Alliance of Equals

Liaden Universe: Arc of the Covenants, Book 3

By: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

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.

©2016 Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Needs a good editor

Ok I am a fan of the series, but I feel it needs to be said that the authors take entirely too long to tell a story. It seems as though they get lost in the details to the sometimes detriment of the story. Overall the story of the series is good and this book was pretty good, but they need a strict editor.

Adventure and intrigue in the Liaden Universe

Clan Korval is still in the process of recovering and rebuilding from the their abrupt relocation from Liad to Surebleak. The Department of the Interior is still out to destroy them. Daav and Aelliana are still caught between life and death in the not yet fully stabilized new bodies Uncle has made for them.

Padi yos'Galen, Shan's halfling daughter, is working as apprentice Trader on Dutiful Passage, She's lost time due to the disruptive effects of Plan B on everyone in the Clan, but she wants her full Trader's license as soon after her eighteenth name day as possible. It's just a little tougher because formerly friendly ports no longer are, and some don't reveal themselves until the Passage is in port and has started trying to trade.

Meanwhile, Tolly Berik-Jones, Hazenthull Explorer, and Pilot Tocohl are en route to resolve the problems resulting from Theo Waitley's emergency creation of the autonomous intelligence Admiral Bunter, residing in seven outdated and decaying ships, with no mentoring or socialization. This mission is complicated by the fact that the space station Theo set Bunter to protect has decided, not without reason, that he's become a major threat.

It's Padi and Shan, though, who wind up tangling with the Department of the Interior's latest effort to destroy Korval, complicated by the symptoms of Padi's emerging dramliza powers, and her determination to resist those powers because she doesn't want to be like her admittedly rather odd Aunt Anthora.

And that refusal to accept and embrace her gift is a danger in itself.

Lee and Miller, as always, give us a nice blend of action and character development, unfolding more and more of the Liaden universe, and the people that inhabit it, especially, but not exclusively, Clan Korval.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audible, in exchange for an honest review.

Good story, well done

I delayed purchasing this because of how poorly the reading for dragon in exile was done. I am glad to say this story does not suffer from the sloppy reading and meets the same high quality standards everything else in this series meets.

A coming of age and yet another great adventure in the Liaden Universe

This latest adventure in Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liaden Universe follows Padi yos'Galan and Admiral Bunter through their own separate and very different comings of age, amidst the tidbits of the Universe's continued happenings. A great read (or read to!) and an excellent choice for the newly come or avid follower alike.

If you started here, go visit Agent Of Change - or Fledgeling - free on Amazon.

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Any additional comments?

The story line lives up to Lee/Miller's excellence - - characters, dialog, plotting are designed to entertain on a humorous and dramatic stage. I do hope whatever influences narrator choice will eliminate Mr. Collins in this series! I almost deleted this purchase from my cloud in disappointment because the narrator ruined it, but then saw another review that suggested listening at an increased speed - - 1.25 - - and it actually made the narration no longer ruin the story. Do not give up on this production just because Mr. Collins's performance is smarmy, arch, whiny and irritating. Speed it up and enjoy the excellent story.

Alliance of Equals:book 2

I really enjoyed this book in the Liaden series and can't wait for more in the series.

great story, mediocre reader

As always, the Liaden books deliver with complex plot, characters and dialogue. I love them! But in my humble opinion this voice actor sounds breathless, nasal, and rushes the pacing of the beautiful dialogue. This detracts from the meaning. His reading of Shan is really awful. I soldiered through because of my commute, but will avoid this voice actor for Liaden books in future.

I couldn't turn it off

Great story, spellbinding action. It's going to be hard to wait a year for the next one.

Good Story, narration still painful

I have greatly enjoyed all of the Liaden series books. However the Arc of the Covenants series read by Kevin T Collins are painful to listen to since all the Liaden characters have all been given BAD British accents, where they didn't exist before. Don't now if it was reader's choice or director's choice but it was a bad decision. It was and still is, actually painful to have the characters qualities slaughtered by the narration. That being said, I am buying the written editions where I don't have to fight the narration to get to the story.

However, narration has improved somewhat in that the accents are toned down somewhat from the last Kevin T Collins narration but still, to me, very irritating. I have to work too hard to get to the very good story.

A wonderful addition

This was a wonderful addition to the Liaden Universe! Those new to the series are provided with enough info to follow and enjoy the story, and fans will love the rich addition to the adventures of clan Korval. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have proven themselves (yet again) to be masters of multiple character stories. This book has 3 primary lines, following 3 sets of characters, and I was incredibly invested in all three. Also, the narrator was very good-- one of the best I've heard.