Technical Details

Adventures in the Liaden Universe #21

by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Two stories about the folks who keep the social and technical machinery running. "Landed Alien" finds Kara ven'Arith on a space station maintenance crew when a series of inexplicable events overtake support functions. In "Eleutherios," the friars at a down-and-out abbey are taken in hand by an unlikely savior. Both stories previously appeared on Baen website.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

73 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2013

About the author

Sharon Lee has been married to her first husband for more than half her lifetime; she is a friend to cats, a member of the National Carousel Association, and oversees the dubious investment schemes of an improbable number of stuffed animals.

Despite having been born in a year of the dragon, Sharon is an introvert. She lives in Maine because she likes it there. In fact, she likes it so much that she has written five novels set in Maine; contemporary fantasy trilogy Carousel Tides, Carousel Sun, Carousel Seas, and mysteries Barnburner and Gunshy.

With the aforementioned first husband, Steve Miller, Sharon has written twenty novels of science fiction and fantasy — many of them set in the Liaden Universe® — and numerous short stories. She has occasionally been an advertising copywriter, a reporter, photographer, book reviewer, and secretary. She was for three years Executive Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., and was subsequently elected vice president and then president of that organization.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories.

[Paraphrodite · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

The first story "Landed Alien" is about Kara, Theo's friend in the pilot academy. Even though she graduated as a second-class pilot, the Eylot Pilot Guild is witholding registration until she attend a "re-orientation" session. So when her Academy advisor suggested that she go for a work tour on the Eylot Space station before attending that session, she agreed and things got interesting from there on....

The second story "Eleutherios" is about the Bedel, that interesting group on Surebleak. This is a story that took place before Surebleak.

[Hacksaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in a corner of the Liaden Universe, this tale of an interaction between a priest and a member of a roaming tribe called the Bedel is fun. As tends to be the case with Lee and Miller writing, the Bedel are super competent, and desiring to do the right thing. The Bedel are interesting because they are a maker culture, so engineering and repair are their breath and heartbeat. How any one of them deals with outsiders, however, depends on their own experiences. This particular story tells of a priest in a difficult situation, and the Bedel man and his brothers who both caused it, but also deal with it, leaving the world and the priest a little better than when they got there.

[Kat Lind · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always amazing

The skill and breadth of the authors' storytelling continues to amaze me even after all of the years that I have been reading their books. Thanks for another enjoyable visit to your worlds.

[Mark Mcdaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as others in the series, but. still a very good read.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one. Both stories very good. The first story features Kara from the Theo novels, and shows some of what happened with her between Theo being expelled and when they meet up again. The second story is about a man of the Bedel, but not one we’ve met before. Still enjoyed it.