Alliance of Equals


Book Description

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. About Alliance of Equals: " . . . continues to delight with genteel interactions between mild-spoken characters who are capable of great passions and swift actions, and its immense scope encompasses a well-realized and comfortable universe."—Publishers Weekly About series prequel Dragon in Exile: “[S]prawling and satisfying. . . . Space opera mixes with social engineering, influenced by Regency-era manners and delicate notions of honor. . . . [I]t’s like spending time with old friends . . .”—Publishers Weekly About Necessity's Child: “Compelling and wondrous, as sharp and graceful as Damascus steel, Necessity's Child is a terrific addition to Lee & Miller's addictive series.”—#1 New York Times best seller, Patricia Briggs About the Liaden Universe® series: “Every now and then you come across an author, or in this case, a pair, who write exactly what you want to read, the characters and personalities that make you enjoy meeting them. . . . I rarely rave on and on about stories, but I am devoted to Lee and Miller novels and stories.”—Anne McCaffrey “These authors consistently deliver stories with a rich, textured setting, intricate plotting, and vivid, interesting characters from fully-realized cultures, both human and alien, and each book gets better.”—Elizabeth Moon “[D]elightful stories of adventure and romance set in a far future. . .space opera milieu. It’s all a rather heady mix of Gordon R. Dickson, the Forsythe Saga, and Victoria Holt, with Lee and Miller’s own unique touches making it all sparkle and sizzle. Anyone whose taste runs toward SF in the true romantic tradition can’t help but like the Liaden Universe.”—Analog “[T]he many fans of the Liaden universe will welcome the latest…continuing young pilot Theo Waitley’s adventures.”—Booklist on Saltation “[A]ficionados of intelligent space opera will be thoroughly entertained. . .[T]he authors' craftsmanship is top-notch.”—Publishers Weekly on Lee and Miller’s popular Liaden Universe® thriller, I Dare




Dragon in Exile


Book Description

#18 in the popular and exciting science fiction Liaden Universeï. Clan Korval rebuilds its fortunes on the gritty, semi-anarchic planet of Surebleak. Over a quarter million Liaden Universeï books are in print with an audience that keeps growing! Star-trading Clan Korval¾known to Terrans as the Tree-and-Dragon Family and to the locals simply as "the Dragon"¾has been convicted of crimes against the homeworld. No matter that one of the "crimes" consisted of saving the elitist planet of Liad from very real internal threats, the Council of Clans wanted Korval heads to roll. Unfortunately for the Council, the Dragon's allies conspired to impose a milder punishment for saving the worlbanishment, rather than execution. Now relocated to the free-for-all world of Surebleak, the Dragon is under contract to keep the Port Road open to all traffic, and to back the New Bosses in imposing law and order on a society originally based on larceny and assassination. This modest rustication is going surprisingly well, until Korval discovers that the enemy they'd sought to destroy. . .wasn't quite destroyed, and is more determined than ever to eradicate Korval. While the banishment killed no one initially, many of Korvals trading allies are spooked, and some are reneging on ancient agreements, leaving the Dragon to make its own way. The clans efforts to stealthily recruit new allies is going haywire, and a secret death toll is rising even as the clans adherents endure increasing exposure to danger and deceit off-world. To make matters worse, an active portion of Surebleak's native population liked the Old Ways just fine, and are conspiring to take the New Bosses¾and the Dragon¾down, and are sure they have the firepower and people to do it. The exiled Dragon has to make an urgent choice¾accept an alliance with criminals or face down each and every enemy in person, one by one. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Dragon in Exile: "[S]prawling and satisfying. . . . Space opera mixes with social engineering, influenced by Regency-era manners and delicate notions of honor. . . . [I]ts like spending time with old friends . . ."¾Publishers Weekly The Liaden Universe Main Series: Dragon in Exile Trade Secret Necessity's Child Dragon Ship Ghost Ship Fledgling Saltation Mouse and Dragon About Necessity's Child: "Compelling and wondrous, as sharp and graceful as Damascus steel, Necessity's Child is a terrific addition to Lee & Miller's addictive series."¾#1 New York Times best seller, Patricia Briggs About the Liaden Universeï series: _Every now and then you come across an author, or in this case, a pair, who write exactly what you want to read, the characters and personalities that make you enjoy meeting them. . . . I rarely rave on and on about stories, but I am devoted to Lee and Miller novels and stories.Ó ¾Anne McCaffrey _These authors consistently deliver stories with a rich, textured setting, intricate plotting, and vivid, interesting characters from fully-realized cultures, both human and alien, and each book gets better.Ó¾Elizabeth Moon _[A] recommended, powerful pick. . .a fast-paced military and political thriller.Ó¾Midwest Book Review on Ghost Ship _[D]elightful stories of adventure and romance set in a far future. . .space opera milieu. Its all a rather heady mix of Gordon R. Dickson, the Forsythe Saga, and Victoria Holt, with Lee and Milliers own unique touches making it all sparkle and sizzle. Anyone whose taste runs toward SF in the true romantic tradition cant help but like the Liaden Universe.Ó¾Analog _[T]he many fans of the Liad universe will welcome the latestãcontinuing young pilot Theo Waitleys adventures.Ó_Booklist on Saltation _[A]ficionados of intelligent space opera will be thoroughly entertained. . .[T]he authors' craftsmanship is top-notch.Ó _Publishers Weekly on Lee and Millers popular Liaden Universeï thriller, I Dare




Ghost Ship


Book Description

The new novel in the Liaden Universe® series. Over a quarter million copies sold in this series to-date! Space ships, action, adventure¾all tied together with a strong dollop of romance and family saga¾make this a compelling series for a wide range of readers, from romance to military SF lovers alike. Theo Waitley is an ace starship pilot¾and pure maverick. Her mom is a renowned Terran scholar and her birth father is an interstellar aristocrat in hiding. Whatever, thinks Theo. She still feels like a socially-challenged misfit. But after being selected to train with the best-of-the-best at the pilot academy, she figures she can leave behind those gawky, misfit days of teenage angst that made life so complicated before! But for Theo, life is about to get even MORE complicated¾and deadlier still. For even though shes survived the Academy and become one of the best pilots in the galaxy, the past is about to blast her with gale-force winds. Theo can run, but she cant hide. Her destiny as master pilot and leader of a powerful Liaden clan calls, and there are LOTS of enemies who will try to make sure shes quite dead before she has the chance to make an answer. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).




Saltation


Book Description

Theo Waitley is a Nexus of Violence. Thrust mid-year into a school for pilots far from the safe haven of her birth home on scholarly Delgado, young Theo Waitley excels in hands-on flying while finding that she's behind the curve in social intricacies as well as in math. Her mentors try to guide her studies and training into the channels best suited to her special abilities and inclinations, including suggesting that she should join in the off-world student association, a plan resulting in mixed success. After a series of confrontations, fights, and ultimately a riot after which she is thanked for not killing anyone, Theo is named a "nexus of violence" by the school's administration. Facing suspension and carrying little more than a hastily procured guild card, a pistol taken from an attacker, and the contents of her pants pockets, Theo must quickly decide if she's ready to return to Delgado in disgrace, or launch herself into the universe as a freelance pilot with credentials she's already earned. The sequel to Fledgling, Saltation is the tenth book in the Liaden Universe® series. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).




The Gathering Edge


Book Description

A series milestone as we welcome the twentieth amazing entry in the nationally best-selling Liaden Universe® series. The luck runs rough around Theo Waitley. Not only are people trying to kill her and capture the self-aware intelligent ship Bechimo to whom Theo is bonded, they’re also trying to arrest her crew members, and throw the dignity of an important passenger, the duly-constituted norbear ambassador Hevelin, into question. No wonder Theo and her crew felt the need of a break, and retired to what Bechimo refers to as "safe space." Unfortunately, safe space may not be so safe, anymore. It seems that things are leaking through from another universe, and another time. In fact, whole spaceships are coming through. One of those ships is a blasted battleship seemingly fleeing a long-lost war. What’s more, its crew may be members of Theo’s ancient ancestral line—her relatives. It’s certain that they are in dire need of help. Theo has a choice to make. It seems that Bechimo’s “safe space” is about to become deadly perilous. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About series prequel Alliance of Equals: " . . . continues to delight with genteel interactions between mild-spoken characters who are capable of great passions and swift actions, and its immense scope encompasses a well-realized and comfortable universe."—Publishers Weekly




Trader's Leap


Book Description

NEW ENTRY IN THE LANDMARK LIADEN UNIVERSE® SERIES The only bridge between past and future is a leap of faith. Pursued by enemies, exiled Liaden clan Korval is settling into a new base on backworld Surebleak. Moving is expensive, as is war, and Korval is strapped for cash. Delm Korval has therefore instructed Master Trader Shan yos'Galan to design and implement new trade routes, quickly. But this is no easy task. Dutiful Passage is targeted by Korval's enemies, denied docking at respectable ports, and cheated at those less respectable. Struggling to recuperate from an attack on his life, while managing daughter Padi’s emerging psychic talents, Shan is running out of options—and time. His quest to establish the all-important trade route puts him at odds with his lifemate, while doubting crew desert the ship. Facing the prospect of failure, Shan accepts the assistance of chancy allies and turns the Passage toward a port only just emerging from Rostov's Dust and awash with strange energies. Without trade, Clan Korval will starve. Will a trader's leap of faith save everything—or doom all? About Dragon in Exile: “[S]prawling and satisfying. . . . Space opera mixes with social engineering, influenced by Regency-era manners and delicate notions of honor. . . . [I]t’s like spending time with old friends . . .”—Publishers Weekly About Necessity's Child: “Compelling and wondrous, as sharp and graceful as Damascus steel, Necessity's Child is a terrific addition to Lee & Miller's addictive series.”—Patricia Briggs About the Liaden Universe® series: "I have every Liaden Universe novel ever written on my bookshelf. You should, too."—David Weber “Every now and then you come across an author, or in this case, a pair, who write exactly what you want to read, the characters and personalities that make you enjoy meeting them. . . . I rarely rave on and on about stories, but I am devoted to Lee and Miller novels and stories.”—Anne McCaffrey “These authors consistently deliver stories with a rich, textured setting, intricate plotting, and vivid, interesting characters from fully-realized cultures, both human and alien, and each book gets better.”—Elizabeth Moon “[D]elightful stories of adventure and romance set in a far future . . . space opera milieu. It’s all a rather heady mix of Gordon R. Dickson, the Forsythe Saga, and Victoria Holt, with Lee and Miller’s own unique touches making it all sparkle and sizzle. Anyone whose taste runs toward SF in the true romantic tradition can’t help but like the Liaden Universe.”—Analog “[T]he many fans of the Liaden universe will welcome the latest . . . continuing young pilot Theo Waitley’s adventures.”—Booklist on Saltation “[A]ficionados of intelligent space opera will be thoroughly entertained . . . [T]he authors' craftsmanship is top-notch.”—Publishers Weekly on Lee and Miller’s popular Liaden Universe® thriller, I Dare Maine-based writers Sharon Lee and Steve Miller teamed up in the late 1980s to bring the world the story of Kinzel, an inept wizard with a love of cats, a thirst for justice, and a staff of true power. Since then, the husband and wife have written dozens of short stories and twenty plus novels, most set in their star-spanning Liaden Universe®. Before settling down to the serene and stable life of a science fiction and fantasy writer, Steve was a traveling poet, rock-band reviewer, reporter, and editor of a string of community newspapers. Sharon, less adventurous, has been an advertising copywriter, copy editor on night-side news at a small city newspaper, reporter, photographer, and book reviewer. Both credit their newspaper experiences with teaching them the finer points of collaboration. Sharon and Steve passionately believe that reading fiction ought to be fun, and that stories are entertainment. They maintain a web presence at korval.com.




Treacherous Alliance


Book Description

This award-winning study traces the shifting relations between Israel, Iran, and the U.S. since 1948—including secret alliances and treacherous acts. Vitriolic exchanges between the leaders of Iran and Israel are a disturbingly common feature of the news cycle. But the real roots of their enmity mystify Washington policymakers, leaving no promising pathways to stability. In Treacherous Alliance, U.S. foreign policy expert Trita Parsi untangles to complex and often duplicitous relationship among Israel, Iran, and the United States from 1948 to the present. In the process, he reveals shocking details of unsavory political maneuverings that have undermined Middle Eastern peace and disrupted U.S. foreign policy initiatives in the region. Parsi draws on his unique access to senior American, Iranian, and Israeli decision makers to present behind-the-scenes revelations that will surprise even the most knowledgeable readers: Iran’s prime minister asks Israel to assassinate Khomeini; Israel reaches out to Saddam Hussein after the Gulf War; the United States foils Iran’s plan to withdraw support from Hamas and Hezbollah; and more. Treacherous Alliance not only revises our understanding of the recent past, it also spells out a course for the future. An Arthur Ross Book Award Silver Medal Winner A Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title




The Alliance


Book Description

The New York Times Bestelling guide for managers and executives. Introducing the new, realistic loyalty pact between employer and employee. The employer-employee relationship is broken, and managers face a seemingly impossible dilemma: the old model of guaranteed long-term employment no longer works in a business environment defined by continuous change, but neither does a system in which every employee acts like a free agent. The solution? Stop thinking of employees as either family or as free agents. Think of them instead as allies. As a manager you want your employees to help transform the company for the future. And your employees want the company to help transform their careers for the long term. But this win-win scenario will happen only if both sides trust each other enough to commit to mutual investment and mutual benefit. Sadly, trust in the business world is hovering at an all-time low. We can rebuild that lost trust with straight talk that recognizes the realities of the modern economy. So, paradoxically, the alliance begins with managers acknowledging that great employees might leave the company, and with employees being honest about their own career aspirations. By putting this new alliance at the heart of your talent management strategy, you’ll not only bring back trust, you’ll be able to recruit and retain the entrepreneurial individuals you need to adapt to a fast-changing world. These individuals, flexible, creative, and with a bias toward action, thrive when they’re on a specific “tour of duty”—when they have a mission that’s mutually beneficial to employee and company that can be completed in a realistic period of time. Coauthored by the founder of LinkedIn, this bold but practical guide for managers and executives will give you the tools you need to recruit, manage, and retain the kind of employees who will make your company thrive in today’s world of constant innovation and fast-paced change.




Rosemarked


Book Description

This smart, sweeping fantasy with a political edge and a slow-burning romance will capture fans of The Lumatere Chronicles and An Ember in the Ashes. A healer who cannot be healed... When Zivah falls prey to the deadly rose plague, she knows it's only a matter of time before she fully succumbs. Now she's destined to live her last days in isolation, cut off from her people and unable to practice her art—until a threat to her village creates a need that only she can fill. A soldier shattered by war... Broken by torture at the hands of the Amparan Empire, Dineas thirsts for revenge against his captors. Now escaped and reunited with his tribe, he'll do anything to free them from Amparan rule—even if it means undertaking a plan that risks not only his life but his very self. Thrust together on a high-stakes mission to spy on the capital, the two couldn't be more different: Zivah, deeply committed to her vow of healing, and Dineas, yearning for vengeance. But as they grow closer, they must find common ground to protect those they love. And amidst the constant fear of discovery, the two grapple with a mutual attraction that could break both of their carefully guarded hearts.




Necessity's Child


Book Description

Stirring SF adventure from master storytellers Sharon Lee and Steve Miller¾#16 in the award-winning Liaden Universe® saga. Space ships, action, adventure¾all tied together with a strong dollop of romance and clan intrigue¾make this a compelling series for a wide range of readers, from romance to military SF lovers. The kompani see none as an enemy, and yet few as friend. The kompani exist in many places, living quietly in the shadows, thriving off the bounty that others have no wit to secure, nor skill to defend. Their private history is unwritten; their recall rooted in dance and dream. The Clan Korval is in many ways the opposite of the kompani. The interstellar trading clan is wealthy in enemies, fortunate in friends. Korval protects itself with vigor, and teaches even its youngest children the art of war. And when representatives of Clan Korval arrive on the planet Surebleak where the kompani has lived, secret and aloof, the lives of three people intersect¾ Kezzi, apprentice to the kompani's grandmother; Syl Vor, Clan Korval's youngest warrior; and Rys, a man without a world, or a past. Necessity's Child is a standalone adventure in the popular and exciting Liaden Universe®. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).