Local Custom

Liaden Universe Space Regencies, Book 1

By: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

The first of the seven books set in the Liaden Universe tells a rich and sweeping story of warring families and star-crossed lovers in a fantastic, other-world galaxy.

©2001 Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Classic Heyer-esque Romance with Cultural Clash

Think of a classic Georgette Heyer Regency, add in a big dose of language and cultural misunderstanding, a dash of real danger, and a healthy dollop of good characterization, and you have Local Custom. A wonderful Space Regency, if you will. Set fairly early in the of Clan Korval, Local Custom tells the story of Er Thom yos'Galan, Master Trader and thodelm of Korval, and Anne Davis, Linguistics Scholar and Terran.

This book can be read without having read any of the other books in the Liaden Universe, and is thus one possible entry point. It's a delightful story that I did not want to stop reading, and had me driving the long way around more than once. The reading is by Bernadette Dunne, and that's all you really need to know. Ms. Dunne is a superb reader and it's a pleasure to have her for the reading of the three Space Regencies in the Liaden Universe.

Love! And Bernadette Dunne is fantastic!

Local Custom is a wonderful continuation of the Liaden Universe & it was great seeing/hearing Sean as a young boy. Ms Dunne is a master in her field- warm & wonderful performance.

Enthralling Sci Fi, Wonderfully Written

Would you consider the audio edition of Local Custom to be better than the print version?

All audio versions of the Liaden Universe Series are worth hearing, although you may find that some characters are played differently than the voices in your mind when you read the books. That's part of the fun!

What does Bernadette Dunne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ms Dunne, along with other readers for the series, brings her unique interpretation of character and storyline, like any good actor. Listening and reading are different experiences, both worth having with the Liaden series.

Any additional comments?

For lovers of excellent, beautifully written science fiction that is filled with wonderful characters and fascinating worlds, I highly recommend this series. Its mythological underpinnings are as compelling as those in Star Wars.

Narrators make a big difference

I have read every book of this series. Bernadette Dunn is an excellent narrator. I have listened to many books she has narrated and her voice makes a big difference. She is clear and her characters are easily recognizable. I find that changing narrators change the books. In later books it gets disjointed as same characters are read so differently that they are barely recognizable from book to book with narrator changes. In this series she does "Local Custom" and "Mouse and Dragon."

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I like to delve into the stories that can be found in the series’ that tie together the author has