_Pilots Choice_, Lee & Miller
Kate Nepveu
_Pilots Choice_ by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller is an omnibus of two
Liaden novels, about the parents of some of the protagonists in _Partners
in Necessity_ and _Plan B_.
First, let me say that I can't look at the cover of this book. While I
like the cover for Partners far & away the best of the reprints, it's not
so much the image as the grating lack of an apostrophe anywhere in the
title (choice of a pilot, or of pilots, it's possessive, damnit).
Second, readers of the previously-published volumes should be aware these
are more like _Conflict of Honors_ than the others, being standalones
concerned, in varying degrees, with a romance and with someone coming
into their own. _Local Custom_ opens with Er Thom yos'Galan being told
that he must enter into an arranged marriage to produce his heir, for the
good of the clan. (A particularly absurd two-part first name; I can deal
with Val Con, but Er Thom sounds like his parents were afflicted with
indecision at the naming ceremony.) He goes to find the woman he met
three years ago, Anne Davis, and has never forgotten--intending only to
tell her that he loved her, before he has the memory of her removed. To
find out that she had a son from their relationship.
Much cultural baggage is added to the plot at this point, as the lovers
agonize over what's going to happen to Shan, their son, and to them.
Personally, I found some of the agonizing a bit overwrought at times,
especially when I wanted to shake them and say, "Just talk to each
other!"--though to be fair, a lot of the misunderstandings sprung from
the sort of cultural baggage you hardly know is there.
I enjoyed _Scout's Progress_ more. Aelliana Caylon is a brilliant
mathematician who teaches Scouts (explorers) about the practical
implications of the math behind piloting and the faster-than-light drive.
She's also abused and thoroughly cowed by her brother, a nasty cruel
piece of work who is unfortunately heir to the clan. Realizing at the
start of the book she has to leave, she finds herself winning a Jumpship
in a card game. She meets Daav yos'Phelium while working for her Pilot's
license, so she can escape the planet. The focus of the book is on
Aelliana coming out of her shell and learning to excel at piloting and
having friends; the romance is well done and far less wrenching.
I liked this one a lot, but unfortunately, my knowledge of subsequent
events put a bit of a damper on things (Aelliana get assassinated while
Val Con is still fairly young, and Daav disappears). Also, the lifemates
things that I complained about in _Plan B_ [in the booklog] is here as
well, in both stories, and it still bothers me: it seems to be a
manifestation of One True Destined Love of a Lifetime, which I frankly
regard as a dangerous myth. (Then again, I might be reacting more than I
would normally to this because having my best-beloved 200 miles away
makes me cranky...)
One last thing. Er Thom and Daav seem to me to sound awfully like their
sons (or rather the other way 'round, I suppose); it was a bit
disconcerting at times. I guess I'll have to re-read the other two
volumes to check. Oh, what a burden. *grin*
Kate
--
http://www.steelypips.org/elsewhere.html -- kate....@yale.edu
Paired Reading Page; Book Reviews; Outside of a Dog: A Book Log
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Steve Miller
> First, let me say that I can't look at the cover of this book. While I
> like the cover for Partners far & away the best of the reprints, it's not
> so much the image as the grating lack of an apostrophe anywhere in the
> title (choice of a pilot, or of pilots, it's possessive, damnit).
Sigh. You mean like Captain's Courageous? Yes, we were kind of stuck
for
a title, since the novels were written serially but were supposed to
stand alone rather than get published together to fit a tight
publishing schedule (Ace will be publishing them in proper order and
with
proper titles starting in February) and so we went with a bit of
word play.Two pilots choice, ripe for the wedding mart....
Since about a third of the folks who write to us about Pilots Choice
mention that missing apostrophe on the cover and blame Meisha Merlin
for it
I guess we goofed big time.
We insisted on the title. Not Stephe Pagel's error.
Steve
--
Steve Miller -- Liaden Universe co-author
Pilots Choice on sale now at amazon.com
visit www.korval.com/srmcat1.htm
Kate Nepveu
> Kate Nepveu wrote:
> > First, let me say that I can't look at the cover of this book. While I
> > like the cover for Partners far & away the best of the reprints, it's not
> > so much the image as the grating lack of an apostrophe anywhere in the
> > title (choice of a pilot, or of pilots, it's possessive, damnit).
[...]
> and so we went with a bit of
> word play.Two pilots choice, ripe for the wedding mart....
Ah. A sufficiently idiosyncratic usage that, while I might have got it
used in context, by itself, all I could think of was "a choice a pilot
has to make." Which fits the stories entirely well, too.
(But how do you justify "Pilots Manual"?)
> Since about a third of the folks who write to us about Pilots Choice
> mention that missing apostrophe on the cover and blame Meisha Merlin
> for it
> I guess we goofed big time.
Your line lengths are messed up, btw.
> We insisted on the title. Not Stephe Pagel's error.
Didn't think it was, since it was such a *consistent* error. But I have
a tendency to take mental red pens to subway ads, so it bugged me.
Richard Horton
>.Two pilots choice, ripe for the wedding mart....
Oh, I see. OK, I get that. I still think it's too natural for the
average person (me, say <g>) to read it as a grammatical mistake.
--
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Home Page: http://www.sff.net/people/richard.horton
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Steve Miller
Richard Horton wrote:
>
> On Mon, 15 Oct 2001 02:38:53 GMT, Steve Miller <s...@korval.com> wrote:
>
> >.Two pilots choice, ripe for the wedding mart....
>
> Oh, I see. OK, I get that. I still think it's too natural for the
> average person (me, say <g>) to read it as a grammatical mistake.
As above, I guess we goofed. Can I tell you that I've seen people
turning _I Dare_ into _I, Dare_? Stephe pagel (jokingly) complained
to us once
that we should change _I Dare_ to something starting with a "p"so
the "p" series
issued by Meisha Merlin could continue. Titles, alas, can be
difficult.
Steve
--
Steve Miller -- Liaden Universe co-author
Pilots Choice a Mysterious Galaxy Bestseller
electronic editions at www.embiid.net