Liaden universe

The Liaden universe (/liːˈeɪdɛn/ lee-AY-den or /liːˈeɪdən/) is the setting for an ongoing series of science fiction stories written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The series covers a considerable time period, some thousands of years in all, although since it also covers more than one universe the exact chronology is unclear. As of 2014 the series comprises seventeen novels and at least twenty-one chapbooks (the stories within them now available as ebooks or in collections), and five further novels have been contracted for.

Overview

The series is set at some unspecified time in the future. There is a reference to the planet named "Terra" not being the first planet to bear that name; however, the familiar names and cultural references in the core books (coupled with a lack of them in the "Crystal" books) suggest that it is "our" earth nonetheless. In the wake of a diaspora from a "decrystallizing" galaxy that was mankind's prior home, the human race is divided into three major sub-races: Terran, Liaden and Yxtrang. (There are also numerous isolated colony planets that have backslid technologically and are held as protectorates until their civilizations regain enough advances to cope with extraplanetary contact.)

The seven-book "Agent of Change" sequence tells of the struggle between Clan Korval, a Liaden Clan of much note, and the mysterious "Department of the Interior".

The eighth novel, Balance of Trade, is set 275 years prior to the end of the "Agent of Change" sequence. It features Jethri Gobelyn, a young Terran trader who is adopted by a Liaden Master Trader to the consternation of virtually everyone.

The ninth novel, Crystal Soldier, published in February 2005, takes place even earlier still: it is the first half of "The Great Migration Duology", and tells the story of Cantra yos'Phelium, who piloted the original exodus to Liad, and her partner M Jela. The sequel, Crystal Dragon, was published in 2006 and takes the story up through the founding of Liad and of Clan Korval.

There is a timeline of the Liaden stories, as of the state of the Universe in 2002, in the Liaden Unibus II.

History of the series

The series is notable because it almost failed to take flight, and probably would only be three books long except for the Internet. The authors had written the first three books (Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, Carpe Diem) but were told that sales were not sufficient to justify continuing.

Unbeknownst to them the books had caused such a stir on the Usenet group rec.arts.sf.written that they were added to the group's FAQ.[1] Upon gaining Internet access, the authors were surprised to find so many people looking for the next book, and even more surprised that its title was already decided upon: Plan B. They published some chapbooks to stave off the hungry fans and started writing: Plan B and a further three books followed in due course to complete the "Agent of Change" sequence. There are also a number of short stories, some filling in gaps between novels, some providing background on minor (and not so minor) characters.

The series is ongoing as of 2015, with seventeen novels and numerous chapbooks and short stories, and a number of new novels contracted to be written. The next book, Dragon in Exile, is due in June 2015.[2][3]

All the novels are available as ebooks.

Books in the series

The first three novels were originally published in mass-market by Del Rey. The novels were later re-published, along with several subsequent novels, by the now-defunct Meisha Merlin, who have also anthologised the earlier novels. The novels were then re-issued in mass-market by Ace Books.

All books and many of the stories were formerly available in electronic form from Embiid Publishing, which is now out of business.

In 2007, Baen Books published the first 10 Liaden novels in electronic form, followed by two short story collections. Baen began publishing new Liaden novels in 2009, and in 2010 began releasing the first 10 Liaden novels in omnibus trade paperbacks.

Novels

The "Agent of Change" sequence:

Internal order
Local Custom
Scout's Progress
Mouse And Dragon
Conflict of Honors
Agent of Change
Carpe Diem
Plan B
I Dare
Publication order
Agent of Change Feb. 1988, ISBN 0-345-34828-1 (Del Rey) ISBN 0-441-00991-3 (Ace)
Conflict of Honors Jun. 1988, ISBN 0-345-35353-6 (Del Rey) Aug. 2002, ISBN 0-441-00964-6 (Ace)
Carpe Diem Oct. 1989, ISBN 0-345-36310-8 (Del Rey) ISBN 0-441-01022-9 (Ace)
Plan B Feb. 1999, ISBN 1-892065-09-6 & -00-2 (Meisha Merlin) ISBN 0-441-01053-9 (Ace)
Local Custom Feb. 2001, ISBN 1-892065-11-8 & -02-9 (Meisha Merlin) Feb. 2002, ISBN 0-441-00911-5 (Ace)
Scout's Progress May 2002, ISBN 0-441-00927-1 (Ace)
I Dare Feb. 2002, ISBN 1-892065-12-6 & -03-7 (Meisha Merlin) ISBN 0-441-01085-7 (Ace)
Mouse And Dragon Jun. 2010, ISBN 1-4391-3381-6 (Baen)

Further books:

Correct Reading Order (suggested)

Omnibus volumes

Pre-Baen
Baen e-book only

These were released immediately upon Lee & Miller coming to Baen in the wake of Meisha Merlin's dissolution, to bring the e-books back into print and begin earning royalties for Lee & Miller (who had not been paid by Meisha Merlin) right away. For new readers, the subsequent Baen omnibus editions (below) provide the same books at a lower cost.

Baen print & e-book

Short stories

These also include stories about Lute and Moonhawk, the earlier incarnations of two major characters in the books. Most are available from SRM Publisher in chapbooks.

The chapbooks have been collected in two compilations:

  1. Liaden Universe Companion Volume One (2005, ISBN 0-9722473-8-6 hard cover, ISBN 0-9722473-9-4 trade paperback)
  2. Liaden Universe Companion Volume Two (2007, ISBN 978-0-9776639-5-8 hard cover, ISBN 978-0-9776639-6-5 soft cover[9])

These stories are also being published by Baen webscriptions as the Liaden Universe Big Bang[10] consisting of Liaden Unibus I and Liaden Unibus II. This includes the first 12 Liaden Universe chapbooks. It does not include the chapbook Calamity's Child (containing Liaden story Sweet Waters and non-Liaden A Night At the Opera), or the non-Liaden chapbooks The Naming of Kinzel and Master Walk.

Selected chapbooks are now being published by SRM Publisher (using the imprint Pinbeam Books) in the Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, and Smashbooks ebook stores. In all three stores, they are sold without DRM. See below for availability.

On April 2, 2012, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller announced [11] that Baen had purchased publication rights for the contents of Chapbooks #1 through #17 (Two Tales of Korval through Skyblaze), and they would be reissued in two volumes. The first, Liaden Universe Constellation Volume I was published by Baen for July 2013 in trade paperback (tpb) and ebook formats. The second volume was published by Baen in January 2014.

Baen has collected the chapbooks and other short stories in two volumes, with a third scheduled for release in August 2015:

  1. A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume One (2013, ISBN 978-1-45163-923-0 soft cover, ISBN 978-1-62579-136-8 eBook[12])
  2. A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume Two (2014, ISBN 978-1-4516-3944-5 soft cover, ISBN 978-1-62579-222-8 eBook[13])
  3. A Liaden Universe Constellation Volume Three (2015, ISBN 978-1-4767-8068-9 soft cover[14])

Some short stories also are being made available for free either in the Baen Free Library or at Splinter Universe (for a limited time before they are removed to chapbook format).

Table of Liaden Universe short stories, their summaries, first publications, and volume of the Liaden Universe Companion (LUC) where they are collected.
Title Summary Published in Kindle/Nook/Smashbooks Baen Unibus SRM "LUC" Baen "CON"
To Cut an Edge Val Con meets Edger Two Tales of Korval (#1) Yes I 1 1
A Day at the Races Shan and Val Con outrage Aunt Kareen
Where the Goddess Sends The first tale of Lute and Moonhawk Fellow Travellers (#2) Yes I
A Spell for the Lost The second tale of Lute and Moonhawk
Moonphase The 55th tale of Lute and Moonhawk
Pilot of Korval Daav and Er Thom must take up their responsibilities Duty Bound (#3) Yes I
Breath's Duty Daav must take up a painful task
The Wine of Memory Lute and Moonhawk must save one of his oldest friends Certain Symmetry (#4) Yes I
Certain Symmetry Pat Rin must execute a friend's will — at considerable risk to himself
Balance of Trade (expanded for the novel) Trading in Futures (#5) Yes I
A Choice of Weapons Daav has a bad time at a party
The King of the Cats (non-canon, cross-over with other stories by Steve Miller) The Cat's Job Yes No No
Changeling How Ren Zel became a pilot and what befell him thereafter Absolute Magnitude #14 and Changeling (#6) Yes I 2 1
A Matter of Dreams The oft-disappointed crew of an itinerant spaceship find that magic and dreams can come face to face with the reality of money and power—and that power abhors an honest confrontation; meanwhile the young Moonhawk begins her spiral of trouble… Loose Cannon (#7) Yes II
Phoenix Artists and the abandoned must struggle to survive in the impoverished outskirts of Liad's greatest spaceport
Heirloom Pat Rin must play a perfect game—without rules Shadows and Shades (#8) Yes II
Naratha's Shadow A Scout must control an ancient artifact
Quiet Knives The tale of Captain Rolanni (mentioned in Carpe Diem), called upon to answer a promise she made years and worlds ago Quiet Knives (#9) Yes II 2
Veil of the Dancer The story of a brilliant young girl, her doting father,and the gift that proved to be so much more informative—and dangerous—than either of them had anticipated
Lord of the Dance Pat Rin hosts a dance on Surebleak for his subjects as Boss and his Korval family, with surprises in store for everyone—not least of all, Pat Rin himself. With Stars Underfoot (#10) Yes II
This House A retired Healer is presented with his most challenging case: a young lady who only he might be able to help—who also happens to be his ex-lover's new lover.
Sweet Waters A Liaden Scout is stranded when his ship breaks down Calamity's Child Yes No 1
The Beggar King Young Daav yos'Phelium and a Juntavas boss work together to solve a mystery of disappearing pilots in the Low Port. Necessary Evils (#11) Yes II None 2
Necessary Evils In the time of the Crystal Soldier/Crystal Dragon prequels, a meeting between an enslaved scientist and genetically-engineered indentured workers may mean freedom for both.
Prodigal Son Val Con returns to Vandar, the primitive world where he and Miri lived for a while, to tidy up one last loose end with the Department of the Interior. Set during, and partly incorporated into, Ghost Ship. Allies (#12) Yes II None
Fighting Chance The story of the young Miri Robertson's last days on Surebleak.
Daughter of Dragons A tale of some of Lady Kareen yos'Phelium's struggles during the inception of Plan B. Dragon Tide (#13) Yes No None
Dragon Tide Set in the pre-Korval Crystal Soldier/Crystal Dragon universe.
Persistence occurs between Pat Rin having the ring from the Dept. of Interior and his arrival on Surebleak Eidolon (#14) Yes No None
Shadow Partner occurs just before A Day At The Races
Misfits "The Story of the Weatherman and What Became of Him" Jim Baen's Universe Dec. 2007

and Misfits (#15)

 Yes No None
Hidden Resources occurs at Korval's hidey-hole for the children and elders during the first part of Ghost Ship. Halfling Moon (#16) Yes No None
Moon On The Hills occurs on Surebleak during the first part of Ghost Ship.
Skyblaze A taxi driver with interesting past ties to Korval finds a new future on Korval-dominated Surebleak Skyblaze (#17) Yes No None
Kin Ties What happens when the last of Clan Jabun meets Ren Zel? Courier Run (#18) Yes No None No
Guaranteed Delivery The Ride the Luck makes a special delivery.
Intelligent Design Where did Val Con and Shan find Jeeves? Free Short Stories 2011 with others

and Legacy Systems (#19)

 Yes No None No
The Space at Tinsori Light After a jump gone wrong, a pilot of Clan Korval finds himself at a most unusual aid station in the middle of nowhere…literally. Legacy Systems (#19) Yes No None No
Moon's Honor As a faction of renegade priestesses seeks to circumvent the Dyan City High Priestess to outlaw "hedge magicians," Moonhawk meets Lute for the first time. Moon's Honor (#20) Yes No None No
Landed Alien Kara ven'Arith finds life after graduation from Eylot Pilot Academy complicated. www.baen.com and Technical Details (#21) Yes No None No
Eleutherios The friars at a down-and-out abbey are taken in hand by an unlikely savior.
Out of True In the time of Balance of Trade, an itinerant freighter crew discovers that norbears can be good company. www.baen.com No No None No
The Rifle's First Wife Former Yxtrang soldier Diglon Rifle and Scout Alara chel’Voyon discover that sometimes two problems solve each other. Splinter Universe No No None No
Roving Gambler Quin yos'Phelium makes a new friend.
Code of Honor When a young mercenary soldier is recalled home to Liad, he finds he must choose between the honor of the mercs and the honor of his Clan.

Characters

As mentioned above, there are three main divisions of the human race which appear in the stories. There are some notable non-humans also.

Liaden

Home planet "Liad". Liadens are usually shorter than the Terran norm, often with golden skin. They are deeply concerned with their melant'i which roughly corresponds to the concern with "face" for which Japanese Samurai are famous. Some are almost rabidly isolationist; it is not uncommon for Liaden to refer to those of other races as "it" likening them to animals. Several characters are part- or even half-Terran: this does not endear them to the isolationists.

Liaden society is clan-based, each Clan being made up of one or more families ("lines"). The Head of a Clan is the "Delm", the head of a line is the "Thodelm"; either might be male or female as circumstances dictate.

Liaden Clans do not generally allow lifemating. Instead, Liaden's practice contract marriages, where two individuals from different clans are ordered, or allowed, by their Delm's to create a progeny for one of the two clans. This marriage is over when the terms of the contract are fulfilled. Most members of the clan must produce at least one progeny to replace them.

Lifemating is when two individuals become exclusively bound to one and other. This can happen rarely by order of a Delm, or this can happen by the physical, emotional, and spiritual bonding of two individuals with dramliza abilities (regardless of the depth of those abilities).

Some Liaden are trained as explorers: the Scouts. They are regarded with distaste by the more isolationist within Liaden society.

Most of the stories thus far centre on members of Clan Korval, made up of the yos'Phelium and yos'Galan lines. Scouts also appear often.

Korval

Others

Terran

Home planet known as "Terra". As remarked above, there is a brief reference to the possibility that this planet is possibly the fourth of that name. At least one prior Terra would have been destroyed along with the war-torn universe/Galaxy from which mankind fled in Crystal Dragon. From cultural references, familiar English names, and references to regional linguistic dialects that appear in the core books, it seems likely that this Terra is nonetheless our own Earth. There appears to be some resentment that the "younger" races (usually Liaden) hold more power in the realm of shipping and commerce than Terra; there is reference to at least one political party involved in less-than-legal operations.

The Juntavas are an organized-crime "clan" who appear in various guises, sometimes as antagonists, sometimes as allies of the main characters. Unlike the real-world mafia, the Juntavas are apparently able to act as an unopposed organized government in their own right, to the point of having appointed officials called Sector Judges who administer justice within their appointed jurisdictions. The Juntavas are usually not as oppressive as they might be, because they have learned that too much of that sort of thing is "bad for business."

A number of other planets are known to have non-Liaden human inhabitants, presumably of the Terran strain. Some of these worlds, such as Surebleak and Delgado, were settled by Terrans from this universe's Terra. Others, such as Sintia, were settled by ships from the same Crystal Dragon-era colonization waves as Liad and Terra.

Some of these colony worlds, such as Vandar, have backslid to pre-spaceflight technology levels. These worlds have been considered interdicted by the Liaden Scout Corps, with external contact forbidden in order to permit their societies to develop without interference. As of "Prodigal Son," post-I Dare, there are signs that this policy may be changing.

Gobelyns

Korval clan-members

Korval-linked

Others

Yxtrang

Home planet unknown at this time. Usually much larger than the Terran norm, they are a war-like people who live for conquest. They are almost universally prone to thinking of the other human races as animals.

References in Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon suggest that the Yxtrang are the descendants of a group of "X Strain" and "Y Strain" genetically-engineered soldiers who served in a platoon with Jela and accompanied the human migration to the new universe. Some of them venerate Jela (an "M Strain") for his skills and deeds as a warrior.

It is not known whether they can interbreed with Liadens or Terrans, though given their common genetic origin there is no reason why they should not be able to; the likely lifespan of such offspring is short, not for merely biological reasons.

Clutch Turtles

These non-humans are even larger than Yxtrang and very long-lived; they appear much like turtles walking upright, hence the name. The length of their names are directly proportional to how old they are and their accomplishments: Edger's full name apparently takes some hours to recite. They are usually slow to act but are very dangerous when angered.

Clutch turtles travel in starships made from hollowed-out asteroids using an electron substitution drive that can have hallucinogenic effects on the human nervous system. They are able to command forces of great destructive or healing potential by singing. Clutch turtles are greatly feared and avoided by the Yxtrang as the result of a resounding defeat in battle many years prior to the timeframe of the story.

The Clutch turtles encountered in the "Agent of Change" sequence make up a "market research" team on behalf of their clan, who are known for manufacturing crystalline blades of extreme sharpness and durability by growing them in caves over a timespan of decades.

Cats

There are many cats which appear in the stories, usually by name, often taking an active part in the proceedings. Unlike ordinary housecats, these cats often display paranormal abilities, as well as considerable intelligence.

Trees

The race formally known as Ssuss Dryads. An unusual character is Jelaza Kazone (a term that has been translated as "Jela's Promise," "Jela's Contract," or "Jela's Dream," among other variants) and the seedlings thereof (of which only two have thus far appeared in narrative). This very large tree lives in the grounds of Clan Korval's primary residence (also called Jelaza Kazone) and is in the habit of communicating its likes and dislikes to senior members of that clan; it has particularly been noted to have an interest in the likely parents of future children of the Clan.

As a young soldier, Jela found the tree on a desert planet on which his ship had crashed. Though barely a stunted seedling and the last member of a dying race, the tree was by itself able to repel invasion of the planet by the enemy Sheriekas. As an act of trust, the tree gave its only seed pod to feed the starving Jela. When Jela's rescue came, he refused to leave the tree behind.

The tree proved to be intelligent, and able to communicate via mental images. It also had the ability to manipulate the chemistry of its seed pods to create useful pharmaceutical compounds. Both these powers proved useful as Jela and Cantra searched for information necessary for mankind to escape its collapsing universe.

The name Jelaza Kazone refers to the promise Cantra yos'Phelium made to Jela, who knew he was destined to die before the migration could be complete, to see the tree through to safety on the new human homeworld. Clan Korval holds itself the guardian of this promise in perpetuity, and every trading vessel of Korval carries a seed of the tree somewhere on board, to ensure the survival of its race.

Concepts

Melant'i

A great deal of the Liaden culture centers on melant'i. Part of this concept is roughly analogous to personal honor or good manners: a person of impeccable melant'i will behave in a certain way, in a given situation. It is also used to distinguish between a person's different roles in life. If one is speaking to a shipmate in one's role as an officer of the ship, one uses a particular mode to cue the shipmate as to the formality of the situation, and is said to be expressing one's melant'i as that officer. If, on the other hand, one is speaking to the same shipmate, but in the role of daughter, one uses a different mode and is expressing the melant'i as a family member. Different levels of formality, and actions, will be appropriate in each case.

Space travel

Human ships are able to travel quickly between planets by "jumping"; different technologies exist but are all fairly quick; journey durations are comparable to swift sea-travel here on Earth. Only the Clutch Turtles use a different method, with predictably idiosyncratic side-effects (of which few details are available).

Fan fiction

Lee and Miller strongly oppose any fan fiction written in the Liaden universe. " We built our universes, and our characters; they are our intellectual property; and they are not toys lying about some virtual sandbox for other kids to pick up and modify at their whim. Steve and I do not sanction fanfic written in our universes; any such work that exists, exists without our permission, and certainly without our support."[15]

References

  1. ↑ "rec.arts.sf.written Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)". 2001-06-18. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  2. ↑ Dragon in Exile (Baen)
  3. ↑ 2015 Liaden Universe® and Other Releases
  4. ↑ "Fledgling: A Liaden Universe Project".
  5. ↑ Been Missing Theo Waitley?
  6. ↑ Liaden Universe Infodump #84
  7. ↑ Here, as requested by many, more information about Ghost Ship
  8. ↑ The author declares a draft
  9. ↑ "Liaden Universe Companion—Volume 2".
  10. ↑ "Liaden Universe Big Bang". Baen.
  11. ↑ "Potpourri and Publishing News".
  12. ↑ "A Liaden Universe Constellation—Volume 1".
  13. ↑ "A Liaden Universe Constellation—Volume 2".
  14. ↑ "A Liaden Universe Constellation—Volume 3".
  15. ↑ Lee, Sharon. "The second answer" Sharon Lee, Writer October 26, 2013

External links