Authors: Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Publication: Baen (February 5, 2013)
Description: Stirring SF adventure from master storytellers Sharon Lee and Steve Miller—#16 in the award-winning Liaden Universe® saga. Space ships, action, adventure—all tied together with a strong dollop of romance and clan intrigue – make this a compelling series for a wide range of readers, from romance to military SF lovers.
The kompani sees none as an enemy, and yet few as friend. The kompani exists in many places, living quietly in the shadows, thriving off the bounty that others have no wit to secure, nor skill to defend. Their private history is unwritten; their recall rooted in dance and dream.
The humans of Clan Korval is in many ways the opposite of the kompani. The interstellar trading clan is wealthy in enemies, fortunate in friends. Korval protects itself with vigor, and teaches even its youngest children the art of war.
And when representatives of Clan Korval arrive on the planet Surebleak where the kompani has lived secret and aloof, it seems to the kompani that they are borne by the very winds of change.
Change can be a boon for in change lies opportunity. But the arrival of Clan Korval, establishing itself upon Surebleak with its friends, its enemies, and, most of all, its plans may bring catastrophe, changing the culture and the kompani, forever.
In this time of change, the lives of three people intersect -- Kezzi, apprentice to the kompani's grandmother; Syl Vor, Clan Korval's youngest warrior; and Rys, a man without a world, or a past.
Necessity's Child is a standalone adventure in the popular and exciting Liaden Universe®
My Thoughts: This story takes place on Surebleak shortly after Clan Korval has arrived. It is told from three points of view. The narrator most known to readers of the Liaden series of books is Syl Vor yos'Galan Clan Korval. Syl Vor is a child who is somewhere between eight and ten. Syl Vor has recently come to Korval from the place where he, his cousins, and his great-aunt and uncle were hidden while Plan B was in effect. He lived under the constant threat of danger. Now that the immediate threat has passed, his older cousins have gone off to their aprenticeships and Syl Vor is at loose ends. He wants to be of use.
The second point of view is that of Kezzi who is a daughter of the Bedel who have been hidden on Surebleak for a number of years. They have taken space under some old, abandoned warehouses and come out only to steal stuff they need from the unsuspecting gadjes in the City Above. Kezzi is the youngest of the Bedel and apprentice to the tribe's wisewoman—Silain the luthia.
The third point of view is that of Rys Lin pen'Chela. We first meet Rys when he is found beaten almost to death outside one of the entrances to the Bedel's hidden home. He is taken in and cared for by the wisewoman and befriended by the Bedel. He has been so damaged both physically and mentally that he doesn't remember his past or how he came to be where he now is. We watch him heal and come to feel that the Bedel could be a replacement for the clan he lost. But his past, once remembered isn't ready to let him go.
These three characters come together when Syl Vor begins to attend school with other Surebleak natives. Kezzi is found on the street and brought to the school too. Syl Vor is determined to befriend her and make her his sister. Kezzi just wants to get back to her own people and leave all this school stuff far behind her.
It is the thinking of the adult leaders of Surebleak that they way to make life better for all citizens and to change the social culture is for all the kids to go to school at a consolidated school. They can learn that kids from one Boss's turf aren't different than kids from another. However some adults—notably the remains of the Department of the Interior—do not want Korval's plans for social engineering to succeed. Street patrols have managed to stop most of the sabotage around the new school and capture most of the Department's agents but there is no guarantee that the school will be safe.
There fears are justified because the leader of those agents from the Department of the Interior has one more plan in mind and intends to use Agent of Change Rys Lin pen'Chela to carry it out—no matter how he might feel about massacring a bunch of children including his young sister Kezzi and her friend Syl Vor.
The story was exciting and we did get some cameos by characters we learned to know in earlier books in the series including Daav yos'Phelium, Val Con yos'Phelium, Miri, Nova, Anthora and Ren Zel. I really enjoyed getting to know at least one member of the next generation of Clan Korval and am eager for more adventures.
The second point of view is that of Kezzi who is a daughter of the Bedel who have been hidden on Surebleak for a number of years. They have taken space under some old, abandoned warehouses and come out only to steal stuff they need from the unsuspecting gadjes in the City Above. Kezzi is the youngest of the Bedel and apprentice to the tribe's wisewoman—Silain the luthia.
The third point of view is that of Rys Lin pen'Chela. We first meet Rys when he is found beaten almost to death outside one of the entrances to the Bedel's hidden home. He is taken in and cared for by the wisewoman and befriended by the Bedel. He has been so damaged both physically and mentally that he doesn't remember his past or how he came to be where he now is. We watch him heal and come to feel that the Bedel could be a replacement for the clan he lost. But his past, once remembered isn't ready to let him go.
These three characters come together when Syl Vor begins to attend school with other Surebleak natives. Kezzi is found on the street and brought to the school too. Syl Vor is determined to befriend her and make her his sister. Kezzi just wants to get back to her own people and leave all this school stuff far behind her.
It is the thinking of the adult leaders of Surebleak that they way to make life better for all citizens and to change the social culture is for all the kids to go to school at a consolidated school. They can learn that kids from one Boss's turf aren't different than kids from another. However some adults—notably the remains of the Department of the Interior—do not want Korval's plans for social engineering to succeed. Street patrols have managed to stop most of the sabotage around the new school and capture most of the Department's agents but there is no guarantee that the school will be safe.
There fears are justified because the leader of those agents from the Department of the Interior has one more plan in mind and intends to use Agent of Change Rys Lin pen'Chela to carry it out—no matter how he might feel about massacring a bunch of children including his young sister Kezzi and her friend Syl Vor.
The story was exciting and we did get some cameos by characters we learned to know in earlier books in the series including Daav yos'Phelium, Val Con yos'Phelium, Miri, Nova, Anthora and Ren Zel. I really enjoyed getting to know at least one member of the next generation of Clan Korval and am eager for more adventures.
Favorite Quote:
"Ah. And the danger?"
Syl Vor blinked. "I have been accustomed, when we were at the Rock, to think that we might at any time be in terrible danger. If I join in this solving..." Horrifying, his eyes filled with tears, and his voice wobbled. He cleared his throat.
"If I join this solving," he said, as firmly as he could, "it will be only myself that I must guard."