Liaden fans, help me out

[artifact]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

Just completed "Quarter Share" and am now reading "Half Share" by Nathan Lowell, and I am loving this series!

I'm always willing to check out new Space Opera, especially when its Kobo couponable!

[bizzybody]

Has anyone done a complete Liaden chronology of all the novels and short stories?

The first of the Liaden books I read was Fledgling. Had never heard of the series. Then I went looking for more and was surprised to find there was so much more.

I found the timeline order of the novels then re-started with Crystal Soldier and am now started on Saltation, which apparently at least partly parallels I Dare. I'd like to go through all the shorts in order when I'm done with the novels.

Having read Fledgling already, I was constantly picking up things here and there from earlier in the timeline that made better sense out of things in that book.

Spoiler:

But it didn't click that Davv was Theo's father until Kamele introduced herself to "Prof. Kiladi!" Of all the things to forget from reading ahead.

I like to find huge series of stories then read them all in chronological order. I resisted "Potter" until the 7th book was out, then read the lot in two weeks.

Earlier this year I organized all the Pern stories and read them all in order (first time I've ever read ALL of them) and have also assembled all the Dresden Files short stories into one file with notes when to read each novel. But that's for when I'm done with the Liaden series.

I did the same with all the Vorkosigan books, then read Capt. Vorpatril's Alliance, which is sorta wedged back in between some of the earlier books, so next time I go through the series, that one will be read in its spot in line.

One reason why I do this is I like to see how authors handle zeerust when reality outpaces their "futuristic" world where things like cellphones for everyone don't exist, or a 512 megabyte portable storage gizmo is high capacity and expensive*, so they can't just have a prequel with radically different stuff in it unless there's a major break that's woven perfectly into the story - like with Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon.

*See Ian Douglas' nine book space marines series. At least the first three are full of already bypassed tech.

[Xanthe]

No, I haven't made such a list, I came to them in a rather haphazard fashion after I read the main story arc. You might want to check out Wiki, I think there's some sort of listing there.

================

Just a reminder that the audiobook version of "The Tomorrow Log" will be available on Audible on Dec. 3, 2013.

Meanwhile, on another side of the Universe. . .Meet Gem ser'Edreth, a wizard with electronics -- and a freelance thief. Deliberately solitary, unencumbered by family or friends, he immerses himself in his profession, rising to a pinnacle of skill so exalted that the planetary crime boss seeks him out with a commission to steal. Refusing the commission, of course, is his first mistake.

Gem's hidden past proves an unexpected liability and his plants to leave the planet go catastrophically awry. Suddenly embroiled in interplanetary politics, a potential interstellar war, and in possession of an ancient object of power an an unwanted cousin, Gem discovers that the mysterious Witness for the Telios may hold the key to his salvation -- or his undoing.

I've got mine pre-ordered.

[baewards]

There is a website from the UK called Fantastic Fiction which has the most complete coverage of any writer in sf, fantasy, mystery, and I don't know how many other genres.

According to them 'Conflict of Honors' is the first of the Liaden series.

When I find a book that's part of a series, I always try to go back to the beginning book and read them in order.

If you have any luck finding 'Conflict of Honors', please let me know. I've tried everything except ABE books and it's like

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by baewards

There is a website from the UK called Fantastic Fiction which has the most complete coverage of any writer in sf, fantasy, mystery, and I don't know how many other genres.

According to them 'Conflict of Honors' is the first of the Liaden series.

When I find a book that's part of a series, I always try to go back to the beginning book and read them in order.

If you have any luck finding 'Conflict of Honors', please let me know. I've tried everything except ABE books and it's like

Took me about 30 seconds to find it at Baen. $5 for the eBook.

http://www.baenebooks.com/p-594-conflict-of-honors.aspx

You can even set things up for Baen to email the book directly to your Kindle if you like.

[gbm]

Originally Posted by baewards

There is a website from the UK called Fantastic Fiction which has the most complete coverage of any writer in sf, fantasy, mystery, and I don't know how many other genres.

According to them 'Conflict of Honors' is the first of the Liaden series.

When I find a book that's part of a series, I always try to go back to the beginning book and read them in order.

If you have any luck finding 'Conflict of Honors', please let me know. I've tried everything except ABE books and it's like

Conflict of Honors is part of the The Dragon Variation (omnibus). Baen Amazon B&N

bernie

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by baewards

There is a website from the UK called Fantastic Fiction which has the most complete coverage of any writer in sf, fantasy, mystery, and I don't know how many other genres.

According to them 'Conflict of Honors' is the first of the Liaden series.

When I find a book that's part of a series, I always try to go back to the beginning book and read them in order.

If you have any luck finding 'Conflict of Honors', please let me know. I've tried everything except ABE books and it's like

I love Fantastic Fiction, but in this case I personally wouldn't follow their order. Not that it's wrong or anything (they generally always list stuff in published order), there are multiple "orders" for this series. I personally followed the one posted in post #2 of this thread.

Anyway, the ebook is available from Baen for $5...
http://www.baenebooks.com/p-594-conflict-of-honors.aspx

...but, a better deal is The Dragon Variation omnibus which includes Local Custom, Scout's Progress & Conflict of Honors (which is the order I'd read them in) for $8.99...
http://www.baenebooks.com/p-1188-the...variation.aspx
or $7.73 from Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Variati.../dp/B00APA4LBO

Paper book at Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Variati.../dp/B00APA4LBO

[CRussel]

And, on the whole question of reading order, I'd start here...

http://sharonleewriter.com/correct-reading-order/

If I were new to Liad, I would certainly start in publication order. As someone doing a re-read, I rather enjoy doing it in chronological order. But that is not my preference for starting with the series. (The two Crystal books are very much prequels and better read after you've got a feel for what comes after, IMHO. OTOH, you can easily start with Balance of Trade, which is well before Conflict of Honors or Agent of Change.

[artifact]

Since this one is for fans I figure its better here than in the Freebies Forum.

Five chances to win a free Trade Secret audiobook

To help us celebrate Trade Secret and our 25th year of Liaden publication please share with us your first Liaden experience — and how many titles you’ve read since then — and we’ll randomly select 5 lucky responders for a free Trade Secret audio book courtesy of Audible! We’ll be selecting winners based on replies received by midnight Friday,December 6 (our time in snowy Maine). You’ve got 5 shots — tell us how you got started in the Liaden Universe®!

[CRussel]

And, while not Liaden, it's certainly VERY much the work of Sharon Lee -- the eArc of Carousel Sun is available at BaenEbooks.com.

[CRussel]

OK, I just finished listening to The Tomorrow Log, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, while also reading the eBook. This is not, specifically, Liaden, though it certainly could be the same universe.

Protagonist is Gem ser'Edreth, a thief and electronics wizard who was sold as a child by his ship to a grounder, master thief Edreth. Now his ship has sent Corbyne Faztherot to reclaim him to the ship as the Captain pre-ordained in the Tomorrow Log. But meanwhile he's caught up in the machinations of the local druglord, Sazony Belaconto, and has been "Chosen" by the Trident, a semi-sentient artifact, complete with its very own Witness.

Highly recommended, I simply could not put it down. It does end fairly abruptly, but all the major threads are more or less tied off. However, it definitely gave me the feeling that I'd love to hear more of the adventures of Gem ser'Edreth.

[Xanthe]

The sequel was to have been "Web of the Trident".

What's interesting is to read now that the authors say that it was never written and will never be written, when Amazon had already had it up on its website for advance orders back in 2007, when it was supposed to be published. I had had it on advance-order. It was part of the Meisha Merlin crash.

This had been the blurb for it:

Armed with the potent and temperamental weapon of a Goddess-in-exile, backed by a twice-born woman legend — or is it history? — named Death's Warrior, Master Thief Gem ser Edreth must lead a reluctant generation ship crew and a far too-eager band of aboriginal warriors against a climate-killing dam constructed and defended by the cream of space-going technology. Gem's clever electronic spiders, and the information contained in an old library may be the key to victory over the planet's oppressors, but Gem faces yet another problem: the ancient power residing within the Trident is waking, and it has an agenda of its own.

[CRussel]

Clearly it's one of those things that got caught up in the mess that was Meisha Merlin. And also, clearly, the authors (I suspect especially Ms. Lee) have moved on to other things. They have 5 more books under contract, and not a single one of them is outside of the core Liaden Universe story arc. Given the schedules for these, I don't expect to see all that many side projects for a while. OTOH, nothing like stellar sales to change both an author's and an editor's mind on a book. :P

I had read this a while back, when I bought ALL the old ebook-only editions that Baen put out for earlier stories and such. (You know the ones I mean, the ones with the UGLY covers.) But then hadn't circled back around to re-read it until the new Audible version came out. I was taken with it all over again. I'm sorry there won't be any more, but perfectly understand the authors' desire to actually put food on the table and support the Cat Farm.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by CRussel

OTOH, nothing like stellar sales to change both an author's and an editor's mind on a book. :P

We can only hope.

I've been waiting for the continuation of that story since I read it in 2002.

[artifact]

Upcoming release alert: January 15, 2014: “The Gift of Music,” free to read on Baen.com. I -think- this is set in Sharon Lee's Carosel Sun universe. Anyone else remember for sure?


Works published in 2013
(don't forget the Hugo nominations if you have a vote!)

Novel:
Necessity’s Child, Baen, February 2013
Trade Secret, Baen, November 2013

Novelette:
“Eleutherios,” Baen.com, January 2013
“Moon’s Honor,” Splinter Universe, February 2013

Short Story:
“Out of True,” Baen.com, October 2013