Jink

I noticed this word for the first time (I may have seen it before, but it didn’t register) in a series of space opera novels by Elizabeth Moon. The word means ‘to move suddenly or run away with quick turns and changes of direction’. Since the novels are partially about a space fleet and their movements in space and during battles, the use of the word makes sense.

I love these books because they have strong female characters, both young and old (there are some great elderly aunts) and the author dedicates the book to her mother and mother-in-law. ‘Two women who proved with their lives and in their children, that single parents can be good parents and that “values are more than campaign slogans.” The stories are full of action. The title of the first book is Hunting Party and it takes place partially on an island on a planet owned by one of the rich families. A group of idle rich young people falls afoul of a naval (space) officer who has, by his actions in a skirmish, ended the career of a female officer under him (one of the heroines of this book and an important character throughout). To quote from the back of the book, ‘Herris Serrano was an officer born of a long line of officers. Being forced by a treacherous superior to resign her commission under a cloud was not just the end of a career path; it was the end of everything that gave her life meaning.’ What very few people know is that the naval officer is a really nasty piece of work; he is on this island illegally and the young people become involved in defeating him and his men, while developing their own characters.

There are horses (hunting and eventing) involved in the above book as well as several others – more things for the idle rich to do. And of course, horses can certainly jink. I enjoyed all of it and reread these books more than once. Besides space battles there is plenty of intrigue, including within families and within nations. There are nasty enemies from other planets, and unscrupulous workers as well as stupid and smart young people. What more can you ask for in space opera?

Another meaning for ‘jink’ in Scottish is ‘to play tricks and frolic’. I certainly can frolic among these books, entertained by the different cultures described – military culture, as well as various family and planetary cultures.
I recently had my grandson visiting and he can certainly jink. Childhood is a time for jinking – while playing tag, while biking with your friends, while ducking the water sprayer in the garden.

Summer is also a good time to escape by reading light hearted books that entertain and enthrall.