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Post-Wiscon YA reading #2: Flight of the Outcast
The second of my random YA ARCs from The Gathering at Wiscon.
Flight of the Outcast by Brad Strickland is supposed to be the first of The Academy series, but so far it's the only one. Unlike most of the ARCs, this one is straight SF space opera. Thirteen-year-old Asteria is the only daughter of a Spacefleet veteran who lives alone on his farm -- on a planet otherwise peopled by religious zealots -- except for his daughter and a male cousin. The male cousin has an appointment to Spacefleet Academy, until a Raider attack takes out the father and the cousin. With nowhere else to go and revenge in mind, Asteria manages to use her cousin's appointment for herself.
That's the first quarter of the book. The rest of the book details the first year at the Academy, with much emphasis on the stratification of society between the Aristocrats and the Commoners.
This isn't a bad book, though it's awfully ploddy, with lots of poorly disguised infodumps. I did look to see if the second book was out yet, even. The main problem is that this book is not about 13-year-olds, even if that's their alleged age. It's written as if the characters are all in their late teens, except without the complications of sex that would normally arise if that were the case. The characters are all too skilled, too athletic, and too damned mature for their ages.
Another one that I don't plan to keep, though the one reading was enjoyable enough.
Flight of the Outcast by Brad Strickland is supposed to be the first of The Academy series, but so far it's the only one. Unlike most of the ARCs, this one is straight SF space opera. Thirteen-year-old Asteria is the only daughter of a Spacefleet veteran who lives alone on his farm -- on a planet otherwise peopled by religious zealots -- except for his daughter and a male cousin. The male cousin has an appointment to Spacefleet Academy, until a Raider attack takes out the father and the cousin. With nowhere else to go and revenge in mind, Asteria manages to use her cousin's appointment for herself.
That's the first quarter of the book. The rest of the book details the first year at the Academy, with much emphasis on the stratification of society between the Aristocrats and the Commoners.
This isn't a bad book, though it's awfully ploddy, with lots of poorly disguised infodumps. I did look to see if the second book was out yet, even. The main problem is that this book is not about 13-year-olds, even if that's their alleged age. It's written as if the characters are all in their late teens, except without the complications of sex that would normally arise if that were the case. The characters are all too skilled, too athletic, and too damned mature for their ages.
Another one that I don't plan to keep, though the one reading was enjoyable enough.