Val Con and Miri (in Carpe Diem), they had just commandeered a spaceship and escaped a backwards world. While they were stranded, Nova yos'Galan, First Speaker of Korval, invoked Plan B - retreat strategically, trust no one, prepare for all-out war.

Val Con and Miri know that the Department of the Interior will still be hunting them so they flee to Lytaxin and Miri's kin. Val Con knows that Miri fears meeting her newly discovered family, but he needs a safe meeting place where his brother and sisters can find him. Unfortunately, the planet Lytaxin, home of Clan Erob, Korval's longtime allies, is not what one would exactly call a safe place for the bloodthirsty Yxtrang are attacking. Within a day of their landing, Val Con and Miri are stranded planetside once again with no ship, no radio comm, but a slightly better chance of survival. Luckily, some mercenaries from Miri's old unit were stranded on Lytaxin as well, so she takes up her old Captain's duties and trains volunteers and recruits to meet the enemy. Meanwhile, Shan yos'Galan, Val Con's brother and his lifemate, Priscilla (met in Conflict of Honors), are searching the galaxy for Val Con, as are Nova yos'Galan, his sister, and his Clutch brothers, Edger and Sheather. But finding Val Con quickly becomes one of a number of problems as they deal with espionage onboard the Dutiful Passage, Shan's ship, attempts to murder Nova, and the seemingly impenetrable Yxtrang ring around the planet Lytaxin. However, Clan Korval is nothing if not resourceful and, as all the family pits their formidable intelligence and skills against their various foes, one almost feels pity for the enemy...

Plan B is the 6th book in the Liaden series if you read the series chronologically. As with the other books, I simply loved Lee & Miller's characters and world building. They spend time on the details and it shows that they have carefully thought out and executed another masterpiece. I really feel as if I know the Korval family and am taking a remedial course on Liaden etiquette, these books are that well written! If you enjoy any kind of science fiction or space opera then this book has something for you - great characters, lots of action, enemies on all sides, high tech battle sequences, romance, family relations, honor, and much, much more! You can read this book as a stand-alone novel, but I would not recommend it as you will miss a lot of background and spend the first part of the book just trying to keep track of who everyone is. Also, you definitely should not miss out on any book in the wonderful Liaden universe - all of them are very highly recommended!

I found one of the first books in this trilogy about 7 years ago, it was Conflict of Honors. I read it so much that the book actually disintegrated with use. I was heartbroken; couldn't find the others (at a reasonable price) to save my life. Then, from afar, Plan B (and at the same time Partners in Necessity), I was in heaven. The humor, the wit, the absolutely terrific STORYLINES!! I sat up until 5 in the morning to finish the book, and then promptly wanted to re-read it. I turned my family onto this series, and now they, like me, are waiting (rather impatiently I might add) for the next installment of the Korval Universe. I have never had a book or series grab me the way this one does; even subscribing to certain magazines to make sure that I don't miss a story. I am like many other fans, this is one set that I constantly re-read. I find myself, even after more readings than I am going to admit to, catching things I missed in the previous readings. Sharon and Steve are so very subtle in their writing. It is worth the second, third (dare I say it..... 20th) re-read. I actually have two sets of these books, I wouldn't lend this to anyone without a backup, you might not ever see your original set ever again. :-)

All of the characters; Miri, Shan, Korval (although that's not truely a character) tug at your heartstrings, you want to know what is going to happen next, who will be found, who will be lost, and can these people actually get the job done? Well, they can, and with tremendous style! And as a little inside humor, I would like to be adopted of Turtles!!!!

Happy reading, and may Steve Miller and Sharon Lee keep this line going. I am impatiently waiting for February 2001 for the next installment.

I read the last Sharon Lee and Steve Miller book, Carpe Diem, by candle light in San Francisco after the October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Even with all the difficulties surrounding the aftermath of the quake, Carpe Diem had me laughing out loud. For a short time I was taken away from the devastation in the City. It's been a long wait, over 9 years, but the wait was worth it. Plan B is an excellent novel. Though I read by electric lights this time, I still laughed out loud and found myself taken away to the wonderful Korval Universe for a few hours. The day after I read the book, I reread it, it was that much fun. I know we have to wait another couple years for the next installment ... but maybe if we whine loud enough Sharon Lee and Steve Miller will speed up the process. Folks if you haven't read books by these two, go find them! Buy Plan B! You won't regret it.

Although I read science fiction and fantasy voraciously, I had never heard of the Liaden novels until Meisha Merlin republished the first three books, Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, and Carpe Diem in an omnibus edition. I just couldn't help myself--the artwork on the cover forced me to read them. And I wasn't sorry.

Plan B is a direct sequel to Carpe Diem. While some reviews have suggest that readers can begin with Plan B, I don't recommend doing so. The characters' personalities are fleshed out in previous books as well as concrete examples of the Liaden and Clutch cultures. For example, the concept of Liaden melant'i is present in this novel, but is perfectly explained in Conflict of Honors (this is the first novel collected in Partners in Necessity); if I hadn't read CoH, I'm afraid I would have missed the point.

Miri Robertson, a former mercenary sergeant, and Val Con yos'Phelium are fleeing several organizations who want them dead. A crime syndicate has put a hit on Miri. Val Con used to be a scout/spy for the mysterious Department of Interior, an nefarious group who are loyal to the citizens of Liad but have no conscience in achieving their goals. When Val Con discovers the covert nature of the group, he defects. When the "ends justify the means", the Department of Liad has no ethical problem in hunting Val Con and destroying his outspoken and half-breed family.

Having escaped to Miri's family's homeworld, disaster strikes when a warlike alien race attacks the planet in conquest. Will Val Con's family and Miri's mercenary friends arrive in time to save them?

This is a good bridge novel and leaves the reader aching for more.