author : Sharon Lee

A superior anthology about the people of "Low Port", the people living on the edge of society, for whatever reason. The stories range from mostly high-tech space stations, via unspecified weirdness, to mediaevaloid fantasy, and they are uniformly good, thoughtful, and touching. Despite being about an underclass living in pretty bleak circumstances, they are pretty uniformly optimistic and life-affirming, too (and not in a gooey, sentimental way, either).

Contents

• Eric Witchey. Voyeur. 2002

• John Teehan. Digger Don't Take No Requests. 2002

• Holly Phillips. The Gate Between Hope and Glory. 2002

• eluki bes shahar. Riis Run. 2002

• Lawrence M. Schoen. Bidding the Walrus. 2002

• Laura J. Underwood. The Gift. 2002

• L. E. Modesitt Jr. The Dock to Heaven. 2002

• Ru Emerson. Find a Pin. 2002

• Alan Smale. Sailing to the Temple. 2002

• Mark W. Tiedemann. The Pilgrim Trade. 2002

• Patrice Sarath. More to Glory. 2002

• Sharon Lee. Gonna Boogie with Granny Time. 2002

• Chris Szego. Angel's Kitchen. 2002

• Edward McKeown. Lair of the Lesbian Love Goddess. 2002

• Nathan Archer. Contraband. 2002

• Lee Martindale. Spinacre's War. 2002

• Jody Lynn Nye. Bottom of the Food Chain. 2002

• Joe Murphy. Zappa for Bardog. 2002

• Paul E. Martens. The Times She Went Away. 2002

• Douglas Smith. Scream Angel. 2002

Kate Archer left her home in Archers Beach after a tragedy, and vowed never to return. Her exile is slowly killing her. But when she receives a letter from her grandmother and realises something has gone very wrong, she is forced to return. She takes up the reins of her old life reluctantly, but has she left it too late?

This is a great non-urban fantasy, with a good sense of place on the Maine coast, and a rich carnival setting, cleverly mixing the mundane workplace events with an exotic placing. Kate is a typical Lee protagonist: badly damaged, but competent and resourceful. We gradually learn about Kate's background, and each new revelation brings hidden depths and more complications. There's a conclusion, but the ending feels somewhat rushed, and several plot threads are left dangling (including bad guys who fail to get their comeuppance, an early obligation never repaid, and a late unprecedented offer of help never taken up), hinting at the possibility of a sequel.

After the events of Carousel Tides, Kate Archer has now accepted her role as Guardian of the Land around her piece of Maine coast, but certain sea people are not happy with her growing relationship with Borgan, the Guardian of the Sea. And she has to balance that role with her more mundane life as carousel owner (with a new giant fibreglass cockerel), home owner, and townsperson. And that life is getting more complicated, as the town moves to lengthen the carnival season.

The plot advances in certain ways, as Kate learns the extent and possibilities of her magic, and reconnects with her mother, but this feels very much like the middle book of a trilogy, mainly setting things up for what is presumably the big denouement in the next book.

In the final book of the trilogy, Kate Archer has to cope with adversaries mundane, and trenvay, and the freed souls from her carousel, and a musician courting her mother. Yet all that pales to insignificance if the Wise who control the worlds, and bound the souls into carousel, were to learn they are free…

We have magical cats, and duplicitous sea demons, and real-estate developers, and neighbouring Guardians. The whole trilogy takes place over one short summer season, and so Kate is still plausibly learning her craft while running the carousel and negotiating town politics. There are lots of previous and new plot elements, but they all get resolved neatly at the end. Except for the giant fibreglass cockerel.

Jerel Telmon seems a typical teenager, her time consumed by her engineering studies, her part time delivery job, and her friends, but she isn't. She is being raised by her uncle, because her parents were killed defeating the Oligarchy in a galaxy-spanning civil war, and now old enemies are trying to kidnap her to start the war all over again. She finds her life turned upside down, as she and her uncle go on the run, barely one step ahead of the bad guys. But she's been well trained by that uncle...

This is a new series from the Lee and Miller stable, and is a good page turner. It has a "young adult" feel, as it is narrated from the point of view of 15-year-old Jerel, who is frightened, bewildered, and finally angry at what's happening to her. There are some great alien characters, and Lee and Miller's trademark emphasis on politeness and ritual. It is also clearly the first in a series: not only does the cover say "Book One", but it doesn't end, so much as stop, on a cliffhanger, like a Saturday morning adventure show. But it's a rather longer wait than until next Saturday to get the next instalment...

It’s not Liaden, but it’s still good.

Gem has been brought up a thief, after having been sold from his Ship as a young boy. Now his Ship wants him back, believing him to be the saviour Captain foretold in the Log, and has sent Corbinye to seek him out and return him. But he is not impressed, and refuses to go with her. Meanwhile, the powerful Vornet want him to steal an item for them; he refuses this commission, too. But both Cobinye and the Vornet are persistent, and soon Gem finds himself being blackmailed into the theft, and in danger of his life. And once he has stolen the artefact, life gets even more complicated.

After a slightly slow start, this has all the breathless pacing and action, complex characters, and rich background, that one expects from a Lee and Miller tale. There is a satisfying conclusion to the story, but obviously plenty of room for more tales set in this universe – I’m looking forward to them.

How Daav and Aellianna first met is told in Scout's Progress. It ends with Aellianna injured, but escaped from her abusive family. Or has she? The course of true love never did run smooth, and here Aellianna discovers to her dismay that her family, having realised her worth, want her back, or at least want Korval to pay outrageously for her. And the Tree is up to its tricks, too.

This was always going to be a traumatic read, given we know the ending (a problem with prequels). But we get to find out more about Daav and Aellianna first.

So, now all the gaps are filled (well, except for some new hints about the back story of this story), can we now move forward?

WARNING: spoilers for Carpe Diem

Well, it was a long wait for a publisher to finally agree to continue with the Liaden books, but it was worth it. Fortunately, the style of cliff-hanger Miller & Lee leave at the end of their books is, "well, that's all that done -- now for the next thing that's grown out of it...", so there is enough resolution not to leave the reader feeling cheated, just panting for more. (That's just as true of Plan B as of their earlier books.)

At the end of Carpe Diem, Val Con and Miri have just escaped from the Interdicted backwater world of Vandar, sending a cryptic message to Clan Korval to meet them on Miri's home world. Everyone, friend and foe, has to work quite hard to discover that means Lytaxin -- but there's a problem: the dreaded Yxtrang have decided to invade. Poor Yxtrang...

Like Carpe Diem, Plan B has lots of plot threads running through it, as we watch various factions -- Clan Korval, Clutch Turtles, Department of Interior -- try to catch up with Val Con and Miri. But the majority of the plot revolves around that trouble-prone pair, as they help Miri's newly discovered Clan fight off an invasion, and discover surprising new allies.

I do love the way the action is portrayed. Sometimes the details of a fight are given, but sometimes just the events leading up to it and the aftermath are shown, which is very effective. Also, many of the non-central threads are shown as a few 'snapshots' of incidents. This makes for a lean, fast moving, but suitably complex plot -- so refreshing amidst so many ponderous doorstop novels with every plotline fleshed out in such excruciating detail it leaves the reader begging for less. The characters here are as engaging as ever (but I want more turtles!), and we meet many old friends in the sub-plots. Great fun. Next?

And here we have the sequel to Plan B, as Korval and the Department of the Interior launch full out war against one another. The DoI have a cunning three-pronged plan to smash Korval: to recapture and reprogram their reluctant Agent of Change, Val Con; to capture woolly-headed Anthora and strip her of her dramliz powers; to subvert the wastrel Pat Rin yos'Phelium. So. Obviously they don't stand a chance.

Exciting, breathless, non-stop action, cutting between the three major subplots, makes this another of the glorious roller-coaster rides we've come to expect of the Liaden tales. We see how all our favorite characters fare, and get the introduction of a major new character -- Pat Rin -- seen only fleetingly in previous tales. And there are turtles. Yay!

Again, all the main plot threads are neatly tied up at the end, giving a satisfying conclusion, but with just enough left dangling to allow a sequel. Don't start reading the series with this one, however -- read the others first, or you will be totally lost!

The Bedel live underground on Surebleak, a close kompani of kin, surviving mostly by stealing from The Others. But a new kompani, Korval, has arrived, in conflict with the Department of the Interior. Their plans for Surebleak unknowingly threaten the Bedel’s homestead. When Kezzi, a young Bedel, meets Syl Vor, Nova yos’Galan’s son, things will be changed for both.

This is a further tale in the Korval-on-Surebleak saga, as seen through the eyes of children. One of the things I like about this series is how we see well-known people from new perspectives: here we see Nova as mother through her son’s (very Liaden) eyes, and as a Surebleak Boss, rather than as the remote and austere nadelm in earlier books.

I found the tale rather slight and fragmented, taking a long time to get going, being more dance of (exquisite) manners than a major plot advancement. But it is still an interesting and absorbing story of culture clash.

Still no turtles, though.

Clan Korval, exiled to Surebleak, may think that they have beaten the Department of the Interior. However, the Department is still active, and plotting against Korval.

This story is fragmented, something I have complained about before. However, here it seems to work, as things keep moving, and lots of plot threads intertwine. Korval's strengths here help them: the ability to spot talent, and the rescuing of strays from other clans who most would ignore. This breeds fierce loyalty, something the Department can only compel, not earn.

Do not start the series here. Complexity has built up; small events have significance only in the wider context of the series; you are expected to know the backgrounds of most of the characters. But if you are a devotee, and have read all til now, this new instalment will not disappoint (despite the lack of turtles).

The Korval saga continues. The clan is now established on Surebleak, but Korval have always made their money, and established their influence, through trade. They need to re-establish their trading network, but many in the universe believe them to be dangerous pirates after their pummelling of the Liaden homeworld, justified though it was. And the pummelled Department of the Interior are reckless in their attempts to destroy Korval.

This book comprises one major and two minor threads. First, Dutiful Passage, captained by Priscilla Mendoza, is trying to re-establish trading partnerships through its Master Trader Shan yos’Galan, assisted by his apprentice and heir Padi yos’Galan. But Padi was badly damaged by the events surrounding in Korval’s relocation, and her solution to that damage could threaten the success of their mission, and even their very survival. Second, we continue the tale of Daav yos’Phelium and Allienna Caylon’s recovery, as supervised by the mysterious Uncle: how can they trust that their new selves really are themselves? Third, we have Tolly Jones and Hazenthull Explorer’s mission with the AI pilot Tocohl: can Tolly undo the damage inflicted on Admiral Bunter by Theo Waitley, and preserve his own freedom in the process?

These three plot strands have no overlap in this volume, but they advance the overall plot in various interesting directions, and I’m sure things will all come together at some stage. We get to see Liaden manners, and Explorer manners (I particularly loved Haz’s response to Tolly’s attempt to save her from following him), and AI manners, and artificial persons, and have an interesting range of examples of what it means to have personal choice, and to have the opportunities for choice removed.

This is another satisfying episode in the Korval saga. But like the previous book, this is not a good place to start. Go back to the beginning, start there, and you will be prepared for all the complexities here.

The Korval saga continues, here from Theo Waitley’s point of view. She and her crew, including her bonded illegal AI ship Bechimo, the equally illegal AI comm officer Joyita, and the Norbear ambassador, have taken refuge in “safe space”. But it is not as safe as Bechimo thinks: ships are coming through from the Old Universe. When a badly damaged warship appears, Theo decides to rescue the remaining crew: two apparent Yxtrang, and their cat.

Very little happens in this book, yet I enjoyed it immensely, like most of the Liaden tales. The main thread, Theo and the Yxtrang, is a highly civilised clash of cultures, and it will clearly have great consequences at some point. The sub-thread, of an exiled Yxtrang ambassador searching for something, is also clearly leading up to big changes. But none of those events happen here, so we will have to wait for a subsequent book. But there’s nothing wrong with wanting yet another Liaden book.

We are by now more than hip deep in the tale of Clan Korval on Surebleak, and no “story so far” is going to be able to set the scene. Suffice it to say, this book ties up many, but by no means all, of the threads from Alliance of Equals, The Gathering Edge, and earlier, whilst starting some new threads of its own to carry on the tale (what about the small Tree!?).

It is yet another great entry in the series, but do start from the beginning, or you will be completely lost.

The Department of the Interior launches attacks on Korval from all sides. The kompani’s ship has returned. The Clutch Turtles discover Surebleak’s core is unstable. TerraTrade are dubious about Surebleak port’s upgrade application. And Lady yo’Lanna asks Val Con to rent her a house on Surebleak. Will Korval and Surebleak survive as all these disasters pile up at once?

Recent books have been setting up some of these events, or tying up a few lose ends. Now everything is happening at once. But Korval is resourceful. And lucky. And the Tree likes Emissary Twelve.

So, much is resolved. But a few new threads are set running for the next book, too.

Master Trader Shan yos’Galan and his daughter and apprentice Padi need to open up new trade routes for Clan Korval. But Shan’s powers are badly damaged, and Padi resents her new powers. However, Trade is in their blood.

Another great entry in the series. I had a bit of difficulty at the start, remembering what had happened to Shan and Padi several books and five years reading time ago (there are so many parallel stories in action), but there is enough backstory, eventually, that my memory was sufficiently jogged. This is mostly set on Dutiful Passage, with a few other smaller threads.

Recently I seem to have been saying, much is resolved, but there are a few new threads. Here, less is resolved, and a whole new massive set of threads appear, promising many more wonderful Liaden tales.

Start at the beginning: you have a wonderful journey ahead of you.

Contents

• Chimera. 2015

A young Terran on Surebleak finds that not only Liadens can be Healers.

• Friend of a Friend. 2016

A Department of the Interior agent tries to bully Villy at Ms Audrey's.

Contents

• Wise Child. 2016

How mentor Tolly freed Disian, and himself

• Street Cred. 2017

Two Liadens take out a contract for lethal Balance against Delm Korval on Surebleak

Contents

• Due Diligence. 2017

Lady Chi yos'Phelium desperately needs an heir who is a pilot; pilot Fer Gun pen'Uldra is in the right place at the right time.

Contents

• Degrees of Separation. 2018

How Don Eyr and Serana Benoit met, and how they founded their Lowport school; a tale of baking, politics, and melant'i

Contents

• Shout of Honor. 2019

Yxtrang Ambassador Vepal gets mixed up in a secret mercenary plot to raid a planet

This is the first in the duology describing the origin of the Liaden universe: how the legendary figures of Cantra yos'Phelium and Jela met, and, of course, the origin of the Tree.

This is everything one would expect of a Liaden universe book: fun characters, breathless action, convoluted plots, and weird trees. I don't usually like prequels, because they are often a let down to the story one has imagined for oneself. But this doesn't suffer the typical prequel problem of being a historyless beginning: this story itself is embedded in its own deep history, with its own fascinating backstory that has been lost by later tales. This is what a prequel should be: illuminating the legendary characters, adding depth and interest, and making their legendary status well deserved. At the end the authors say they waited years before writing this to make sure they were advanced enough in their art to do the story justice: I'm glad they did -- it was well worth the wait.

This second in the duology describing the origin of the Liaden universe carries on the slam-bam action and great characterisation of the first. We see more of Cantra and Jela, and their growing relationship. We see the beginnings of the dramliz. We see more of the machinations of the Tree. And we see the signing of the contract between the Captain and the people of Liad.

This is a really great prequel. Loads of little details, like the first relationship of Korval with the dea'Gauss clan, all goes to build up the feeling that this is a real history, not a simple retcon. The thing that is most amazing to me is the plausibility of the origin of the Yxtrang name. Read the two Crystal books together, but read them after the other Liaden books, to enjoy all the revelations.

Jethri, just 17, is the youngest crew member on the family's trading ship. Liked by the rest of the crew, but inexplicably despised by his mother the Captain, he keeps his head down, and works hard. Nevertheless, his mother decides to apprentice him on another family ship, with a crew he hates. Horrified, he doesn't know what to do. But a chance good deed to a Liaden finds himself apprenticed instead into a strange family of traders. There Liaden politics, and dark family secrets, threaten both himself, and his old family.

This is a fun rites of passage story, with a young adult protagonist, unlike the more mature characters of the other, later, Liaden Universe tales. Jethri is likable: good without being prigish, vulnerable without being a wimp. The Liaden culture is as interesting as ever, and we get to learn more about it through Jethri's younger eyes. There is closure to the tale, room, but not necessity, for a sequel. I hope there is one.

I started reading Trade Secret, sequel to Balance of Trade, and realised I could remember essentially nothing of the former. Not surprising, maybe: I read it exactly 10 years ago, since when (according to my database) I have read and reviewed another 480 fiction books (and 185 non-fiction, if anyone is counting). So I grabbed Balance of Trade back off the shelf, and read it again, and enjoyed it again.

Trade Secret takes up the story without pause. Jethri, now a qualified Trader, continues to makes friend and enemies, as do his old family. The dark secret underlying Jethri’s ancestry, and the reason his mother seems to hate him, is revealed. And there is lots of to-ing and fro-ing, as Jethri tries to recover some stolen property, with the help of a Scout.

I didn’t like this as much as the previous one. It’s still a good story, fleshing out the Liaden universe, with Jethri gaining interesting skills (oh, surprise, he’s now a pilot), but it suffers from fragmentation, because of the several points of view. This makes the pace rather slow, as several different plots merge and mesh and converge, and I don’t find the other characters as interesting.

This feels somewhat like the slow middle movement of a trilogy, manoeuvring the plot ready for the finale in book three. Maybe in another 10 years Lee and Miller will write the next Jethri book, and I’ll review it? Check back then, and see!

At Albacon '91, on a table in the Dealers' Room, I saw three books by a pair of authors I'd not heard of before; the books appeared to be in a series. On browsing, they looked as if they might be fairly interesting, but not wanting to risk shelling out for all three, I determined which was the first (not an easy task -- I had to examine copyright dates), bought it, and started reading. Within about three chapters, I put it down, went back to the Dealers' Room, and bought the other two.

Val Con yos'Phelium is a spy dodging enemies from his last mission; Miri Robertson is an ex-mercenary and ex-bodyguard, dodging enemies of her ex-boss. They dodge right into one another, save each others lives a few times, and continue dodging bullets and enemies, whilst finding old friends in the form of Val Con's slow-talking turtle-brothers.

Grand rip-roaring space opera of the best kind -- lots of action, great aliens, lots of action, deliciously competent heroes, and (did I mention it before?) lots of action. Several coincidences drive the plot, but that's okay; there's enough characterisation, a splash of darkness, and some neat humour, to raise this well above the merely generic.

Priscilla Mendoza has been drifting since being outcast from her world: earning her living on spaceships, slowly gaining promotions, studying in any spare time to be a pilot. Then it looks like her luck has finally run out on the trade ship Daxflan: as Cargo Master, she becomes suspicious of the legality of their cargo, and is unceremoniously dumped on a backwater planet. But in reality, her luck is just beginning, for she signs on the Liaden ship Dutiful Passage, under Captain Shan yos'Galan, who has his own reasons for wanting revenge on the Daxflan.

Set in the same universe as Agent of Change, we discover more about Liaden courtesy, and Balance. No turtles this time, unfortunately, but lots of action, conflicts, cultures, empathy Healing, trading, action, polite insults, and languages.

WARNING: spoilers for Agent of Change and Conflict of Honors

At the end of Agent of Chaos, we left Van Con yos'Phelium and Miri Robertson stranded on an Interdicted world, Val Con only just freed from the tyranny of his agent's Loop implant. They must now survive on this backwater planet, Vandar, until they are discovered. And lots of people want to discover them: Shan yos'Galan must find his brother Van Con, head of his Clan Korval, otherwise he cannot life-mate to Priscilla; the sinister Liaden Department of the Interior want their Agent back, dead or alive; the crime cartel of the Juntavas just want Miri, dead. Everything and everybody is stirred up against everybody else, and by the end, Clan Korval have to employ their Plan B, just to survive.

The Clutch Turtles reappear, briefly, and are great fun. Lots of action again, and a lot more use of psi-powers. The Val Con/Miri part of the plot does have a partial resolution, but there is obviously meant to be a sequel.

The Liaden universe novels are rich with hinted-at backstory. Here, in this first collection of short stories, many of those hints are told in detail, enriching the universe and adding hints of their own backstories. Some characters are old friends, some are new; all are fascinating. It probably helps if you have read the novels, as that gives some of the events even more significance, such as Pat Rin and the rug. I’m looking forward to the second volume next year.

Contents

• To cut an edge. 1995

Val Con and Edger first meet.

• A day at the races. 1995

Val Con helps Shan in a skimmer race.

• Where the goddess sends. 1998

Moonhawk meets Lute and his magic bag of tricks.

• A spell for the lost. 1998

Moonhawk and Lute recover a lost daughter.

• Moonphase. 1998

Priscilla is cast out of the Circle.

• Pilot of Korval. 1999

Er Thom and Daav are new pilots.

• Breath's duty. 1999

Daav leaves Delgado; Clonak and Shadia are marooned on a stricken ship.

• The wine of memory. 2000

Moonhawk and Lute help Veverain keep the memory of her dead husband.

• Certain symmetry. 2000

Pat Rin is an Agent of Balance.

• Balance of trade. 1999

The short story that begins the novel.

• A choice of weapons. 1999

Daav is forced into a duel, but he can chose the weapons.

• Changeling. 2000

When Ren Zel was declared dead by his clan.

• A matter of dreams. 1999

Priscilla and Moonhawk stop a theft.

• Phoenix. 2001

Outcast jeweller Cyra meets artist Bell.

• Naratha's shadow. 2000

Scout Montet needs to make a dangerous artefact safe.

• Heirloom. 2002

Pat Rin, young Nova, and the rug.

• Sweet waters. 2002

Marooned scout Slade must survive on a primitive planet.

Contents

• Veil of the Dancer. 2002

Inas Bhar (aka Natasa the Assassin) as a child.

• Quiet Knives. 2003

Where the Juvanta Judges came from, and a different view on the Turtles’ schooling of the Juntavas boss.

• This House. 2003

Physician, Heal Thyself, while healing your friend’s lifemate.

• Lord of the Dance. 2004

How Pat Rin is convinced he is now a pilot, and discovers why he wasn’t before.

• The Beggar King. 2005

Clarence O’Berin arrives on Liad and soon meets Daav.

• Necessary Evils. 2005

The gene-engineered keepers of the vines sense a change in the House that made them.

• Fighting Chance. 2005

A Liaden Universe story. How Miri Roberston was recruited off Surebleak by Angela Lizardi.

• Prodigal Son. 2006

Val Con returns to Vandar to protect Zhena Trelu, Hakan, Kem and the others from the Department of Interior

• Daughter of Dragons. 2007

How Kareen left Liad after Plan B.

• Dragon Tide. 2007

A Dragon guards his Tree.

• Shadow Partner. 2008

A stranger in her inn helps Ceola protect it from robbers, and from her sister.

• Persistence. 2008

How Pat Rin got the stock for his Surebleak carpet store.

• Misfits. 2007

The disaster on Klamath, from the Weatherman’s point of view.

• Hidden Resources. 2009

How Kareen and Luken got to Surebleak after Plan B.

• Moon on the Hills. 2009

The Tree arrives at Surebleak.

• Skyblaze. 2011

A taxi driver in the wrong place at the right time.

This third collection of Liaden tales sticks to background events in the lives of characters in the novels, rather than vignettes about new characters. As such, these add greater depth, rather than further breadth, to the universe, and I found them all enjoyable.

Contents

• Code of Honor. 2014

Tom Lei, cast out by his clan, gets reinstated, but only because his grandfather needs him to do something dishonourable.

• Guaranteed Delivery. 2011

Aelliana and Daav’s fourth courier run in Ride the Luck suffers an unexpected setback. But they have guaranteed delivery.

• Intelligent Design. 2011

Clan Korval acquires a new butler.

• Out of True. 2013

Norbear first contact.

• Roving Gambler. 2014

Quin, waiting for a meeting with his father, Boss of Surebleak, whiles away the time with some gambling.

• King of the Cats. 2002

Val Con is magicked into an alternate reality, and meets the wizard Kinzel.

• Kin Ties. 2011

Ren Zel dea’Judan was cast out by his clan in order to save them from disaster; now the last surviving member of their enemy’s clan is out for revenge on him.

• Eleutherios. 2013

An early tale of a kompani member.

• The Rifle's First Wife. 2014

Dilgon Rifle’s life with Korval on Surebleak.

• The Space at Tinsori Light. 2011

The story behind Jen Sin yos’Phelium’s pinbeam message warning people away from Tinsori Light.

• Landed Alien. 2012

Can Theo Waitley’s friend Kara graduate from pilot school?

• Moon's Honor. 2013

How Lady Moonhawk and Lute first met.

This fourth collection of Liaden tales adds backstory to some peripheral characters in the main novels, as well as more events in the lives of the main characters. I had bought several of these as chapbooks before the collection came out, and read those in that format (lighter weight, larger type). I then read the remainder here. Another good collection.

Contents

• Street Cred. 2017

Two Liadens take out a contract for lethal Balance against Delm Korval on Surebleak

• Due Diligence. 2017

Lady Chi yos'Phelium desperately needs an heir who is a pilot; pilot Fer Gun pen'Uldra is in the right place at the right time.

• Friend of a Friend. 2016

A Department of the Interior agent tries to bully Villy at Ms Audrey's.

• Cutting Corners. 2017

Cargo Master Therny finds his employers cutting corners on maintenance, and his attempts to solve problems lead to the discovery of bigger issues

• Block Party. 2017

Don Eyr and several children arrive on Surebleak, to a mixed welcome; baking helps

• Degrees of Separation. 2018

How Don Eyr and Serana Benoit met, and how they founded their Lowport school; a tale of baking, politics, and melant'i

• Excerpts from Two Lives. 2018

A long past tragedy of terraforming, later captured in song

• Revolutionists. 2018

Geral is trying to do the right thing, but when revolution threatens his space station, which side should he join?

This fifth collection of Liaden tales adds further backstory and depth to the main novels. Two of the stories are the same, but from different viewpoints, which is an interesting choice. I particularly liked the story involving the Tree. Another good collection.

Contents

• Fortune's Favors. 2019

Mar Tyn, a Luck, seems less than lucky, but his misfortune takes him to the house of Don Eyr and Serana Benoit

• Opportunity to Seize. 2019

How Daav, Aelliana and Kamele got on.

• Shout of Honor. 2019

Yxtrang Ambassador Vepal gets mixed up in a secret mercenary plot to raid a planet

• Command Decision. 2019

Intel officor Liz Lizardi and planetary specialist Bjarni get embroiled in a religious ritual

• Dark Secrets. 2019

A clanless Liaden and a human partner, pursued by pirates, make a delivery to an ungrateful Venzi Station

• A Visit to Galaxy Ballroom. 2019

A Liaden Scout discovers why Surebleak Scouts might be a better option after an innocent game of bowli ball

• The Gate that Locks the Tree. 2020

The Tree unwittingly breaks a promise made to a cat, and realises it needs to take its responsibilities more seriously

• Preferred Seating. 2020

Can Ith's luck seems to desert him, then he meets Kishara, and their luck combines in a surprising future for them

• Ambient Conditions. 2020

Kishara is cast out because of her luck, then she meets Can Ith, and their luck combines in a surprising future for them

• Dead Men Dream. 2021

What happened next to the Liaden who Jethri beat

At the very end of I Dare, Theo Waitley turns up with a shattering revelation. But who is she? Here we find out. This is the first in a two-part back story, of her childhood. Read I Dare first, else you won't know who Jen Sar Kiladi is, or who he keeps zoning out to consult with.

This is another great entry in the Liaden saga. Here we see a Terran University planet, with a few Liadens around, but mainly this is Theo's coming of age, as she fledges from a very clumsy duckling, into a young swan, with all the action, manners, and intrigue we've come to know and love. (But no turtles.)

Theo Waitley, pilot in waiting, has left her home planet of Delgado, and been enrolled in a pilot school. But even here, as she learns her craft, trouble follows her, and she is still a nexus of violence. Can she become a pilot before the situation gets out of control?

Here we have several episodes in Theo's life as she grows up in an uncaring and hostile universe. We end up in precisely the same place as at the end of I Dare, but we have travelled a very different route to get there, and now know why "it's kind of complicated". I'm assuming (hoping) some things will be resolved in the next book.

Theo Waitley, nexus of violence, has now found her father, but he's not who she thought he was. Now deeply enmeshed in Liaden culture, with a whole new family to get to know, including an insubstantial step-mother, with that family itself in turmoil as they relocate from Liad to Surebleak, nothing gets any easier or simpler. Compounded with that, Theo has to cope with a lonely space ship stalking her -- a space ship that is distrustful of Korval, but who may be the only hope for her dying lover.

The plot does indeed move smartly on from the common ending of Plan B and Saltation. It's quite complex, with a large cast of characters, and would not be a good place for a newcomer to start the series. There is a lot of history (for example, explaining the reaction of the Tree to its relocation), and consequences of previous actions coming back to haunt characters. The large cast does mean not all get large roles: I want more Turtles! This is clearly the beginning of the next chapter of Clan Korval adventures, with many loose ends for resolution in later volumes. I'm particularly looking forward to when Theo's parents next meet, and Daav realises that he owes Balance: he seems to be in complete denial about that.

Theo Waitley, nexus of violence, and half-sister of Val Con, takes the ancient Builders’ ship Bechimo on a test trade loop, backed up by co-pilot and ex-Juntavas boss Clarence O'Berin. Naturally, things get violent. Theo only wants to trade, but the sinister Department of the Interior want her and her ship, and her ship wants a Captain. Meanwhile, Kamele Waitley, Theo’s mother, is making her way to Surebleak, determined to confront Korval about Jen Sar, not realising that others may want to use her to get to her daughter.

A great continuation of the saga. Theo grows into her role, accumulating an interesting crop of crew members, allies, and enemies. The tale is mostly about her and Bechimo, but we do get some snippets from the point of view of Korval, Uncle, and Kamele, pushing those subplots forward, too. Some interesting description of pilot jacket philosophy, and a great application of it; no turtles, though.

There is little resolution here, just progress, and the setting up of further juicy possibilities. I still can’t wait for the scene when Kamele meets up with Daav.

A youthful indiscretion has left Rebecca Beauvelley physically maimed and socially ruined. So when Sir Jennet Hale offers for her hand, her family is delighted, mainly that they will be rid of their embarrassment. She is less so, not wanting to move to his frozen northern lands and leave her herbs and healing lore behind. When the Fey lord Altimere beguiles her, and shows her two futures, a miserable neglected one with Jennet, or a jewel-bedecked one with him, she chooses the latter. Of course, the Fey are not to be trusted, and she discovers too late that she has been ensorcelled and ensnared in his plot to overthrow the Fey Queen. Meanwhile the Wood Wise Meripen Longeye, himself sorely wounded in an encounter with the human Newmen, is also unwittingly caught up in the intrigue. Can the trees help them enough?

This is most definitely the first half only of the story, essentially getting Becca and Meripen to the core of the plotting, ready for them to do something. I hope they will do something. Although it is an interesting well-drawn world, this first half is curiously passive, as the ensorcelled Becca suffers violent degradation at the hands of Altimere's cronies, and Meripen gradually recovers from his wounds and trauma.

Actually, my main concern is for the Fey horse Rosamunde, who plays an important role for about the first half of the book, then seemingly vanishes. Oversight, or poised for subsequent revelation?

Rebecca Beauvelley has escaped from Altimere's plots, but has been captured by the queen of the Fey. Desperate not to be ensorcelled again, she rebels against her captivity, but to no avail, despite being dangerously untrained in her use of Fey magic. Meripen Longeye has been charged with finding out what ails some of the trees in the forest, that seem empty of their spirit. The two get thrown together, but human Becca distrusts all Fey, and Meri hates humans who tortured him and killed his wife. Will they be able to work together to save both Fey and humankind?

This does have more action than its prequel, but feels a little disjointed. Things are set up, but fail to become important. For example, the apparently forgotten Rosamunde returns, but doesn't do all that much. And Meripen doesn't use his long sight. However, the world of the Fey is rich and vibrant, Becca and Meri suffer magnificently under their respective traumas (but are, to no great surprise, reconciled, although I felt that was a bit too easy), and the relationship with the sentient guardian trees is even more significant here than in the Liaden Universe (which is fine: I love trees). A good read, but slightly unsatisfying in the end.