Monthly Archives: July 2013

Crystal Soldier – Chapter 3

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On the ground, Star 475A
Mission time: 14 planet days and counting

In which Jela makes a friend and a promise.

Jela has found the last Tree. It’s an unpreposessing thing at this point, shorter than he is. He gives it water. It gives him food. (And the experienced visitor to the Liaden Universe does not discount it as mere coincidence that, after eating the seed pod it drops, he promptly falls into a hibernation that keeps him until his rescue arrives.) Speaking of the seed pod, though, it’s larger than I expected: “fist-sized”, it says, and I’d always pictured them as smaller. Perhaps they are, usually.

Reading this chapter four days after “Dragon Tide” means that the dream Jela has in the Tree’s shadow is considerably less mysterious than it might otherwise have been.

This chapter begins and ends with two interestingly-written moments: at the beginning, there’s the description of Jela’s emotion when he discovers that there is, after all, a survivor; at the end, the suspenseful wait to find out whether the approaching flyer is friend or foe, which is resolved when Jela recognises the man who jumps out — and completely dispelled when the man loses his footing and swears.

Crystal Soldier – Chapter 2

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On the ground, Star 475A
Mission time: 9 planet days and counting

In which Jela conceives an interest in dendrology.

What Jela has discovered is the Trees, or what’s left of them.

While he’s following their trail, hoping to find one that’s still alive, we get some exposition about why he thinks they might be worth finding, along with a hint that although this may be a science fiction universe, it contains things that might well be indistinguishable from magic; and when his mind wanders, some more exposition about his own status as a batch-produced, gene-selected soldier. We also get the first mention of the more recent Strain, of whom we will be hearing more later, whose fashion is to wear their Batch tattoos on their faces instead of on their arms. (The voice of memory says, “On the right – insignia of born-to Troop…”)

Crystal Soldier – Chapter 1

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On the ground, Star 475A
Mission time: 3.5 planet days and counting

In which M. Jela Granthor’s Guard goes for a walk.

Here, for a change, we are introduced to a character who will be back again tomorrow: M. Jela Granthor’s Guard, Generalist, who is stuck on a desolated planet after his ship was holed in a space battle, and “being a generalist — and an M” has decided that while he’s waiting for rescue he might as well do some exploring.

It is not explained precisely what a generalist is, although one gets the idea that it’s whatever is the opposite of a specialist. (The idea of a Generalist goes at least as far back as a short story titled “The Solution” that Steve Miller wrote in the days before he and Sharon Lee began collaborating.)

Come to that, it’s not explained in this chapter what any of the rest of it means. From memory, “Jela” is his personal name, and “M.” is his Strain (“like R. Daneel Olivaw”, was the thought that flitted through my head). I don’t recall precisely about “Granthor’s Guard”, whether it was his first posting or is his current posting or what, but I expect that will be cleared up sooner or later.

What is explained is a lot of backstory about the sheriekas and the present state of the galaxy, which will no doubt be important going forward.

The chapter ends with Jela making a Discovery. I am nobly resisting the urge to peek at the next chapter and see what the discovery is. (Admittedly, this would be more noble if I weren’t pretty sure I remember what it is from the first time I read this.)

Necessary Evils

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In which Zanith ven’Albren receives the fruits of his labours.

I remember being somewhat confused the first time I read “Necessary Evils”. It was after I’d read the Agent of Change sequence, but before I read any of the early prequel novels, so I had no context in which to understand this society. Were these people Liadens? There were some recognisable similarities, and yet so many differences. A lot of things fell into place when I got around to reading the Crystal duology.

I’ve read it three times now, and I’m still not sure what the title’s referring to.

Sticky

Now in Progress: Phase 1 – The Distant Past (“Dragon Tide” through Trade Secret)

Phase 2 – The Less-Distant Past (“Naratha’s Shadow” through Mouse and Dragon)
will be scheduled after I find out how many chapters long Trade Secret is
will commence on Saturday, 14 December 2013

Schedule | FAQ

Dragon Tide

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In which the ancestor of a major recurring character goes a-voyaging.

“Dragon Tide” is definitely a prequel, I reckon, in nature and not just by accident of birth. It’s chronologically the earliest story of the Liaden Universe, but it’s not a good one to read first.

For one thing, if you expect the first story of a series to give an idea of what the series will be like, this story doesn’t do that. It’s told in an atypical mode, features a cast of characters we’ll never see again, and a setting that will be revisited only once, briefly, and then much changed.

For another thing, if you don’t know what’s coming after this, you’re missing out on part of the story, the way that in places it parallels or foreshadows events yet to come. I don’t know what I’d have made of this story if I’d come to it cold.

(I wonder if anyone ever has come to it cold? Some of the short stories debuted in general anthologies, but this one was a chapbook original; I don’t think it’s ever appeared in a book that wasn’t being pitched specifically at readers who were already Liaden fans.)

Starting tomorrow

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The Liaden Universe Re-Read will begin tomorrow, on Thursday, July 18.

Phase 1 Schedule

  • 18/7 – “Dragon Tide”
  • 19/7 – “Necessary Evils”
  • 20/7 – Crystal Soldier
  • 21/8 – Crystal Dragon
  • 27/9 – “Eleutherios”
  • 28/9 – “Where the Goddess Sends”
  • 29/9 – “A Spell for the Lost”
  • 30/9 – “The Wine of Memory”
  • 1/10 – Balance of Trade
  • 10/11 – Trade Secret

Please feel free to post a comment introducing yourself. Who are you? How did you come to the Liaden Universe? Have you read all the stories before, or will some of them be new to you?

Starting in one week

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The Liaden Universe Re-Read will begin next week, on Thursday, July 18.

The Schedule is divided into six Phases, and is expected to take approximately two years. (By which time, there may be new Liaden novels to read…)

Phase 1 Schedule

  • 18/7 – “Dragon Tide”
  • 19/7 – “Necessary Evils”
  • 20/7 – Crystal Soldier
  • 21/8 – Crystal Dragon
  • 27/9 – “Eleutherios”
  • 28/9 – “Where the Goddess Sends”
  • 29/9 – “A Spell for the Lost”
  • 30/9 – “The Wine of Memory”
  • 1/10 – Balance of Trade
  • 10/11 – Trade Secret

Availability

The novels in Phase 1 are Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Balance of Trade, and Trade Secret.

Trade Secret is due to be released on November 5 in print and ebook.

The remaining three novels are all currently in print in a Baen collected edition titled The Crystal Variation, which is also available as an e-book.

(Baen also offers the old separate e-book editions of Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, and Balance of Trade.)

The short stories in Phase 1 are “Dragon Tide”, “Necessary Evils”, “Eleutherios”, “Where the Goddess Sends”, “A Spell for the Lost”, and “The Wine of Memory”.

“Eleutherios” may be read (free) on Baen’s website, or in the (also free) Free Stories 2013 e-book.

If you have some or all of the Adventures in the Liaden Universe® chapbooks put out by SRM Publisher, “Dragon Tide” is in #13 (Dragon Tide), “Necessary Evils” is in #11 (Necessary Evils), “Where the Goddess Sends” and “A Spell for the Lost” are in #2 (Fellow Travelers), and “The Wine of Memory” is in #4 (Certain Symmetry).

The chapbooks are out of print now, but they’re all available in e-book form via Pinbeam Books, whose Adventures in the Liaden Universe® page is also a convenient reference for which story is where.

Baen offers in e-book form the Liaden Unibus I and Liaden Unibus II, which collect #1-6 (including “Where the Goddess Sends”, “A Spell for the Lost”, and “The Wine of Memory”) and #7-12 (including “Necessary Evils”) respectively. If you don’t have any of the chapbooks already, these may be a more efficient option than obtaining individual issues.

#13 is included in the Baen e-book The Tomorrow Log and Dragon Tide, so that’s another way “Dragon Tide” can be obtained.

Baen is also working on updated collections, to be available in print and e-book form. A Liaden Universe Constellation, Volume One, out now, includes “Where the Goddess Sends”, “A Spell for the Lost”, and “The Wine of Memory”, among others. Volume Two, which will include “Necessary Evils” and “Dragon Tide”, isn’t due until next year, though.

For searching out second-hand print editions, the authors’ web site recommends Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore, The Missing Volume, and White Unicorn Books.

Still here

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I don’t have anything new to say this week, but I’ve managed to post every week since the shutters went up, so I’m not going to let that stop me.

Phase 1 is still scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 18.

I’ll repost the details of what’s in Phase 1 and where the stories can be found next week. The first volume of A Liaden Universe Constellation will be out by then. (Not that that’s going to be an enormous help with Phase 1, because the stories are being collected in publication instead of chronological order.)