false <![CDATA[The Family Trade (The Merchant Princes, #1)]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166854363m/17861.jpg 17861 5 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. 930587 book 2004 The Family Trade (Merchant Princes, Book 1) total:460|5:52|4:156|3:188|2:43|1:21| 460 1555 655 65 1 3 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 06 02:00:27 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 16 07:11:39 -0800 2007 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 ab...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 18:10:09 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 18:26:30 -0700 2009
On the good side, the basic concept is interesting: There are multiple worlds out there where history diverged, and a few people w...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 04:25:46 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 04:35:41 -0700 2009
The Family Trade is the first in a se...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 04 00:50:21 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 01:52:45 -0700 2009
Thinking it over, that's not actually a strong start, is it? That's a classic "this is someone's wish-fulfillment novel" start. But th...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:30:57 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:30:57 -0800 2009 British science fiction author Stross (Singularity Sky *** Jan/Feb 2004) has written "a solid page-turner and an uncommonly promising series launcher," writes Michael Berry in the San Francisco Chronicle. Some readers, however, may be put off by the book's lengthy backstory and a few of th...

more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 23:12:41 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 23:21:19 -0700 2009 three more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 05:27:49 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 07:01:11 -0700 2009
The main character is a journalist who finds ou...more...]]> 1 2 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 14:09:43 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 14:13:54 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 19:25:16 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 19:29:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jan 06 09:48:25 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 11:18:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 21:53:18 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 21:58:39 -0700 2009
Moving onwards, it is an interesting premise that does have obvious Zelazny influ...more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jun 08 13:28:11 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 13:37:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 22 17:53:50 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 17:58:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 18 00:57:36 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 03:46:53 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 00:57:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 09:42:33 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 08:14:44 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 06 10:39:00 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 17 07:58:21 -0700 2009 so, it can legitimately look an awful lot like science fiction.

Which makes sense, actually, 'cause Charles Stross has made his reputation as a hard sci-fi author, and he brings that sam...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 11 06:23:14 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 20 06:54:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Nov 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 12:46:56 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 12:50:53 -0800 2009 'a bold fantasy in the tradition of Roger Zelazny's chronicle of Amber, the Merchant Princess is a sweeping new series'

the fanatasy element is caused by the Clan who are 'world walkers' that is they can move between our world and their own which is still in...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 21:35:04 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 21:35:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 21:23:18 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 16:37:35 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=17861