Liaden fans, help me out

[gbm]

In the emails this morning.

Diviner's Bow by Sharon Lee and Steve Mille eARC.

NEW ENTRY IN THE BEST-SELLING LIADEN UNIVERSE® SERIES

A world divided cannot stand.

A people divided cannot thrive.

The Oracle has Seen the end of Civilization, and the end of the Haosa, too. Reactions to this are—mixed.

On the one hand, foresight is a notoriously erratic Gift. On the other, can Civilization—or the Haosa—afford to assume that the prophecy is an error?

And if the Oracle has Seen truly—is it possible to alter the future?

While well-meaning people struggle to implement change that might, at least, mitigate a disaster, others are looking toward the profit they can make from the end of the world.

In the meantime, the Tree-and-Dragon Trade Team has concluded its whole port inventory, and is about to propose Colemeno as a trade-hub and anchor to a brand-new route. Padi yos’Galan is preparing to step into new roles, personally, and in trade.

And the lives of two small children may be the thread that binds the future—or unravels it.

bernie

[CRussel]

Beat me to it, Bernie.

[CRussel]

Snippet Alert:

Spoiler:

Tolly shook his head slow, and sighed. "That's Cap'n Theo talking. Or maybe I mean Cap'n Theo's Tree. One or both of 'em got it into their thinking that I'm a cousin, which ain't how it parses. See, the Lyre Institute was in the Old Universe. Time to time, some of the stock slipped away, but the formulas and the means to make more of the same stayed with the Institute. Happens that some of the slippery ones joined up with other groups, and bred. Clan Korval's grandma was one of those. Given this all took place –"

"A good long time ago," Miri interrupted. "Which your point is that there's been divergence, and any kinship got washed out in the gene pool."

[CRussel]

Snippet Alert:

Spoiler:

“Station?” he said, still soft, and oh so gentle.
“Yes, Mentor,” came the answer, likewise soft, and not at all Tocohl.
“Close the door, hey?”
“Of course, Mentor.”
The door slid closed, and audibly locked.

[CRussel]

Snippet Alert:

Spoiler:

"You are such a smart ass," she said, sadly.

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought that had been well-established."

"Some days, it just shines brighter," Miri said.

[CRussel]

Snippet Alert:

Spoiler:

"Which improbably puts me in mind of why I chanced to come this way," Shan murmured. "Jen Sin, my dear, Miri wishes to speak with you."

Jen Sin paused with his wine glass near his lips and looked up into pale blue eyes.

Shan shook his head, Terran-style. "Unlike some others of us, I know the difference between Miri and the delm."

[CRussel]

It's been a while, so I thought I'd post another snippet from the Work in Process (still no title confirmed, so far as I remember):

Spoiler:

Val Con finished his tea and waved the pot away when she lifted it.

"Some of this is because it is a very young tree, still, though it was transitioning for centuries. Also, it was born to be a hero, to draw enemy attention away from the Exodus." He slid from stool to deck and gave her a smile.

"And some portion of the matter is because it is a tree, and it remembers that, once, dragons had served it."

#

[CRussel]

Beginning January 1, 2026, Sharon Lee is going to do something she hasn’t really done before - read all of the Liaden books, in published order, beginning with Agent of Change. She is inviting interested readers to read along with her and comment with her as they do. To facilitate this, she is using the Splinter Universe to host the discussion.

Full disclosure: there will be spoilers. And this will include only the novels, not the shorter works. But with those warnings, feel free to join us in the read-along.