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Light Raid
As civil war rages between eastern and western North America--fought with massive laser beams called "light raids"--young Ariadne works desperately to clear her mother's name from a charge of treason while struggling to survive the deadly onslaught. Reissue.
263 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1989
12 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
Connie Willis
256 books4,688 followersConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.
Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch," found in the short story collection of the same name.
Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 7, 2007
A teenage biotech is evacuated from her parents and their corporation (she has an equal amount of loyalty to each) because they’re under attack, but returns when she suspects something has happened to her father. Ariadne cleverly maneuvers her way through checkpoints, rubble and other impediments of war time, but when she gets home, she finds her mother has been charged with sabotage. Has the water supply been sabotaged? Is her mother really a spy? And what are the true loyalties of the adults around her? Ariadne has to figure all this out while simultaneously fending off a prince and dealing with her attraction to the prince’s manservant. A fast paced, smart spy novel with a large dose of romantic YA. Ariadne and her family live in a world that has slightly better technology, a society based on ancient Greece, and completely different nations (for instance, Quebec is its own, warlike, country). I was very impressed at how smoothly it all fit together.
March 8, 2016
As is usually the case with books written by Willis in collaboration with Cynthia Felice, Light Raid is a lot lighter than books written by Willis alone. I was a bit disappointed when I first started reading novels by Willis & Felice but now that I've gotten used to their lighter prose I find these novels quite enjoyable. Light Raid is a fun, quick read and the plot flows effortlessly. An entertaining read.
February 21, 2018
Auryn's Review
My favorite part was when the people from Quebec didn't get the boits that they weren't supposed to get. My least favortie part was when they were tryig to trick everyone, and they almost got the biots and won the war.
My favorite part was when the people from Quebec didn't get the boits that they weren't supposed to get. My least favortie part was when they were tryig to trick everyone, and they almost got the biots and won the war.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2019
Light Raid by Connie Willis Cynthia Felice
I really liked this book and would have given it a 5 star except that I was disappointed that the e-book taken from the Ace original has some major glitches in the punctuation and a couple of obvious spelling errors. I try to be lenient toward self published and perhaps its being a bit mean spirited to pick on the traditionally published authors but I do expect more from them.
The story is excellent with really good world building and some great characters. There were a lot of surprises in the plot and I really did get into the character of Ariadne. I was a bit disappointed in the supporting character Joss but his role is much like the role Carey Grant played in the movie Charade so it's a bit of play acting which might contribute to his character coming off rather weak.
At the age of 16 Ariadne thinks that her world will open up to her and she'll be treated as an adult, instead she gets shipped off with some orphans to make her safe from the Laser wars that are beginning.
The world She lives in is a bit strange. There seems to be a section known as Quebec and one called the Western States and then the Commonwealth. I admit to having gotten confused about how the all are sectioned out. The Commonwealth and the Western States have allied to combat the incursions of the Quebec who seem to have laser satellites in the sky and are conducting laser raids on select communities trying to influence the mobility of air flight and ground transportation to disrupt trade alliances. Food seems scarce and Ariadne and her parents have been working at their corporation Hydra Corp in Denver Springs trying to keep the land usable.
Hydra Corp is also being used by the Commonwealth to devise a strain of Hydra Virus that can be used in combat against Quebec.
Victoria is a neutral province and is where Ariadne has been sent; where instead of working on Hydra virus's she's changing diapers and taking care of orphans for the benevolent Mrs. Ponsonby, a retired former employee of Hydra Corp.
When correspondences from her father stop and her mother's correspondences seem strangely different Ariadne begins to worry. She now is 17 and is of age to take responsibility for herself and when a friend of her mother's shows up to visit she becomes more suspicious and runs off to get back home. It turns out that there is a lot more than just her safety that accounts for why she was sent away.
Finding her mother imprisoned and her father reduced to a worthless drunk she's left to her own device trying to unravel the mystery around her. Not knowing if she can trust The Commonwealth's representative His Royal Highness, Miles Essex or Essex's equerry Joss Liddell who keep insisting that her mother is only being questioned and not yet charged with treason.
When they release her mother things get even stranger as she has to decide if blood really is thicker than water. Not only is Ariadne in danger but soon the orphans she helped take care of will be in danger because of her own carelessness.
This again is quite a good story but I have the usual caveat that I put in, which is that there are a handful of grammar problems. Something weird either went wrong with formatting the kindle edition or there are serious problems. several time there are commas that are followed by a period and then more text and a comma and it makes no sense. A couple of time there are words that are obviously spelled wrong although one time it might just be that the wrong word was used because its just a matter of including or excluding an extra consonant.
This is a great novel for SFF fans unless you are overly picky about grammar problems then maybe the hard edition would be better if it's available. You can't tell from the samples because they are all samples of the kindle edition and the error is right there in the sample on the first page of chapter one.
I will definitely read more from Cynthia Felice and I'm already a fan of Connie Willis.
J.L. Dobias
I really liked this book and would have given it a 5 star except that I was disappointed that the e-book taken from the Ace original has some major glitches in the punctuation and a couple of obvious spelling errors. I try to be lenient toward self published and perhaps its being a bit mean spirited to pick on the traditionally published authors but I do expect more from them.
The story is excellent with really good world building and some great characters. There were a lot of surprises in the plot and I really did get into the character of Ariadne. I was a bit disappointed in the supporting character Joss but his role is much like the role Carey Grant played in the movie Charade so it's a bit of play acting which might contribute to his character coming off rather weak.
At the age of 16 Ariadne thinks that her world will open up to her and she'll be treated as an adult, instead she gets shipped off with some orphans to make her safe from the Laser wars that are beginning.
The world She lives in is a bit strange. There seems to be a section known as Quebec and one called the Western States and then the Commonwealth. I admit to having gotten confused about how the all are sectioned out. The Commonwealth and the Western States have allied to combat the incursions of the Quebec who seem to have laser satellites in the sky and are conducting laser raids on select communities trying to influence the mobility of air flight and ground transportation to disrupt trade alliances. Food seems scarce and Ariadne and her parents have been working at their corporation Hydra Corp in Denver Springs trying to keep the land usable.
Hydra Corp is also being used by the Commonwealth to devise a strain of Hydra Virus that can be used in combat against Quebec.
Victoria is a neutral province and is where Ariadne has been sent; where instead of working on Hydra virus's she's changing diapers and taking care of orphans for the benevolent Mrs. Ponsonby, a retired former employee of Hydra Corp.
When correspondences from her father stop and her mother's correspondences seem strangely different Ariadne begins to worry. She now is 17 and is of age to take responsibility for herself and when a friend of her mother's shows up to visit she becomes more suspicious and runs off to get back home. It turns out that there is a lot more than just her safety that accounts for why she was sent away.
Finding her mother imprisoned and her father reduced to a worthless drunk she's left to her own device trying to unravel the mystery around her. Not knowing if she can trust The Commonwealth's representative His Royal Highness, Miles Essex or Essex's equerry Joss Liddell who keep insisting that her mother is only being questioned and not yet charged with treason.
When they release her mother things get even stranger as she has to decide if blood really is thicker than water. Not only is Ariadne in danger but soon the orphans she helped take care of will be in danger because of her own carelessness.
This again is quite a good story but I have the usual caveat that I put in, which is that there are a handful of grammar problems. Something weird either went wrong with formatting the kindle edition or there are serious problems. several time there are commas that are followed by a period and then more text and a comma and it makes no sense. A couple of time there are words that are obviously spelled wrong although one time it might just be that the wrong word was used because its just a matter of including or excluding an extra consonant.
This is a great novel for SFF fans unless you are overly picky about grammar problems then maybe the hard edition would be better if it's available. You can't tell from the samples because they are all samples of the kindle edition and the error is right there in the sample on the first page of chapter one.
I will definitely read more from Cynthia Felice and I'm already a fan of Connie Willis.
J.L. Dobias
December 16, 2025
Very early but classic Connie Willis. Honestly the story is not the absolute best in science fiction but very Willis and amusing.
In a future divided North America with "laser raids" rather than the later Blitz, Adriana ( some sort of Greek revival has taken over culturally) is trying to manage as an evacuee. This is literally a Blitz light. The main characters are her parents, both of whom have important jobs in a defence industrial concern, the prince and his valet of a of a neighbouring British imperial dominion, and a host of secondary characters. Plus a secret villian. Everyone is working in secret and at cross purpose. in a technologically slightly advanced somewhat post disaster future.
Definitely Connie Willis humor. Enjoyable. Took me two tries to get into the stories.
In a future divided North America with "laser raids" rather than the later Blitz, Adriana ( some sort of Greek revival has taken over culturally) is trying to manage as an evacuee. This is literally a Blitz light. The main characters are her parents, both of whom have important jobs in a defence industrial concern, the prince and his valet of a of a neighbouring British imperial dominion, and a host of secondary characters. Plus a secret villian. Everyone is working in secret and at cross purpose. in a technologically slightly advanced somewhat post disaster future.
Definitely Connie Willis humor. Enjoyable. Took me two tries to get into the stories.
November 21, 2023
This clever story follows all the tropes for YA romance, and is a good read on that level, but has much more depth than is at all usual in the genre. The teen heroine is unusually 'grown up' in a lot of different ways. The heroine of "To Say Nothing of the Dog" feels a lot less mature, although she's older. The teen heroines in "DA" and "Promised Land" are pretty mature too, but less resourceful. I love Connie Willis and I really enjoyed this book.
March 29, 2022
In this alternate reality, war splits North America, a nasty future war with laser destruction. A young girl sent to Canada to escape the destruction, escapes to make her way home to find what has happened to her parents--and finds more serious dangers than just war fueled destruction. Good adventure, positive.
January 27, 2018
A good fast read. As others have said it is lighter than works by Connie Willis on her own. Somewhat flippant in relation to death and destruction. Includes love interests and a matchmaking computer. I was kept guessing until the end and overall enjoyed this book very much.
February 18, 2018
Los personajes del niño Beejum y la bebé Verity Ann me recordaron mucho a los niños refugiados que aparecen en toda la saga de los viajes en el tiempo: aparentemente están como personajes secundarios pero tienen mucha más relevancia para el desarrollo de la trama de lo que aparentan.
October 23, 2020
This . . . was not what I expected. I love Connie Willis, but I expected this to be an adult book, and it read very solidly as YA. That isn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected. Still, I definitely enjoyed it.
September 6, 2021
Civil wars between Quebeckers (eastern half of North America) and the Western Alliance (the west) with Vancouver Island declared to be neutral. Hydra Corp in the mountains of Colorado (near Colorado Springs) is home to Ariadne Hellene and her father & mother and is the focus of a serious plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2017
Muy naif o juvenil. Algunas escenas con suspenso bien hechas. Pero en general obran todos sin fundamento, y hay demasiadas traiciones y confusión.
December 30, 2012
This was published in 1989, so it's a little dated in its view of the future. Having said that, it's always wonderful to read about an area of the world you know and this takes place in "Denver Springs" (i.e. the mega-city spanning the entire front range of the Rockies in Colorado). The political entities of North America have rearranged themselves so that Quebec has declared war on what used to be the U.S., while "Victoria" (British Columbia) has been neutral in the war and the rest of what used to be Canada is, I think, allied with the former states.
ANYway, the light raids are laser attacks that Quebec has launched against Denver Springs. And the rest of the story is pretty much boilerplate romantic suspense, but with computers and so forth. Oh, and also...the main characters in Denver Springs are Greek-ish. They all have Hellenic names (Ariadne, Gaea, etc.) and wear chitons and robes.
It sounds bizarre, and it is (I've left out the subplot about the water biots, which is primary to the story, but difficult to explain briefly), but it works. Generally. I like Connie Willis's imagination.
ANYway, the light raids are laser attacks that Quebec has launched against Denver Springs. And the rest of the story is pretty much boilerplate romantic suspense, but with computers and so forth. Oh, and also...the main characters in Denver Springs are Greek-ish. They all have Hellenic names (Ariadne, Gaea, etc.) and wear chitons and robes.
It sounds bizarre, and it is (I've left out the subplot about the water biots, which is primary to the story, but difficult to explain briefly), but it works. Generally. I like Connie Willis's imagination.
October 11, 2010
Set in a future North America where America is in a civil war. Protagonist Hellene Ariadne was sent to Victoria to escape from the dangers of the war, but she runs home when she has the suspicion that something has happened to her dad. She finds out her house has been destroyed by a light raid, her dad is in shock, and her mom is in jail, arrested for suspicion of sabotaging the war. What follows is an intense thrill ride full of twists and turns.
The book kept me guessing. I wasn't sure whether Ariadne's mom was guilty. I didn't know who to trust. I enjoyed following Ariadne on her journey as she put the pieces together and reacted to everything.
The book went a little too fast. I think that in exchange for the action and fast pace, the authors sacrificed some character development. Ariadne was a very likable character - smart, stubborn, quick-thinking, proactive. But the other characters - her dad, Essex, even Joss - remained one-sided. I like the romance, though.
If you'd like a quick, fun read, check it out!
The book kept me guessing. I wasn't sure whether Ariadne's mom was guilty. I didn't know who to trust. I enjoyed following Ariadne on her journey as she put the pieces together and reacted to everything.
The book went a little too fast. I think that in exchange for the action and fast pace, the authors sacrificed some character development. Ariadne was a very likable character - smart, stubborn, quick-thinking, proactive. But the other characters - her dad, Essex, even Joss - remained one-sided. I like the romance, though.
If you'd like a quick, fun read, check it out!
August 18, 2008
I enjoyed this! The narration was very good, especially for first person. Plus, how many books do you get to read about a war between Quebec and the rest of North America?
Anyway! I quite liked Ariadne, and I quite liked Joss. My only problem with them was how quickly and deeply they fell in love. ROMANCE IS A THING WITH ME. It is usually a bad thing with me. This was not the exception, and because of it, the book ended on kind of a sour, rushed note for me. Of course, if romance is your thing, this should be no problem.
Anyway! I quite liked Ariadne, and I quite liked Joss. My only problem with them was how quickly and deeply they fell in love. ROMANCE IS A THING WITH ME. It is usually a bad thing with me. This was not the exception, and because of it, the book ended on kind of a sour, rushed note for me. Of course, if romance is your thing, this should be no problem.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2021
It is an amusing, romantic, adventure/science fiction novel. A little rough around the edges and somewhat predictable, but it filled my light fiction craving. I have enjoyed everything I have read by Connie Willis so far. She always has a nice central love story intertwined with her main story arc/theme. I find her novels a bit same-ish character wise, but that can be comforting. She has some interesting "what if" ideas and can come up with some very good idea synthesis. Also she can do action and character interplay well.
September 24, 2013
Ariadne Hellene is 17 as has been evacuated from Colorado Springs to Victoria, British Columbia, because of the light raids (aerial laser attacks from satellites, aka batellites) from the Quebecers. But the North American war is is a distant problem. Her daily problems at the unscrupulous Mrs Ponsonby's home of evacuated children are more along of lines of being starved and forced to clean house and baby sit. The story opens with Ariadne changing Verity Ann's diaper.
http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2012/0...
http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2012/0...
August 29, 2020
I can't help but love Connie Willis's blatant tropes: war on the home front, irritating romance connections, and constant aggravated misunderstandings. An alternate future from 1989 with a lot less cringe than you'd expect, a wartime spy thriller with a scifi twist, and a plucky heroine who is really too young to be involved but if she was any older the evacuee plot wouldn't have worked, and Connie Willis loves her some evacuees. Good fun and short enough not to pall.
September 10, 2009
Lots of fun in an old-style juvenile science-fiction adventure with a girl heroine.
I found this in a used bookstore in northern Michigan - someone should reprint these collaborations. A lot lighter than Connie Willis alone, but shares touches of her sly humor and this book has moments reminiscent of the madcap fast pace I loved so much in To Say Nothing of the Dog.
I found this in a used bookstore in northern Michigan - someone should reprint these collaborations. A lot lighter than Connie Willis alone, but shares touches of her sly humor and this book has moments reminiscent of the madcap fast pace I loved so much in To Say Nothing of the Dog.
February 2, 2012
I wasn’t super wild about Water Witch, the other book I’ve read by these two authors. Light Raid, on the other hand, I really enjoyed! I liked the feeling of a futuristic World War II and kept thinking I was reading one of the Oxford books (minus the time travel). I also thought I had the plot called and then it totally surprised me! And the romance was nice as well. [Jan 2011]
October 1, 2009
Engrossing, as WIllis' books usually are - although as so often happens, I was left wishing more had been explained (I am particularly curious as to why all the grecian overtones to Hydra corp), but the plot was tight, the romance charmingly un-mushy and just right, and ... well, reader, I liked it
December 30, 2011
I would have loved this in middle school, when "future" technology would not have seemed so laughable (really, guys, why did no one tell me in the 90s that Connie Willis existed?). But in the 21st century it just doesn't hold up. Still a fun, light read.
January 24, 2013
I enjoy finding little gems in used books stores; in this case, I picked this up a Goodwill. This novel seemed more a novel of intrigue rather than a novel of science fiction. A good, fast-paced read.
May 23, 2013
Compared to later Connie Willis, this novel doesn't show to best advantage, but it's still smart and fun and clever. In my opinion, its most redeeming qualities are not in the science fiction elements but in the characters, which are pleasantly well-developed.
January 8, 2010
I've read most of Willis' books and have enjoyed almost every one. This one, which had a co-author, was very well-done. With a juvenile heroine, it reminded me of some of Heinlein's early books.
March 21, 2010
light, fun
January 3, 2013
Spy story/love story/science fiction with 17 y/o girl main character.
December 27, 2014
Slow reading, took quite some time for me to get somewhat interested. I'd skip this one, just my opinion.
January 5, 2015
You can definitely see the beginnings of Blackout and All Clear in this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews