Agent of Change

Liaden Universe Agent of Change, Book 1

By: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Narrated by: Andy Caploe

Fleeing the scene of his latest mission, Val Con yos'Phelium finds himself saving the life of ex-mercenary Miri Robertson, a young Tarren on the run from interplanetary assassins. Thrown together by circumstances, Val Con and Miri struggle to elude their enemies and stay alive without slaying each other - or surrendering to the unexpected passion that flares between them.

©1988 Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A Pretty Average Sci-fi

This story is basically two super agents out in the big wide world of classic sci-fi. They get into trouble and are hunted throughout the book and on into the next. There isn't anything particularly bad about it and there's nothing particularly good either. If I had to sum it up in one word it would be "unremarkable." The characters are pretty flat and cliche. The sci-fi tech is very mundane and uninspired. Most of the time they are getting ambushed and effortlessly defeating mindless flunkies. There's no main villain, just an endless supply of throw-away thugs. There are a few good characters in the turtles but, unfortunately, they are not the protagonists. It's a decent time-passer but I'm probably not interested enough to continue in the series.

fun story

not the best, but certainly worth a listen if you are looking for some lighter listening with interesting characters, dialogue and action. I am interested enough to buy more in the series.

Good audio for a good book

I have been a massive fan of these books for several years, so I was quite happy that Audible had the audiobooks. I have to admit I love the narrator on the Carousel books better then this one, but this narrator I still darned good.

Great Story

I have read this story many times and enjoyed it. Unfortunately I did not like the narrator. His male voices are fine, but the female main character sounds like a whiny housewife from New Jersey. Very annoying. Love the turtles!

narration is the problem here

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The books - yes. Not these audio versions - the narrator pretty much destroyed the charm of the series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Edger. Powerful and potentially lethal but wise and peaceful.

What didn’t you like about Andy Caploe’s performance?

Same problem as with the 1st book in the series - all "his"women sound either simpering or peevish. He is the worst narrator so far (in my experience) concerning female personages.

Also he obviously does not pay attention to the text itself - so somewhere in the book somebody says something "gently" but the narrator totally disregards such hints and the phrase comes out as rude or forceful.

Did Agent of Change inspire you to do anything?

See if there are more Leaden books narrated by somebody else.

Any additional comments?

Not buying anything else by this narrator.

Loved it

Just turn the playback speed up to 1.2 and the performance will be great!

At long last we have the Liadan stories on Audible

Among my favorite authors are Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Their first three novels, Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, and Carpe Diem were released in paperback form in the last 80s, which is when I purchased my copies. While other books have been placed and then removed from my bookshelves, these books have remained among my favorites. The characters are familiar friends and I always reconnect to them with pleasure.

After these novels were published, Lee and Miller were dropped by the Del Rey after they were asked to write books according to someone else' formula and they declined. It was a loss for their fans and their books fell out of print. Fortunately, Meisha Merlin picked up their catalog in the late 90s and started publishing new novels from them as well. Now, they are being published by Baen. As new readers pick up their novels, they need to realize that the writing is not consistent through their oeuvre, a fault that may be due to different editors. Consequently, I recommend that readers begin with the first three novels published and continue with the books in the order published instead of following the space opera's chronological order. Don't abandon the series because one or two novels aren't as good as the others. This is space opera at its finest and I highly recommend the series.

As for the audio versions, some of these novels were previously recorded and released as audiobooks. Of these, only one, Local Custom, was released by Audible. Now many of the older novels have be rerecorded as the new ones have been recorded and the sound quality is much better. The narrator Andy Caploe does deliver in terms of delivering some of the subtleties of Lee and Miller's writing style. The best narrators tell the story as if they are sitting around the kitchen table talking to you personally. Unfortunately, Andy Caploe delivers the narration in this novel with a slow weightiness that tends to weary and he doesn't do well with the women's' voices. Every word does not need to be treated as if it is the most important word in the world. And while he does a fairly good job with Val Con and Edger's voices, he fails completely with Miri's voice. She comes off not as a young, strong, smart woman, but as a whiny, old woman from New York who smokes and whose voice is lower than a mans. It is a complete miss in terms of representing her character.

Love the Liaden Stories

Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of the Liaden Stories and have been since the 80s. I have read them all multiple times and wait with baited breath of the next book in the Balance of Trade arc. Having said that --- Andy Caploe's female voices drive me batty. They are all breathy and whiny and ugh. Miri is not breathy - she is mercenary Sargent for the sake of the first egg. And all of his minor female characters sound the same.

I am going to get Carpe Diem and see if it gets better. If not I don't know if I will buy the others in this arc that he reads which is really sad.

favorite story

love this book. I have re-read it every year. now I can listen to it!

Love story in space

This story of Val Con and Miri, at least, the beginning of their story! I love this story, especially Edger and the other Clutch Turtles. The narrator performed them well, though I still find some of the voices a bit different that I liked. Edger was perfectly done, though! And I loved the New Jersey accents of the Juntavas. Made me laugh!