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elisenic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
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 two 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.
The Crystal Variation is one of several handy places to start reading the Liaden books. It contains the two 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.
eatreadgamerepeat's review against another edition
4.0
Overall I will be giving it a 4 stars
I will just be writing short reviews for the books individually. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book as a whole, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but it's a really enjoyable story. Like I've said before I was under the impression that I had most good sff books on my radar - this book just proves how wrong I was about that assumption. I've only read the first 3 books in the reading order (according to my friend who has recommended these books to me) and I already kind of want to go back and read this book again - well after I finish Trade secret.
Book 1: The Crystal Soldier
4 stars - I was slightly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, the story is quite fast paced and well written - I liked both of the main characters Jela & Cantra quite a bit, they were both very interesting and both have this air of mystery around them where you don't know exactly who or what they are and you slowly find out some of it throughout the story (and I assumed you will get more in the second book). I thought the world building was well done and the universe as a whole is quite interesting and I can't wait to find out more. I also really enjoyed the writing style that at times felt a bit like stream of consciousness from the characters perspective . For example: the character would be thinking something and then the thought would get interrupted mid-sentence and the character would respond to whatever was happening. While that's not a unique thing I hadn't seen it in a long time and I really enjoyed that aspect of the writing style. One thing I kind of disliked as that especially for the first half of the book I spend quite a lot of time not sure about what the heck was going on and feeling like maybe I had missed something important, this wasn't strong enough of a feeling that it really brought the whole book down for me because I was enjoying what I was reading, even if I didn't really know what was going on.
Book 2: The Crystal Dragon
3 stars - the first half of this book is quite rough to be honest, it wasn't exactly bad but after coming of the high that book 1 left me on it was a bit of a disappointment. The second half was utterly amazing and had me in tears at several points - it had a lot of the parts I loved about the first book and more . The ending was, in my opinion, marvelous, and the perfect ending which now has me wanting more.
Book 3: Balance of Trade
4 stars - This book is set many many years after the story of the Crystal Dragon & has not much to do with that story (other than the implications as seen by the ending which are somewhat spoilery so I won't discuss them here). Jethri is an interesting main character, much like with the characters in the crystal soldier there is a lot of mystery going on around him and I'm interested to see where it's all going to go.
I will just be writing short reviews for the books individually. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book as a whole, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but it's a really enjoyable story. Like I've said before I was under the impression that I had most good sff books on my radar - this book just proves how wrong I was about that assumption. I've only read the first 3 books in the reading order (according to my friend who has recommended these books to me) and I already kind of want to go back and read this book again - well after I finish Trade secret.
Book 1: The Crystal Soldier
4 stars - I was slightly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, the story is quite fast paced and well written - I liked both of the main characters Jela & Cantra quite a bit, they were both very interesting and both have this air of mystery around them where you don't know exactly who or what they are and you slowly find out some of it throughout the story (and I assumed you will get more in the second book). I thought the world building was well done and the universe as a whole is quite interesting and I can't wait to find out more. I also really enjoyed the writing style that at times felt a bit like stream of consciousness from the characters perspective . For example: the character would be thinking something and then the thought would get interrupted mid-sentence and the character would respond to whatever was happening. While that's not a unique thing I hadn't seen it in a long time and I really enjoyed that aspect of the writing style. One thing I kind of disliked as that especially for the first half of the book I spend quite a lot of time not sure about what the heck was going on and feeling like maybe I had missed something important, this wasn't strong enough of a feeling that it really brought the whole book down for me because I was enjoying what I was reading, even if I didn't really know what was going on.
Book 2: The Crystal Dragon
3 stars - the first half of this book is quite rough to be honest, it wasn't exactly bad but after coming of the high that book 1 left me on it was a bit of a disappointment. The second half was utterly amazing and had me in tears at several points - it had a lot of the parts I loved about the first book and more . The ending was, in my opinion, marvelous, and the perfect ending which now has me wanting more.
Book 3: Balance of Trade
4 stars - This book is set many many years after the story of the Crystal Dragon & has not much to do with that story (other than the implications as seen by the ending which are somewhat spoilery so I won't discuss them here). Jethri is an interesting main character, much like with the characters in the crystal soldier there is a lot of mystery going on around him and I'm interested to see where it's all going to go.
bookadventurer's review
5.0
Excellence. As usual, up to the high standards I expect from these two, my favorite, authors.
The characters are always complex, and the settings always descriptive. The pace was a bit slower for these works, than I found in their earlier works.
I really love the importance of manners, and the evocation of the alien culture that requires dozens of different bows and dozens of different intonations and "modes" of speech. I especially enjoyed the interactions between hapless Terrans who only speak one mode, and the Liadens, often conversant in a depth of shades of meanings that Terrans can't imagine. The interactions between the separate species are brilliant.
The inner strength of the characters, their intelligence, intuitiveness, and empathy are also big draws for me.
These books in particular added a different species, one that is completely alien to the human-based Liadens and Terrans. The description of these energy-beings was detailed and reasonable enough that it seems they could actually have existed; they seemed realistic.
The sentient Tree steals the show.
Lastly, the action is fast-paced enough to make the stories nearly un-put-downable.
A quick synopsis:
These three books describe the origins of the Korval clan, who are so fun to read about in other Liaden novels.
The first novel ([b:Crystal Soldier|288756|Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe - The Great Migration Duology, #1)|Sharon Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312507913s/288756.jpg|975994]) in this omnibus follows M. Jela, an engineered soldier who recognizes the danger posed by the energy-beings who are not-so-slowly devouring the universe. M. Jela is a wonderful character, and his partner Cantra yos'Phelium, is intriguing, mysterious, tough, and likeable. Together, they set out to stop the dissipation of the universe.
The second novel ([b:Crystal Dragon|288758|Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe - The Great Migration Duology, #2)|Sharon Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173445522s/288758.jpg|2196900]) follows the same protagonists as they get closer to their goal of "saving" the universe. In order to do this, they need a mathematical formula that will allow them to pilot to an alternate universe. This requires Cantra to re-make herself into a scholar to infiltrate the tower where the mathematical genius lives.
The third novel ([b:Balance of Trade|288759|Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe, #3)|Sharon Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309286087s/288759.jpg|280168]) introduces Jethri Gobelyn, a Terran with an affinity for Liaden culture and language, and great skill in trading. He gets involved with some pleasant and unpleasant Liadens as he tries to make a name for himself in the trading universe.
The characters are always complex, and the settings always descriptive. The pace was a bit slower for these works, than I found in their earlier works.
I really love the importance of manners, and the evocation of the alien culture that requires dozens of different bows and dozens of different intonations and "modes" of speech. I especially enjoyed the interactions between hapless Terrans who only speak one mode, and the Liadens, often conversant in a depth of shades of meanings that Terrans can't imagine. The interactions between the separate species are brilliant.
The inner strength of the characters, their intelligence, intuitiveness, and empathy are also big draws for me.
These books in particular added a different species, one that is completely alien to the human-based Liadens and Terrans. The description of these energy-beings was detailed and reasonable enough that it seems they could actually have existed; they seemed realistic.
The sentient Tree steals the show.
Lastly, the action is fast-paced enough to make the stories nearly un-put-downable.
A quick synopsis:
These three books describe the origins of the Korval clan, who are so fun to read about in other Liaden novels.
The first novel ([b:Crystal Soldier|288756|Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe - The Great Migration Duology, #1)|Sharon Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312507913s/288756.jpg|975994]) in this omnibus follows M. Jela, an engineered soldier who recognizes the danger posed by the energy-beings who are not-so-slowly devouring the universe. M. Jela is a wonderful character, and his partner Cantra yos'Phelium, is intriguing, mysterious, tough, and likeable. Together, they set out to stop the dissipation of the universe.
The second novel ([b:Crystal Dragon|288758|Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe - The Great Migration Duology, #2)|Sharon Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173445522s/288758.jpg|2196900]) follows the same protagonists as they get closer to their goal of "saving" the universe. In order to do this, they need a mathematical formula that will allow them to pilot to an alternate universe. This requires Cantra to re-make herself into a scholar to infiltrate the tower where the mathematical genius lives.
The third novel ([b:Balance of Trade|288759|Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe, #3)|Sharon Lee|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309286087s/288759.jpg|280168]) introduces Jethri Gobelyn, a Terran with an affinity for Liaden culture and language, and great skill in trading. He gets involved with some pleasant and unpleasant Liadens as he tries to make a name for himself in the trading universe.
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