Liaden universe
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The Liaden Universe is the setting for an ongoing series of science fiction stories written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
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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. 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 2005.
Overview
The series is set in what appears to be the far future. There is a reference to the planet named "Terra" not being what we know as the planet "Earth". The human race is divided into three major sub-races: Terran, Liaden and Yxtrang.
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 some centuries earlier. It features Jethri Gobelyn, a young Terran trader who is adopted by a Liaden Master Trader to the scandal of almost 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 Jela. There is a sequel, Crystal Dragon, which is currently in production: publication is expected in February 2006.
Books in the series
All books and stories are available in electronic form from Embiid Publishing (http://www.embiid.net/). The novels have been published by Meisha Merlin (http://www.meishamerlin.com/), who have also anthologised the earlier novels, and re-issued by Ace Publishing (http://us.penguingroup.com/).
Novels
The "Agent of Change" sequence (sorted by internal chronology, not publication date):
- Local Custom (2002, ISBN 0-441-00911-5)
- Scout's Progress (2002, ISBN 0-441-00927-1)
- Conflict of Honors (1988, ISBN 0-441-00964-6)
- Agent of Change (1988, ISBN 0-441-00991-3)
- Carpe Diem (1989, ISBN 0-441-01022-9)
- Plan B (1999, ISBN 0-441-01053-9)
- I Dare (2002, ISBN 0-441-01085-7)
Further books:
- Balance of Trade (2004, ISBN 1-59222-020-7, winner of the Hal Clement Award for best Young Adult Science Fiction novel of 2004)
- The Great Migration Duology
- Crystal Soldier (February 2005, ISBN 1-59222-083-5)
- Crystal Dragon (scheduled for 2006)
Anthologies
- Partners in Necessity (2000, ISBN 1-892065-01-0 trade paperback)
- Contains Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, and Carpe Diem
- Pilots Choice (2001, ISBN 1-892065-02-9 trade paperback)
- Contains Local Custom and Scout's Progress
Short Stories
These also include stories about Lute and Moonhawk, the earlier incarnations of two major characters in the books.
- To Cut An Edge - Val Con meets Edger
- A Day at the Races - Shan and Val Con outrage Aunt Kareen
- A Matter of Dreams
- Moonphase - the 55th tale of Lute and Moonhawk
- Where the Goddess Sends - the first tale of Lute and Moonhawk
- A Spell for the Lost - the second tale of Lute and Moonhawk
- Balance of Trade (expanded for the novel)
- A Choice of Weapons - Daav has a bad time at a party
- Pilot of Korval - Daav and Er Thom must take up their responsibilities
- Breath's Duty - Daav must take up a painful task
- Naratha's Shadow - a Scout must control an ancient artefact
- Changeling - How Ren Zel became a pilot and what befell him thereafter
- The Wine of Memory - Lute and Moonhawk must save one of his oldest friends
- Certain Symmetry - Pat Rin must execute a friend's will — at considerable risk to himself
- Phoenix
- Veil of the Dancer
- Sweet Waters
- Heirloom - Pat Rin must play a perfect game — without rules
- This House
- The King of the Cats (non-canon, cross-over with other stories by Steve Miller)
These are available from SRM, Publisher (http://www.korval.com/) in chapbooks. Most are also available from Embiid. The Liaden chapbooks are:
- Two Tales of Korval: To Cut An Edge, A Day at the Races
- Fellow Travellers: Moonphase, Where the Goddess Sends, A Spell for the Lost
- Duty Bound: Pilot of Korval, Breath's Duty
- Certain Symmetry: Certain Symmetry, The Wine of Memory
- Changeling: Changeling
- Trading in Futures: Balance of Trade (the short story), A Choice of Weapons
- Loose Cannon: A Matter of Dreams, Phoenix
- Shadows and Shades: Heirloom, Naratha's Shadow
- Quiet Knives: Veil of the Dancer, Quiet Knives
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". Liaden (singular and plural are the same) 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.
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 around members of Clan Korval, made up of the yos'Phelium and yos'Galan lines. Scouts also appear often.
- Val Con yos'Phelium - ex-Scout
- Miri Robertson - ex-mercenary, wife to Val Con
- Shan yos'Galan - Master Trader, foster-brother to Val Con (current incarnation of Lute)
- Priscilla Delacroix y Mendoza - wife to Shan (current incarnation of Moonhawk)
- Daav yos'Phelium - Scout, father to Val Con
- Aelliana Caylon - wife to Daav, mother to Val Con
- Er Thom yos'Galan - Master Trader, father to Shan
- Anne Davis - wife to Er Thom, mother to Shan
- Pat Rin yos'Phelium - cousin to Val Con
- Kareen yos'Phelium - sister to Daav, mother to Pat Rin, expert on "proper conduct"
- Anthora yos'Galan - sister to Shan, with preternatural abilities
- Ren Zel dea'Judan - husband to Anthora
- Nova yos'Galan - sister to Anthora and Val Con
Terran
Home planet known as "Terra". However as remarked above, there is a brief reference to the possibility that this planet is not our planet Earth but possibly the fourth of that name, previous planets having been abandoned. 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.
... names to follow
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. It is not known whether they can interbreed with Liaden or Terrans: the likely lifespan of such offspring is short, not for merely biological reasons.
- Nelirikk - ex-Explorer (equivalent to Scout), subsequently sworn to Line yos'Phelium, becomes Miri's bodyguard; aka "Beautiful"
Clutch Turtles
These non-humans are even larger than Yxtrang and very long-lived; they appear much like turtles walking upright, hence the name. Their names are correspondingly long: Edger's full name apparently takes some hours to recite. They are usually slow to act but are very dangerous when angered.
Those encountered in the story thus far make up a "market research" team on behalf of their clan, who manufacture knives of a very particular sort.
- Edger
- Sheather
- Watcher
- Selector
- Handler
Cats
There are many cats which appear in the stories, usually by name, often taking an active part in the proceedings.
Trees
An unusual participant in proceedings is Jelaza Kazone (possible translation "Jela's Promise") and the seedlings thereof (of which only one has thus far appeared in narrative). This very large tree of unknown species lives in the grounds of Clan Korval's primary residence 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.
Concepts
Melant'i
... more detail to follow
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).
External links
- Official site (http://www.korval.com/liad.htm) maintained by the Authors
- Series listing (http://www.scifan.com/series/series.asp?SR_seriesid=677) on SciFan
- Embiid Publishing (http://www.embiid.net/)