Liaden fans, help me out

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem I have is while I've found different reading orders and yes I could go with one of them, they don't include the shorts. So if someone has a reading order that includes the shorts even if it's a date published order, please post it or a link to it. Thanks.

The authors release short fiction frequently, and the pieces jump around in time. So any list would quickly be out of date.

However the story line unfolds through the novels. It might sound like you’d be missing something without the short stories, but you wouldn’t be. None of the novels depend upon the short stories. They don’t advance the plot. They are peripheral to the story.

The short stories are an avenue to provide the authors with some income between novels. I really enjoy them, but could have easily read the full series without a single short story.

[CRussel]

Agree completely. Love the shorter works, but they're just icing. The mainline is the novels.

[Gandulf]

Got Agent of Change as it's free on play books, it's ok but hasn't hooked me.
How does it compare to others in the series and are they what I call TV series book, can skip a book or 2 and still not really be lost in the series.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Gandulf

Got Agent of Change as it's free on play books, it's ok but hasn't hooked me. [...]

I had much the same reaction when I read it. Good but not hooked enough to rush out for any more ... and despite planning to try more I still haven't. So I will be interest to hear how you get on if/when you try others.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by Gandulf

Got Agent of Change as it's free on play books, it's ok but hasn't hooked me.
How does it compare to others in the series and are they what I call TV series book, can skip a book or 2 and still not really be lost in the series.

I can easily see why it wouldn’t grab you. You can definitely start somewhere else in the timeline. I did, and didn’t miss a beat.

I don’t think Agent of Change as a good starting point, because it was the first book they’d written, and the authors hadn’t developed their sea legs yet. So I find it a bit too slapstick and over the top. It’s not a good reflection of who the characters really are. And I don’t think the style of the first book reflects the authors’ later writing.

I don’t mean to dis the book. It can be a fun, campy read later, once the characters and Liaden customs are better established. But to me, it’s like the difference between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. The depth and development aren’t there yet, so the first isn’t a good predictor of the other.

[CRussel]

In several ways, I find Conflict of Honors or Balance of Trade to be better starting points. Though I admit to having started (back in the 80s) with Agent of Change. And become quite annoyed when I stopped being able to find their books after the first three. But then, I'm a sucker for kickass women (Miri), and really liked the Turtles.

It's sort of how I feel about Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series -- I always start folks on #7 in the series, Breakup. If they like it, they can circle back to the beginning, and by the time they finish #6, they'll have a re-read of Breakup to look forward to. (Which, by the way, I'm re-reading right now, it being spring and all. )

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by CRussel

In several ways, I find Conflict of Honors or Balance of Trade to be better starting points. Though I admit to having started (back in the 80s) with Agent of Change. And become quite annoyed when I stopped being able to find their books after the first three. But then, I'm a sucker for kickass women (Miri), and really liked the Turtles.

It's sort of how I feel about Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series -- I always start folks on #7 in the series, Breakup. If they like it, they can circle back to the beginning, and by the time they finish #6, they'll have a re-read of Breakup to look forward to. (Which, by the way, I'm re-reading right now, it being spring and all. )

Oh cool; you were one of the originals! That’s quite a badge of honour . We owe you big time for lobbying the series into resurrection. No question though, Miri’s a kickass and the Turtles are wonderful.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Victoria

I can easily see why it wouldn’t grab you. You can definitely start somewhere else in the timeline. I did, and didn’t miss a beat.

I don’t think Agent of Change as a good starting point, because it was the first book they’d written, and the authors hadn’t developed their sea legs yet. So I find it a bit too slapstick and over the top. It’s not a good reflection of who the characters really are. And I don’t think the style of the first book reflects the authors’ later writing.

I don’t mean to dis the book. It can be a fun, campy read later, once the characters and Liaden customs are better established.

Originally Posted by CRussel

It's sort of how I feel about Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series -- I always start folks on #7 in the series, Breakup. If they like it, they can circle back to the beginning, and by the time they finish #6, they'll have a re-read of Breakup to look forward to. (Which, by the way, I'm re-reading right now, it being spring and all. )

I think many, if not most, series are best tried in a book that’s not the first. Obviously not a trilogy or something of that sort, where (you hope) there’s a definite story arc, but in ongoing series where the basics don’t change much from book to book as each book has a self-contained plot. The odd spoiler is usually not that significant and better that than to give up on a poor start when it’s it’s a series you’d like.

In fact, I think scrupulous adherence to series order has been enabled only by the digital age. Back in the paper day, you pretty much had to go with what you could obtain, whether because you were limited to library holdings or what was on a bookstore shelf, or even by what was still in print. The number of mystery series I started in the middle would make your head spin if that kind of thing mattered to you.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Victoria

Oh cool; you were one of the originals! That’s quite a badge of honour . We owe you big time for lobbying the series into resurrection. No question though, Miri’s a kickass and the Turtles are wonderful.

The Turtles are the ultimate Deus Ex Machina. You just know when they show up that things are about to get very interesting.

[hildea]

I started with Conflict of Honors, and that was a good starting point. One of the protagonists is of Terran culture (a culture that's pretty familiar), and it helps in getting information about the weirder Liaden culture in bitesized pieces.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by issybird

I think many, if not most, series are best tried in a book that’s not the first. Obviously not a trilogy or something of that sort, where (you hope) there’s a definite story arc, but in ongoing series where the basics don’t change much from book to book as each book has a self-contained plot. The odd spoiler is usually not that significant and better that than to give up on a poor start when it’s it’s a series you’d like.

I agree, it’s often a better experience, and a better test of whether you’ll enjoy the books. It can also be quite interesting to read the first book(s) later, after a series has been well established. When you see how the author has developed their early ideas, you see their maturation along with their characters and storytelling.

Originally Posted by issybird

In fact, I think scrupulous adherence to series order has been enabled only by the digital age. Back in the paper day, you pretty much had to go with what you could obtain, whether because you were limited to library holdings or what was on a bookstore shelf, or even by what was still in print. The number of mystery series I started in the middle would make your head spin if that kind of thing mattered to you.

I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s absolutely true. I never let something being out of sequence stop me from reading it. It was just the way things were. If necessary, you could ask someone to fill in missing pieces.

Remember the all the yearnings that came with knowing your favourite authors had earlier, unobtainable books? It seemed like a miracle the first time my local bookstore offered to go on “the internet”, to search for a copy of an out-of-print book that I longed for. I still have the two second hand books he ordered all the way from New York for me, completely unthinkable a few years before.

Originally Posted by CRussel

The Turtles are the ultimate Deus Ex Machina. You just know when they show up that things are about to get very interesting.

Yes! Speaking objectively, I often think Lee and Miller are guilty of frequent Deus Ex Machina problem solving, a trait that usually bothers me. But in their case, I always forgive them, because it’s usually just so satisfying .

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by hildea

I started with Conflict of Honors, and that was a good starting point. One of the protagonists is of Terran culture (a culture that's pretty familiar), and it helps in getting information about the weirder Liaden culture in bitesized pieces.

Me too. It’s amazing how many of the weirder aspects you can swallow once you’re hooked.

[Xanthe]

Traders Leap is now available at Audible.com.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

Traders Leap is now available at Audible.com.

Yes, thank you. Meant to post that myself.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

Traders Leap is now available at Audible.com.

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yes, thank you. Meant to post that myself.

And I've started a re-read using the Audible version. Looking forward to it.