Liaden fans, help me out

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Carmelreader

I was looking at that, thanks for the comment. Is the whole series good too? Got the two Liaden ones.

P.S. Any other recommendations?

Yes, the entire series is on Audible, and all are excellently read by the same narrator, Daniel Thomas May. I just finished re-reading these in Audible format last fall, and I can highly recommend them. To be clear, Ms. Cherryh is not for everyone. But very definitely to my taste. And even though the writing style is quite different from Lee&Miller, she is addressing some similar issues - communication between species. In the Liaden Universe, the differences between species are more subtle, but communication is still a problem. With the Atevi, the difficulty in communication goes even deeper.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Strether

I can't speak to the audio versions of the Foreigner series, because I haven't heard them. But I can recommend the series of books, which, when the new one comes out in April, will number 15. It's possible you might find the first trilogy a little slow, but if you make it to the second trilogy, it really takes off from that point. Alas, the second trilogy not yet available as ebooks. If your library doesn't have them, buy used paperbacks.

Jim

Go for the Audible versions -- the reading by Daniel Thomas May is very good, and the books lend themselves well to the format. I did a full re-read of the series last fall, when books 2-6 were unavailable in eBook format, and just did the Audible versions instead. When I got to #7-14, I went back and forth between Kindle and Audible versions depending on where I was and what else I was doing.

[CRussel]

Sassinak, the first book in the Planet Pirates series, is a good book, but I'm not thrilled by the reader. If you don't know the series, it's definitely worth a try. But listen to the sample before you buy the Audible version. If you like it, great. If not, get the eBook version from Baen for $6.99. (Which I think I'll do, since I don't seem to have this series in eBook format.)

[Carmelreader]

Thank you all for the recommendations and info. I will go take a longer look at the books mentioned. I did wonder about Sassinak. I have really enjoyed Anne McCaffrey's books in the past, but wasn't familiar with this one. I may be spending way more money than expected!

[Carmelreader]

I read my first Liaden novel this weekend Agent of Change. For the first 30 pages, I couldn't quite get why this series was so well liked. The book got better and better as it went along and I am looking forward to reading another from this series. This one was free at Amazon. How does it compare to the others? If it weren't for Mobileread, I would never probably have heard of the Liaden Universe. And how do you pronounce Liaden, emphasis on which syllable?

Really enjoyed the turtles! Hope they turn up in other novels.

[CRussel]

Glad you liked it.

Conflict of Honors would likely be the next up, and it's part of The Dragon Variation, available at Amazon or direct from Baen. All of the Liaden books are also available as audio books from Audible, by the way.

And pronunciation? Well, the Audio books seem to agree that "lee-A-den" is correct. But that the world is "LEE-add".

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Sassinak, the first book in the Planet Pirates series, is a good book, but I'm not thrilled by the reader. If you don't know the series, it's definitely worth a try. But listen to the sample before you buy the Audible version. If you like it, great. If not, get the eBook version from Baen for $6.99. (Which I think I'll do, since I don't seem to have this series in eBook format.)

To me Sassinak suffered from "Number of the Beast Syndrome." The first 2/3 of this book were totally awesome and one of my favorite sci-fi books ever. And it all fell apart for the last 1/3. Things became confused and a mishmash of characters. I have reread this book and the ones that follow in the series several times and still lose the plot at the last 1/3 of Sassinak.

Number of the Beast by Heinlein is the first book I ever read that was brilliant and then devolved into crap, which is why all other books with the same problem get that tag in my world.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by Carmelreader

I read my first Liaden novel this weekend Agent of Change. For the first 30 pages, I couldn't quite get why this series was so well liked. The book got better and better as it went along and I am looking forward to reading another from this series. This one was free at Amazon. How does it compare to the others? If it weren't for Mobileread, I would never probably have heard of the Liaden Universe. And how do you pronounce Liaden, emphasis on which syllable?

Really enjoyed the turtles! Hope they turn up in other novels.

Yes, the Edger and his brethren do turn up in other books in the Agent of Change story arc. They're also in some of the short stories.

I think that all of the books in the story arc are strong; if you liked the first one, you'll like the rest.

[Carmelreader]

Thanks Charlie and Xanthe. Being as I like to mix books up a bit, to string out a group I like, I have tried 4 different novels since Agent and none of them held my attention. If I don't find one tonight, then it is back to Liaden Universe!

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Carmelreader

Thanks Charlie and Xanthe. Being as I like to mix books up a bit, to string out a group I like, I have tried 4 different novels since Agent and none of them held my attention. If I don't find one tonight, then it is back to Liaden Universe!

Oh, I know the feeling. But just give in to reality. You've got 16 books and a LOT of shorter works to go, and you're not going to find anything as good to read. Plus the more of them you read, the more you want to read them, IME. This really is my all time favourite "series".

(and, when you get done, there are a number of non-Liaden works you might want to think about from one or both of the authors!)

Oh, and Marcy -- after a complete reread recently, I think I agree. Sassinak just didn't live up to the start.

[Xanthe]

The whole Liaden series is one of the most re-readable series that I've found. It's like revisiting good friends when you do a re-read, something that doesn't always happen with most authors. So even if you read the whole kit and caboodle in one fell swoop, it doesn't matter because the re-read will be just as much fun.

Besides which, you'll still have the audiobooks available to listen to, which is always interesting because I've found that audiobook readers sometimes place a different emphasis on scenes that I did when reading them which makes it sound like a new story. I've found that when I listen to the Liaden audiobooks, I'm completely immersed in that world.

[CRussel]

I'm very much with Xanthe on this. I read them, then I listen to them on Audible, and finally I re-read them. I think I'm at 4 full reads of the older books, plus one full Audible read (but none of the shorter works, sadly.) I look at each new book in the series as an opportunity to revisit some good friends.

[CRussel]

If you like the Liaden books, may I make a strong recommendation for the Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein. The first of which, The Steerswoman is available for a mere $2.99. The 2nd and 3rd books in the series are available for Kindle, but you'll have to wait for the 4th until next month.

[CRussel]

For those that may have missed it, Lee & Miller have a new Liaden novelette up on Splinter Universe - Roving Gambler. And, I must say, it's excellent. Enjoy!

[Xanthe]

Thanks!