Point Epithetical Books The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes #1)
| Title | : | The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes #1) |
| Author | : | Charles Stross |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 308 pages |
| Published | : | May 1st 2005 by Tor Fantasy (first published December 2004) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Science Fiction. Fiction. Urban Fantasy |
Charles Stross
Paperback | Pages: 308 pages Rating: 3.52 | 5408 Users | 407 Reviews
Representaion In Pursuance Of Books The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes #1)
A bold fantasy in the tradition of Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, The Merchant Princes is a sweeping new series from the hottest new writer in science fiction!Miriam Beckstein is happy in her life. She's a successful reporter for a hi-tech magazine in Boston, making good money doing what she loves. When her researcher brings her iron-clad evidence of a money-laundering scheme, Miriam thinks she's found the story of the year. But when she takes it to her editor, she's fired on the spot and gets a death threat from the criminals she has uncovered.
Before the day is over, she's received a locket left by the mother she never knew-the mother who was murdered when she was an infant. Within is a knotwork pattern, which has a hypnotic effect on her. Before she knows it, she's transported herself to a parallel Earth, a world where knights on horseback chase their prey with automatic weapons, and where world-skipping assassins lurk just on the other side of reality - a world where her true family runs things.
The six families of the Clan rule the kingdom of Gruinmarkt from behind the scenes, a mixture of nobility and criminal conspirators whose power to walk between the worlds makes them rich in both. Braids of family loyalty and intermarriage provide a fragile guarantee of peace, but a recently-ended civil war has left the families shaken and suspicious.
Taken in by her mother's people, she becomes the star of the story of the century-as Cinderella without a fairy godmother. As her mother's heir, Miriam is hailed as the prodigal countess Helge Thorold-Hjorth, and feted and feasted. Caught up in schemes and plots centuries in the making, Miriam is surrounded by unlikely allies, forbidden loves, lethal contraband, and, most dangerous of all, her family. Her unexpected return will supercede the claims of other clan members to her mother's fortune and power, and whoever killed her mother will be happy to see her dead, too.
Behind all this lie deeper secrets still, which threaten everyone and everything she has ever known. Patterns of deception and interlocking lies, as intricate as the knotwork between the universes. But Miriam is no one's pawn, and is determined to conquer her new home on her own terms.
Blending the creativity and humor of Roger Zelazny, the adventure of H. Beam Piper and Philip Jose Farmer, and the rigor and scope of a science-fiction writer on the grandest scale, Charles Stross has set a new standard for fantasy epics.
Itemize Books In Favor Of The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes #1)
| Original Title: | The Family Trade |
| ISBN: | 0765348217 (ISBN13: 9780765348210) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://us.macmillan.com/thefamilytrade/CharlesStross |
| Series: | The Merchant Princes #1, Merchant Princes Universe #1 |
| Literary Awards: | Sidewise Award for Long Form (2006) |
Rating Epithetical Books The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes #1)
Ratings: 3.52 From 5408 Users | 407 ReviewsCriticize Epithetical Books The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes #1)
Not as interesting as the impression given by the cover blurb. I found this book to be both interesting and very irritating.The focus was on the main character dealing with unexpectedly finding herself dealing with long lost mercantile medieval family. This setting provides the back drop for that tired old plot of women fighting traditional roles in this case medieval expectations of sexual behavior, clothing, education etc. I feel that this uses a stereotype that has progressed from the meekFriends have been trying very hard to get me to love Stross. I liked (but didn't love) Halting State enough. This was a poor choice for a second. It may have put me off Stross all together.The setup is simple enough: 0. Start with an interesting criminal investigation plot and abandon it in three chapters 1. Take Amber, but with only two worlds to jump between 2. Give the protagonist an almost Heinleinesque array of skills to perfectly prepare her for whatever comes up, but take away any
Well now - that was fun.And a quick read too.I was reminded a bit of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. except sub in Boston, Journalist, & Medici/Borgia where appropriate .On to Book 2 - The Hidden Family...
One of my flatmates only really reads science fiction. His complaint about most mainstream 'literary' fiction is that it is devoid of ideas and 'nothing much happens'. I might counter that a lot of science fiction and fantasy suffers for having characters who feel like perfunctory cardboard cutouts and writing that is formulaic to the point it interferes with my ability to suspend disbelief and forget that its only a story...but he does have a point when he says that science fiction is where the
Not an entirely original premise and a story that doesn't stand alone makes this book problematic. World: The world building is okay, this time of premise has been done before and the scenarios and the pieces of the world has been seen many times, the book even calls out Sliders the TV show at a point. That being said it at least does try to provide as much internal logic as it can though at times it's still somewhat lacking and this book really needs a way to call the two world differently for
I'm a big fan of Chuck Stross's science fiction -- SINGULARITY SKY, ACCELERANDO. But this one left me cold. Why?For one thing, the conceit is heavily purloined from Narnia: the hero is a boring person here, but a crucial person Over (or Under) There. Neil Gaiman found a way to take the curse off it in NEVERWHERE: his restless, mundane hero makes the mistake of helping a runaway girl from Under There, and soon starts to become a nonentity Over Here. Stross goes another way: his heroine simply
Props for having a female protagonist who has actual conversations with other women but other than that the book left me feeling a little something was lacking. Now I don't know what would happen if I were thrown into a quasi medieval other world with drug smuggling relatives making me a countess but somehow Miriam's reactions didn't quite seem right. Although, luckily, Miriam has done pre med and journalism (and she lives in the US) which has equipped her to deal with most situations by
0 Comments:
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.