Customer Reviews

Crystal Dragon (The Great Migration Duology, Book 2) (Bk. 2)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Do I think you should buy Crystal Dragon? Of course!

Now, let me be honest. I really think you should buy Crystal Soldier AND Crystal Dragon, since they are a duology. And I recommend that if you haven't read any other Liaden Universe (tm) novels, you should consider getting some of the other fine ones and starting with them. If you like romance, try Local Custom or Scout's Progress. If you want young adult SF, try Balance of Trade (the Hal Clement Award winner!). If you want space opera with intelligence, try Agent of Change or Conflict of Honors. Be prepared, you will want the rest of the novels, too. And then you will want to read Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon no matter what I say. But get them now, because the way the book industry works, they may not be available when you want them.

Let's see. In the other Liaden Universe (tm) books, there are often hints and glimpses of something catastrophic that happened back then. The Crystal Duology tells the story of that catastrophe, and of the people who (mostly) lived through it. It is a little bit like reading stories about the Irish in America, and then going back to read a story about the potato famine. It doesn't change your admiration for the Irish, but it may help explain their background a bit more. So where do you want to start, with the potato famine or with the Irish?

Now, let's consider Crystal Dragon by itself. First, even if you have read Crystal Soldier and especially if you have taken a sneak peek at the previews available, let me warn you to keep reading. There is a prologue story in Crystal Dragon that has been known to convince people that they picked up the wrong book - but keep reading, it will make sense. If you really have to, skip the prologue and go right to the first chapter, but plan to come back again and read that prologue later. It adds a rich patina of meanings to the doings of the . . . well, that would be telling.

I won't try to summarize the plot, except to note that there are at least three threads going at the beginning and you need to keep track as they weave around. The man who has lost his home, the soldier and the pilot trying to find a way to save the universe, and of course, the wizards who know they cannot succeed - and the luck, the luck that strings a golden thread of daring through the end of everything into the future. Frankly, I envy you, simply because you haven't read it yet.

So? Get your copy of Crystal Dragon. Read it. Then go back and read Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon together. Then go read the rest of the novels that give us glimpses into the Liaden Universe (tm). You will be glad you did.

This is the second half of a story that starts with Crystal Soldier (which is required reading before starting this book), and as the name implies this is more about Cantra (the dragon) than Jela (the soldier). It mostly serves as a character development study -- how does a burned out smuggler with nothing to live for end up being the person who creates Clan Korval and leaves such a profound legacy?

A big chunk of the plot involves Cantra turning herself into someone else for the purpose of going undercover, but really that just highlights Cantra's remaking of herself from loner drifter to the head of what will become the most powerful shipping clan in the galaxy.

Along the way many questions are answered about the nature and origin of the tree, the dramliz, the Liadens, and other aspects of the Liaden Universe. However, these are occasionally given short shrift.

The main problem with the book is that the plot does not progress at the same pace as the underlying story of Cantra's development. This leads to some parts of the plot feeling drawn out, while others (especially the ending) feel quite rushed. But the authors had to choose whether to write the book about the plot or about Cantra, and they chose the latter.

We do see some more of Jela, but his development is already complete by the end of the previous book. Accordingly, in this one he is more of a support character for Cantra. He also serves as the main force which brings Cantra out of her retreat and back into human society.

The other slight flaw of the book is that a few too many cameo appearances are made by characters for no really good reason. In particular, Lute and Moonhawk must have some deep meaning to the authors but their appearance here really just disrupted things. There is no need for The Uncle to show up again, since he does nothing. And the timely arrival of dea'Gauss is almost a little too cute.

Nevertheless, fans of the Liaden Universe will find this to be a must-read story for the background explanation. Fans of Crystal Soldier will want to read it to find out how that tale ends. But both sets of fans should understand that this book is not quite a Liaden story, nor is it quite like Crystal Dragon. Above all it is a character study of Cantra, and in that respect it works very well.

Very enjoyable - especially if you've read the rest of the series. (If you haven't, go out now and start with Conflict of Honors. Or Carpe Diem. Or, well, there really isn't a bad choice.) I love seeing how the Liaden universe came together. However, be forewarned that the style of the first chapter is very different than the rest of the book. Be patient and enjoy the first section as a short story (there is important background information in there), then enjoy the remainder, which is written in the classic Lee/Miller style. Definitely goes in the re-read stack!

Lee and Miller's Liaden universe never fails to enchant, and this latest book answers all of the reader's questions about the beginnings of the story very satisfactorily. The characters sweep the reader up and take him along on their adventures; sharing along the way their joys and sadness. An excellent read.

Crystal Dragon and Crystal Soldier are darker novels than prior Liad books but both very enjoyable in their own way. I would not try one without the other however.

I picked this up at the library, mistakenly being impressed that this picked up where


When the other review says "There is a prologue story in Crystal Dragon that has been known to convince people that they picked up the wrong book - but keep reading, it will make sense" -- they were really right. I almost dropped the book back in the library return without finishing it.

This is a prequel novel, a foundation novel that explains about as much as it obscures. Once it gets moving the writing is tight, the characters make sense and you get a feel for how a universe could come up empty and how everything was before everything was.

I have been a fan of the clan Korval and Liad for years! Of course a reader wants a "series" (because each novel can stand alone) to go on and on but I was ready for backstory on beginnings! Crystal Soldier is a very good read but I thought Crystal Dragon could stand alone very well. The characters are solidly drawn and ideas from the other novels are seamlessly woven into this volume. I was very curious about how the dramliza developed and loved seeing how the original population of Liad came there! There are many threads to weave together in this story - how else can a whole world be drawn? - but the weaving is colorful and inventive! I am very satisfied with Crystal Dragon and enjoy my rereadings a lot!
Oh, an aside - anyone who has worked in academia will be tickled at the scholars and their methods of academic progression! We've all worked there!

First let me say that I'm a big fan of the Liaden novels, however I felt that this book was really trying to do too much in too short a space. The philosophical/metaphysical issues involving Rool Tiazon and his lady were interesting, but not really developed. One was left wondering how she came to agree with him about the Edonai, and if she ever really believed they had an equal partnership. The scenes with Lute and Lady Moonhawk were odd - even having read all the chapbooks, I really didn't understand how they fit into this book, how they came to oppose the Edonai, or what their plan/goal _was_. Finally with all the time spent on these other story lines I felt that the Jela-Cantra (and to some extant Tor An) story lines were not as fleshed out as I would like. One never learns why Cantra's line was terminated or much more about her odd history then was revealed in Crystal Soldier.

I was a bit nervous about reading a prequel to the Liaden series. Although the Liadan stories are rife with unanswered questions, I sort of expected them to be worked out in the context of the characters and and stories that I was already familiar with. I wasn't sure how I would feel about a completely different set of characters, set in a different time.

I needent have worried. Jela and Cantra are every bit as engaging as Lee & Miller's characters from the "mature" Liaden universe. And while the story does answer a lot of questions:

Where did the tree come from? How did Jela end up with it? Who the heck was Jela, anyway? Where did the Yxtrang come from? Where did the dramiliza come from? How did Korval get established, and why is it different from the other Houses?

...there is still plenty of the stuff "in the middle" remaining for us to puzzle over, as well as the sense that there is more of Jela's and Cantra's individual histories that might be told at some point. I like not having everything tied up into too neat a bow, because I want there to be more to come.

While I think that the Crystal stories would probably stand alone quite well, I do think that reading them after the other Liaden stories is probably best, even though they precede them in the chronology of the Liaden universe. Knowledge of the future of Korval and Liaden certainly enriches the story.

So now Lee & Miller have 3 eras to write about--the "modern" Korval era, the early trading era of "Balance of Trade," and the primordial era following the Great Migration. I'm looking forward to more stories in all three series.

Not an enjoyable read- certainly way Below others in this series.....disjointed - hard to hold on to the main "story Line"....seems like this all could have been in a synopsis of 1-2 chapters or one of their "magazine" phamplets.........kind of like boy meets girl- boy marries girl- one dies the other goes on - the enemy "vanquished- sort of. so forth and so on and on and on......but the reader does learn a bit more about Jela, Cantra and the founding of Clan Korval in between alot of gobblety gook.....but characters not developed well at all to hold your interest.