Lee, Sharon, and Steve Miller. The Crystal Variation. Liaden Universe Nos. 1-3. Baen, 2006,
The Crystal Variation is one of several handy places to start reading the Liaden books. It contains the tw0 Great Migration novels, Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon, and the first of the Jethri novels, Balance of Trade. The Crystal novels deal with the Liaden clan founders, Jela and Cantera, and the ancient war between two powerful alien races that shape Liaden evolution. The setting in Balance of Trade is so far in the future that Cantera has become the traditional name for Liaden currency. I have reviewed each novel separately. 4 stars for economy. ( )

i) Crystal Soldier by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

{First in chronology/ twenty second of 45(?) in publication order of Liaden series; sci-fi, space opera} (2004)

This is a story of a time when humans(?) in an alternative universe have conquered the stars and spread through all three arms of the spiral galaxy. They are now bioengineered to meet specific requirements so much so that one branch, more technologically advanced and calling itself sheriekas, deem themselves to be perfect. The sheriekas are now bent on eliminating all other life, using world-eaters to obliterate planetary life, and a centuries-long war has been fought against this enemy throughout the galaxy. Now, we discover, the sheriekas are able to make entire sections of the galaxy disappear, or 'decrystallise' and the fight has become more urgent.

Jela (M. Jela Granthor's Guard) is an M strain Generalist soldier who is assigned to travel undercover through the galaxy to discover more information about decrystallising.

There was a real danger, with your Generalist, of feeding them so much info they got lost in their own thoughts, and never came out again.

Cantra yos'Phellium is a smuggler-pilot (and may be more than she seems) who operates mainly on the Rim of the galaxy who touches down on Faldaiza and, looking for a dinner companion, ends up becoming entangled in Jela's schemes.

He’d’ve said prosperous free trader, from the quality of the ‘skins and the fact that she was eating at a subdued place at the high end of mid-range. On the other hand, there was that story and the easy-seeming familiarity with the Rim - and beyond. According to his considerable information, Rimmers had a flexible regard for such concepts as laws, ownership, and what might be called proscribed substances. Not that all Rimmers were necessarily pirates.

Adventures and mayhem ensue.

Although this is the first chronological book (currently) it wasn't the first published and reading in publication order has been recommended to me. However, I like to do things sequentially. It took me the first 70 odd pages to settle in and it feels a bit like being thrown into the middle of things, with different speech patterns and the assumption that you know what an M strain soldier is and so on, but that's par for the course and you do pick things up as you go along. Once I had settled in, I enjoyed the story with the adventurers - both more than competent fighters and not shy about using their skills - travelling from planet to planet, trading partly as a cover and partly to keep in funds, while Jela kept on his mission. I did hope that Dulcey would stick around and keep making more great meals.

Once we got to the end I did wonder 'and then what?' but this is a duology with Crystal Dragon - and I have the omnibus edition that also includes Balance of Trade so I shall continue anon.

Oh - and I'm in love with a psychic tree (which is also more than it seems to be). At the beginning of the story Jela crash landed on a planet which had been destroyed by the sheriekas and of the seas, great forests and their symbiotic dragons the sole survivor was a half-grown tree, even shorter (and he's not tall) than he was. Having helped him survive, Jela promised it that he would take it off-planet if he was rescued and so he carries it effortlessly (because he's that strong) in its pot from ship to port to ship through all his adventures (sometimes, literally, while dodging bullets).

And there were the dreams, usually not so loud as to wake him, and behind them the conviction that he could almost smell the water, hear the surf on the beach, recall the dragons hovering over the world-forest, and know their names.
This last was the most perplexing - for he must assume that the dreams and wistful memories were the tree’s, channeled to him by a mechanism he accepted without understanding - and how would the tree know the names of beings who rode the air currents?

January 2021
3.5***

ii) Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

{Second in chronology/ twenty fourth of 45(?) in publication order of Liaden series; sci-fi, space opera} (2005)

It’s been a few months since I read Crystal Soldier where a soldier in the long-running galactic war against the sheriekas, M. Jela Granthor’s Guard, and his psychic sapling inadvertently involved the pilot Cantra yos’Phelium in his mission to find out why portions of the galaxy have disappeared, or decrystallised, thought to be caused by the sheriekas and where they met two very mysterious strangers.

It becomes apparent that decrystallisation cannot be halted or avoided; it may only be possible to escape it - at the instant of its occurrence - into a parallel universe. But the only scholar who has calculated the possible equations is locked away in a Tower on a distant world so Jela and Cantra must infiltrate it to try and hack into the Tower’s jealously guarded ‘brain’ to save the galaxy.

Crystal Dragon starts at the point where Crystal Soldier ends. However, the prologue goes back to the origins of the two mysterious strangers, the way they are trained to manipulate possibilities and how they became involved in the fight against the sheriekas or, as they know them, the Iloheen. I felt a bit lost until I worked out that in this universe, apart from the psychic tree, it’s co-species the extinct dragons and the zaliata that the sheriekas trap in constructed human bodies, there do not seem to be any aliens; all species seem to be derived or engineered from humans.

The story proper begins by introducing us to Tor An yos’Galan, a young Trader pilot on his way home, who discovers that the portion of the galaxy that contains his home planet no longer exists. When he tries to find an explanation for this, he too is pulled into the dance of fate.

Meanwhile, Jela and Cantra are working on the problem assigned to them by the mysterious strangers, namely to acquire those equations. Fortunately - when it comes to mathematical equations - Jela, as a generalist soldier, is very good at them and has been working on them as part of his ongoing mission. However, to access Liad dea’Syl’s work there is no alternative to going into Osabei Tower on Landomist, an Inner world of the galaxy where his genetic makeup would stand out and prevent his access to the Towers. Luckily, Cantra fits the bill perfectly and she is a trained aelantaza - someone who can take on a character and personality so thoroughly that she believes the false memories she uses to create that character. But working Jela and the tree into her disguise - that’s the trick.

Some characters from Crystal Soldier return in this book to lend a hand against the sheriekas's last push as they prepare to eliminate all other life in the spiral arm galaxy. And when it comes down to that final battle, the likelihood of escape rests on the slimmest of chances - if all the fates align - but, luckily, the mysterious strangers are on their side and they have allies. It might work, in the end.

I enjoyed this story and I liked the characters, especially Jela:

The citations and reprimands, the write-ups for offences that earned him detention wove a kind of narrative, as if the Jela in the file was a character in a story who touched some points with the man ... but was otherwise wholly imaginary. Not that she couldn’t perfectly well imagine Jela taking on an entire squad of soldiers - and winning the fight! - but the smile and the sheer joy coming off him while he courted and committed mayhem - that didn’t come through the reports. For Jela, she thought, had been bred, born and trained to fight and destroy - and he’d been happy in his work. He’d been bred for that, too.

and the sussdriad (doesn't name that just make you think of the susurration of leaves in a wind sweeping across the treetops of a great forest?), who communicates in images of its home planet which convert people into dragons:

A series of pictures flared inside his head, hard enough to hurt, strong enough to obscure the sight of the ships and the port around him: The golden dragon, voice faint, calling against the fall of night. From the darkening sky, the black dragon swooped, behind and beneath her, bearing her up, moving them both toward a distant cliff-edge and the tree growing there, the scent of seed-pods clear and enticing on the wind ...
‘M. Jela, are you well?’ the old scholar asked sharply.
He shook the pictures out of his head, and blinked the port back into existence.
‘Disagreement among the troop,’ he muttered, and took a hard breath.

I like the tip of the hat to Anne McCaffrey’s Pern towards the end. And don’t worry - despite all the maths flying around, there’s not a single actual equation in evidence :0)

Despite the purists' encouragement to read this series in publication order, I found this (currently the first two books in chronological order and the origin story) a good introduction to the Liaden Universe and I'm happy to explore it further.

May 2021
4-4.5 ****

ii) Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

{Third in chronology/ twentieth of 45(?) in publication order of Liaden series; sci-fi, space opera} (2004)

This story takes place about 1,125 years after the events in Crystal Soldier and Crystal Dragon and lets us know how the original Liaden universe ties into this one - which is possibly a futuristic version of our own, given the presence of Terrans.

Jethri Gobelyn (who seems to be about 17 years old, give or take), a Terran, is the son of Arin and Iza Gobelyn and unwanted (by his mum) third child. His father, who died years before, educated Jethri but now all that he has left to remember him by is his lucky fractin (which we recognise as one of the type of tiles Jela used to program his tile array) since Iza got rid of everything else. At the beginning of the story, we find Jethri crewing aboard his mother's trading ship Gobelyn Market along with other family members; but now Iza is planning to send him to crew on another ship.

Jethri, partially taught by his father, is adept at trading and knows something of Liadens and the deep but foreign sense of Liaden honour. When he does a favour for a Liaden master trader, Norn ven’Deelin, in a matter of honour she offers him a berth on a Liaden trading ship (he will be the first ever Terran to do so), seeing in him an opportunity to build bridges between Liadens and Terrans. However, he has a lot to learn including the nuances of Liaden manners (and the finer points of bowing) and how to use them so as not to cause offence.

He checked, whistle dying on his lips, eyes rapt upon a performance the like of which he had not beheld since - well, since he had first come to Rinork, and spent so many hours before the mirror, shining his bows for High House display.
Alas, the person bowing so earnestly and with such ... interesting ... results in the wide space in the hall meant to accommodate a service jitney, had no mirror. Style was also sadly absent, though there was, Tan Sim allowed, after observing for a few heartbeats, a certain vivacity in delivery that was not ... entirely ... displeasing.
At just that point, the person in the shadows executed a bow with a vivacity sufficient to set them staggering and Tan Sim felt it was time to take a hand.
'Here then!' he called out in the mode spoken between comrades, which would surely have set Bar Jan to ranting. 'There's no sense breaking your head over a bow, you know.'

Master ven'Deelin treats Jethri like an adopted son and as part of his education Jethri sees what life is like in a Liaden household when she takes him to her foster mother’s house on planet Irikwae (where we find that there are dramliz within the current day Liadens).

‘Oh, certainly!’ Meicha cut him off. ‘It is understood that the ven’Deelin’s word must carry all before it!’
‘Except Aunt Stafeli,’ said Miandra.
‘Sometimes,’ concluded Meicha; and, ’Do you find the steps difficult, Jethri?’
He bit his lip. ‘My home ship ran light gravity, and I am never easy in heavy grav.’
‘Light gravity,’ Miandra repeated, in caressing tones. ‘Sister, we must go to space!’
‘Let Ren Lar catch us ‘mong the vines again and we shall.’

Meanwhile his family docks their ship for a year to refit and so are planet-bound for a time during which they receive visits from people who want to find out more about Arin and his interest in ‘Befores’ or ‘old technology’, such as Jethri’s fractin (Fractional Mosaic Memory Module) - which Liaden Scouts are also interested in - which came across from the old universe and is Sheriekas-made or derived from Sheriekas technology.

Liadens are generally smaller in proportion to Terrans so Jethri has problems with the height of chairs and handles of teapots; I thought that that was a nice detail (myself having the opposite problem) that highlighted that they are different species, despite being very similar in looks. I also appreciated the way that the authors showed how Jethri (who is space born and bred) has to deal with open skies and heavier gravity than he is used to on board ship; and I found it amusing that he uses 'mud' as a swear word.

‘Turn the knob and push the door away from you,’ Miandra coached. ‘If you like, we will show you how to lock it from the inside.’
‘Thank you,’ he said. The porcelain was cool and smooth, vaguely reminiscent of his fractin.
The door moved easily under his push, and he came a little too quickly into the room, the knob still in his hand.
This time he shouted, and threw an arm up over his eyes, all the while his heart pounded in his ears, and his breath burned in his chest.
‘The curtains!’ a high voice shrilled, and there were hands on his shoulders, pushing him, turning him, he realised, in the midst of his panic and willingly allowed it, the knob slipping from his hand.
‘Done!’
‘Done,’ repeated an identical voice, very near at hand. ‘Jethri, the curtain is closed. You may open your eyes.’
It wasn’t as easy as that, of course, and there was the added knowledge, as he got his breathing under control, that he’d made a looby outta himself in front of the twins, besides showing them just as plain as he could where he stood vulnerable.
Mud, dust and stink! He raged at himself, standing there with his arm over his face and his eyes squeezed tight. His druthers, if it mattered, was to sink down deep into the flooring and never rise up again. Failing that, he figured dying on the spot would do. Of all the stupid - but, who expected bare sky and mountain peaks when they opened a sleeping room door? Certainly not a born spacer.

I found this book very more-ish. The syntax is a bit Yoda-like and the odd phrasing may initially keep readers at a distance but the story is engaging. There were some interesting concepts and story-lines opened which I hope are/ will be developed further; as I understand it, this was a departure by the authors from their main thread about clan Korval. I enjoyed reading Jethri's story and I look forward to reading more about him - and coming back to re-read this one.

July 2021
4.5-5*****

Omnibus published 2011
Averaging: 4 stars ( )

I usually love all the Liaden books. These three are my least favorites, and I'm not sure why. I read them all ages ago, and I'm slightly appalled to find them all in a book together. Maybe I need to re-read them again and see if they have grown on me? ( )

This is a much post read commentary. On the first read I skimmed the three books in this collection. I liked it enough to keep reading the series but at the time I was not totally wowed. I have now read the entire series at least three times....and each time I read these first three books I learn a lot more about the Universes and Worlds and characters of this series. I just added this trilogy of books to my 'favorites' as a nod to my love of the entire series. I can hardly wait for the next book to be released! ( )

Good Omnibus selection: Here is my review of The Great Migration Duology. http://girlsguidetoscifi.blogspot.ca/2013/05/the-last-word-liaden-universe-serie... ( )