The Family Trade (Merchant Princes, Book 1)
by Charles Stross
published
December 1st 2004
(first published 2005)
by Saint Martin's Press
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binding
Hardcover, 304 pages
isbn
0765309297
(isbn13: 9780765309297)
description
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 s...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 286)
Read in March, 2008
This definitely isn't your average, run-of-the-mill fantasy novel. In fact, if you tilt your head just 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 same kind of intellectual thoroughness and detailed invention to The Family Trade. So when journalist Miriam Beckstein gets unexpectedly transported to a seriously medieval alternate Earth, she's n...more
Which makes sense, actually, 'cause Charles Stross has made his reputation as a hard sci-fi author, and he brings that same kind of intellectual thoroughness and detailed invention to The Family Trade. So when journalist Miriam Beckstein gets unexpectedly transported to a seriously medieval alternate Earth, she's n...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone
Ah Stross... Awesomeness once more. The author steps away from hard sci-fi to present a parallel-universe world walking thriller that centres on Miriam Beckstein, journalist, who first discovers that she can cross over from one world to the other and then finds out that she is a long-lost member of one of the ruling families in a society stuck in the Middle Ages.
Miriam has to adapt and learn fast to stay alive - there are factions within the ruling class that would much rather see her dead. ...more
Miriam has to adapt and learn fast to stay alive - there are factions within the ruling class that would much rather see her dead. ...more
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Read in June, 2008
I was extremely impressed with this book. Now, despite having given it 5 stars, I will admit that, on a purely technical level, Charles Stross is not the best composer of words into sentences/paragraphs/chapters I've ever read. In fact, there were a few points during the book at which his actual prose style approached mediocre. However, none of it was enough to detract from my enjoyment of the story herein, and the story knocked my socks off so completely that I have no objection giving the guy ...more
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Read in August, 2007
I have mixed feelings on this book. While it has an interesting premise, the characters seem a bit one dimensional to me, even the heroine, who at least gets more fleshing out than all her supporting cast. The one male character who gets enough play time to seem interesting is as flat as a pancake personality-wise, although maybe it's just first book of the series jitters and he'll actually grow a personality in later books. Plot of world jumping people who are mobsters in the "real"...more
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Read in May, 2005
Now, I like Stross stories. The other two novels of his that I've read were pretty damn good, and his short stories are cool. But this one? Nope. It's a fantasy were a woman accidentally passes into an alternate dimension and finds out she is only one of a large Mafia-like clan of people who can do this - sort of like the Amber series, I think, but I only read one or two of those. The story gets better as it goes along, but I never really got into it. I think it is a rule for fantasy stories tha...more
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Read in June, 2008
One of the best series starts that I've read in a long time. I really loved this book - the whole idea of economic science fiction is just awesome.
If you could move between two parallel worlds, a la the tv show Sliders, how would you make money out of that ability?
If you're one of a large group of people who can do this, how do you change their economic model, and hence their power structures?
And, what does any of this have to do with nearly being run over by a man in a suit of arm...more
If you could move between two parallel worlds, a la the tv show Sliders, how would you make money out of that ability?
If you're one of a large group of people who can do this, how do you change their economic model, and hence their power structures?
And, what does any of this have to do with nearly being run over by a man in a suit of arm...more
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Read in April, 2008
interesting but obviously the first in a series, this is all about setting up the world and the characters - and in fact, ends on something that's less a 'cliffhanger' and more a 'sheer drop' - however...i'd read the other books but hm.
i like the premise, and i like the heroine's honesty but after a while, the characters got kindof boring and i lost interest. not enough to stop reading, but enough to be mostly blah about the attempts on the heroine's life etcetc.
i like the premise, and i like the heroine's honesty but after a while, the characters got kindof boring and i lost interest. not enough to stop reading, but enough to be mostly blah about the attempts on the heroine's life etcetc.
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Read in November, 2007
Friends 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 ...more
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 ...more
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2 comments
Read in December, 2007
Dear Mr. Stross: Since political and economic analysis is clearly your main interest, perhaps you should shift into the non-fiction market. If you wish to continue writing fiction, please bear in mind that readers are expecting a story, preferably one in which something happens. Page after page of exposition does not make an interesting novel.
Adult fiction (of a sort).
Adult fiction (of a sort).
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Read in December, 2007
This is a very interesting story. This has a female hero who isn't written by a female author. This is also written in the third-person.
The basis of the "sci-fi" section of the story isn't too bad. The beginning is kind of slow. Fortunately, it picks up in the second or third chapter (from what I remember). Going to continue to read the rest of the series.
The basis of the "sci-fi" section of the story isn't too bad. The beginning is kind of slow. Fortunately, it picks up in the second or third chapter (from what I remember). Going to continue to read the rest of the series.
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Read in January, 2007
This book was not what I was expecting at all, though I'm not sure where my misapprehension came from. I was expecting a fantasy novel. I got a science fiction novel, and not one where I felt particularly attracted to any of the characters. Still, it's my fault that I didn't come in with the right attitude, so I'm not slamming it for that.
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Read in April, 2008
Charles Stross never fails to impress. Here he takes the standard fantasy trope - a girl is actually a long-lost princess in an alternate universe - and twists it around, deconstructs it, and approaches it from a more realistic and/or socioeconomic standpoint. Good stuff, and definitely exciting since there are 6-7 books in the series.
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Read in June, 2008
Could have been a good book. However, if you're going to write a book that has a "to-be-continued" ending, just publish it as one book. I hate getting to the end of a book and nothing is resolved. The characters were also a bit one-dimensional. However, the plot was interesting and unique and for that I give it points.
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Fascinating concept. The heroine is pretty unlikeable, in part because she suffers from "ordinary girl who's improbably good with weapons, computer hacking, and outdoor survival" syndrome, but she warms up later on. The supporting characters were good enough that I rushed to the library to get book 2.
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I didn't hate it--I even read the second one--but I agree with other reviewers that the characters were one-dimensional and too numerous.
And it's also one of those kind of books where you have to remember this whole complicated political situation from book to book, which I think is irritating.
And it's also one of those kind of books where you have to remember this whole complicated political situation from book to book, which I think is irritating.
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Very interesting premise of parallel Americas with two totally different civilizations--our 21st century one and one that is very feudal with technology stuck in the Middle Ages. However, certain people can travel back and forth between the two, with very interesting results. Start of a series.
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Read in May, 2007
This was a good beginning to the story, however this is not simply a fantasy, but is a misplaced modern with a medieval setting and an eye towards business and economics. It's a series so there's more to come.
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Read in January, 2007
I think the time that Stross spends on character in this one also pays off in the way he rigorously works through the implications of his central conceit. A wonderful series I often recommend.
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Read in February, 2008
Not my favourite Stross by a long shot, as it lacks the futuristic flights of prophetic brilliance his SciFi is known for... but a pleasant read none the less, and an undemanding one at that.
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Read in June, 2008
I liked this book, but it ended in a cliffhanger, which I think lowered my rating. I'm interested in seeing what happens next, but I hate feeling like I have to find out right now.
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