Monthly Archives: May 2013

Reading Order – Draft 2

Based on all the feedback I’ve received about the various options I’ve posted over the last few weeks, this is the reading order I’m currently planning to use.

If you’re considering joining in for some or all of the re-read, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this reading order.

That goes double if you were considering joining in but find this reading order off-putting. I don’t want to frighten people away; I don’t think it would be nearly as much fun to do the re-read alone.

General overview

The basic organizing principle is chronological order, the internal order of events.

There are places where I have split up novels to fit in stories that take place between chapters. If I hear from people that this is a problem for them, I’ll reconsider, but for me I see finding out how things fit together as part of the point of doing it chronological.

(For myself, I don’t have any particular problem with re-reading a Liaden novel piecemeal. Many’s the time I’ve taken one up to re-read just a particular scene or a chapter or two.)

I have resisted any urge to split individual chapters or short stories. I have mostly avoided scheduling lots of back-and-forth between novels that overlap chronologically, and attempted to keep each novel’s chapters in the same order as printed (though I Dare is a law unto itself).

I have attempted to place the splits where there’s a natural break in the flow of the story, even when that means fudging the chronology a bit. (Interestingly, in practice there turn out to be places where respecting the flow of the story means that I would rather break between chapters of a novel than between novels. For instance, I would hate to put anything between the end of Scout’s Progress and the beginning of Mouse and Dragon, while the multi-year-gap between two late chapters of Mouse and Dragon feels like fair game, the more so since it follows what might easily have been the ending point of the novel.)

Draft Reading Order

  • “Dragon Tide”
  • “Necessary Evils”
  • Crystal Soldier
  • Crystal Dragon
  • “Eleutherios”
  • “Where the Goddess Sends”
  • “A Spell for the Lost”
  • “The Wine of Memory”
  • Balance of Trade
  • Trade Secret
  • “Naratha’s Shadow”
  • “The Space at Tinsori Light”
  • “Sweet Waters”
  • “Phoenix”
  • “Pilot of Korval”
  • “A Choice of Weapons”
  • “The Beggar King”
  • Local Custom
  • Scout’s Progress ch.1-38
  • Mouse and Dragon ch.1-36
  • “Guaranteed Delivery”
  • Mouse and Dragon ch.37-41
  • “Veil of the Dancer”
  • “Heirloom”
  • “Intelligent Design”
  • “A Matter of Dreams”
  • “Moonphase”
  • Conflict of Honors ch.1
  • “Fighting Chance”
  • “To Cut an Edge”
  • “Shadow Partner”
  • “A Day at the Races”
  • “Certain Symmetry”
  • “This House”
  • Conflict of Honors ch.2-50
  • “Changeling”
  • Fledgling
  • Saltation ch.1-32
  • “Landed Alien”
  • Agent of Change
  • Carpe Diem ch.2-35
  • “Quiet Knives”
  • Carpe Diem ch.36-71
  • I Dare ch.1-4,10-12
  • “Daughter of Dragons”
  • “Persistence”
  • I Dare ch.18,20,22-23,25-27,29-30,35-36
  • Plan B ch.1-3
  • “Breath’s Duty”
  • I Dare ch.40-42
  • Plan B ch.4-30
  • I Dare ch.46-48,50
  • Plan B ch.31-35
  • I Dare ch.5-9,13-17,19,21,24,28,31-34,37-39,43-44,53
  • I Dare ch.45,49,51-52,54-57
  • “Misfits”
  • Saltation ch.33-41
  • Saltation ch.42 & I Dare ch.58
  • Ghost Ship ch.1-5
  • “Moon on the Hills”
  • Ghost Ship ch.6-23
  • “Hidden Resources”
  • “Kin Ties”
  • Ghost Ship ch.24-epilogue
  • “Prodigal Son”
  • Necessity’s Child
  • Dragon Ship
  • “Skyblaze”

Reading Order – Draft 1c

And yet a third possible reading order, with chapters arranged as close as possible to when the events occur.

Draft Reading Order

  • “Dragon Tide”
  • “Necessary Evils”
  • Crystal Soldier
  • Crystal Dragon
  • “Eleutherios”
  • “Where the Goddess Sends”
  • “A Spell for the Lost”
  • “The Wine of Memory”
  • Balance of Trade
  • Trade Secret
  • “Naratha’s Shadow”
  • “The Space at Tinsori Light”
  • “Sweet Waters”
  • “Phoenix”
  • “Pilot of Korval”
  • “A Choice of Weapons”
  • “The Beggar King”
  • Local Custom
  • Scout’s Progress
  • Mouse and Dragon ch.1-36
  • “Guaranteed Delivery”
  • Mouse and Dragon ch.37-41
  • “Veil of the Dancer”
  • “Heirloom”
  • “Intelligent Design”
  • “A Matter of Dreams”
  • “Moonphase”
  • Conflict of Honors ch.1
  • “Fighting Chance”
  • “To Cut an Edge”
  • “Misfits”, ch.2
  • “Shadow Partner”
  • “A Day at the Races”
  • “Certain Symmetry”
  • “This House”
  • Conflict of Honors ch.2-50
  • Fledgling
  • “Changeling”
  • Saltation ch.1-32
  • “Landed Alien”
  • Agent of Change
  • Carpe Diem ch.2-35
  • “Quiet Knives”
  • Carpe Diem ch.36-50,52,58
  • I Dare ch.1-4,10-12
  • “Daughter of Dragons”
  • “Persistence”
  • I Dare ch.18,20,22-23,25-27,29-30,35-36
  • Carpe Diem ch.51,53-57,59-71
  • Plan B ch.1-3
  • “Breath’s Duty”
  • Plan B ch.4-9
  • I Dare ch.40-41
  • Plan B ch.10-16
  • I Dare ch.42
  • Plan B ch.17-34
  • I Dare ch.46-48,50
  • Plan B ch.35
  • I Dare ch.5-9,13-17,19,21,24,28,31-34,37-39,43-44,53,45,49,51-52,54-55
  • “Skyblaze”, ch.1
  • “Misfits”, ch.1
  • I Dare ch.56-57
  • “Misfits”, ch.3
  • Saltation ch.33-40
  • I Dare ch.58
  • Saltation ch.41-42
  • Ghost Ship ch.1-5
  • “Moon on the Hills”
  • Ghost Ship ch.6-23
  • “Hidden Resources”
  • “Kin Ties”
  • Ghost Ship ch.24-34
  • Necessity’s Child ch.1-2
  • Ghost Ship ch.35-36
  • Necessity’s Child ch.3-4
  • Ghost Ship ch.37-38
  • Dragon Ship prologue
  • Ghost Ship ch.39
  • Necessity’s Child ch.5-8
  • Ghost Ship ch.40-41
  • “Prodigal Son”
  • Ghost Ship ch.42,epilogue
  • Necessity’s Child ch.9-13
  • Ghost Ship ch.43
  • Necessity’s Child ch.14-38
  • Dragon Ship ch.1-43
  • “Skyblaze”, ch.2

Again, not a final order, offered as something to react to. What are your thoughts?

Reading Order – Draft 1b

Here’s an alternative possible reading order, with short stories fitting in between chapters of novels, but the novels not otherwise overlapping or rearranged.

Draft Reading Order

  • “Dragon Tide”
  • “Necessary Evils”
  • Crystal Soldier
  • Crystal Dragon
  • “Eleutherios”
  • “Where the Goddess Sends”
  • “A Spell for the Lost”
  • “The Wine of Memory”
  • Balance of Trade
  • Trade Secret
  • “Naratha’s Shadow”
  • “The Space at Tinsori Light”
  • “Sweet Waters”
  • “Phoenix”
  • “Pilot of Korval”
  • “A Choice of Weapons”
  • “The Beggar King”
  • Local Custom
  • Scout’s Progress
  • Mouse and Dragon ch.1-36
  • “Guaranteed Delivery”
  • Mouse and Dragon ch.37-41
  • “Veil of the Dancer”
  • “Heirloom”
  • “Intelligent Design”
  • “A Matter of Dreams”
  • “Moonphase”
  • “Fighting Chance”
  • “To Cut an Edge”
  • “Shadow Partner”
  • “A Day at the Races”
  • “Certain Symmetry”
  • “This House”
  • Conflict of Honors
  • “Changeling”
  • Agent of Change
  • Carpe Diem ch.2-34
  • “Quiet Knives”
  • Carpe Diem ch.35-71
  • Fledgling
  • Plan B ch.1-3
  • “Breath’s Duty”
  • Plan B ch.4-35
  • I Dare ch.1-12
  • “Daughter of Dragons”
  • “Persistence”
  • I Dare ch.13-57
  • “Misfits”
  • I Dare ch.58
  • Saltation
  • “Landed Alien”
  • Ghost Ship ch.1-5
  • “Moon on the Hills”
  • Ghost Ship ch.6-12
  • “Hidden Resources”
  • “Kin Ties”
  • Ghost Ship ch.13-41
  • “Prodigal Son”
  • Ghost Ship ch.42-44
  • Necessity’s Child
  • Dragon Ship
  • “Skyblaze”

Again, not a final order, offered as something to react to. What are your thoughts?

Reading Order – Draft 1

The responses I’ve got so far have been strongly in favour of reading each novel in one go, without stepping out between chapters to read short stories or any other such business.

That collapses the problem space down to the point that I can do this:

Draft Reading Order

  • “Dragon Tide”
  • “Necessary Evils”
  • Crystal Soldier
  • Crystal Dragon
  • “Eleutherios”
  • “Where the Goddess Sends”
  • “A Spell for the Lost”
  • “The Wine of Memory”
  • Balance of Trade
  • Trade Secret
  • “Naratha’s Shadow”
  • “The Space at Tinsori Light”
  • “Sweet Waters”
  • “Phoenix”
  • “Pilot of Korval”
  • “A Choice of Weapons”
  • “The Beggar King”
  • Local Custom
  • Scout’s Progress
  • Mouse and Dragon
  • “Guaranteed Delivery”
  • “Veil of the Dancer”
  • “Heirloom”
  • “Intelligent Design”
  • “A Matter of Dreams”
  • “Moonphase”
  • “Fighting Chance”
  • “To Cut an Edge”
  • “Shadow Partner”
  • “A Day at the Races”
  • “Certain Symmetry”
  • “This House”
  • Conflict of Honors
  • “Changeling”
  • Agent of Change
  • Carpe Diem
  • “Quiet Knives”
  • “Daughter of Dragons”
  • Fledgling
  • Plan B
  • “Breath’s Duty”
  • I Dare
  • “Persistence”
  • “Misfits”
  • Saltation
  • “Landed Alien”
  • “Moon on the Hills”
  • “Hidden Resources”
  • “Kin Ties”
  • Ghost Ship
  • “Prodigal Son”
  • Necessity’s Child
  • Dragon Ship
  • “Skyblaze”

This is, of course, not the final order, but it gives us something to react to. How does it look? Can you see any problems with it?

FAQ (Forecast of Anticipated Questions)

1. What is this?

This is a blog, on which I will be recording my progress in re-reading all the novels and stories of the Liaden Universe, in chronological order, one chapter per day, beginning in July.

You’re welcome to join me, for all or part of the way.

2. Why?

I wanted to re-read Balance of Trade before the sequel came out in November. Then it occurred to me that I’d never re-read any of the other early Liaden novels. Things snowballed from there.

I’ve already read them all in publication order (more or less); I thought chronological order might be interesting. And although I know people have read the novels in chronological order, I don’t know of anyone who’s tackled the whole thing.

(On a more pragmatic note, it will give me practice at conceiving, planning and carrying out a long-term project with a definite schedule.)

3. What is the Liaden Universe?

The Liaden Universe is the setting of many novels and short stories by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The setting is broadly speaking space opera, though individual stories might be usefully described as adventure, romance, coming-of-age, etc., depending. Rather than a single ongoing series, the novels include several shorter series of varying lengths, set years or centuries apart, although there are ongoing issues and themes, and recurring settings and characters, in particular the members of Clan Korval, which makes its home on the planet of Liad. The short stories fit in around (and sometimes during) the novels, throwing light on incidental details and background characters.

(Liaden Universe® is a registered trademark of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.)

All the novels are in print, and are available as e-books, from Baen Books. The short stories are more scattered, but Baen is working on collecting them. The first collection is scheduled for publication in early July, although that’s not why the re-read is planned to begin then.

3. Why is the re-read planned to begin in July?

There are, of course, many other dates I could have chosen: for instance, the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first Liaden novel was in February of this year.

The answer is that, as the release of Trade Secret in November was the spark for this project, it’s the keystone of the schedule: the aim is to finish reading Balance of Trade just as Trade Secret comes out, so that the sequence may continue smoothly.

5. What will this re-read include?

There are currently 16 novels and 37 short stories set in the Liaden Universe, with another novel due to come out while the re-read is in progress.

The 17 novels are: Agent of Change, Balance of Trade, Carpe Diem, Conflict of Honors, Crystal Dragon, Crystal Soldier, Dragon Ship, Fledgling, Ghost Ship, I Dare, Local Custom, Mouse and Dragon, Necessity’s Child, Plan B, Saltation, Scout’s Progress, and Trade Secret.

The 37 short stories are: The Beggar King, Breath’s Duty, Certain Symmetry, Changeling, A Choice of Weapons, Daughter of Dragons, A Day At The Races, Dragon Tide, Eleutherios, Fighting Chance, Guaranteed Delivery, Heirloom, Hidden Resources, Intelligent Design, Kin Ties, Landed Alien, A Matter of Dreams, Misfits, Moon on the Hills, Moonphase, Naratha’s Shadow, Necessary Evils, Persistence, Phoenix, Pilot of Korval, Prodigal Son, Quiet Knives, Shadow Partner, Skyblaze, The Space at Tinsori Light, A Spell for the Lost, Sweet Waters, This House, To Cut an Edge, Veil of the Dancer, Where the Goddess Sends, and The Wine of Memory.

6. What will this re-read not include?

I won’t be reading the short stories “Balance of Trade” (superseded by the novel Balance of Trade), “Lord of the Dance” (superseded by the novel Ghost Ship), or “King of the Cats” (officially apocryphal).

I’ll also be skipping the epilogue to Scout’s Progress, which is repeated in full at the appropriate point in the following novel, Mouse and Dragon; and the prologue to Carpe Diem, which is a repeat of a late chapter in the preceding novel, Agent of Change.

7. When you say you’ll be reading the stories in chronological order, what exactly do you mean?

This is such a good question, hypothetical reader, that I’m going to devote an entire post to discovering the answer to it.

8. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?

Is there anything else you’d like me to tell you? Comments are free.

Chronology

When you say you’ll be reading the stories in chronological order, what exactly do you mean?

Good question, hypothetical reader!

There are two problems that must be faced when attempting to put the Liaden stories in chronological order. The first is that not all of them are clearly dated, and the second is that some of them overlap.

Unclear dates

Eight of the short stories, and two of the novels, don’t have any clear indication of when they’re set. Some of them can be dated approximately (by the ages of recurring characters, for instance), while others could be set at any point within a span of several centuries.

If necessary, I’m not above arbitrarily assigning them positions (if all else fails, I’ve got positions picked out based on grouping with stories concerning similar themes), but if there is any useful dating information about any of these stories that I’ve overlooked, I’d appreciate hearing about it.

The stories are: “Eleutherios”, “Intelligent Design”, “Landed Alien”, “The Space at Tinsori Light”, “A Spell for the Lost”, “This House”, “Where the Goddess Sends”, and “The Wine of Memory”.

The novels are Fledgling and Saltation.

Overlaps

A not-insignificant number of the short stories are set inside novels, between chapters or addressing chapters from an alternative viewpoint. For that matter, some of the novels overlap other novels; there’s at least one place where three different novels are occurring simultaneously.

The question here is: How do I deal with this? Should I treat novels as indivisible, read them straight through from beginning to end, and fit in the overlapping stories before or after as seems appropriate? Or should I feel free to chop them up and shuffle chapters into whatever order is most chronological?

Your thoughts on this are invited.