Liaden convert

[celticdragonfly]

Okay, I think I'm a Liaden convert.

I'd heard about this series many times, mostly from Bujold listees, but hadn't read it. At cons, I would see bookdealers with confusing piles of "chapbooks" and various books, and never could figure out where to start. So a while back another listee sent me a package of the first two books to start with. Then he emailed me to wait, the Liaden list wanted to see what a new reader's reaction would be to start with this other, newly-published book first. Would I be willing? I said sure, did they want me to? And emailed back a few times, and never heard.

So finally when looking for reading to take to Conestoga, not wanting to take a library book or something fragile that was loaned to me, I said to heck with it and opened the package. By this time I'd forgotten which order I was supposed to read them in, and just started with Conflicts of Honor. When I came home and dug out the Liaden webpage I found out oops, I should have started with Agent of Change. I don't think it hurt anything so, and probably just as well. Conflicts of Honor grabbed me right away. When I got to Agent of Change, the beginning of it did NOT grab me, I didn't like it, but I stuck with it a little longer and got caught up. I still like Conflicts of Honor better.

So I did the best I could to navigate the Liaden webpage and figure out what to do next. They have titles listed under various publishers, and a list of order to read - except several titles aren't on it, I guess maybe they're all multi-book reprints? And I'm still quite confused by the chapbook thing.

Anyway, the library is holding for me Partners in Necessity - which I think is the two I already read PLUS the next one - and Pilot's Choice, which is apparently two prequel books. I'm still waiting for them to get Plan B on hold. Then I'll figure out where to go next.

Did I mention that the library's new online catalog webpages are back UP? Now that they actually have it up and running, I find I approve of the change. It isn't radically different from the old system, a bit easier to use, and has some nice new options. So good. (None of this helps me not having a car today, but perhaps after all today's craziness is over, we can go by there in the evening.)

I have handed Agent of Change over to selenite, although he's making noises about finishing those library books I got him first. I have 2 1/2 unread library books myself, but we'll see if I get to those or not.

Comments

[sraun]

Mea saurus, mea sauraus, mea maxima saurus. I got confused, and this fell through the cracks.

Starting with either Conflict of Honor or Agent of Change is good. Then go to Carpe Diem. From there, either go to Pilot's Choice (or pick up Local Custom and Scout's Progress); or Plan B followed by I Dare. Then go back and read the branch you didn't already.

After that, you have several options - Balance of Trade can be read at any time. Crystal Soldier is the first half of the story of the founding of Liad and Clan Korval - it's the story of Cantra and Jela, Crystal Dragon is due out next spring, and is the second half of their story. The first five (out of ten) chapbooks are being released this summer as the
Liaden Universe® Companion, Volume One - it'll be available in either trade-paper or hard-cover. I don't recall there being any reason to read any of these before or after any others.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

I don't really understand what chapbooks ARE, care to elucidate?

[kd5mdk.livejournal.com]

I gather they are semi-independently published short stories set in the Liaden universe.

[sraun]

Take an appropriate quantity of wordage (two longish short stories is about right). Print them booklet style on landscape 8.5x11 paper. Fold in half to 8.5x5.5, make a nifty cover, staple on the fold. They're about 15-25 sheets of paper total. It's a relatively inexpensive way for an author to keep short stories in print.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Okay, so does it not matter what order to read the chapbooks in? Seems there must be some sense to it, or I'd be reading about characters that hadn't been introduced yet?

I've now finished Carpe Diem. Still don't care for Val Con all that much, but interested enough to read. I'm now reading Local Custom, I think it is, I have it in a 2 book combo from the library. Annoyed at Anne Davis so far - all that training in linguistics and you don't know to establish what the background is to things? No "this is what so and so would mean to me - what does it mean to you?" Oughta be standard procedure.

Mind you, I'm still reading.

[sraun]

You don't want to read the short story "Lord of the Dance" (from With Stars Underfoot, the Winter 2004 chapbook) until after I Dare. If you read all the chapbooks after all the novels, I can't think of anyone that you haven't already met, and I can't think of anything that happens in chapbooks that is critical to know for a novel.

Local Custom is the novel I like the least. Although in my case it was Er Thom who was driving me crazy - he's a Master Trader, one of the attributes of the class apppears to be dealing with and understanding other cultures. So why didn't he think to apply it to Anne? It is something of a 'stupid' plot - where otherwise intelligent people suddenly stop thinking.