Plan B Paperback – July 29, 2007

Val Con yos'Phelium is future Delm and member of Clan Korval of Liad, lately deadly agent of change for the Department of the Interior. The only thing that saved his sanity was the loving song of his lifemate, Miri Robertson, half-Terran, half-Liaden former mercenary. When last we left Val Con and Miri (in Carpe Diem), they had just commandeered a spaceship and escaped a backwards world. While they were stranded, Nova yos'Galan, First Speaker of Korval, invoked Plan B - retreat strategically, trust no one, prepare for all-out war.Val Con and Miri know that the Department of the Interior will still be hunting them so they flee to Lytaxin and Miri's kin. Val Con knows that Miri fears meeting her newly discovered family, but he needs a safe meeting place where his brother and sisters can find him. Unfortunately, the planet Lytaxin, home of Clan Erob, Korval's longtime allies, is not what one would exactly call a safe place for the bloodthirsty Yxtrang are attacking. Within a day of their landing, Val Con and Miri are stranded planetside once again with no ship, no radio comm, but a slightly better chance of survival. Luckily, some mercenaries from Miri's old unit were stranded on Lytaxin as well, so she takes up her old Captain's duties and trains volunteers and recruits to meet the enemy. Meanwhile, Shan yos'Galan, Val Con's brother and his lifemate, Priscilla (met in Conflict of Honors), are searching the galaxy for Val Con, as are Nova yos'Galan, his sister, and his Clutch brothers, Edger and Sheather. But finding Val Con quickly becomes one of a number of problems as they deal with espionage onboard the Dutiful Passage, Shan's ship, attempts to murder Nova, and the seemingly impenetrable Yxtrang ring around the planet Lytaxin. However, Clan Korval is nothing if not resourceful and, as all the family pits their formidable intelligence and skills against their various foes, one almost feels pity for the enemy...Plan B is the 6th book in the Liaden series if you read the series chronologically. As with the other books, I simply loved Lee & Miller's characters and world building. They spend time on the details and it shows that they have carefully thought out and executed another masterpiece. I really feel as if I know the Korval family and am taking a remedial course on Liaden etiquette, these books are that well written! If you enjoy any kind of science fiction or space opera then this book has something for you - great characters, lots of action, enemies on all sides, high tech battle sequences, romance, family relations, honor, and much, much more! You can read this book as a stand-alone novel, but I would not recommend it as you will miss a lot of background and spend the first part of the book just trying to keep track of who everyone is. Also, you definitely should not miss out on any book in the wonderful Liaden universe - all of them are very highly recommended!

This science fiction novel takes place within the authors' Liaden Universe, where it is the third book in a story-arc that begins with "Agent of Change." I am very attached to the characters on the side of good, both major and minor, old and new. I found the scenes from the perspective of the Commander of Agents (who is, at least presently, on the wrong side) less engaging, but that is a petty gripe. There are fierce battles in space and on the ground, fierce loyalties, and the sense that the authors love these characters. Most satisfactory.

I love the Liaden universe created by the authors and unreservedly recommend their books to anyone who likes a good story with well realized characters. This is probably not the best book to start with as it is book three in a story line of (at least) four: Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, Plan B and I Dare. It IS possible to read each independently - they are that good- but you will miss the big picture. My recommendation is that a reader new to this 'universe' start with Conflict of Honors but that's just my personal recommendation. Please don't be put off by the fact that there are multiple books you really don't HAVE to read them all...you will just want to!

This is not a series with stand alone books, you have to start in the beginning and progress. This book just jumps in and starts where Carpe Diem left off. We're at the start of the war in earnest between the Clan Korval and previously unknown enemies. Things start to tie together and finally Val and Miri get back into the thick of the Liaden worlds. I like this book, but it's definitely a bridge between Partners in Necessity and I Dare. I love this series, it has everything you could want from a space opera and more. Some once described it as Jane Austen in space, but I find it more deadly than that - more like Renaissance Italy in space, lots of machinations and maneuverings and with some love and laughter to leaven the plot. Highly recommended series. A keeper and frequent reread.

Sadly, I neglected to bring my hardback copy with me on this trip - and having raced through the others in quick time necessity commanded I read 'Plan B' next. So this I purchased. I recommend it immensely

I was lucky enough to discover this series after all seven novels were rereleased. So I wasn't forced to wait for ten years with the cliffhanger ending of Carpe Diem.This is a fine story, but it suffers a bit from the "middle of the series" syndrome. It does not really properly set up its characters, because you are expected to have read the previous books. And it leaves many threads open, because you are expected to read I Dare.As a chapter of the Agent Of Change saga it works well and is mostly self-contained. And the new character who is introduced is very interesting. (It's unfortunate that he mostly gets ignored in I Dare.)As part of the series, this book is indispensible. As a stand-alone novel, it would be good but forgettable.

Well writtenEngaging CharactersNo gratuitous violence and or sex

Great set of books - my husband has plowed through the whole series; I'm following at a slower pace, but enjoying them thoroughly. It does take a little time to get into the universe, as there are special names and people-names that are unusual, but it's worth getting through that first chapter every time.