Saltation

Liaden Universe, Chronological #15

by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Theo Waitley is a Nexus of Violence. Thrust mid-year into a school for pilots far from the safe haven of her birth home on scholarly Delgado, young Theo Waitley excels in hands-on flying while finding that she's behind the curve in social intricacies as well as in math. Her mentors try to guide her studies and training into the channels best suited to her special abilities and inclinations, including suggesting that she should join in the off-world student association, a plan resulting in mixed success.

After a series of confrontations, fights, and ultimately a riot after which she is thanked for not killing anyone, Theo is named a "nexus of violence" by the school's administration. Facing suspension and carrying little more than a hastily procured guild card, a pistol taken from an attacker, and the contents of her pants pockets, Theo must quickly decide if she's ready to return to Delgado in disgrace, or launch herself into the universe as a freelance pilot with credentials she's already earned.

The sequel to Fledgling, Saltation is the tenth book in the Liaden Universe® series.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Fantasy, Space, Young Adult, Audiobook

325 pages, Hardcover

First published January 4, 2010

About the author

Sharon Lee has been married to her first husband for more than half her lifetime; she is a friend to cats, a member of the National Carousel Association, and oversees the dubious investment schemes of an improbable number of stuffed animals.

Despite having been born in a year of the dragon, Sharon is an introvert. She lives in Maine because she likes it there. In fact, she likes it so much that she has written five novels set in Maine; contemporary fantasy trilogy Carousel Tides, Carousel Sun, Carousel Seas, and mysteries Barnburner and Gunshy.

With the aforementioned first husband, Steve Miller, Sharon has written twenty novels of science fiction and fantasy — many of them set in the Liaden Universe® — and numerous short stories. She has occasionally been an advertising copywriter, a reporter, photographer, book reviewer, and secretary. She was for three years Executive Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., and was subsequently elected vice president and then president of that organization.

Reviews

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

***100 Days of Summer 2023***

Reading prompt: Book by an author who shares your birth month
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 4

I'm very invested in the story of Theo Waitley, pilot and daughter of a pilot. Unintentional centre of danger and violence. No wonder she was so unsuited to the planet of Delgado! Delgado being a Safe Planet where the nanny state that so many people these days complain about actually exists. If you are not their absolutely average citizen, they will legislate and drug you into line. Theo escapes to learn her father's profession: Pilot. The title holds more prestige than our concept, with only Scout being more respected.

Going to flight school suits Theo right down to the ground—or maybe up into space! All she wants is the designation of Pilot and to spend as little time as possible involved in dirt-side politics. Unfortunately those politics and the people involved with them resent her single minded focus, and obstacles are thrown in her way. But Theo knows how to work hard and has learned how to defend herself. Plus she is not without friends or resources.

I kept poking at the last page of the ebook, unwilling to believe that it ended where it did. I am very behind in my reading plans for 2023 and I have little leeway to add to my reading queue, but I requested the next book Ghost Ship anyway. If I can't read what I really want to, what am I reading for?

Book number 491 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A direct follow-up to Fledgling, Saltation finds teenage Theo Waitley at pilot school, learning that her natural talents come with benefits and drawbacks.
Characterization, along with the comforting gentility of Lee's and Miller's Liaden Universe, are the selling points here. Sometimes the pacing is a little slow, but the reader's patience is rewarded.

[Kathleen Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book of Theo Waitley is even better than the first, and that's a feat. It's good old-fashioned space opera, with elegant writing, well-drawn characters, and enough hooks for future development to keep all series fans happy for almost as long as it takes Lee and Miller to produce the next installment! Fledgling is the first book of this arc, but if you really wish to dig in, there's a whole universe built around Liad. (Theo's paternal ancestors are Liaden, although her mother is earth-human.) Eventually I'll put up at least brief reviews of all of the many Liaden novels.
Theo, having escaped the ultra-safe world of her childhood courtesy of a scholarship to piloting school, bounces to the opposite extreme, finding danger wherever she goes. As a student pilot, she follows directions faithfully and pilots her unpowered craft so well that a) she avoids being shot out of the air by government planes pursuing an insurrectionist, and b) becomes a celebrity among pilot-kind. The clumsiness which plagued her childhood has resolved into extreme physical skills which show up as a pilot, as a dancer, and a ball-player. She does not have the ability to fly "under the radar" and remain anonymous, and therefore even playing a sort of super-handball, a game popular among pilots, she is considered DANGEROUS! If I go farther along this line, I'll need to click the spoiler alert.
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller as co-authors guarantee a book with breathtaking action, characters who endear themselves to the reader, and serious issues of individual responsibility.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5; 5 stars; A+

I really enjoyed this book. It focuses on Theo's late teen years and her time at the piloting academy. The story is a delightful exhibition of the 'luck' that swirls around these blessed (burdened?) with the yos'Phelium genes. There are quite a few interesting developments in Theo's life and it becomes clear that the plot line is heading towards clan Korval. The last few pages are identical to those of 'I Dare' thus bringing the two stories together in time.

[Doranna Durgin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miller & Lee are pretty much THE best at working the micro-view of personal stakes with high-stakes macro view happening in the background. This book is no different, and of course it's couched in the unique Liaden-verse.

Although publisher Baen doesn't identify it as such, it's the second of two books about Theo Waitely, and is tied into the series closely enough so this second book ends at the same point as I DARE. I believe there's more to come.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story! 4/25/16 re-read: Well, Theo's life gets more and more interesting. I love how the books in her series synch with the main series. Superb! 2019 re-read: The ending, always makes me laugh with utter joy.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much better than Fledgling. I did feel that there were parts at school that could have used a bit more explanation than was given. I do like authors that don't info dump but rather sprinkle info in. But here there was a little too little in spots. The story was not real linear in that unlike for example "Conflict of Honors" earlier in the series where there was a strong plot with action and reaction, closely following, it was more "here's some stuff that happened to develop Theo's character over the course of 4 or 5 years". So plot was lacking a bit. Like another reviewer said I thought the end was rushed. I love the whole Korval is pilots and ships thing so I would rather have seen more of her actually piloting and more of Win Ton.

I knew that the book would end where "I Dare" did. It just seemed obvious. So now that I've read these two, I really want to read what happens next which is the book I've been waiting for since I first read "I Dare" when it came out. I really want to see the scene where Theo finds out she is part of Korval. Please don't skip that scene when the story goes on. And please let the story go on from here.

So it could have been better here and there but any Korval story is better than no Korval story. And any Liaden story is better than most sci fi out there. Write faster!

[Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

The continuing saga of Theo Waitley. In this sequel to Fledgling Theo goes off to pilot school, sponsored (paid for) by her friend Pilot Cho. Starting in the middle of the term with a small group of students, she again feels like an outsider amongst her peers. She makes friends with her unlikely roommates, concentrates on her studies, and finds herself embroiled in events beyond her control, and political understanding. Once again purposefully misunderstood by questionable authority figures, she is eventually unfairly decreed a "Nexus of Violence". What happens after that finally closes the gap and ties into the final scenes in Lee & Miller's Liaden Universe novel, I Dare.

All of the above was from reading the online first draft. I just finished the published version and it was fabulous. A lot more depth then the 1st draft, and now I am left hanging, waiting while the next book is being written.

Update (1 year later): Ghost Ship is out and after 30 pages I realize I don't remember enough of the details of this part of Theo's journey. Since Ghost Ship starts up mere minutes after Saltation & I Dare end, I thought I'd better revisit. Still loving it!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to reiterate what I said about Fledgling: What a great story! I will be starting "Ghost Ship" as I finish writing this.

05/11/2018: Starting this again. Again, so good. Love the Bechimo story.

03/09/2020: Reading again!

05/02/2023

05/11/24: And again.

02/22/26: Completely addicted, again.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent followup to Fledgling

[Sbuchler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Science Fiction

Saltation was a disappointment after Fledgling. It felt like a book without a plot. It’s obviously the middle book in the series and it seemed mainly to focus on getting Theo from the end of Fledgling up to the point in time when we met her at the end of I Dare e.g. she has to develop a complicated problem that is worth bringing to Delm Korval (whom Theo doesn’t know, and in fact doesn’t even realize that she has a claim on Korval).

Now, I think the complicated problem is interesting – in that I’ve been wondering when/if Lee & Miller would get back to the “Old Tech” stuff that was strongly hinted at in Balance of Trade. However, I’m not sure that I see it as a compelling problem for anyone but Theo and Win Ton. I’m not sure it should compel Korval to act. Even if Theo is Korval’s problem, Win Ton isn’t, so I’m still not sure a positive result from the application is justified... except that long-time readers know Korval has a tendency to stick their noses in business beyond their own. There’s also the question of does Korval agree with the Scouts on the question of Old Tech? On a meta-level I’m sure they don’t ‘cause that would mess up Theo’s story by putting her in an adversarial role, but there’s no reason internal to the story to believe that. Anyway, I found it rather disconcerting that the entire compelling problem is plopped in Theo’s lap in a rather long “info dump” scene near the end of the book. It doesn’t build up or get out of control nor is it slowly discovered during the course of the book; instead it’s presented gift-wrapped at the end.

The book is rather choppy. First Theo’s in school, and we meet all those people, then she’s kicked out and starts working as an apprentice pilot, and we meet new people and an entirely different set of concerns. Finally Win Ton comes back onto the stage and dumps his complicated problem in Theo’s lap. The only real through-line in the book is Theo and Win Ton’s romance… and it’s hardly much of a thread; they have two scenes together an a couple letters over the course of 3-5 years, where in both have other, off-screen intimate relationships. Plus, their relationship went from close friends to mutual romantic infatuation during the interval between Fledgling and Saltation which robbed me of the fun of reading about the transition. Not that it wasn’t clear in Fledgling that Win Ton was meant to be Theo’s romantic lead… but their relationship hadn’t developed that way yet.

I think part of the reason the book feels like it has no plot is that, except for her romance, Theo lacks agency. She spends the entire book reacting to outside forces (which are different in the different phases of her career, so there’s not even that consistency). Theo doesn’t take the initiative and act, which makes Theo running to Korval with her and Win Ton’s complicated problem a less then satisfactory solution.

The entire series has an over-arching theme of fighting against anti-foreigner sentiment (and conversely propounding understanding between cultures). We see that again in this book during Theo’s time in school. However, previously the main characters were actively engaged with the problem. Theo just gets caught in the cross-fire. It also seemed a bit repetitive given that this version of anti-foreigner sentiment seen in Saltation is very similar to that propounded by the Department of the Interior in Liad. However the world isn’t Liaden, there is presumably a different political agenda at work. I think Fledgling was much more successful at showing a previously unexamined ways such anti-foreigner sentiment plays out and affects the societies that spawns it. The anti-foreigner issues in Saltation just felt like a repeat of stuff we’d seen previously.

There were a number of inconsistency errors (mostly between Fledgling and Saltation) that I could shrug off… but I think it’s telling that I noticed them rather then being too caught up in the story to do so.

I realize this sound like a very negative review. Despite all my complaints I don’t feel like the book was a waste of time. I like the Lee & Miller’s Liaden novels a lot, so I had high expectations. I think my disappointment is mostly due to those expectations. The book is extremely good at making me want to read the as-yet-unwritten sequel! (Which rumor says is named Ghost Ship and is due out in 2011.)

[Cynthia Armistead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saltation (Theo Waitley, #2) is good enough that I finished Fledgling (Theo Waitley, #1), then read it in one sitting. It simply has the sort of momentum that doesn't allow for good stopping points — something that is true of many of the Liaden Universe novels.

At the end of Fledgling, Theo was sponsored into pilot school by Scout Cho sig'Radia. Saltation begins with her time there, just as politically naive as ever, but a much more confident person than she was at the beginning of Fledgling. Many of the characters from Fledgling reappear, including Win Ton, Kamele, and Jen Sar. There are new characters too, though, such as Kara ven'Arith and Orn Ald yos'Senchul (who, by the way, also appear in a free story, Landed Alien, that has just been released at the Baen web site and should be read after Saltation).

Theo is a legal adult now, but a very young one, and she has plenty of growing up left to do. That said, this is a young ADULT novel, not a children's book — while it isn't discussed specifically, Theo does take a lover.

She continues to flex and stretch into an admirable heroine. She isn't perfect, by any means, being sometimes short-tempered and not understanding social cues easily. She's someone readers can relate to, though, and that is important. We were brought up concurrent with the end of I Dare, which was vastly satisfying. I will go right on with reading Ghost Ship, because I definitely want to know more!

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Saltation,” the authors tell us, is “that which proceeds by leaps rather than by smooth and orderly progression.” That describes Theo Waitley, certainly. The “space academy” is a science fiction trope that goes back at least to Robert Heinlein’s classic Space Cadet, but Lee and Miller ring a number of new changes on it. In this sequel to Fledgling, Theo is admitted to the Anlingdin Piloting Academy on the not entirely stable world of Eylot -- in the middle of the academic year, which immediately puts her off-balance. But, as she will eventually figure out, Theo was literally born to be a pilot and she quickly makes her mark, and the friends and enemies to go with it. Delgado, where she was born and grew up, is a strict “safe” world so the necessary adjustment to the occasional controlled violence of the piloting life is considerable. But she’s also the focus of special sympathetic attention from several of the Academy’s senior instructors and administrators, who make sure she’s prepared when politics and peer pressure result in her being ejected before graduation. Still, she has her 2nd-class license now, and a co-pilot’s berth on a small trading vessel, and she’s not at all the person she was only a few years before. But then Jen Sar Kiladi, her father, disappears abruptly from Delgado and Theo begins to get a glimpse of who he really is. And so she finds herself being drawn into the Korval clan’s orbit on Liad, as well as trying to help her stricken friend/lover, Scout Pilot Win Ton.

As readers will already have suspected, Theo is a nexus, destined to play a major role in interstellar politics, whether she likes it or not. And I have the next two volumes of her story standing by.

[Lis Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theo Waitley has survived the tough year that culminated in pilot school on a planet very different from Delgado. Along the way she caught the attention of Master Pilot Captain Cho, and now she has a scholarship to an elite piloting academy. Surely now she'll fit in?

But no. She's behind in some things, ahead in others, and learned self-protection makes her seem to be looking for a fight far too often. And as she catches up on her math, and finally starts to make friends aside from her roommates, political conditions on this planet are changing. The offworld piloting students, especially the Liadens, are less and less welcome. And Theo, despite having just recently learned of her parentage, is obviously Liaden. After a series of incidents, Theo is declared "a nexus of violence," and expelled. To get offworld quickly, she takes her recently obtained guild card, and signs on as an apprentice pilot with a trading company.

Her life has only begun to get interesting.

Momentous events elsewhere produce major changes in trade routes, and her employers want to move quickly to take advantage of the openings. She gets a disturbing message from her old friend Win Ton, saying he needs to see her in person immediately.

And what Win Ton has to to tell her creates even more trouble.

This is a fun, fast-paced book. It suffers some of the disadvantages of being a middle book in a sequence, but the characters we know continue to develop, the new characters are developed nicely, and there's enough background included, I think, to let new readers catch up.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Recommended.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

REREAD: 23 November 2014 to 25 November 2014 (9/10)

Oooh, I loved this all over again. I think I found all the events making clearer sense this time too, especially at the end, where I got a bit confused last time. Are all the time frames are coming together in some fashion?

I had to stop here last time I read the book because there were no more, and as it ends at the same point as I Dare, even though I had new stories, I didn't get to progress further into the future. It is lovely to have Ghost Ship (Theo Waitley, #3) waiting this time, to move straight on to.

At the point when Ghost Ship was published, I decided it was so long since I had read the earlier books and I remembered so little of the details, that I was going to reread the series before going forward. It's taken me longer to do so than I planned (there are another four books out now, rather than just one after all), but with the end of this book, I feel it was well worth doing.

I have the story so far behind me, I'm as eager to follow Theo's story as I am that on the main members of Clan Korval, and it's time to go forward. Yay.


FIRST READ: 26 May 2010 to 6 June 2010 (8/10)

[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is set in the authors' Liaden Universe, and is the second book in an arc centered on Theo Waitley. I liked it slightly better than the first book about Theo, and I had liked that book very well. There continues to be an underlying sweetness, but Theo is growing up and choosing her path in life. I remain skeptical that in this type of far future pilots would need the technical prowess depicted here, but it didn't stop me enjoying the story. Many of the Liaden Universe books are a joy by themselves, but there is an added joy when characters and elements from other threads appear. The whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, especially their Liaden space operas. (I was a bit disappointed with Duainfey and Longeye, both a bit too graphic for my tastes.) Fledgling and Saltation finally tell the story of Theo, who shows up mysteriously at the end of I Dare. The intricate plots, delicate politics, and dialogue that has many layers all work together to keep me glued to the story and itching for more once the last page is turned.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought the e-ARC from Baen because I'm a badass, I mean pathetic addict, like that. This book technically wasn't out until April. Theo Waitley goes off-planet to study to be a pilot--but chaos erupts and, being found at the center of it, Theo must deal with bigger and more thorny problems than ever before--even problems that involve going to the delm of Korval.

This book ended exactly where _I Dare_ ended. My torture continues, and _Ghost Ship won't be out for quite some time...

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to adore the Liaden universe. This one links the Korval thread with Arin's story and just makes me want a third book (please please). One of the delights of Lee and Miller isn't so much what's happening, it's what's implied. And, let's face it, Georgette Heyer in Space tastes good.

[Debrac2014 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read!

5/2019 Re-read! Just as good the 2nd time around! Theo attracts trouble!

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021 bk 83. After learning that she could be a pilot, Theo and her parents take the opportunity for a year's scholarship to the Anlingdin Piloting Academy on Eylot. Despite her need for help with math, Theo quickly gains the skills and hones her talents as a pilot, acting thoughtfully in an emergency. One course not provided the students is to remain aware of local politics. As nationalism rises, it comes to affect the campus, and when local students attack Theo, it is she that is injured and determined to be a "nexis of violence", leading to her expulsion. Luckily enough one of her advisors had been paying attention, had given her extra space flight time, and gained her membership in the pilot's guild. Theo's fate is set on courier pilot and gains employment with the space arm of the Eyelot business that had employed her during breaks. Each change brings her even closer to reuniting her with family and friends.

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars

I quite enjoyed this but it really doesn't stand alone even a little bit and it just sets up stuff to happen in the next book ...

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theo's life seemed to be coming along in a wonderful way and then - BAM - racism and she's forced to leave her school and find her own way. I loved the ending and can't wait to find out what happens to Win Ton.

[Kiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot NOT like a Lee/Miller book; entirely aside from the fact that I am a sucker for anything in their Liaden Universe, they write with charm and seem almost to have become something rather Liaden themselves. It's odd to me that this aspect of their writing - the thoroughness with which they immerse one into an alien culture - becomes both the best and worst thing about their books. This one has a lot going for it - it's place in the Liaden milleau, the experience of piloting school, the appealing young Theo Waitley - but I just felt like it never did enough with what it had.

Lee/Miller have really developed their own lingo and usage, which is sometimes wonderful, sometimes too easy to fall into, and sometimes opaque. For instance, Theo is constantly "dancing" as a way to center herself either mentally or physically. The concept of dance as something more like tai chi - a discipline for centering and awareness - is awesome, but when she's constantly dancing a step or two in response to any number of different situations (and often in front of people) one starts to wonder - how do people see this action? Does it strike them as weird, as it would to someone in our culture? Martial artists in our culture are not subsumed by their art, as Theo seems to be by hers.

There's a lot of stuff at the piloting school that seems to not go anywhere, or not be used to best effect. Theo's roommates - eh, the relationship stuff is OK, but it didn't feel REAL. Very little info about piloting, descriptions of just a couple of ships... this could have been so much cooler!

And the elements toward the end of the book - the Old Tech/new tech stuff seemed reduced to simplicity unnecessarily. Disappointing.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love to revisit the Liaden Universe. This story tells of Theo's coming of age. I enjoyed her adventures as a misfit at a piloting school. And her adventures in the greater galaxy after leaving school also showed her growth. While she doesn't consider herself a "nexus of violence" things do tend to happen around her. I found it interesting to see the events that I had previously read on the other storyline from the viewpoint of a character who wasn't directly involved.

The gift from Win Ton leads nicely to the next book in the series which also brings in the characters from the end of I Dare. The next book with bring the two story lines of the Liaden Universe books together. I can hardly wait!

I listened to the audiobook. The narrator was pleasant to listen to.

[Tahmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally, I'm in love with all things Liaden, but this is my least favorite book so far. There is no real overarching story as in the first of the Theo story arc. It might have been better if it were written as a collection of short stories, but as written it reads like "random, yet amazing, things that happen to Theo over a course of many years until she fully grows up and merges with the main story line".

[Debby Kean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to say it but this book was deeply boring! The main character, Theo Waitley is the victim of 'tell-don't-show', she is supposed to be brilliant, a prodigy, but she just seems to be a sulky teen. Inside this mish-mash is a better book struggling to get out.

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theo at pilot school. There's little that is original here, and the novel is best read as a sequel. It is also open ended. However, it does tie nicely with the ending of I Dare, and more depth is added to the Liaden universe. Because I cared about the characters, I found it hard to put down.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saltation was good fun, although I read it out of order so I knew most of what was going to happen, which somewhat lessened my enjoyment.

I highly recommend the Liaden Universe for fans of space opera.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cliff Hanger!! Theo Waitley still has to save Win Ton, But! We're back at Solcintra, Liad, just as Korval leaves!