A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 5

Adventures in the Liaden Universe

by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Tales of the Liaden Universe® brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans.

STORYTELLING ON AN EPIC SCALE

For more than thirty years, the Liaden Universe® novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have captivated readers with their unique blend of action adventure, science fiction, and interpersonal relationships. In addition to twenty-one novels (and counting), Lee and Miller have written dozens of shorter works based in the Liaden Universe®, featuring the strong characterization, detailed worldbuilding, wit, and derring-do that readers of the series adore.

Sure to delight longtime fans and newcomers alike, these tales highlight why the nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® novels are treasured by space opera aficionados, with amazing settings, strong characterizations, compelling romance, and edge-of-the-chair action in stories that range from cosmic to comic.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Anthologies, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook, Paranormal

431 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2022

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

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten stories. Some are quite good. Here is the list, with my rankings:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fortune’s Favors — Mar Tyn, a Luck, comes across Don Eyr and Serana's bakery

⭐️⭐️ Opportunity to Seize -- A young Daav and Aelliana spend bedtime with Kamele.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shout of Honor -- On Inago Station, Vepal and Ochin meet mercenary JinJee Sanchez. They confront the DOI.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Command Decision -- mercenary Lunatics Angela Liz Lizardi and Bjarni must try to save the fungi fertilization.

⭐️⭐️ Dark Secrets -- Simon Kilsymthe helps save Caerli yo'Dira from the secrets of her past

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom -- Scout Lina yo'Bingim arrives on Surebleak and discovers why the Surebleak Scouts have split from the Liaden Scouts. (would like more about how Liad is dealing with Korval / Surebleak/ Scouts)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Gate that Locks the Tree -- a winter tale: taxicabs, blizzards, cats, Yulie, Vertu, etc., and Tree, with Val Con, Miri, Lizzy at Jelaza Kazone (cozy story for winter, but Tree characterization seems off, compared to other books in series)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Preferred Seating -- Can Ith yos'Phelium goes offgrid, eklykt'i. ( “small talents” are banished from Liad, creating history for the novel Trader’s Leap. This offers a different perspective when paired with another story in this constellation, "Ambient Conditions”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ambient Conditions -- Kishara must deal with despicable Mor Gan, with Can Ith's help.

⭐️⭐️ Dead Men Dream -- Khana and Bar Jan make new lives for themselves after their deaths. Ties in with Jethri books.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 bk 24. An excellent collection of short stories and one that completes the story of some characters and tells the back story of others. A few of the stories I had previously purchases as short stories or novellas and as a result wish that Lee & Miller had listed each of the stories included in the collection. However, it was a a fun book to read and enjoyable to revisit characters I hadn't thought or read of in almost a year.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5* Another great collection of short stories/novellas set in the Liaden Universe. As always, make sure you have your Liaden wiki open, as the stories often revolve around minor, but always interesting, characters from the main novels.

[Kathryn Baron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fortune's Favors *** (Sequel to Degrees of Separation)
Opportunity to Seize ** (Outtake or coda to mainline story. Nothing big, but interesting. )
Shout of Honor ***
Command Decisions **
Dark Secrets **
A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom ***
The Gate that Locks the Tree ***
Preferred Seating ***
Ambient Conditions **
Dead Men Dream ***

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Liaden Universe Constellation books (of which this is number five) are a boon to those of us who really enjoy the setting but don't buy the individual *chapbooks or necessarily all of the themed anthologies to which authors Sharon Lee & Steve Miller submit Liaden stories.

I just read the novels AND the Constellation collections. (Google tells me that chapbooks are "teeny books", usually in the range of 20-40 pages and are thus more affordable than their novel-length counterparts.)

Putting together the Constellation series means that each story has a second sale and I certainly do not begrudge the authors for getting paid twice for the same short story, novelette, novella, etc.

My favorite story this time was The Gate That Locks the Tree because this story was about Korval's sentient tree. (Yes, sentient but not the same as human sentient.) AND featured our core characters Val Con & Miri and their family.

My second favorites were a pair of stories Preferred Seating and Ambient Conditions. These stories were a pair because of overlapping characters and because the stories show the power of the point of view. POV is one of an author's most potent tools. Preferred Seating is the backstory of a Liaden Jump Pilot while Ambient Conditions is the background story for another key character in Preferred Seating.

My third favorite was Dead Men Dream, a story about an incident involving Jethri Gobelyn (a Terran apprenticed to a Liaden Master Trader who has been the lead protagonist of several Liaden novels). Jethri has a duel with a Liaden aristocrat and this is the story about what happened to said aristocrat AFTER the latter lost that duel.

Highly recommended for longtime Liaden Universe fans AND for fans wanting to try out the Liaden Universe setting. (If it proves not to their taste, said fans can then return the book to the public library, no harm no foul.)

Also highly recommended for fans of hard sf space opera, adventure, romance (a number of the books feature characters finding their lifemates [spouses]), and of the Liaden Universe setting [Liadens live by a Code and manners dictate their interactions with each other. The fun comes in how said Liadens interact with Terrans and vice versa.]

[Tea73 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it, but I felt the stories here were less strong than those in other collections of Lee and Miller. It does not help that my interest in cats is limited, so the centerpiece of this collection falls flat for me. I'd also seen most of these stories before - I guess that's what I get for being a fan enough to have downloaded novellas as e-books!

On the other hand, I have been a sucker for the same story told from a different point of view ever since E. Nesbit gave us The House of Arden and Harding's Luck. So I loved the pairing of "Preferred Seating" and "Ambient Conditions".

This was also a plus for "Dead Men Dream" which is more of a what happened next tale to someone we had seen in an earlier tale as pure bad guy.

"Fortune's Favors" is an interesting exploration of the idea of "luck" in this universe, and also gives us the backstory of characters we'll see again.

"Opportunity to Seize" is not really a story, but it's such a cute scene you've got to love it.

"Shout of Honor" shows us the Xtrang ambassador Commander Vepal. I want to like this story more than I do.

"Command Decisions" felt forced to me. Didn't enjoy it at all. Lizardi is in it.

"Dark Secrets" new to me, but meh. Ex-scout, dealing with her past.

"A Visit to the Galaxy Ballroom" thin story about a Scout realizing which side she should be on.

"The Gate that Locks the Tree" A blizzard, the tree, too many cats. I realized I prefer not having the tree's thoughts translated by Jeeves.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of ten stories from the Liaden Universe has copyrights from 2019 to 2021. All the stories have been previously published in a wide variety of venues from chapbooks to themed anthologies.

The stories vary in length and theme and reason for being. Some of discovery stories that fill in the background or catch up on characters who have roles in the novels. Others are told about brand-new characters in previously unexplored parts of the Liaden Universe.

All of the stories were well-written and entertaining. Quite a few of the stories seem to touch on the Liaden concept of Luck from Mar Tyn's discovery story Fortune's Favors to Preferred Seating which tells of the days when the small talents were exiled from Liad and taken to a planet deep in the Ambient. Ambient Conditions is a companion story to Preferred Seating told from a different point of view.

The story I liked the best was Dead Men Dream because I had been wondering whatever happened to Bar Jan and his man after his delm declared him dead after his fight with Jethri Gobelyn ven'Deelin. The story was filled with action, danger, and character growth.

Fans of the Liaden Universe will enjoy having all of these shorter works conveniently to hand in one collection.

[Charlie Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee and Miller have been writing stories and novels set in their Liaden Universe for a long time. Some 25 or more books in, they've told some great stories and chronicled major events, many through the members of Clan Korval, which always seems to be at the heart of earth-shaking changes and seismic shifts. While their stories are told mostly in the novels, the authors frequently take another look at many of these big events through the eyes of folks on the sidelines, who may be experiencing these changes without necessarily having much of a say in them, and who have to cope regardless. Some of the changes are good, some not so good, but the people and their stories are always good, and they expand our view beyond the main story lines in thought-provoking ways. Some of the stories included here were previously published in small collections or as single novellas or in anthologies, but the constellations are where the authors gather up all the short Liaden stories they've written since the last one.

The characters are worth knowing, and their stories are worth reading and while it isn't a perfect place, the Liaden Universe is a worthwhile place to spend some time.

[DemetraP · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is enjoyable for long time fans. Fans new to the series will be very lost.

There are short stories about what happened to Clan Rinork's heir after he and Jethri fought and Rinork's arm was severely injured.

And the group of orphans who live on Low Port with Serena.

There are a few stories about those with the "Luck".

A nice story "Gate that Locks the Tree" about life on Surebleak for the taxi drivers. The Tree also apologizes for leaving behind some of the cats/cat helpers on Liad when the tree evacuated with Clan Korval. The Tree is also dealing with reaching the goal it has wanted for thousands of years, and now it feels a loss of purpose. It still defends Jela's heirs but it has defeated the final evil.

[Sctechsorceress · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all of the Liaden Universe Constellation books that preceded this one, it is a mix of previously published short works, and new ones. If you haven't read the older stories elsewhere, they will, of course, be new to you. I have read most of the older work before, and found reading them here to be rather like meeting old friends in a new place. The Liaden Universe these authors have created is big enough for many stories, so finding a new short work is a small delight.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this look at the corners of the Liaden world. I had read one longish one already, but the rest were new. I like seeing how the other folks are doing, and since I'm starting to lose hold of the entire tapestry of big players, it's good to have some of that shored up again.

I liked the two views of the same incident in two of the stories, and seeing what happened to the nemesis in the Trader stories, and I enjoyed some old fashioned melanti'i stuff.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragons, Cats, Trees and Rabbits

Another excellent collection for followers of the Epic Liaden Space Opera. This is not a place to start, but it's a most happy place for Lovers of the Dragon and Tree. Quite a few stories are focused on adventures of the Rabbit, and a couple on the expulsion of the minor talents from Liaden. Contains a excellent story about the Tree and it's Cats. Anything with Cats is always good.

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fabulous tales of wonder, exciting action, love, hate, and flashy or quiet heroes and villains! Lee & Miller books are my all time favorites. The characters quickly become friends and beloved ones while the stories entertain as they uplift and gently make the reader THINK. I save Liaden tales to savor as special rewards or to re-center myself when the world’s heartache threatens to overpower me. Everyone needs this collection.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of these stories have appeared somewhere else. Almost all of them I've read before. But they're still wonderful, and it was a real pleasure to find one in here that I hadn't seen before. Even if there'd been nothing new, however, it would still have been worth the money to have it all pulled together into the Fifth (!) Constellation.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last (so far!) Liaden short story collection. I accidentally read this all in one day, so obviously, it held my attention. I liked it better than the prior collection, though it largely touches on very minor characters. Enjoyable for fans of the series - but most enjoyable if you are pretty well caught up with the series as a whole.

[Carol DeVoss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the Constellation books.

I like having the smaller individual stories (some of which which I may have missed) brought together under one cover. All of these stories were enjoyable. I especially enjoyed that of Jeef and Shanna.

[Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid collection of short stories fleshing out the Liaden universe - there's name dropping and cameos but the focus is most definitely new or side characters. Not really a good starting point, but more like appetizers and fillers if you enjoy the main course novels.

[Alison Shanahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful short stories

The Liaden Universe is my favorite. The depth of characterization is superb, the emotions, actions and interplay between characters is a lesson in first class writing. All aspiring writers should read about the Liaden Universe.

[Carol Landry · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY FAVE AUTHORS

I read everything they write and am never disappointed. This is a compilation of newish short and long stories. I read it too fast.

[John D. Falcone JR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming

Lee and Miller have put together another treat for their readers. I thank them for their care of the Liaden Universe and as always, look forward to the next entry.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good collection of "Liaden" short stories. As always some resonate more with me than others. I'm always happy to read more stories from these authors.

[ReadKnitHoard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immensely satisfying deep dives into luck, choices, consequences, and repercussions intertwining Liaden and Terran lives across the universe.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't finished listening to the entire book yet, but I just finished "Opportunity to Seize" and have to share my thoughts while they are fresh.
In the preface to the story, the authors wrote, "in [their] humble opinions, it was too good not to share."
I completely agree and am glad that they shared it with us. :-)

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edit from re-read: So now I've finished re-reading all the Liaden books, picking up on several things I missed as time went by between releases. And now I can read the latest release, Ribbon Dance, which has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of weeks. But Sharon says it won't be the last Liaden book, universe willing, so this might not be my last complete re-read, either.

Original review: It's an interesting thing about comfort books. I know folks who read romance novels of various genres, who can consume hundreds of them in a year. They are not doing it for the variety, which is minimal at best, but because they know they will find what they are looking for and enjoy the process. I do the same thing with the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, in which nothing much ever happens, but I like spending time with Precious. I also like (no, love) spending time with the imaginations of Sharon Lee and her husband Steve Miller. He died last month; I haven't processed that yet.

[Dlora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of short stories that I would love to have expanded into a full length novel! I was tickled by the two short stories that "mirrored" each other: "Preferred Seating" and "Ambient Conditions." I was loving the first short story but thought it ended too abruptly and then discovered that the next short story was telling the same story but from another main character's viewpoint and it happily filled out the ending satisfactorily. That was fun and well-written. I would love to have more stories about Vertu the taxi cab driver. I know there is another one that tells how she ended up on Surebleak but I'd like more about her. I really enjoyed "Dead Men Dream" and the well-crafted turn of Bar Jan from a spoiled rich kid that we disliked in the Jethri trade novels to someone struggling to rise from his bad choices and arrogant behaviors. And both "Fortunes Favors" and "Shout of Honor" were favorites too.

[Kelly Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with other volumes, this one makes more sense if one is already familiar with the series; if one is following it, you won't want to be without this! Read it back to back with the small collection "Bread Alone," as the first story in Const. V and the last story in that book are bookends, pardon the pun, to one of the secondary character arcs of the series.

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of Liaden stories

I love the Liaden books and have read this one many times. Within this book is adventure, laughter, sorrow, found family, a bit of romance, and well-loved characters, as well as new characters to love. The final novella is a fantastic story of redemption for a character I had felt was badly prepared for life by his family.

[Shae Erisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

more of the good stuff

[Alice]

The Liaden Universe, one of my favorite places to be. Such interesting stories, filling in parts of the larger arc of a long and complex narrative.