Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
Do you have a link to the published order (including the shorts)?
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Short answer? No. Longer Answer: The novels, in written order, are:
- Agent of Change
- Conflict of Honors
- Carpe Diem
- Plan B
- Local Custom
- Scout’s Progress
- I Dare
- Balance of Trade
- Crystal Soldier
- Crystal Dragon
- Fledgling
- Saltation
- Mouse and Dragon
- Ghost Ship
- Dragon Ship
- Necessity’s Child
- Trade Secret
- Dragon in Exile
- Alliance of Equals
- The Gathering Edge
- Neogenesis
- Accepting the Lance
- Trader’s Leap (December, 2020)
For the short stories, the easiest solution is the four volumes of the Liaden Universe Constellation, which combines them all, in roughly the order they were published. I'm not sure anyone has completely interspersed them that way (and I'm not sure it would be relevant, even if they had!) The authors are rather prolific and have often written shorter works that they self-published to pay the bills without a whole lot of concern about where they fit in the overall timeline.
Ultimately, it really doesn't matter WHERE you jump in to the Liaden Universe. There are some fairly obvious places, depending on your preferences, but it's a UNIVERSE, not a story line or a sequential series. Some like to start with
Agent of Change because it's
free, the first book published, and a rip-roaring tale; others like to dip their toes in
Local Custom or
Balance of Trade because they aren't really part of the core Korval sequence (and
Balance of Trade has always been standalone, though they did, finally, write a sequel to it.) And still others like to start with
Fledgling , the beginning of the Theo Watley sequence because it's
free and it's a bit YA.
The only thing I would say is to avoid, the first time through, reading them in actual chronological order. The Crystal Soldier/Crystal Dragon pair are the first chronologically, but not really the best place to start, IMNSHO.
Books that can comfortably be read without any prior reading in the Liaden Universe include:
- Agent of Change
- Conflict of Honors
- Local Custom
- Scout’s Progress
- Balance of Trade
- Fledgling
- Crystal Soldier
- Necessity’s Child
- Dragon in Exile
- Alliance of Equals
Finally, there's a fan Wiki which includes a bit more sequential information
here. It includes the publication order of the chapbooks that contain the various shorter works. But if you buy the chapbooks, you'll be spending rather more than if you buy the four Constellation books.
