So, Today I Read Agent of Change

[rolanni]

Agent of Change (it says here) was completed in October 1984.  It was acquired by Del Rey Books in December 1986, and published on February 1, 1988.

That's like. . .wow.  Written thirty years ago.

According to this list here, 1,496 science fiction and fantasy novels were published in 1988.  Lee and Miller were responsible for two of those -- Agent, and Conflict of Honors (completed in 1986, a mere 28 years ago).

Now, what you need to understand about Life, and Science Fiction, and All, back thirty years ago, is that. . .Things Were Different.  It's rather amazing, how many things/ideas/cultural norms have changed in a mere thirty years, including science fiction, how it was written, and who it was written for.

The happy proliferation of women kicking ass that we enjoy today; stories of strong relationships between passionate equals. . . that's a recent development.  Thirty years ago?  We didn't have that.

We were starting to have it.  Lois Bujold had already published Ethan of Athos, Shards of Honor and Falling Free (among others, but those especially), by the time Lee and Miller got their break.  And of course, Anne McCaffrey had been doing her particular thing since 1967.

What Agent of Change, and Conflict of Honors were, back a quarter-century ago?  They were ground-breaking.

And the thing is?  We meant to do it.

We meant to tell stories about strong, capable, smart women.  We meant to tell stories about men who weren't threatened by strong, capable, smart women, and who were themselves strong enough to accept the vulnerability that comes with being in touch with their own emotions.

We meant, in short, to effect change.

We intended, ourselves, to be agents of change.

And! Because we were determined to write science fiction, we had to do all this, like Ginger Rogers, while dancing backwards, in heels.  We had to write a science fiction adventure story that would appeal to the audience science fiction was at that time written for -- that mythical fourteen year old boy.

On all those levels, Agent still succeeds.

There are car chases and gun fights and bar brawls and Interesting Aliens and All Kinds of Exciting Things Going On, and even a Girl In Trouble.

However.  Miri Robertson is a self-directed woman who is more than capable of taking care of herself and, as needed, her less-than-completely-sane partner, and the other women in the book are equally powerful: Suzuki Rialto is the senior commander of a mercenary unit; Liz Lizardi is retired from the same business.  Even the daughter of the local mob boss has moxie and self-worth, and, frankly?  Angus is not gonna be wearing the pants in that family.

And the struggle of Miri's less-than-completely-sane partner?  Is the struggle for his integrity, and his soul.

So, my thoughts upon reading the child of our youthful ambition?  Am I ashamed of it?  I am not.  Do I think we could have done better?  Not at the time.

I think Agent still stands.  Yes, it was written thirty years ago, by young and possibly too earnest writers.  And, if it's no longer a subversive work; it still stands as an adventure story, with heart.

. . .If you'd like to read Agent of Change, you may download it, for free, from the Baen Free Library or from Amazon.

Comments

[grassrose.livejournal.com]

It feels like yesterday... And the wait for Plan B felt like an eternity.

[catherine kelleher (from livejournal.com)]

Yes, I'm actually glad I didn't find you guys until two years ago. One of the great treats of life is to find an author you really enjoy who has a whole big back catalog of books you haven't read. And then to tear through them!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

:-) And then there were the fans like me who kept impatiently waiting for new Liaden books, in those long dark days before Plan B, and before the widespread use of the internet, so we had no idea what was going on.

And, if it's no longer a subversive work

[bookmobiler.livejournal.com]

Wanna bet?
We may not have DOI, but there are plenty of other alphabet agencies out there whose methods need to be subverted. If not necessarily their goals.
Keep on fighting is surely still one of the many valuable lessons to be learned from Agent of Change.
I suspect Edgar would think the "Art of the Ephemeral" is another.

Liz Lizardi

[fullmetal-al.livejournal.com]

I'd like to see more of Liz, I really enjoyed the dynamic she had with Nova and was disappointed not to see more of her after Plan B. Plus, and this is probably just me reading it wrong, I always thought there a potential for something a little..more..between them. Nova deserves a little of the domestic felicity that the rest of her family seems to be finding, I'm just not sure if she swings that way.

[thewol.livejournal.com]

I, too, came to the party late -- about a year and a half ago -- so I had many Liaden books available to read. I deliberately picked Agent of Change as my first Liaden reading experience. (I follow the Humpty-Dumpty philosophy -- Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, then stop.) I thought it was a great story, and a great read. It sold the Liaden universe to me, and I began to systematically acquire all the other books. I am now up to speed on things Liaden and hungry for moar, pleez!

Still my favorite comfort

[otaku-tetsuko.livejournal.com]

AofC has always been my favorite and when I need to feel better, I go to the Ace copy with Edger on the cover - no one else is allowed to read that one! If/when the cover comes off from overuse, it will be framed....I read it first when I was in a good place personally and loved it. Rereads of the first four books got me through the worst year of my life. This is a Really Good Book. Although the POV changes from chapter to chapter, the chapters themselves are long enough that you don't lose track of what part of the story you are in. You don't get an abrupt jar to your attention between them. The characters are - well, sublime. The only word. And? It's just a REALLY good story! Definitely one of the best books I have ever read!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I remember reading Agent of Change when it first came out and loving it. And it still holds up today as a great action/adventure tale. It's a book you and Steve should be justly proud of.

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

There have been times when I have entertained myself wondering how Angus coped with the fallout. (and IF he did).

[catherine kelleher (from livejournal.com)]

See that is one of the things that make these books so great. We are curious about even the minor characters, and halfway expect them to pop up somewhere.

[otterb.livejournal.com]

I came to the Liaden Universe through Partners in Necessity. As a result, Agent of Change was the second book I read, and the first time through, it suffered somewhat, because I wanted more Shan and Dutiful Passage and they were there only in the most glancing of ways. I have enjoyed it much more on reread, once I had my expectations properly aligned, and especially once I could see it in the bigger frame provided by Plan B and I Dare. I can't, of course, know what it would have been like to read AoC first. But I have reread it several times, and it continues to offer substantial enjoyment.

Stands as Gold

[hap hollibaugh (from livejournal.com)]

Edger caught my eye, but Miri won my heart, At least once every year I have reread that wonderful novel! It is my Summer Solstice Novel... for just under half my life your books have been my comfort novels. One summer decades ago, I drove from Anchorage Alaska to Denver with my sister, we traded off driving with reading aloud "Agents of Change" and then the the late Janet Kagan's "Mirabile", as we crossed from the Yukon to British Columbia we restarted "Agent of Change" since we were arguing over something Sheather had said... that poor over-read first edition paperback book has since been rebound and recovered with a photo of "Edger" the tortoise who has happily been part of our family since 1998. You and Steve Rock!

[greylady.livejournal.com]

Agent of Change was and is one of my favourite books of yours.

Whether or not you meant for a message, I read a book that was just a person who happened to be female making her way through the world. It was a book I immediately shared with my father (whose child I am *so much) and which he loved as much as I do. Miri is a wonderful, beautiful character, the type of character I go back to reread over and over.

Time hasn't changed that.

recentish convert

[gareth griffiths (from livejournal.com)]

Came to the Liaden Universe through references on Elizabeth Moon's Paksworld site and they rapidly became my new comfort books (not dsplacing oherh you understand but just more entries I can re-read forever). I think AoC was my second entry after Fledgling - got the Baen compendium volumes and rapidly devoured AoC, Plan B and I dare followed by all the others. Now almost fully caught up - there may be a few of the chapbooks I have still to discover. Love the short stories hat fill in the gaps or tell us more about the backgrounds of favourite 'minor' characters.

Most clearly AoC stands the test of time.