Customer Reviews

Balance of Trade (A Liaden Universe Novel)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fans and newcomers alike should thoroughly enjoy Lee & Miller's latest adventure set in their ever-engaging Liaden Universe. Taking a break from all things Korval, they bring us a tale from an earlier time when Terrans and Liadens were still relative strangers to each other. Our young hero is Jethri, from a human trading ship burdened with a cold, distant mother, and an enigmatic, dead father but blessed with a deft hand for trade. He stumbles into a Liaden matter of honor and his own sense of fair play and justice bring him to the regard of Master Trader Norn van'Deen, Clan Ixin. She decides that there is trade and profit to be made by championing him as her apprentice.

Whisked off to learn Liaden ways and trade far from everything he has ever known, he has an uncertain start but gradually finds his footing and his mettle. He conquers Liaden bows, makes friends as well as enemies and for a spacer born and bred, even manages to find his footing living on a planet.

Jethri is a compelling young man, real enough to not be perfect, but with enough integrity and kindness to make you root for him. His tour through Lianden life is interesting, focusing much more on trade than any of the previous books. Fans of the space opera style romance of previous books will be find little of that here, nonetheless they won't be disappointed since Lee & Miller write as great a story as ever. Familiar trademarks also show up: scouts, cats, librarians and dramliza all play a part, but respectfully take a back seat Jethri and his journey.

The only nitpick I had was the book spends so much time building to various plot points - the mystery surrounding Jethri's father, the existence of old tech, his admittance to the Liaden trade guild - that the ending, when it does come, falls somewhat short of satisfying as it just started to get really interesting. If only there had been another 400 pages! As it is, the story provides a very agreeable time and certainly leaves room for more adventures with Jethri. I'll definately look forward to reading more about him.

Miller & Lee are among the few authors, along with Lois M. Bujold, whom I will purchase in hardcover the day they come out with a new book. I have not been disappointed in the past, and I'm not disappointed now.

If you haven't read others in their Liaden series, you can still read this and enjoy it - it's perfectly good cultural space opera (as contrasted to military space opera) in its own right. It's even more fun, though, if you read the other books as well. This one takes place in a setting slightly earlier, chronologically, than the books featuring Clan Korval, and has no characters in common - Korval is mentioned only once, in passing, as a clan that breeds pilots. So you don't have to know the back-story on all the characters in the previous books in order to know what the characters in this one are doing. There are some customs, however, which will strike you as odd if you haven't already been immersed in this universe.

Someone else described this as a coming of age novel, and in part it is, but not in a way that limits it to juvenile readers. (I recently read, and reviewed, a coming of age novel by another SF author, which was annoyingly juvenile, so I am pretty sensitive to the issue.) Our young trader apprentice is already a fully developed character in his own right, and the situations he faces are not simple, nor are the adults in the story merely bit players, nor buffoons when faced with youth, as is true of too many such novels.

Now, I have to get out of the way one thing I didn't like about this book: the cover art. I hate it. It makes the Terrans look awful, the Liadens look like short Episcopalian bishops in their robes, and further, doesn't seem to me to match the descriptions of the characters at all. There's a note about the artist in the back; I have to respectfully but firmly disagree with his conception of the characters. And with the really awkward poses he's got everyone in! OK, end of that little snit. Back to the story.

We start with Jethri Gobelyn, of the trading ship Gobelyn's Market. If you want to dash off and read Christina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market" you can, but the connections are quite brief and tenuous; the poem won't give you any big clues to the story. There clearly are some clever details drawn from the poem, such as twin girls with names beginning with the same letter, but those details are in no way critical. So feel free NOT to go look up the poem if you hate poetry. Not knowing it won't make you miss out on any big poetic allusions in the book.

Jethri's family is slightly hillbilly - his name resembles Jethro not for nothing. They talk with country accents, they hold shivarees (spelled shivary here), and they have some risk of inbreeding... and I thought at first that I would be annoyed by that, because I don't like stereotypes like that - but they turned out not to be stereotypical hillbillies at all; they're great characters. Jethri's extended group of cousins are smarter than they look.

The last part of Jethri's secret becomes revealed only near the end of the book, although there are hints regarding it which may lead you to guess earlier. Let's just say that they make the question of "coming of age" more complicated.

There is also a family of Russians involved in slightly shady dealings, again not quite the stereotypes; Grigory, his sister Raisana (think Raisa Gorbacheva if you didn't recognize Raisana as a Russian name) and their uncle Yuri have some surprises up their sleeves.

Let's see, for those already involved in the series, some differences to note: no Yxtrang, not even a mention of them. Some technology from an earlier civilization that we haven't seen in the other books; this technology is described as unstable, so perhaps by the later books the last fractins have become useless. In some ways, I saw glimpses of the authors' other series, about Gem ser Edreth, in the Gobelyns - I could see the shipboard culture of these Terran trading ships sliding into the completely shipborn culture of the gen ships there, with both the culture and the physiology changing from the human norm. Even though these are two completely different series, there's a resemblance. There's also no noticeable romance in this book, no dramatic meetings of couples like Shan and Priscilla or Val Con and Miri. Closest to romance we get is Grig's girlfriend announcing she's pregnant, and we didn't get any details before that.

No military battles in this one; it's strictly trading and education. We don't even spend much time on ship, rather mostly on stations and on mud. When Jethri finds himself on a Liaden trade ship as an apprentice, he has to learn more Liaden than he knows, and has to learn all the various shades of bows. Those who are old enough to remember Keith Laumer's Retief series may remember the endless list of numbered facial expressions that the Corps Diplomatique had, after a while! Jethri runs across a Scout, with an odd sense of humor, as the Scouts always seem to have, but also meets a regular Liaden with a sense of humor, which is somewhat rarer. While Korval's always had an odd kick in its gallop, most of the other Liaden characters have been a bit humor-impaired; Tam Sin, however, has a full sense of the humor in irony and coincidence. For that matter, we do also meet a Scout with no sense of humor, also a rarity. Even Scouts, apparently, can be narrow-minded bigots more concerned with title, position, and perks than with curiosity.

There's a very nice cat in the book. Pay attention to Flinx, he's important!

I hope that's enough hints as to the characters and plot to get you reading. Trust me, this is not just a coming of age novel, and those of you who love developing detailed pictures of culture and language will have a blast with this book.

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's "Balance of Trade" focused on young, human Jethri Gobelyn, a Trader from a family of Traders. Jethri has learned a few words of the Liaden language, and wants to learn more, but is hampered in his attempts by his mother (who wants no part of Jethri _or_ the Liadens). His father is dead, and most of his close kin don't seem to know what to make of him.

Be that as it may, after his first solo trade, he "invests" in a scheme that turns out to be shady; as it involves a Liaden Master Trader, he goes to her and asks what's going on. But she knows nothing. However, because Jethri did warn them, and because she knew he was being honorable, she takes an interest in him.

Because of this, and because his mother wants no part of him and will be happier once he's gone elsewhere, Jethri goes to the Liadens and becomes first an apprentice Trader under the kindly Liaden woman, then her foster son. Along the way, Jethri learns more about himself, the Liaden people, and what his talents are best suited for than he ever dreamed possible, and the Liadens -- the Traders, at least -- learn they still have something in common with their close cousins, the humans.

I don't want to spoil it, so I'll stop there.

The only drawbacks to this book -- and they are minor -- are that there are a lot of loose ends left at the end of the book (from the disposition of minor characters to what happens to the Old Tech Jethri and the others found along the way), and that a sequel to this book doesn't seem to be immediately forthcoming.

No matter. For characterization, plot, and meaty story like this, I'll wait.

Five stars. Highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

Jethri Gobelyn is the son of a Terran trading ship, 'Gobelyns Market'. Inadvertently he gets caught up in a matter of Liaden honor and find himself transferred to the 'Elthoria' as Master Trader Norn ven'Deelin's new apprentice - and the first Terran ever apprenticed to a Liaden trader.

This is an enjoyable new installment in the Liaden Universe stories. It is a change of pace from the previous novels and does not have love matching as the center story. Instead we are taken on a very interesting trip through Liaden and Terran trade methods and customs. This coming-of-age story seems to be set earlier than all the other previous novels and does not feature any of those characters, or even any of the Korval Clan.

In short, this is a very good introductory novel for those wanting to see what the Liaden stories are like and it is suitable for younger readers at well. It is a welcome change of theme that expands what we know about the worlds the Liads and Terrans live in and is a very good read.

One of the best ways to help a reader understand a strange culture is to plunk an outsider down in the middle of it and observe what happens. In Balance of Trade, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller put Assistant Trader Jethri Gobelyn, the youngest member of the crew of a Terran trade ship, right in the middle of Liaden culture by apprenticing him to Master Trader ven'Deelin.

Suddenly he is plunged into a totally new world where an incorrect bow can cause extreme offense. Jethri has always been fascinated by Liaden culture, however, and takes to his new world with alacrity.

While Jethri is an interesting character, the book at times seems to lose focus, and there are some things that are just never really explained to satisfaction. Why does Jethri's birth mother hate him so much? What on earth is that business at the end regarding the salvage cargo about? I feel as though I caught about two thirds of what was actually going on, the rest was much too obscure. Jethri, himself, did not completely understand the events that unfolded around him and, I must confess, neither did I.

However, the plot and characters are compelling enough to make this a very fun read. Young Jethri is a well drawn character and I'd like to see more of him.

Would I recommend Balance of Trade? Yes.

It all starts with a scary story about humans facing the terrors of Liaden Balance - and soon enough, Jethri Gobelyn, human, faces the real thing and learns to deal with Liadens on their own ground. This coming-of-age story, spiced with clashing cultures, follows Jethri as he leaves the ship where he grew up, learns to deal with life in a different language, leaves the human domain for the Liaden worlds, leaves space to live on a planet for an extended time, and, oh yes, learns to be a trader. Along the way, there are quite a few stories, both small and large, to keep you turning the pages.

Will you like it? If you're looking for a "shoot'em-up" in space, this isn't going to suit you very well. If you're looking for a science fiction romance, the style that most of the Lee and Miller novels in the Liaden Universe ™ have had, this won't quite fit. But if you enjoy SF with well-defined characters tackling problems with honesty and their own abilities, then you will likely enjoy this. It's a great "first step" into the Liaden Universe ™, and a good stand-alone book, too.

While the ending suggests that there may be further adventures ahead for Jethri and Norn ven'Deelin, who have "much yet to learn," the authors say they do not yet have a contract for any more Jethri novels. While you're waiting for them to get back to Jethri, you may want to try the other Liaden Universe ™ novels. Do be aware, though, that one clear difference between this and previous novels by Lee and Miller is that most of the others have a love affair in them. Jethri may have romance in his future, but there's none in this novel.

What does it mean to be human - in a Liaden world? Or as the master trader puts it, what does it take to be "a gentleman of the galaxy, able to treat with Liaden and Terran equally?" That's the question that Jethri answers. If you want to know how, you'll have to read the book. And along the way, "remember, there are secrets in all families."

I have almost worn my copies of Pilot's Choice, Partners in Necessity, Carpe Diem and Plan B to tatters by re-reading so often. Now comes Balance of Trade, with none of my beloved Liaden characeters, but with the engaging Terran youngster, Jethri Gobelin. It will go right on the bookshelf next to the others.
Unlike the Tomorrow Log, whose main characters I found completely unlikeable, Master Trader Van Deelin, Jethri, and the young dramliza twins held my interest, from the beginning of the read on Saturday night to its close on Sunday afternoon.
To anyone who was disappointed by the Tomorrow Log, or Low Port, I say: come back and read this, the facinating and honorable characters that Sharon Lee and Stephen Miller created before have been delightfully added to!

A new Liaden novel, set hundreds of years before the Agent Of Change series, Balance Of Trade shows that Lee and Miller have grown as authors. At first the book feels like an alternate version of Conflict Of Honors. A young Terran, being dumped by his current ship, ends up on a fancy Liaden tradeship under the wing of the master trader.

But this is less of a space opera (and even more so, less of a romance) than the earlier novel. Instead it functions as a coming of age story, as Jethri grows from the youngest kid on his small ship to an independent young Junior Trader.

Along the way we see dozens of minor characters who are both more complex and better defined than those in the earlier novels. As befits the story, there is also no single enemy to overcome. Instead, the conflict is more internal -- Jethri is overcoming his own ignorance and prejudice. Even the token villians are understood to be small fry, not really important in themselves.

The huge flaw in the novel, as other reviews have mentioned, is the ending. It's as though a juggler threw 20 balls up in the air, started juggling six of them, and then said "ignore those other balls, they aren't important". The Old Tech, in particular, ends up being just one giant McGuffin.

I'm certain that these dropped balls will be picked up again in some future continuation of this series, but even so the ending is very rough. It's almost as though they came to the point in the story where they wanted to stop, but hadn't gotten through a checklist of information they wanted to reveal. So they dumped it all out in a few pages of exposition and one lucky chance discovery, then had everyone say, "OK, now we can all live happily ever after. The end." It wasn't even smooth enough to be described as a cliffhanger ending.

However, that was the only thing Lee and Miller botched; the rest of the novel is solid "four star" quality. It was especially nice to see a development of how trading works, and what the role of a trader and a trade ship really is. And once again I am pleased by the way the authors do very little handholding of the reader. They simply use their technology, instead of explain it to us. And yet, we can easily figure out the parts of it which we need to understand.

All in all, this is a good book. But it is probably really the opening chapter of a better multivolume series.

Well, Lee & Miller have done it again. Fans of Lee & Miller don't need me to convince them to buy this book. If you were somewhat disappointed with "I Dare", you certainly won't be disappointed with "Balance of Trade." You will be introduced to a very earnest (also honorable and likable) young man, terran Jethri Gobelyn, as he is apprenticed to liaden Master Trader ven'Deelin.

The story is set when terrans & liadens have recently encountered each others: well before the time of the recent Korval novels. Prior exposure to the liaden universe is not necessary for this novel.

The major plotline revolves around Jethri's apprenticeship as he attempts to learn both his trade and liaden culture. Other elements involve his relatives and his dead father's mysterious past.

Not only is this a welcome return to the liaden universe for old fans, but Lee & Miller do a great job in getting us to know Jethri. Quoting the introduction by Lee & Miller, "When Stephe Pagel at Meisha Merlin asked, 'what are you doing next?' Jethri jumped up and said, 'Me!'"

Well, Ms. Lee & Mr. Miller, we've greatly enjoyed Jethri's adventures. He feels like a good friend, and we are very much looking forward to seeing more of him and of Clan Ixin, which was foresighted enough to see in him what you saw (and wrote). You've told an excellent tale and told it well.

I've enjoyed their past books, and it was fun to read a novel of the Liaden universe that introduced us to a whole new set of characters. Jethri is a compelling character, a human on the edge of manhood, who finds a new future for himself with a Liaden trading family, after his own family casts him aside.

His adventures make for interesting reading as he becomes the first human apprenticed to a Liaden trader, and must deal with both prejudice and the dangers inherent in his new position, where his lack of knowledge of Liaden culture imperils not just his social standing, but possibly his life.

The only flaw in this book was a complicated subplot that was never fully explained involving the activities of Jethri's father, which necessitated numerous scene shifts to the human shipmates that Jethri had left behind. On their own they were mildly interesting, but these scenes didn't feel connected to the overall story, and I found myself wishing that the authors had dropped this plot in order to focus on the protagonist.

Still it was a good read, and should please any fans of their work.