Ribbon Dance

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. In the decades since, until Steve's death in 2024, the Lee-and-Miller writing team published over 100 works of fantastic fiction, the majority set in their genre-bending Liaden Universe®, demonstrating their shared philosophy that fiction ought to be fun—both the reading and the writing of it. During their long and storied career, Steve and Sharon were celebrated as guests of honor at more than two dozen science fiction conventions across the country and were also frequent panelist and featured speakers. Their awards include the Prizm for Best Futuristic Romance, The Golden Duck for Best YA SF, the Reader’s Choice Award for the Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF of 2017, and the Edward E. Smith Memoria Award for Imaginative Fiction (the Skylark). Sharon is continuing to work in the universe she and Steve built together. For more information about the Liaden Universe®, including reading orders, go to korval.com.

Praise for Ribbon Dance: “I love the Liaden Universe books for their complex weaving of cultures and manners and the dangers of space travel. I was fascinated by Ribbon Dance’s focus on the careful work of establishing trade with a long-isolated world where psi powers are common. At play are the differences between offworld procedures and the traditions and suspicions of the planetary society. And an elderly, politely demanding norbear.” —Kathryn Sullivan, author of Talking to Trees “Time spent with the Tree and Dragon is always a joy. Ribbon Dance is a marvelous tale, a feast for Liaden fans.  And everyone should be a Liaden fan.” —Patricia Briggs, NYT #1 best-selling author of the Mercy Thompson series “Space Opera as finely crafted as a Tree-and-Dragon trade deal. Lee and Miller always deliver the goods.” —Jack Campbell, author of In Our Stars and Implacable “Deftly written, with politics, passion and power winding together to create an incredibly satisfying story that spans generations, cultures, and worlds. What a treat. Sure to satisfy long-time readers and newcomers alike!” —C.E. Murphy, author of The Walker Papers series “Starts fast and runs hot and true. Perhaps Lee & Miller’s strongest work to date. Space opera the way it should be.” —James D. Macdonald, coauthor of The Price of the Stars “Lee and Miller once more bring the reader in close with complex, multi-faceted storylines that reveal breathtaking plots and absolutely charming characters.” —Lawrence M. Schoen, award-winning author of Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard “A brilliant entry in the Liaden series, with romance, intrigue, new friends and old, and a new world to test Clan Korval!” —Ryk Spoor, author of Choosing the Players and Demons of the Past