Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I've just never been able to get into the Liaden books. Perhaps I started with the wrong one? (It was "Agent of Change"). I should have another go, given that I have all of them.
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I find it surprising that you haven't succumbed to them, Harry. They seem like the sort of book that you'd like. They're character-centric, well written, built on a believable (mostly) and consistent universe, and they don't have any underlying political axes to grind. (OK, for believable, the Clutch Turtles may be pushing a bit too far, but they're such fun I don't mind at all. )
Starting with
Agent of Change is certainly one obvious place, since it was the first book published. However, from a timeline perspective, it's somewhere in the middle. That being said, I would not recommend starting with the chronologically first books,
Crystal Soldier &
Crystal Dragon. Not that I didn't enjoy the books, but they're very much pre-cursors and something to be enjoyed after, I think.
One place you might consider starting is with the "Space Regencies" -
Local Custom &
Scout's Progress. Or, the trader books,
Balance of Trade &
Trade Secret. All of these occur before
Agent of Change but are still solidly in the Liaden Universe. (The Crystal books are before the creation of the Liaden Universe, and deal with it's creation.)
The Trader books are outside the mainline completely, and quite standalone in that sense. The space regencies are within the main story line, but before the
Agent of Change/
Carpe Diem events.
Finally, there's a YA entrance point, written more recently, and a very different look at events and the Universe --
Fledgeling &
Saltation. The pair can certainly be read standalone, and thus are good entry points, but I think they're a better fit after you've started reading the series and after
Mouse and Dragon which gives you clues into a key character in the two books. These books are outside the mainline, but merge into it and their main character, Theo Waitley, becomes an important character in the mainline.