SKU
A9781476781488
Rating:
79 % of 100
$15.00

A new novel in the popular and exciting science fiction Liaden Universe® series. Over a half million Liaden Universe® books sold with an audience that keeps growing!

Beset by the angry remnants of the Department of the Interior, challenged at every turn by opportunists on their new homeworld of Surebleak, and somewhat low on funds, Clan Korval desperately needs to reestablish its position as one of the top trading clans in known space. To this end, Master Trader Shan yos'Galan, aboard Korval's premier trade ship, Dutiful Passage, is on a mission to establish new business associations and to build a strong primary route that links well with existing Loops and secondary routes.

But reestablishing trade and preserving the lives of the few remaining members of the clan aren't all of Korval's problems. Matters come to a head as Dutiful Passage, accustomed to being welcomed and feted at those ports on its call-list, finds itself denied docking, and blacklisted, while agents of the DOI mount armed attacks on others of Korval's traders, under the very eyes of port security systems.

Traveling with Dutiful Passage on this unsettling journey is Padi yos'Galan, the master trader's heir and his apprentice. Padi is eager to make up for time lost due to Korval's unpleasantness with the Department of the Interior. She is also keeping a secret so intense that her coming of age, and perhaps her very life, is threatened by it.

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Customer Reviews

Items 1 to 10 of 14 total

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  1. poor delivery
    Quality
    20%
    I was extraordinarily eager to read this book! Unfortunately following Baen's instructions ended in "Download Failed. Safari cannot download this file." Huh?! And there's no phone number to call Baen for help! I'll have to cancel my account and my credit card, I think... and buy the book in hardcover.

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  2. Three Threads Across Space
    Quality
    60%
    Good story, and it's great to be back with Clan Korval, even if we make little headway in the fight against the Dept of Interior -- with one MAJOR exception, which is more than enough, along with the fact that this book positions several protagonists in a much stronger battle-stance.

    Interesting sections depicting how an artificial intelligence learns. Vivid portrayal of the hunted feeling one gets from the Dept of Interior. I felt sorry for Padi on the Dutiful Passage, especially. Some scenes with Daav and Aliana felt recycled. That plot thread has taken too long to play out, for my taste. However, Uncle's reaction to the seed pods was priceless!

    This book isn't set on Surebleak. Three different plot threads unwind at various locations across the galaxy, and the POV shifts from point to point, back and forth like a Ping Pong ball. I dislike this type of organization, especially when the POV jumps within the same page or two, rather than at the end of a robust chapter.

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  3. Good
    Quality
    80%
    For devoted fans who have read the Liad novels more than once, it is an excellent chapter in the saga of a great merchant family in the far future. Clan Korval is facing many unresolved issues- some of them dating more than a thousand years to its past. For newer readers, it might be a bit confusing. And we are all missing Theo.

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  4. Quality
    100%
    'Alliance of Equals' is a wonderful and welcome addition to Korval. The manner the story is revealed I am minded of a dance, a change-ringers hunt or other elegant sequencing. Thank you - live long prosper

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  5. Dragons on the move
    Quality
    100%
    This is a very good chapter in the adventures of Korval. Trade must go on, difficult as it may be, and traumatized halflings get a chance to mature.

    Don't look for Theo here, she's not ready to speak to us :)

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  6. New Layers
    Quality
    100%
    The Liaden books don't revolve around one or two characters. This book both deepens the stories about characters we know well and enriches our knowledge of Padi, who is growing from child to adult.

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  7. Disorganized good writing
    Quality
    60%
    As usual, this team of writers :writes a good stick" as the printers say. If i could I would give it more stars.
    However, organization of the story lines, if one could call it that, was confusing and disjointed. I get trying to advance several separate story lines, but it would have been much more successful, as a book, if the lines were separated out. I did that myself in order to get through the book. I would read all the Padi section/paragraphs to the end. Then one of the others etc. It made much more sense to me as a reader. In short, if the Book was organized as a series of short stories it would have been much better, and readable.

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  8. Quality
    80%
    A good story focusing on some new and old characters. I especially like the Shan / Priscilla / Padi storyline, bringing us up on two old friends. The second storyline focuses on charactes introduced in recent books, and reintroduces themes from older books - AI, cloning, producing humans to spec. We also get some progress on the Daav / Aenallia developement, that is inching along the main storyline in recent publications. So what were my impressions?

    The Shan / Priscilla / Padi stuff is gby far the strongest part of the book, and provides s0ome much needed worldbuilding, now that Korval has left Liad behind and is looking to find new stomping grounds.

    The Dav / Aenallia plot gives some resolution, but there is still some distance to go. You have to give props to the Tree for giving Uncle a fit of despair - you'll know what I'm talking about when you reaqd the book.

    The AI / Tolly / Hazelnut stryline is by far the most confusing, you need to recall or reread a lot of the older material. And what's even wores it lacks a satysfying conclusion.

    All in all a good read thet is somewhat lacking in comparison to older novels.

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  9. Okay
    Quality
    60%
    A solid book in the series. Clan Korval is attempting to start new trade routes and gain new trading partners, but is being met with resistance time and time again. Clearly the war is still on.

    So why just a 3? I am a bit tired of all the magic being thrown around. It's fine with the Tree doing its stuff. I can accept a little medical/chemical meddling, but all this dramliza stuff and healing is too much IMO.

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  10. Boring
    Quality
    40%
    Long time watching Padi grow in to a dramiliza and Shan's attempts to renew trade contracts for Dutiful Passage fail. Still waiting to find out what Theo is going to do with Cantra's Spiral Dancer and Korval's Tree's seedling.

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