Fledgling

Liaden Universe: Theo Waitley, Book 1

By: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Theo Waitley has lived all her young life on Delgado, a Safe World that is home to one of the galaxy's premier institutions of higher learning. Both Theo's mother, Kamele, and Kamele's onagrata Jen Sar Kiladi, are professors at the university, and they all live comfortably together, just like they have for all of Theo's life, in Jen Sar's house at the outskirts of town. Suddenly, though, Theo's life changes. Kamele leaves Jen Sar and moves herself and Theo back into faculty housing, which is not what Theo is used to.

Once settled back inside the Wall, Kamele becomes embroiled in faculty politics, and is appointed sub-chair of her department. Meanwhile, Theo who has a notation in her file indicating that she is "physically challenged," has a series of misadventures, including pulling her best friend down on the belt-ride to class, and hurting a teammate during a savage game. With notes piling up in her file, Theo only wants to go "home", to the house in the suburbs, and have everything just like it used to be.

Then, Kamele uncovers evidence of possible dishonest scholarship inside of her department. In order to clear the department, she and a team of senior professors must go off-world to perform a forensic document search. Theo hopes this will mean that she'll be left in the care of the man she calls "Father", Professor Kiladi, and is horrified to learn that Kamele means to bring Theo with her!

©2009 Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A fine start to the series

This first novel of the Liaden Universe/Theo Waitley series does what you would expect it to. It has a fair amount of "world building" where you are learning the lay of the land in Theo Waitley's story. You get a feel for the main characters as this coming-of-age story begins. How refreshing to find a coming-of-age story involving a female character, too!

In addition, Eileen Stevens gives a very good narration which adds to your listening experience.

I think this novel has whetted my appetite and left me wondering what is next for Theo. So yes, I will be following up in the near future on her next adventure in book 2 of the series.

School Pressures of the future.

Apparently this is Theo Waitley book 1 but it is Liaden Universe book 11. Fascinating. It is the first work in this series I have consumed. Hmmmm.

Upon the fanatically safe world of Del Gado where a very prestigious university stamps out its graduates a young woman named Theo Waitley is coming of age. The daughter of Camille and Genzar, she has made it to fourteen years of age amassing a volume of warnings in her file regarding clumsiness and reckless decisions. On Del Gado some view that as evidence enough to drug the...offender into a safer state of being.

Her mother and Father, or Honor Grad, are high level academics in the University of Del Gado. They have the clout and sense to push back against such notions but for how long. A published peer of theirs has been outed as a fraud and they've uncovered a conspiracy that would bring down the University, the only major source of economic succor on Del Gado.

They must act to save their daughter and the well being of the planet.

I really enjoyed this work. Though there was little science involved there was bio-science, space opera and social engineering displayed in abundance. While not a novel I would usually seek out I do recommend this one for the younger crowd, perhaps twelve and up as any touchy subjects are dealt with rather tastefully here.

Four out of five entertainment points are thus awarded.

Oh please! Check pronunciation!

Some simple words get mispronounced and it drops me right out of the story. There's no K in eschew. That's just one example of the occasional laughable mistakes. So close.

I guess they were going for a broken society on Delgado, so the thing where she calls her mother by her given name was probably intended to make me feel like she had a mental disorder. For all that I still love this series, this is my third time through I believe.

A Coming of Age Story in the Liaden Universe

Theo Waitley, the child of two scholars on the matriarchal world of Safe Delgado, finds her life falling apart as her mother decides to leave the genetic scholar Jen Sar's house and move into an apartment in the Wall. Theo does not want to leave Jen Sar's comfortable house and garden. She also does not want to leave her father with who she has an attachment unusual on Delgardo.

However Theo has problems of her own including a notation in her file that she was physically challenged. As a result of this she is frequently in danger of losing status and companionship. It is when her mother's duties as a scholar result in the two of them having to leave Delgardo to allow her mother to investigate a serious breach of scholarship, that Theo starts to understand that there are dangers beyond a bit of clumsiness on a moving sidewalk.

Meanwhile Jen Sar is also pursuing his own path.

And Theo's all important fifteenth birthday is approaching.

I ended up thinking that this first volume in Theo's story is one that reminded me of the best of Robert Heinlein or Andre Norton's juveniles.

The narration is truly excellent. I think I enjoyed listening to Eileen Stevens read the book more than I enjoyed reading it myself. One of my tests for excellence of narration is to try to read a chapter without hearing the voice of the narrator in my head. If I cannot put aside the voice of the narrator then I know I have had a great listening experience.

Another great entry point into the Liaden series.

A great coming of age story with tons of adventure, intrigue, and wit. Great writing as usual from Lee and Miller, and the narrator is perfect for the story.

It's kinda complicated

This book is the start of the answer to a Character's comment at the end of I Dare.
The Narrator caught the sweep of Theo and her complex interactions and the start of her flowering. I'm so delighted to finally have acess to one of my favorite books in the Liaden Universe in audio. I watched this story take shape in the weekly chapter postings.
This book can stand alone but the rest of the series is enhanced by knowledge of the Agent of Change books.
Necessity requires that I obtain all the books in this series.
Only one wish left and that is that the Chap books be produced in audio.

loved it

I really loved it and intend to buy the rest of the series to listen to while I work

great narrator, but POV is sometimes unclear

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes, it's a decent intro to a very good body of work. A bit slow to start, lots of things not adequately explained, but if you can bear with that, the series is terrific. I gave it to my wife after she has put up with me buying/talking about everything from L&M, but she really had trouble in the audio version w/ POV changes and cultural quirks that were not clearly explained. Next book is better, I think, but get this as the series is, overall, outstanding.

What did you like best about this story?

Theo rocks, although it takes her a while (as in "several books") to find her way.

Have you listened to any of Eileen Stevens’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no, but great voice, very clear, easy to listen to, and generally very well read.

Any additional comments?

There are many changes in POV, and a few alien society features, that are not adequately identified for an intro book. A chapter heading will say a place and person, and then immediately (and w/o warning) be some other person/place. In print it is a bit clearer. This is the result of a manuscript that is not ideally structured for audio, I think, not of the (very good) reader or of the writing or story. For comparison check out the Solar Clipper series, which are good in print but perfect in audio form. And L&M don't over explain things (good generally), but in the audio form I think there is an extra barrier in trying to stay with the story with a lot of unfamiliar/unexplained concepts.Audio book text needs to be a bit simpler, I think, to be picked up as easily...especially if you're unfamiliar and/or driving! :)

Good story, uncomfortable performance

Any additional comments?

This was a good story, but hard to follow as the reader did not make clear breaks when the story changed locations.

A sweet fem-fi story

This is a sly futuristic tale without being dystopian. The style morphs from bare-bones homey, to comedy-of-manners, to thriller, somehow making the story of a teen daughter of professors and sabotage in the reference library interesting. Nice dry satire of academic and feminist lifestyle, as our girl finds her true self.