Here they are again, the three novels that introduced us all to the Liaden Universe over a decade ago. It is time to get reacquainted with our old friends: Edger & Sheather, Liz, Susiki, Jason & Anthora, Val Con & Miri and Priscilla & Shan. Remember how Miri and Val Con first met? How about the trouble Priscilla was in before she met Shan? Who can forget the way that Edger and Sheather have of coming to a friend's rescue or contemplating the weave of a carpet? Partners in Necessity also contains a new introduction by Anne McCaffery and a new afterword by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The exceptional cover art is by Michael Herring.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Whether you love Bujold's A Civil Campaign, McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, or classics like The Prisoner of Zenda, you owe it to yourself to grab Partners in Necessity. You'll see why Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have gained devoted fans since the first three Liaden novels (collected here) first appeared; they helped bring the series back with the publication of Plan B 11 years after its debut. This is swashbuckling space opera at its finest, a blend of adventure, romance, humor, and terrific world building.
Meet Priscilla Delacroix y Mendoza, betrayed and stranded on a backward world by the Liaden trader she served as cargo master. Fortunately, another Liaden ship, Dutiful Passage, makes orbit and she applies for work. The captain, Shan yos'Galen, also has accounts to settle with Priscilla's former employers, and "among Liadens, revenge is something of an art form." Conflict of Honors is their story. In Agent of Change, Val Con yos'Phelium, Shan's cousin and foster brother, comes to the aid of Miri Robertson, former mercenary and bodyguard, who's being hunted by an interstellar crime cartel. Once a First-in Scout, he's become a spy for Liad, programmed to play the odds ruthlessly. He's just committed a murder. They flee together, aided by Edger, an alien shaped like a turtle. His "four-hundred pound bottle-green frame" is impressive to the Clans of Men, as are the beautiful, deadly knives of his people. He's considered a bit hasty by colleagues, but his appreciation of music is keen and he regards Val Con as a brother. In Carpe Diem, the stories of Val Con and Miri, and Shan and Priscilla come together and the story of Clan Korval, to which Shan and Val Con belong, unfolds further.
Once you've sampled Lee and Miller's Liaden Universe, you'll be delighted that Plan B and Pilot's Choice are available now, with I Dare still to come. Join SF and fantasy writers from Anne McCaffrey to Barry Longyear in badgering them for more. --Nona Vero
About the Author
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952. She graduated high school in 1970, attended University of Maryland Baltimore County as a mild-mannered night student while simultaneously cutting a fearsome swath through the secretarial field by day.
In 1978, she decided life was too tame and predictable and left her plush job as administrative aide to the Dean of the University of Maryland's School of Social Work and Community Planning. Shortly thereafter, she engineered her first adventure by opening a genre bookstore, using the money from her retirement fund as her seed.
After Book Castle went bankrupt, she worked a series of odd and odder jobs, the most memorable of which was delivering tractor trailers, though selling cider at the Baltimore City Sunday Farmer's Market was fun, too. On the odder side, she was an advertising copy writer, both in-house and freelance. Presently, she is executive director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.
Since her first professional sale, in 1980, Sharon's professional output has included reviews, features, short stories; TV, radio and print ads, as well as her contribution to the Liaden Universe.
She and Steve Miller married in 1980. In 1988 they migrated to Maine, where they can be found to this day, sharing life with four stalwart cats and a large cast of characters..
Steve Miller
Steve Miller was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1950. He graduated high school in 1968, attended University of Maryland Baltimore County a couple times, where he was news editor of the campus newspaper, The Retriever, active in the chess club and founding president of the Infinity Circle, the school's first science fiction club. In between bouts of being a student, he was curator of the Albin O. Kuhn Library's science fiction collection.
In no particular order he has been a reviewer—of music, of books and of typewriters—a reporter, an editor, a professional chess tournament director, a librarian, an editor, a sysop, an editor and a resource specialist for a statewide electronic bulletin board system.
In 1973 he attended the Clarion West Writing Workshop in Seattle.
Since his first publication in 1968, Steve has accumulated credits in well over 100 newspapers, magazines and journals. In addition to reviews and poetry, Steve's professional output has included short stories, TV and radio commercials, greeting cards, as well as his contribution to the Liaden Universe.
He and Sharon Lee married in 1980. In 1988 they migrated to Maine, where they can be found to this day, sharing life with four stalwart cats and a large cast of characters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An easy read that will stay with you for a long time.,
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This review is from: Partners in Necessity (Paperback)
Originally published in 1988 it took twelve more years for a commercial following to gather for the Liaden Universe. The first three books, "Conflict of Honors", "Agent of Change" and "Carpe Diem," were then compiled into a single volume and sold as "Partners in Necessity." During the mild aftermath of their first being published, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller continued to write, but mostly for themselves. If the general public didn't embrace what they wrote, at least they enjoyed writing it.The strange thing here, is that those three novels were excellent. It's a mystery to me why it took so long for them to succeed, as they should have from the first day. The book market can be an unpredictable battleground. If it weren't for all the positive ratings awarded on Amazon.com, even I would not have read these quality novels. Written in the vein of space opera, each of the Liaden Universe books, six so far, centre on the Liaden clan Korval. A non terrestrial but human family that ensures its survival in a universe of cut-throat politics with commercial acumen, a fleet of ships and a generations long breeding program aimed at producing pilots, (a rare bread of individual that has the reflexes of a cat and the courage to match). Each book tends to concentrate on one couple, typically as they meet, fall in love and life-bond. All this tends to happen under adverse circumstances; running from secret government agents, duelling with mad ship captains, targeted by a futuristic crime family or just being attacked by a mindless race of aggressive aliens known as the Yxtrang. The Clan Korval is not always fighting alone however. One of their more fascinating allies is the Clutch Turtles, linked to Korval through an unspecified and mysterious adoption. These aliens are an old race, long lived, slow to act, fascinated by art and possibly the most deadly creatures in known space. There are so many factions, families, races and species involved in the Liaden universe that we need every book these talented authors can produce just to scratch the surface. I just hope their growing popularity gives them enough reasons to continue writing.
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank Meisha Merlin, it's reprinted!,
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This review is from: Partners in Necessity (Paperback)
Partners In Necessity is one of the greatest gifts my budget has ever seen. You see, I am a huge fan of the three novels that it is a re-print of, but they are long since out of print, and while the original paperbacks can be found, used bookstores charge a fortune for them. This is a heck of a problem when one is trying to find copies so as to use them as bribes to friends to return -my- copies. I'm not kidding, this has been a problem for me, because the books are simply that good. It's a space opera, with characters one can't help but admire, and a style of writing that just grabs you and isn't going to let you go until you've finished. They also have tremendous re-read value, this isn't a book one reads once and sets aside. It begs to be read again and again, and it becomes only more fun each time.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Instant Lost Weekend,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Partners in Necessity (Paperback)
If you pick up this book on a Friday evening, expect not to do anything else until Monday morning...The Liaden Universe is like James Clavell in space. The plots are not quite so complicated, and the pace is faster, but the focus on interweaving conflicts of duty, profit, and romance remind me a lot of Noble House or Tai-Pan. In the Liaden Universe, there are two primary rules. Don't start fights. Always finish them. One thing that might throw some people off is that the authors are very strict about not "explaining" anything. It's up to the reader to puzzle out who the Liadens, Yxtrang, Terrans, Turtles, Clans, witches, healers, etc. are. This isn't as hard as it sounds like, because the authors want you to figure out the puzzle. And it makes the books a great re-read, since you don't have to wade through pages of exposition explaining things you already know -- it's straight into the action right away. But that doesn't mean the world is constructed shoddily. Everything hangs together fairly consistantly, nothing seems to be added on as an afterthought just to advance the plot. You will certainly want to read Plan B after this one -- do not read them out of order!
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