Culled from questions received from readers, and others, in email and elsewhere
Lee and Miller on the Liaden Universe®: The Liaden Universe® is populated by mercenaries, traders, spies, turtles, scouts, soldiers and colorful people too numerous to mention. The Liadens are first among the four major races, those being: Liaden, Clutch, Terran and Yxtrang. Liadens are sneaky, Liadens are old,Liadens are prosperous, Liadens follow a strict and voluminous code of honor.
1. What is the Liaden Universe®?
The Liaden Universe® was created by Sharon Lee with the help of Steve Miller. So far, twenty-four novels have been published in-Universe. All are available as paper books, ebooks and audio books, from Audible. The twenty-fifty novel in the Liaden Universe®, Salvage Right, will be released in July 2023.
2. Eighteen books, huh? What’s the proper reading order? Which one should I try to see if I like what you do?
If you like action-adventure-romance (in space!) Agent of Change, the very first novel written in the Liaden Universe® is presently offered as a free ebook from Amazon.com, and from the Baen Free Library.
If you like coming-of-age stories (in space!) Fledgling, the eleventh book written in the Universe may also be downloaded for free from the Baen Free Library and Amazon.com. Fledgling is a “portal” book, and may be read by those with no prior experience in the Liaden Universe®.
Other portal books include: Conflict of Honors, Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, Balance of Trade, Fledgling, Crystal Soldier, Necessity’s Child, Dragon in Exile
For a complete list of Liaden books, and suggested reading orders, click this link.
For a complete list of which Liaden books appear in which Baen omnibus edition, click this link.
3. I believe that the short story is the highest fictional form. Have Lee & Miller written any shorts?
Why, yes. Yes, we have. All of the Liaden Universe® short stories to date have been collected by Baen Books into three hefty trade paperbacks: A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume I (July 2013); A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume II (January 2014); A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume III (August 2015), A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume IV (June 2019); A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume V (February 2022). These collections are available in paper and electronic editions, and as audiobooks from Tantor.
If you don’t want to commit to an entire collection, you may sample some Liaden short stories for free:
You may also sample some of Sharon’s stories set in Archers Beach, Maine:
. . .in addition, Lee and Miller often post stories, outtakes, and character sketches, as well as stories by guest authors, on Splinter Universe.
Also! Liaden Universe® — and other! — short stories are available as echapbooks from Amazon, BN, and Smashwords. A clickable catalog is available at Pinbeam Books.
4. Why is the Liaden Universe® so straight?
It’s not. While there is a strong emphasis on the duty of each member of society to produce a “child of the body” to carry on their work for the clan, who one loves on one’s own time is not up for discussion. At least, not on the basis of gender. Best to think of the Liaden Universe® as extensively bi-sexual.
5. Why are Liaden guys so, ummm, feminine? Don’t the authors know how to write Real Man characters?
Well, yes. The authors know perfectly well how to write Real Man characters, have done so and will doubtless do so again. Liaden men, now — are a product of their society. Liaden society is fiercely competitive, and the prudent person — male or female — speaks softly and with great politeness, unless they deliberately chose to do otherwise. There are no inadvertent insults in Liaden society, and while
duels of honor are frowned upon, they do happen.
6. Yuck! There are girl cooties in these books!
Deal.
7. Have Lee and Miller written anything else, or is it Clutch Turtles all the way down?
In fact, Lee and Miller have co-authored a dark fantasy duology, Duainfey and Longeye, published by Baen, sadly now out of print.
They also wrote The Tomorrow Log, a space opera set in another corner of the Liaden Universe®, and The Sword of Orion, a YA space opera.
Lee and Miller also edited the short story collection Low Port, published by Meisha Merlin, also now sadly out of print.
8. Hey! I read The Tomorrow Log! Is there going to be a sequel?
The odds against the authors ever writing a Tomorrow Log sequel are very high.
9. Sword of Orion — I read that too! Is there going to be a sequel?
At this point, I believe we can safely say no to that question. SOO was a work-for-hire, which means the copyright, the ideas, and the characters belonged to the publisher — who decided not to pursue the project beyond the first book.
10. Do you guys ever do separate projects?
Sometimes. We’re likeliest to bolt off by ourselves in short stories; each of us have written a dozen or more under our own bylines.
Independent novels are a bit of a trick when we have work under contract, which we have been fortunate to have for the last few years.
Despite that, Sharon carved out time to write three contemporary fantasy novels set in a Maine resort town that almost was: Carousel Tides (2010), Carousel Sun (2014), and Carousel Seas (2015). The entire trilogy, published by Baen, is available in electronic, paper, and audio editions.
Sharon has also written two mystery novels set in Wimsy, Maine, another almost-real town. Barnburner (1994) and Gunshy (1995) are available as ebooks from Amazon, BN, Kobo, and other ebookstores.
11. Why is Liaden Universe® trademarked? Are the authors trying to fool readers into thinking their books are like Star Trek®?
Sadly, there are people in the world who like to make trouble for other people. One such person targeted Lee and Miller, and in order to protect their work, the authors were advised to trademark their universe.
12. I want to contact Lee and Miller about a project!
Please contact our agent, Jennifer Jackson, at the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
13. I want to keep up with the Liaden Universe® news!
There are several options available to you. You can:
* subscribe to the Liaden Universe® mailing list (infrequent newsletter)
* subscribe to one of the several Facebook fan groups: Clan Korval, Flaran Cha’menthi, Friends of Liad
14. Do Lee and Miller have blogs?
Sharon’s Blog Without A Name is mirrored at Eagles Over the Kennebec
15. Do Lee and Miller intend to continue the Theo Waitley story arc?
Yes.
16. Why does it take Lee and Miller so long to write novels?
It takes us so long to write novels because we’re slow writers. We did once write 6 books in 18 months, and it took us a very, very long time to recover. We write much better if we have some down time in between novels. We do realize that there are many writers who can and do write four, six, eight books a year. We stand in awe of them, and you should, too.
17. I’m lost and I need a timeline of all the books and stories.
There is no sanctioned timeline of all the Liaden books and stories and there will not be one. The authors do not think in timelines. Readers are perfectly welcome to construct timelines for their own use, if that’s what floats their boats, but such timelines are not sanctioned by the authors, and we will not be held to the arbitrary linearization of our work. That said, these links may help — or not. Reading Order
View Comments (49)
Is it time for a Liaden dictionary? You folks do a good job usually, but I still get caught when I just don't remember if a word means dearest, or dessert. (chernubia?) Is the dictionary, something I want to create & pass on to the authors? This would go well with Steve's character list.
Actually, it's probably time for a concordance, but I'm not the one to do it.
There's a bunch of great stuff over on the Wiki: http://liaden.wikia.com/wiki/Wiki_Content
but I'm not off-hand seeing a dictionary.
I think I still have the Weird Words lists readers generated for the audiobooks; there might be a way to (relatively) painlessly derive from there. I'll take a look today.
To the case, of course, "chernubia," being "dessert," or "a sweet," or "a confection," might well find its way into pillow-talk or even in-House endearments.
When Stephe Pagel was reading Local Custom and Scout's Progress, where -- since the characters are speaking Liaden, Daav and Er Thom refer to each other as "darling" aka "denubia" -- he called us up and said, "You know, it's. . .not usual for men to call each other darling." We said, "Yes, but the Liaden culture is not *our* culture." "I know," he said, "it's just so -- *subversive*!"
will you be writing about why /Ren Zel dea Judan became clanless any time soon? I enjoy reading your books more than once! Thank you
Gee, didn't we do that years ago?
Try the short story "Changeling," most recently reprinted in A Liaden Universe(R) Constellation, Volume 1, from Baen. Or you could download the story by itself -- "Changeling" -- from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords.
I have nearly all of your books and most of the short stories. And I'm looking forward to the new novel this coming summer. Just want to say I have enjoyed reading your work and have been known to reread favorites.
Please keep writing, it seems a long time between publications.
Sadly, it takes us about a year to write a book. That's comfortable for us; we don't get burned out; and you guys get a continued flow of stuff to read. We have written faster -- 6 books in 18 months, back around 2007 and 2008 -- but it was too much, and we needed to take time off to regrow our brains. Some writers can write a book every three months forever, but we are not those writers.
I just finished Dragon in Exile, it was great reading. I look forward to the story of what happens with Ren Zel dea Judan's current dilemma and how Nova can help him with it.
I have not read all of the short stories, but have read all of the novels and a few of the shorts. There is one story that I have not been able to find. That would be the story of what happened to cause the death of Anne Davis, and so Er Thom. Can you tell me where I might find this story if it has been written?
I still read all of the books and shorts that I have (over and over) and am adding to my collection as I am able to. They are so well written and I find them so inviting.
That would be the story of what happened to cause the death of Anne Davis, and so Er Thom. Can you tell me where I might find this story if it has been written?
In general, we try not to write stories that are Without Hope, or at least show a light at the end of a tunnel, however long. It took us more than a decade to figure out how to write a sequel to Scout's Progress that was not an Utter Downer (though some readers insist that the sequel is an Utter Downer, we at least are satisfied that we ended on an upbeat, rather than All Is Ashes).
A story about Anne's death has no upside; there is no breath of hope in the offing. Korval was in a precarious spot as a clan before the beginning of Local Custom, since them, they've taken losses that include the delms, and (with Anne's death) the delms' backups. With Anne and Er Thom's deaths, Korval has ONE elder in the Line Direct available to it -- Kareen yos'Phelium -- two young adults -- Pat Rin and Val Con -- and only one of those three is a pilot and thus fit to lead Korval. In the secondary Line, we have Shan, Nova, and Anthora yos'Galan, all adult pilots, but with no elder to support them; and a child still in nursery -- Padi. For the purposes of this discussion, neither Luken nor his children are players.
Anne and Er Thom's deaths are the beginning of a VERY dark and chancy time for the Clan, and things don't begin to. . .improve, if that's actually the word I want, for some time.
So, no; not likely to write that story, sorry.
So, this comment stuck in my mind. What if Er Thom and Anne's death is covered in a split timeline novel, where Nova's maturation as First Speaker and the birth of her twins redeems the trauma she suffered at the loss of her parents? Maybe you've already written Nova's story, but I haven't found it yet. I love your work, by the way!
Will there ever be more info about Meisha and Miandra?
Thanks
I have read every Clan Korval book. I am getting up in age and hope I can live long enough to be able to read several more books. When might I be able to read the next installment? By the way, I pre-purchased the last book through Amazon which was great except it meant I finished too quick. If the next book is too far in the future I may need to start reading the series again from the Crystal Soldier on which may not be a bad idea.
Yanno? I'm getting up in age, too.
I'm not sure what you mean by "pre-purchased," but, yeah, books do end if you read them.
Alliance of Equals in the book after Dragon in Exile, which is what I think the most recent new title is. . .In any case, the next new Liaden novel is Alliance of Equals, which is scheduled to be published in hardcover in July 2016.
Steve and I are presently working on The Gathering Edge, which is the book after Alliance. It is due to the publisher in February 2016. We don't know when it will be published yet, because the publisher is wise in the way of authors and does not schedule until the book is in her hands.
Yes we are ALL getting older. BUT my mother is 90 and still reading so I hope you may still be writing at 90. Just think of the extra books I will be able to read.
My understanding is that when MM Publishing went under the sequel to the "Tomorrow Log" titled "Web of the Trident" was a casualty. Book was given title and publishing date. Was it never written? I have been waiting for years for this book and hope was revived when Baen published the "Tomorrow Log".
Baen has not actually (re)published TTL, as we count publishing. They offer the ebook (non-exclusively) for sale; we ourselves also offer the ebook for sale, and for the same reason. It's backlist, and backlist's job is to (1) fetch in new readers, and (2) generate income. If writers had to live only on the upfront and royalties (if any) from new books, nobody could afford to write.
Web was never written, and, as it does state in the FAQ, the chances of its being written now are...low to non-existent.
I am trying to reread the Liaden books in chronological order. Somehow I have lost the meeting of Anthora and Ren Zel. Can you tell me where to find it, please?
My husband and I love your books, characters, relationships and the cats. We have all of the books and are now buying them all again in e-book format. Thank you.
The group mind over on Facebook tells me that the scene is in I Dare, Chapter 28, Day 51, Standard Year 1393.
I'm glad you and your husband enjoy our work. Thank you!
Your books are full of literary puns and allusions, e.g. LeDameters (DeLameters in Smith's Galaxtic Patrol series) and Gobelyn Market (Rosetti's poem Goblin Market, best read with original illustrations). So I wonder if there is a list or compendium somewhere because I'm sure I haven't caught them all ?
No, I'm afraid not. At this point, I'm not sure I could catch them all. They're just a fun thing we do while we're writing.