Question for those who read the Dragon Ship eArc

[rolanni]

WARNING!  The question as well as any subsequent discussion may contain spoilers for those who have not read Dragon Ship.  You have been warned.


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OK, having now heard/read this at least eight times -- what is it with the assertion that "Dragon Ship stops in the middle of a sentence/ends abruptly/doesn't end (and I'm so mad/upset/disillusioned that I'll never read another Liaden book)?"

Is it possible that some flavor of the eArcs don't contain the complete manuscript?

Comments

[shana.livejournal.com]

Certainly the Mobi/Kindle version seems to be all there. (That's downloaded, not emailed.) And the 'read online' version matches it.

Edited to add: so does the RTF file. I can't check the other files.

Note: these were not zipped files, if that makes a difference.

[muirecan.livejournal.com]

I also admit to confusion. The main arc of that section resolves. The crew and ship are together. Sure you introduce one massive thing to head into the next book with. But it is no worse than the ending of "I Dare". By that I mean its big but it also is closing a circle.

The book then segues nicely into an epilogue with Miri, Val Con, and Kamele. And that section ends nice and neat and logically.

At best all I can say is that you don't wrap up all the story plots in a nice neat bundle. But I was trained by Clifford D Simak to not expect everything to end in a nice neat package. All those novels he wrote where the current tale ended but massive amounts of story remained that could be told in the same universe and he very rarely wrote a sequel to any of it.

But the key is that one felt they had stepped into a real living breathing story witnessed one small bit of a bigger whole and stepped back out. To me the Liaden stories have always felt that way. Some more self contained then others but still all part of a greater whole.

The best I can think of is that people expected a resolution to plots that you weren't focused on for this story. And so they missed the story that was told. Which is the Bechimo and his crew coming together into a fully functioning ship. [I'm avoiding spoilers in there since there is a bit more to this. ;) ]

Dragon Ship Ending

[cindy wakeman (from livejournal.com)]

It tied up the story threads at a likely spot. Every one of them was left open for further developments. Did I hate it ending. Darn right I did, but that has been the case with every one of your books so far, and not your fault at all.

[reedrover]

My iPad version of the story was complete to the last page of the epilogue.

Comment chock-full-o' spoilers regarding "the story doesn't end"

First, we have Theo and Bechimo deciding that they did finally suit, but now they are on the wrong side of space from Surebleak. Will they get home?
Second, Daav is deathly injured and is stuck Uncle-knows-where to recover... maybe...
Third, and almost-randomly-for-right-now, we have a rift in the time/space/story continuum with what appears to be Jelaza Kazone suddenly appearing as a... child?... though all of those who follow the series know full well that it took a Clutch ship the size of a moon to move it to Surebleak a few short stories ago.

So yes, this was very much a Plan B kind of an ending. Everyone is spread across known space, enemies are attacking at multiple points, main characters are separated and in grave danger, and a bit player may turn out to hold the key to the plot in the next book... My expectation is that I need to tune in for an I Dare action book sequel to resolve the major issues and bring everyone at least within hailing distance.

[andy finkel (from livejournal.com)]

I got the ePub for the Nook, it seemed complete to me. IMHO, Dragon Ship ended at a good place to pause between Theo books; decisions have been made, players are known, and, while everyone's fate may be still up in the air, there are clear paths for the characters involved. For me, its a satisfying place to leave the story while the authors recharge.

Andy

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

OK, all sorts of threads are hanging. Maybe I am just getting jaded, but the hanging things just seem to need another book or two. If you declared yourselves DONE with Theo, it would be badly ended; but I expect that there is one book or more to follow.

I've read worse abrupt and inapproptiate closes to books before.

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

I got mine on the day it was released and it includes the epilogue with Kamele on Shurebleak so I am convinced that it's complete. I suspect either some people didn't get the complete file, or (more likely) the story flows so well and reads so quickly that the end point feels like it comes too soon. Reading e-books can be like that, because you don't have the physical book in your hand to tell you that there are only a few pages left; the ending can be a little jarring when it's unepected. The story threads left waiting to finish themselves in the next book also lend to the impression that the book ends before it's supposed to. It's a trifle frustrating to want to know what happens next when there's no more book to read : )

dragon ship

[herc henderson (from livejournal.com)]

Yes I was disappointed that it was only 350 pages. 450 would have been more to my liking, or 700 for that matter. In reality I thought it ended as well as it could if you were going to end it. When you read on the cutting edge of a story rushing for the e-arc the day it is released you can expect to spend some nail biting months or years waiting for the rest of the story. Loved the book. Want more. Not going to whine.

[dhw.livejournal.com]

I think readers were expecting the Kamele/Daav reunion in Dragon Ship, and it didn't happen.

[cailleuch.livejournal.com]

I downloaded it for my iPhone the first day it was available. My copy was complete.

I thought it was your normal sort of ending. Some things tied up with lots of possibilities still left to be explored. Perhaps the people complaining were less familiar with your other books and wanted an ENDing. I prefer what you do, while I'm waiting I try to guess where you are taking the story. You always surprise. At the end of Crystal Dragon<\i> when Spiral Dance exited stage left, I asked myself if this was the last time we would see the ship. I was right for once.

I will patiently wait for more news from Korval, it is always interesting.

[deor.livejournal.com]

I confess that I'm hoping for a novella, or at least a short story, about Kamele's adventures on the way to Surebleak. How _did the scholar get a working job on a ship, and how did that go for her? The new Fans of Kamele Club (1 member and counting) wants to know!

[welhar.livejournal.com]

Except for Dragon Ship, I have read all of your books more than once and count myself a fan. I went over to the webscription site at Baen books to read the comments and tried to think as your critics did. Usually in series books, there is a theme and a resolution, even as lots of threads are left dangling. This book did not have one. If the theme was "Theos first command" then the book left off in the middle of nowhere.

[bridget a wheeler-gehrling (from livejournal.com)]

mine is complete. If the complaining reader is not accustomed to your style of ending, he or she might have been left dazed and confused for a moment; but, a quick re-read of the last few pages should have set them to rights.
My only answer is that you can't please everyone. Your fans ADORE you both!

[barbinbandon.livejournal.com]

Like others, I was very disappointed when the book ended, but that was *because* it ended. To be fair, I think we were spoiled by Ghost Ship, which seemed to advance more story arcs...and in a very satisfying manner. (I never read a story more than once and have done Ghost Ship eight times and counting.)

It does kinda sound like you're hearing "you didn't write the book I wanted to read" all gussied up to look like a different assertion.

Dragon Ship

[catherine ives (from livejournal.com)]

I'm going to wait til Mr. Blyly sends me my published hardback edition of Dragon Ship. I trust that said edition will not end in the middle of a sentence. I'll trust the authors to keep that from happening.

[jonathan aldridge (from livejournal.com)]

My copy was complete. I did feel there was a lack of closure, to almost everything. Theo and co are left out in space. Win Ton is better, but we get very little of where that's going with him and Theo (and Kara). Daav and Aelliana are still left hanging (though there is the suggestion that Uncle is making them both new bodies).
Kamele is still trying to find Daav. The Department is still out there. Now there's the sapling as well.

I feel it needed one more chapter around the ending, focusing on the various people settling into the new situation, before going on to the new adventures. Win-ton/Theo/Kara, maybe a bit more of Kamele-Korval.

[lornastutz.livejournal.com]

I downloaded from Baen - copy is complete, 'tho like everyone else I want more.

There's been mention of Kamele getting together with Daav again but my mind keeps going back to the segment of the Uncle/Dave/2 (TWO) seed pods and TWO birthing units.

Dragon Ship

[james parks (from livejournal.com)]

Haven't finished it yet. I'm about 30% through and decided to save the rest of it for the beach first week of July. I received Ghost Ship about two weeks before I went to the beach. Spent the week reading it on the beach so I decided to do the same thing with Dragon Ship. Sure is hard not to finish reading it though.

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

Mine was fine. That said with Oliver Twist I always want a little more, but that is a tribute to your talents as authors.

And I'm looking forward to 'Son of Tree' ....

Ending of Dragon Ship

[capricchio.livejournal.com]

Actually, I thought the ending with Kamele made perfect sense. (She said thank you because she understood how wierd the world outside of Delgado really was.) And I was wicked impressed with her sliding away from the DOI and working her way to Surebleak. We will await the short story on her adventures.
What we are forgetting is that Jen Sar no longer exists and that Daav was mourning that in an earlier book or short story. I suspect if Daav and aelliana get their own bodies, it will be the women developing the relationship. Kamele as the lead educator for Surebleak closing the loop from Anne Davis! :)
If we can keep Sharon and Steve healthy, they have buckets of stories of many lengths to share. And I loved that the saplingon Spiral Dancer (Crystal Dragon) arrived but does this mean the other things they were escaping can come through and pop out into the here and now???
Well done. I'm getting ready to read Dragon Ship again.