Ribbon Dance by Sharon Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I finished Ribbon Dance a couple of days ago. I took my time to savor the book rather than devouring it all in one go (or close) as I have done with other books in this series. It is immensely enjoyable and eminently satisfying.
The book is densely plotted. Almost all of it takes place on Colemeno, a planet that was inaccessible to most of the galaxy until very recently. There are a few scenes on the Dutiful Passage, the main characters’ ship, which is orbiting Colemeno. The plot is largely social, as the traders acclimate to new mores and work to establish equitable trade agreements with the planet. There is some excitement, but this is not a shoot-em-up space opera.
This book has inspired me to start a re-read of the series. There are very few books that I’m willing to read more than once, but Lee & Miller’s works are all among them.
This volume won’t make much sense to new series readers. Several other books do offer good entry points—Agent of Change and Fledgling come to mind.
I’m an unabashed fangirl of Sharon Lee and (the late) Steve Miller. I was terribly upset when I read that Steve had died, and I teared up again when I read Sharon’s afterword to Ribbon Dance. I’m very happy to know that the series will go on.
