Theo Waitley would appear to be an average fourteen year old girl. She is a bit awkward, she bristles at the strictures of some societal rules, and when her mother decides to leave the comforts of the home of her onagrata, Theo’s Father, to better pursue her career of scholarship in the city, Theo’s anger at the upheaval of her routine is just barely contained…just.

Pretty normal, really.

The trouble is that Theo Waitley lives on the planet Delgado, a “Safe World”. Rules and expectations are clearly laid out to provide the maximum opportunity for citizens and visitors to lead safe, productive lives. Theo Waitley’s adolescent behavior and well-documented clumsiness put her on a path that could mark her a danger to society.

When Kamele Waitley, Theo’s mother, seizes the opportunity for an off-world visit to examine some original source documentation, a reluctant Theo Waitley finds herself leaving behind even more of her familiar routine. This unexpected and unwelcome change may be just what Theo needs to avoid Delgado’s solution to her unsafe behavior as she approaches the date of her transition to adulthood.

That is, if she survives the trip.

Fledgling, the twelfth novel of the Liaden Universe, may sound like a typical coming-of-age,  young adult science fiction novel.  The beauty of it is that while it has some of the hallmarks that make reading young adult fiction pleasurable, this multi-viewpoint novel is a sophisticated and intricately plotted science fiction story for adults that just so happens to hold an appeal for teen readers as well.

Fans of character-driven science fiction, of layered young adult fiction, and those who have been exposed to Robert A. Heinlein’s interesting young protagonists in The Menace From Earth and Podkayne of Mars or rule-driven societies like those in the movies Gattaca or Equilibrium are sure to find something of interest here.  But while your reading may remind you of those stories and others, Fledgling remains its own singular pleasure.  It is a novel that will stir your passions and you will find yourself engaged in a full range of emotions as you learn about the characters and the society in which they live.

I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Fledgling is the first novel featuring Theo Waitley and as such can be read without any prior exposure to the Liaden Universe. A quick Wikipedia search not only provides an overview but will tantalize readers with the complexity of this rich and varied universe that Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have created.

The novel moves between the viewpoints of Theo Waitley, her mother Kamele, and the man Theo calls “Father”, Professor Jen Sar Kiladi.  As the reader is exposed to the societal structure of Delgado through these characters, a tension builds that is further heightened by a troubling academic discovery and by actions which at first seem like the kind of parental choices that set characters up as the enemy in young adult/teen fiction.  I was surprised with how quickly I began experiencing visceral reactions to the story.

Delgado’s rules and Kamele Waitley’s behavior and choices had my dander up quickly and I was championing Theo Waitley long before I had gotten to know her.  It was at this point, fairly early in the novel, where it became apparent that Fledgling was not a story that could be pigeonholed by comparison to other stories.  For it is not the “fight against an oppressive society” that is a feature of the films I mentioned earlier nor is this a story of teenage-rebellion-as-developing-independence.  Those aspects sit on the surface and draw you in, but that surface is quickly left behind as Lee and Miller take you much deeper into a story filled with mystery, adventure, and the complexity of the bonds of relationships between adults and those between parents and their children.

While this all may sound terribly serious, Fledgling also succeeds in projecting the fun sense of wonder that is an emblem of good science fiction storytelling.  I couldn’t help but laugh at myself as I formed opinions and attitudes towards certain characters only to find those opinions challenged as the narrative unfolded.  Sharon Lee and Steve Miller manage to pull off the neat trick of providing readers familiar with the Liaden Universe hints of the greater world and its customs while at the same time surprising new readers with the way in which the unfamiliar is revealed.  Fledgling twists and turns in unexpected but pleasurable ways while retaining the core of a story about relationships.

Fledgling is an accessible novel showcasing the lyrical creativity of prose that is at once comfortingly familiar and unlike anything I have read from other science fiction authors.  I fell hard for the Liaden Universe with my recent exposure to the short fiction of this husband and wife writing team and ached to get back into their world.  I could not have picked a more perfect vessel for a return journey and I highly recommend this novel to anyone wishing to take their first trip into their imaginative universe.

And the best news of all? You can determine whether or not you agree with my assessment of this novel without any capital outlay, as the novel is currently available for free for the Kindle.

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are a married writing team who have been writing novels and short stories in their Liaden Universe for more than two decades. Their latest novel, Trade Secret, has just been published by Baen Books and features a character, novice Terran trader Jethri Gobelyn, who is introduced in a short story in the collection reviewed here. (Photo Credit)

The cover illustration for Fledgling is the work of artist Alan Pollack. Pollack is a talented artist whose work has been featured in volumes of Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, on science fiction and fantasy book covers, and he has created art for gaming companies including Wizards of the Coast and T.S.R. His rendition of Theo Waitley matches the description of the character well and it brings in various elements of the story while also showcasing a particularly interesting scene in the book. You can view more of his work here. (Photo Credit)