The comment section below this post is for the Early Adopters of The Gathering Edge by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
If you have not read the eArc and/or intend to wait for a later publication, and you don’t want the story spoiled for you, for the love of ghod, please do not read the comments.
Wow! Book five in the Theo saga leaves so many questions. What happens when Theo, Kamele, Daav, Aelliana and Hevelin meet? Add in Val Con, Miri, Win Ton, Captain yos’Thada, Chernak, Stost and Vepal? The mind boggles! Even without Padi returning to Surebleak. What to do now to prepare for Neogenesis? Need to reread at minimum Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Scouts Progress with Mouse and Dragon and all five Theo books again including The Gathering Edge. Probably will have to add Dragon in Exile and Alliance of Equals to the list. Good news on Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors and Carpe Diem coming out in hardcover! Hopefully sales will be good enough we can get the other four of the first twenty Liaden novels (Plan B, I Dare, Scouts Progress and Local Custom) also in hardcover!!
Hardcover of Early books
Who is the publisher and when can I get them ?
From the ‘Liaden Universe InfoDump Number 117’:
AND! WATCH THE SKIES!
It is a fact little realized that Agent of Change, the very first Liaden novel written, was published as a Paperback Original by Del Rey Books in 1988. It was followed, latter in 1988, and in late 1989 by Conflict of Honors and Carpe Diem, also Paperback Originals.
This is important for a couple of reasons.
First! Publication in 1988 means that! in 2018, the Liaden Universe® will be 30 years old.
Second! In all that time, and through all the various shufflings and republishings of the various Liaden novels the first three have never been published as single hardcovers.
Third! Baen will be celebrating Thirty Years of Liad starting with a hardcover reprinting — the very first hardcover printing! — of Agent of Change in the spring of 2018, with Conflict and Carpe to follow.
Watch the skies for more details.
Daav now knows that Uncle has Cantra’s genetic material.
He also knows that Korval has Jela’s gene map.
Many possibilities present themselves.
I am eager for the various open threads to start weaving together, and it seems that might happen in NEOGENESIS. Fingers crossed for a wonderful adventure.
I was glad to see Win Ton at full health and thumbing his nasty Scout captain. Loved Theo’s challenge to Captain yos’Thada: I call your captain and raise you a commander. Hah.
I wonder if Uncle will pinbeam Theo to come pick up Daav and Alli. What a shock that would be for Theo! Maybe the born-again couple will pilot Spiral Dance. I’d love to see that!
I’m glad baby tree is getting wheels, maybe to visit Bechimo’s bridge someday, or at least the galley, etc.
Based on the ending of GATHERING EDGE, I expect not only a Scout AI duel (of sorts) at Surebleak but also a clan reunion (hopefully with Daav & Alli, and Shan, Padi, Priscilla, etc). I wonder if BIG TREE Jelaza Kazone is gaining some special insights or abilities regarding timonium, given that she is rooted in an old timonium quarry. If so, then she could pass it on to her dragons and her saplings, and look out world!
I’m not sure where the authors are going with Ambassador Vepal and the pathfinders Chernak and Stost, but I LIKE. And clearly they need to meet Miri, and Nelirikk’s little troop. I have tried to guess what is in the pathfinder’s case from the ancient archives at Loadtz, and I am clueless (maybe info about timonium, or Sheriekas, or Troop, or possibly about Earth, or about the Ssussdriads, or….maybe info about the Lyre / Tanjelyre Institute) .
And I am eager to see what’s going on with Admiral Bunter and Tolly, and Hazenthull hard on their heels. Love Tocohl and eager to see her (not crazy about Inki, but willing to forgive her). I’m curious about this super-AI rumor that Tocohl is chasing. Bechimo can help with that? And Tolly?
To prepare for NEO, I will re-read everything Bob mentioned above, and the short story Tinsori Light.
I will also want to revisit the Splinter Universe shortie, Strings, Strands, and Vines, to help prepare for what Rys and his cohort of freed agents are doing next. Last we heard (Dragon in Exile) they were jumping off-world to take on with the Dept of Interior quaternary download station.
Theo wonders if Joyita might become embodied. Since Uncle could extract half of Daav’s mind and reconstitute it in a blank as Aelliana, I wonder if he could something similar for Joyita.
Also, I keep waffling on how to pronounce both Joyita and Juntavas. English style with a hard ‘j’ or Spanish style sounding like the English ‘h’.
I am, for whatever reason, hung up on Rigs jacket. When Theo went on-station and a leathers shop was mentioned I expected her to get a pilot jacket in her leg size. She seems irritated everytime someone points out hers is too big/ a hand me down/ etc. Then when Rig went on his way to Carresens-Denobli I wondered why she didn’t gift it back to him. He’d lost so much! I’m not sure why this is such an itch in my back brain…
Found how to submit a review on the “Barnes and Noble” web site: From the main menu type in ‘The Gathering Edge’, quotes not required, click on the book, wait for the reviews to appear , click on review and choose write a review. Logon or create a new account and write your review!
@Tamsue
Re: leather jacket
It’s an itch in my brain, too. Poor guy.
Just finished re-reading ‘Crystal Soldier’ and ‘Crystal Dragon’. Can’t believe I forgot why ‘Spiral Dance’ had a child of “Jela’s Tree” onboard. Is Theo’s call on the luck as strong as clan Korval’s founding Delm Cantra yos’Phelium? I hope so. It won’t be another 11 years before I read these two again as well as the other 18 novels in the series! Next up: ‘Agent of Change’ followed by all 5 of the Theo saga.
Idle thoughts, just finished first reading of the book.
Did our Pathfinders know or know of Jela and his Tree?
I don’t think they know the Tree is onboard, nor that Theo is of Jela’s line. Seems like that would be a significant event or discussion.
I’m glad to see Theo growing into the bonded captain, but I don’t like her as much anymore, not sure why.
I AM worried about the bond and how it’s affecting her, her thought processes and allegiances.
I enjoyed this installment of the universe, and will write a review after I mull around for a few days. Then start my re-read of Crystal duo.
Uhm, having read Gathering Edge [twice], with a reread of the series along the way and another skim of the Gathering Edge after that, I’m awash in new questions and observations….
But a couple of new thoughts that popped out on the last skim on the Gathering Edge were:
[1] Was J. Joyita a long-lived serial human like the Uncle, assorted other Thomases, and Dulcey? And is he still alive?….Bechimo’s archive provided an interesting conversation between J. Joyita and the Uncle when Joyita arrived to do the mentoring of Bechimo. Smart Strands are mentioned [old universe and suspect tech, that Cantra was not happy to see the Uncle wearing in their final tavern interaction on Solcintra in Crystal Dragon]. Not to mention that it was J. Joyita who knew how to install the old tech means for Bechimo to communicate with the Old Ones. And what about those references to Wikesworlds, the Wikes, and J. Joyita’s old rings whose purpose has had passed out of memory by the time Bechimo was built??? A lot of teasers there…
[2] What does B. Joyita [the AI] mean when he says that one of the Old Yxtrang dialects could be used as a crew language, because “the rest of the crew has not yet been bonded”?!!! Bechimo hasn’t mentioned that he wanted a bonded crew, just a bonded captain….did he forget, does he want Theo to himself….is this one of the things that has been driving his question about Win Ton’s loyalty?
My prediction for Neogenisis
Though we have many story arcs.
Dragon in Exile, Alliance of Equals, Gathering Edge, etc.
I predict we will get at least one’.. and now for something
completely different’ out of the blue, thread.(s). IMHO the authors ability to surprise one of the great delights if the Liaden universe.
Agent of Change to Neogenisis
How much time has passed since Val Con and Miri met ?
Per AoC chapter 5, Edger et al had 7 more years of their
‘market research’ trip. If the time span is less than 7 years,
could Edger and Sheather etc, show up at Surebleak in
time to participate .
I’d love to read about the clutch reaction/interaction with/to:
Padi the Dragon, Anthora & RenZel, Theo, Talizea etc.
A little Clutch spice would be nice story seasoning.
I look forward to B. Joyita being downloaded into a human blank. That will frighten a few folk.