The Liaden Universe® is not tidy. Nor is it a series, exactly. It’s a Universe. There is therefore no orderly progression, Book One through Book Whatever. That would be easy and, as previously advertised, we never, ever do anything nice and easy.
Now, granted, there are some books that need to be read this-before(-or-after)-that, but the Whole Universe is not so ordered.
It is also entirely untrue — though some enthusiastic readers who have been with the universe since the beginning will insist upon the point — that a new reader must read all the previous books in the Universe before attempting the most recent.
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It is true that a new reader may miss some of the nuances that so delight long-time readers, but the larger story will be perfectly comprehensible and entirely enjoyable. Indeed, if the new reader goes on with the series, they will develop their own supply of nuance and so reap their own delight.
Below are some suggestions for reading orders, as well as a list of books that may be read with no prior knowledge of the Liaden Universe®.
Novels that may be read with no prior reading in the Universe:
Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, Balance of Trade, Fledgling, Crystal Soldier, Necessity’s Child, Dragon in Exile, Alliance of Equals
Novels that are direct sequels:
Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, Plan B, I Dare, Dragon in Exile, Alliance of Equals, Neogenesis, Accepting the Lance, Trader’s Leap, Ribbon Dance
Fledgling, Saltation, Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship, The Gathering Edge, Neogenesis, Accepting the Lance
Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon
Balance of Trade, Trade Secret, Fair Trade
Neogenesis, Salvage Right
Novels that may benefit from being read in a particular order:
Carpe Diem may benefit from reader familiarity with Agent of Change
Mouse and Dragon may be more accessible to those who have previously read Scout’s Progress
Dragon in Exile may be more accessible to those who have previously read the Agent of Change Sequence (Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, Carpe Diem, Plan B, I Dare)
The Gathering Edge may make more sense to those who have followed Theo Waitley through Fledgling, Saltation, Ghost Ship, and Dragon Ship
You may want to read Alliance of Equals before Trader’s Leap. Leap begins mere days after the ending of Equals
You may want to read Neogenesis, and possibly novelette “The Space at Tinsori Light,” before reading Salvage Right.
The internal arcs:
For those who do not want to commit to dozens of books, there are internal story arcs within the over-arc of the Liaden Universe®
Theo Waitley: Fledgling, Saltation, Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship, The Gathering Edge, rejoining the rest of the characters in Neogenesis
Jethri Gobelyn: Balance of Trade, Trade Secret, Fair Trade
Prehistory: Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon
Space Regencies: Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, Mouse and Dragon, joins the Theo Waitley arc in Fledgling
The Dutiful Passage: Conflict of Honors, Alliance of Equals, Trader’s Leap, Ribbon Dance
Agent of Change: Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, Plan B, I Dare
Korval in Exile: Dragon in Exile, Neogenesis, Accepting the Lance, Salvage Right
Standalone within the series: Necessity’s Child
The order in which the books were written:
Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, Carpe Diem, Plan B, Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, I Dare, Balance of Trade, Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Fledgling, Saltation, Mouse and Dragon, Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship, Necessity’s Child, Trade Secret, Dragon in Exile, Alliance of Equals, The Gathering Edge, Neogenesis, Accepting the Lance, Trader’s Leap, Fair Trade, Salvage Right, Ribbon Dance
Internal Chronology:
Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Balance of Trade, Trade Secret, Fair Trade, Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, Mouse and Dragon, Conflict of Honors, Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, Plan B, Fledgling, I Dare, Saltation, Ghost Ship, Necessity’s Child*, Dragon Ship*, Dragon in Exile*, The Gathering Edge*, Alliance of Equals*, Neogenesis*, Accepting the Lance*, Trader’s Leap*, Salvage Right, Ribbon Dance
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*Portions of these novels occur simultaneously. This was done to give readers a 365º view of the action taking place on different fronts.