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The Merchant Princes #2
The Hidden Family
The Merchant Princes is a sweeping new series from the hottest new writer in science fiction!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 their world and ours make 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.Miriam, a hip tech journalist form Boston, discovered her alternate-world relatives with explosive results that shook three worlds. Now, as the prodigal Countess Helge Thorold-Hyorth, she finds herself ensnared in schemes and plots centuries in the making. She is surrounded by unlikely allies, lethal contraband, and, most dangerous of all, her family. With her modern American attitudes, she's not sure she can fit in, or if she even wants to, but to stay alive, she really has no choice.To avoid a slippery slope down to an unmarked grave, Miriam must build a power-base of her own. She started applying modern business practices and scientific knowledge to a trade heretofore dominated by medieval mercantilists-with unexpected consequences for three different timelines, including the quasi-Victorian one exploited by the hidden family.Blending the creativity and humor, and the rigor and scope of science-fiction on the grandest scale, Charles Stross has set a new standard for fantasy epics.Charles Stross is one of the big new SF writers of the 21st century, and the saga of The Merchant Princes is his most ambitious work yet.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
57 people are currently reading
902 people want to read
About the author
Charles Stross
158 books5,815 followersCharles David George "Charlie" Stross is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His works range from science fiction and Lovecraftian horror to fantasy.
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
February 4, 2012
The first book in this series started as a refreshing take on the world-walking motif, in which instead of people just being kings in a magic world and then occasionally coming home, they exploit arbitrage opportunities, bringing goods back and forth. It was an interesting spin. Unfortunately, it ended abruptly, without making much sense or wrapping up much of anything. (There's one set of characters, apparently intended for a later part of the series, who show up, have a conversation, and never interact with the plot or main character at all.) I nearly hurled the book across the room in frustration at the end. It was basically half a book.
I was told that the reason it felt like half a book was because it, in fact, was half a book--that the publisher had thought the original was too long and split it somewhat arbitrarily in two. So I gave the second one a chance.
This one has an ending, I guess. It's a stupid, anticlimactic ending in which a major character dies pointlessly without having anywhere near the emotional impact on the main character as the death should. And most of the interesting plot threads are still left hanging, so apparently we're just meant to come back over and over without ever resolving anything.
Which is unfortunate, because nothing happens in this book. A friend told me she had given up after a few chapters, because the book consisted entirely of logistics. I finished it, and I can conclude that she was wiser--the book consists entirely of logistics.
Oh, Stross sets up a bunch of potentially interesting plot threads. There's the long-lost daughter and the parallel adoptions, a bunch of people pretending to be things they're not, a lover who may or may not be able to be trusted, shadowy puppet masters, an entire long-lost clan who may have started a civil war a generation ago. But it's pretty obvious, from the lack of movement or development, that he doesn't actually care about any of them.
No, what he wants to write is a thinly veiled comparison between 19th century mercantalism and the modern conception of capitalism. The first book is dedicated to using world-walking as a metaphor for the first. This second book is consumed with using world-walking as a metaphor for the second. So while we have no idea how Miriam handles the death of someone she allegedly cared about, we know in great detail how she launders funds to start up an intellectual property clearinghouse, including an examination of exactly what inventions might be best to import first to this random fictional world. (It's not like he's even playing around with what inventions might have changed history--he built the world, so it's no particular act of cleverness to declare that this esoteric form of brakes is perfect because they've invented the appropriate tires but not the appropriate brakes.)
I'm done. I've liked some of his Laundry Files work, but I'm certainly not reading any more of this series. I would not at all be surprised if the next book is a thinly-veiled indictment of communism, given how he's setting things up. And I've got better things to do with my time than read a treatise on why the current leading economic theory beat its predecessors, with a couple nonsensical action scenes thrown in at the end to pretend it's a story.
I was told that the reason it felt like half a book was because it, in fact, was half a book--that the publisher had thought the original was too long and split it somewhat arbitrarily in two. So I gave the second one a chance.
This one has an ending, I guess. It's a stupid, anticlimactic ending in which a major character dies pointlessly without having anywhere near the emotional impact on the main character as the death should. And most of the interesting plot threads are still left hanging, so apparently we're just meant to come back over and over without ever resolving anything.
Which is unfortunate, because nothing happens in this book. A friend told me she had given up after a few chapters, because the book consisted entirely of logistics. I finished it, and I can conclude that she was wiser--the book consists entirely of logistics.
Oh, Stross sets up a bunch of potentially interesting plot threads. There's the long-lost daughter and the parallel adoptions, a bunch of people pretending to be things they're not, a lover who may or may not be able to be trusted, shadowy puppet masters, an entire long-lost clan who may have started a civil war a generation ago. But it's pretty obvious, from the lack of movement or development, that he doesn't actually care about any of them.
No, what he wants to write is a thinly veiled comparison between 19th century mercantalism and the modern conception of capitalism. The first book is dedicated to using world-walking as a metaphor for the first. This second book is consumed with using world-walking as a metaphor for the second. So while we have no idea how Miriam handles the death of someone she allegedly cared about, we know in great detail how she launders funds to start up an intellectual property clearinghouse, including an examination of exactly what inventions might be best to import first to this random fictional world. (It's not like he's even playing around with what inventions might have changed history--he built the world, so it's no particular act of cleverness to declare that this esoteric form of brakes is perfect because they've invented the appropriate tires but not the appropriate brakes.)
I'm done. I've liked some of his Laundry Files work, but I'm certainly not reading any more of this series. I would not at all be surprised if the next book is a thinly-veiled indictment of communism, given how he's setting things up. And I've got better things to do with my time than read a treatise on why the current leading economic theory beat its predecessors, with a couple nonsensical action scenes thrown in at the end to pretend it's a story.
June 5, 2019
2.5, it’s aight.
World: The world building is a bit more detailed this time around with actual naming of the worlds making the differences and the travel much easier to follow as a reader. The new pieces are interesting and the differences are what make this book fun. I think the world building aspect of this series is the strength of the series. The deeper detail into the clan and the working pieces of it and the lore and history really made the world building a lot more weighty which is good.
Story: The story is okay, there is still a lot of logic leaps that readers needs to be okay with, a lot of “yeah okay, I’m gonna have to accept that premise” for it to make sense. The tension is a bit better this time around where the first book was a bit loose in that regard. The characters are solid but there are still some duds. The moving pieces and the story pacing and outcome were good if you accept the premise. The ideas behind the book are interesting and up for debate and the end result of the meeting was expected and also interesting. I would like to continue the series, faults and all.
Characters: The characters, the main core with Miriam, Brill, Paulette and Olga are well done and we do spend time with them, the World 3 characters are also well done and this time around the characters and their motivation makes more sense then they did in the first book. I like these characters and in the midst of the weird wonky story I enjoy them. That being said Roland is still a problem for me as he has the personality of a baked potato...
It was a solid read that continues the story, a lot of logic leaps but it’s still an enjoyable read.
Onward to the next book!
World: The world building is a bit more detailed this time around with actual naming of the worlds making the differences and the travel much easier to follow as a reader. The new pieces are interesting and the differences are what make this book fun. I think the world building aspect of this series is the strength of the series. The deeper detail into the clan and the working pieces of it and the lore and history really made the world building a lot more weighty which is good.
Story: The story is okay, there is still a lot of logic leaps that readers needs to be okay with, a lot of “yeah okay, I’m gonna have to accept that premise” for it to make sense. The tension is a bit better this time around where the first book was a bit loose in that regard. The characters are solid but there are still some duds. The moving pieces and the story pacing and outcome were good if you accept the premise. The ideas behind the book are interesting and up for debate and the end result of the meeting was expected and also interesting. I would like to continue the series, faults and all.
Characters: The characters, the main core with Miriam, Brill, Paulette and Olga are well done and we do spend time with them, the World 3 characters are also well done and this time around the characters and their motivation makes more sense then they did in the first book. I like these characters and in the midst of the weird wonky story I enjoy them. That being said Roland is still a problem for me as he has the personality of a baked potato...
It was a solid read that continues the story, a lot of logic leaps but it’s still an enjoyable read.
Onward to the next book!
August 16, 2014
I rediscovered this while sorting out my overflow bin of books to read. I hesitated, because since buying it years ago, I’ve learned that the series has been re-edited and republished in doorstopper form, apparently to its benefit as a story. Still, it was there, and I wanted something not too heavy to read.
The Hidden Family picks up right where The Family Trade left off (literally, because they used to be one book). Whereas I was impressed with The Family Trade, I’m less enamoured of The Hidden Family. In his quest to create an otherworldly economic thriller, Stross seems to let the details get the better of him (or at least, of us the readers). What should be a white-knuckled race against the clock to find evidence for a hidden family of world-walkers before they can make another attempt on Miriam’s life proves, instead, to be a tedious and not all that suspenseful chronicle of Miriam applying for patents in a new world.
I love the various economic and cultural musings that Stross injects into the book. Miriam brings Brilliana over to our world when she runs, and the two of them and Paulette form a fantastic trio. After Paulette initiates Brill into the way our world works, Miriam discusses with Brill the idea of bringing more than just resources from our world back to her world—she wants to actually improve the technology and landscape of Brill’s world. But then she expresses some angst over the spectre of colonialism—and Brill flips out, because she is tired of not having indoor plumbing and of watching women die in childbirth. This is a none-too-subtle dig at proliferation of feudal/medieval settings in fantasy despite the fact that such a setting was a shit place to live for the majority of the population. The idea that the past was better because it was “a simpler time” is nonsense. We might have a screwed up world now, but at least we have antibiotics (for now).
Similarly, Stross shows off a more nuanced understanding of mercantilism versus twentieth-century capitalism and import/export and patenting than most of us could shake a stick at. I certainly won’t pretend that I followed it all. But basically, somehow in the course of her career as a tech journalist, Miriam has learned all about economics, patent law, import and export, and how to design car brakes. Which is exactly what you need to know when you find yourself with the ability to travel to world that is similar to your own but stuck in a 1920s era of technology. Whereas the Clan is stuck in the mode of transporting raw materials between worlds, Miriam decides to go a step further, bringing ideas into world three and getting a return on her investment.
It’s an interesting evolutionary step. I don’t buy that Miriam would be the first one to come up with it. If the Clan has been operating for as long as it has in both worlds, surely someone would have seen the potential before now? Then again, maybe the very way in which the Clan has become a power in its own right in its world makes it harder for it to influence the development of that world through the introduction of new inventions.
At an intelluctual level, The Hidden Family is stimulating. Stross has set up a really cool political dynamic, with a missing/lost family operating in a heretofore unknown world. Miriam is an engaging protagonist, extremely capable and cool, but also prone to moments of self-doubt and introspection. So it’s all the more disappointing that Stross doesn’t back this up with a better plot.
All the building blocks are there. I’m fascinated my Miriam’s exploration of world three and the threat looming of its police apparatus cracking down on her new business. I just wanted more of a sense of urgency and danger than I got. This hidden family doesn’t seem like all that much of a threat now that we know about them, and Miriam deals with their goons like they are amateur burglars. Similarly, she cuts through the backstabbing boardroom intrigue of the Clan’s big summit without much difficulty. The only thing to really trip her up is what happens with Roland at the end, and that is a blink-and-you-missed-it thing—literally, I zoned out for half a page and then suddenly had to backtrack to see if it really happened.
I’ve got The Clan Corporate, but I don’t think I’ll bother. I’ll pick up the revised, recombined trilogy of the series at some point in the future, and hopefully I’ll have better luck with that.
The Hidden Family picks up right where The Family Trade left off (literally, because they used to be one book). Whereas I was impressed with The Family Trade, I’m less enamoured of The Hidden Family. In his quest to create an otherworldly economic thriller, Stross seems to let the details get the better of him (or at least, of us the readers). What should be a white-knuckled race against the clock to find evidence for a hidden family of world-walkers before they can make another attempt on Miriam’s life proves, instead, to be a tedious and not all that suspenseful chronicle of Miriam applying for patents in a new world.
I love the various economic and cultural musings that Stross injects into the book. Miriam brings Brilliana over to our world when she runs, and the two of them and Paulette form a fantastic trio. After Paulette initiates Brill into the way our world works, Miriam discusses with Brill the idea of bringing more than just resources from our world back to her world—she wants to actually improve the technology and landscape of Brill’s world. But then she expresses some angst over the spectre of colonialism—and Brill flips out, because she is tired of not having indoor plumbing and of watching women die in childbirth. This is a none-too-subtle dig at proliferation of feudal/medieval settings in fantasy despite the fact that such a setting was a shit place to live for the majority of the population. The idea that the past was better because it was “a simpler time” is nonsense. We might have a screwed up world now, but at least we have antibiotics (for now).
Similarly, Stross shows off a more nuanced understanding of mercantilism versus twentieth-century capitalism and import/export and patenting than most of us could shake a stick at. I certainly won’t pretend that I followed it all. But basically, somehow in the course of her career as a tech journalist, Miriam has learned all about economics, patent law, import and export, and how to design car brakes. Which is exactly what you need to know when you find yourself with the ability to travel to world that is similar to your own but stuck in a 1920s era of technology. Whereas the Clan is stuck in the mode of transporting raw materials between worlds, Miriam decides to go a step further, bringing ideas into world three and getting a return on her investment.
It’s an interesting evolutionary step. I don’t buy that Miriam would be the first one to come up with it. If the Clan has been operating for as long as it has in both worlds, surely someone would have seen the potential before now? Then again, maybe the very way in which the Clan has become a power in its own right in its world makes it harder for it to influence the development of that world through the introduction of new inventions.
At an intelluctual level, The Hidden Family is stimulating. Stross has set up a really cool political dynamic, with a missing/lost family operating in a heretofore unknown world. Miriam is an engaging protagonist, extremely capable and cool, but also prone to moments of self-doubt and introspection. So it’s all the more disappointing that Stross doesn’t back this up with a better plot.
All the building blocks are there. I’m fascinated my Miriam’s exploration of world three and the threat looming of its police apparatus cracking down on her new business. I just wanted more of a sense of urgency and danger than I got. This hidden family doesn’t seem like all that much of a threat now that we know about them, and Miriam deals with their goons like they are amateur burglars. Similarly, she cuts through the backstabbing boardroom intrigue of the Clan’s big summit without much difficulty. The only thing to really trip her up is what happens with Roland at the end, and that is a blink-and-you-missed-it thing—literally, I zoned out for half a page and then suddenly had to backtrack to see if it really happened.
I’ve got The Clan Corporate, but I don’t think I’ll bother. I’ll pick up the revised, recombined trilogy of the series at some point in the future, and hopefully I’ll have better luck with that.
March 24, 2017
I picked up the digital copy of this for free from Tor.com's Book Club, and it included the first book in the series as well. As I was feeling lazy and didn't want to figure out where the middle was, exactly, I reread The Family Trade before going on to read The Hidden Family.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
January 31, 2021
But even more interesting is the role that you have to play in the midst on this splendor. With the unique property that only some members of the clan happen to possess - the ability to travel between worlds, you become a valuable figure in matrimonial games, and a suitable spouse will be chosen for you (what? you desire and heart`s inclination? but who could it be interesting?)
You will give berth to his children, one by one, until another wanderer appears. The rest of the time you will be embroider and supervise the servants. Until his Majesty the Clan summons you to the feat. What kind? Just like that: to transport a certain amount white powder from somewhere to somewhere, which is extremely highly valued in a world you come from. And from there you can grabe cute little things so decorate the local life. A jar of anti-wrinkle cream, for example.
Замужем за мафией
Гм! гм! Читатель благородный,
Здорова ль ваша вся родня?
Позвольте: может быть, угодно
Теперь узнать вам от меня,
Что значит именно родные.
Родные люди вот какие:
Мы их обязаны ласкать,
Любить, душевно уважать
И, по обычаю народа,
О рождестве их навещать1
Или по почте поздравлять,
Чтоб остальное время года
Не думали о нас они...
"Евгений Онегин" Пушкин
Какая девочка в минуты сомнений, в минуты душевных терзаний не видела себя похищенной принцессой? Вот еще немного потерпеть, разыщут ее настоящие родители, явятся во всем блеске королевского величия и тогда берегитесь, обидчики!
А теперь представьте себе, что вы в меру привлекательная самостоятельная женщина тридцати двух лет. С профессией, комфортабельным домом и машиной, с кругом друзей и знакомых, для которых вы кое-что значите, со сферой собственных интересов. С определенными вкусовыми пристрастиями и комплексом уюта, наконец!
И вот, являются некие люди, которые объясняют, что вы их потерянная в младенчестве наследница, предъявляют на вас права, желая вернуть в лоно семьи. А семья, на минутку, имеет местом дислокации дремучее средневековье, где простой люд влачит жалкое существование, но у аристократов немалые привилегии.
Жизнь в замках (каменных, люто холодных и насквозь продуваемых сквозняками); возможность изредка принять ванну (без геля для душа и шампуня, но с древесным мылом и вода остывает в этой холодрыге мгновенно); страшно неудобная многосоставная одежда, процесс облачения в которую отнимает примерно час времени; соответствующая времени кулинария: много дичи, брюква, овес (о пшеничном хлебе, йогуртах, фруктовых соках забудь).
Но еще интереснее роль, которую тебе предстоит сыграть посреди этого великолепия. Обладая уникальным свойством, волею случая достающимся лишь некоторым членам клана - способностью путешествовать между мирами, ты становишься ценной фигурой в матримониальных играх, для тебя выберут подходящего супруга (что? твое желание и душевная склонность? да кому это может быть интересно?)
Станешь рожать ему деток, одного за другим, пока не появится еще один странник, в остальное время вышивать гладью и надзирать за слугами. Пока его величество Клан не призовет тебя на подвиг. Какого рода? Да так, переправить кое-откуда кое-куда некоторое количество белого порошка, который чрезвычайно высоко ценится в покинутом тобой мире. А оттуда можно прихватить милые маленькие вещицы, способные так украсить здешнюю жизнь. Баночку крема от морщин, например. Или диск с очередными несколькими сериями "Династии", до просмотра которой так охоч дядюшка герцог.
А если ты не захочешь? Колхоз - дело добровольное, но альтернатива известна. А впрочем, отличная ведь жизнь. Время от времени будешь получать отпуск в свой мир, и там не придется в чем бы то ни было себе отказывать, вот тебе платиновая кредитка с лимитом два миллиона долларов. Есть, правда, кое-какие осложнения, а именно - твое появление сильно сдвигает вниз по лестнице клановой иерархии многих заинтересованных лиц. Которые, скорее всего, попытаются тебя устранить.
Вот после провала очередной попытки устранения, предотвращенного с помощью кузины Ольги и фрейлины Бриллианы (браво, автор, тест Бекдел книга пройдет на пять с плюсом: больше четырех героинь, яркие типажи, говорят не только о мужчинах и замечательная женская дружба-сотрудничество, написано в две тысячи четвертом, напомню, когда мировой феминизм еще не рулил).
Так вот, после провала очередного покушения, в руки Мириам попадает очередной медальон. С несколько измененным узором под крышкой. Который открывает проход в очередной мир. На сей раз Америку, сильно напоминающую викторианскую Англию, эдакое стимпанковое полицейское государство. Та-дамм! Вот тут-то и начнется самое интересное. Но об этом расскажу завтра, когда стану писать про третью книгу.
Одно могу сказать уже сейчас, читается это превосходно, а идеи, которые появляются у героини относительно дивного нового мира кто-то назовет агрессивным прогрессорством и даже попаданчеством. Но красота же, неимоверная. Ах да, марксизм и прибавочная стоимость рулят, хотя в этой реальности великого бородача вздернули за идеи, которые сочли вздорными (простите мне эту аллитерацию)
You will give berth to his children, one by one, until another wanderer appears. The rest of the time you will be embroider and supervise the servants. Until his Majesty the Clan summons you to the feat. What kind? Just like that: to transport a certain amount white powder from somewhere to somewhere, which is extremely highly valued in a world you come from. And from there you can grabe cute little things so decorate the local life. A jar of anti-wrinkle cream, for example.
Замужем за мафией
Гм! гм! Читатель благородный,
Здорова ль ваша вся родня?
Позвольте: может быть, угодно
Теперь узнать вам от меня,
Что значит именно родные.
Родные люди вот какие:
Мы их обязаны ласкать,
Любить, душевно уважать
И, по обычаю народа,
О рождестве их навещать1
Или по почте поздравлять,
Чтоб остальное время года
Не думали о нас они...
"Евгений Онегин" Пушкин
Какая девочка в минуты сомнений, в минуты душевных терзаний не видела себя похищенной принцессой? Вот еще немного потерпеть, разыщут ее настоящие родители, явятся во всем блеске королевского величия и тогда берегитесь, обидчики!
А теперь представьте себе, что вы в меру привлекательная самостоятельная женщина тридцати двух лет. С профессией, комфортабельным домом и машиной, с кругом друзей и знакомых, для которых вы кое-что значите, со сферой собственных интересов. С определенными вкусовыми пристрастиями и комплексом уюта, наконец!
И вот, являются некие люди, которые объясняют, что вы их потерянная в младенчестве наследница, предъявляют на вас права, желая вернуть в лоно семьи. А семья, на минутку, имеет местом дислокации дремучее средневековье, где простой люд влачит жалкое существование, но у аристократов немалые привилегии.
Жизнь в замках (каменных, люто холодных и насквозь продуваемых сквозняками); возможность изредка принять ванну (без геля для душа и шампуня, но с древесным мылом и вода остывает в этой холодрыге мгновенно); страшно неудобная многосоставная одежда, процесс облачения в которую отнимает примерно час времени; соответствующая времени кулинария: много дичи, брюква, овес (о пшеничном хлебе, йогуртах, фруктовых соках забудь).
Но еще интереснее роль, которую тебе предстоит сыграть посреди этого великолепия. Обладая уникальным свойством, волею случая достающимся лишь некоторым членам клана - способностью путешествовать между мирами, ты становишься ценной фигурой в матримониальных играх, для тебя выберут подходящего супруга (что? твое желание и душевная склонность? да кому это может быть интересно?)
Станешь рожать ему деток, одного за другим, пока не появится еще один странник, в остальное время вышивать гладью и надзирать за слугами. Пока его величество Клан не призовет тебя на подвиг. Какого рода? Да так, переправить кое-откуда кое-куда некоторое количество белого порошка, который чрезвычайно высоко ценится в покинутом тобой мире. А оттуда можно прихватить милые маленькие вещицы, способные так украсить здешнюю жизнь. Баночку крема от морщин, например. Или диск с очередными несколькими сериями "Династии", до просмотра которой так охоч дядюшка герцог.
А если ты не захочешь? Колхоз - дело добровольное, но альтернатива известна. А впрочем, отличная ведь жизнь. Время от времени будешь получать отпуск в свой мир, и там не придется в чем бы то ни было себе отказывать, вот тебе платиновая кредитка с лимитом два миллиона долларов. Есть, правда, кое-какие осложнения, а именно - твое появление сильно сдвигает вниз по лестнице клановой иерархии многих заинтересованных лиц. Которые, скорее всего, попытаются тебя устранить.
Вот после провала очередной попытки устранения, предотвращенного с помощью кузины Ольги и фрейлины Бриллианы (браво, автор, тест Бекдел книга пройдет на пять с плюсом: больше четырех героинь, яркие типажи, говорят не только о мужчинах и замечательная женская дружба-сотрудничество, написано в две тысячи четвертом, напомню, когда мировой феминизм еще не рулил).
Так вот, после провала очередного покушения, в руки Мириам попадает очередной медальон. С несколько измененным узором под крышкой. Который открывает проход в очередной мир. На сей раз Америку, сильно напоминающую викторианскую Англию, эдакое стимпанковое полицейское государство. Та-дамм! Вот тут-то и начнется самое интересное. Но об этом расскажу завтра, когда стану писать про третью книгу.
Одно могу сказать уже сейчас, читается это превосходно, а идеи, которые появляются у героини относительно дивного нового мира кто-то назовет агрессивным прогрессорством и даже попаданчеством. Но красота же, неимоверная. Ах да, марксизм и прибавочная стоимость рулят, хотя в этой реальности великого бородача вздернули за идеи, которые сочли вздорными (простите мне эту аллитерацию)
October 5, 2017
Rating: 4* of five
Not quite as devastatingly fresh to me, so down a half-star.
Not quite as devastatingly fresh to me, so down a half-star.
July 3, 2008
Jumping straight into this book the second I finished "The Family Trade" felt particularly natural. Throughout "The Family Trade", I felt like I shouldn't be as far into the book as I was--it still felt like it was just getting rolling when I was less than 100 pages from the end. This turns out to have a lot to do with the changes Charles Stross made to this series between when he started writing it and when he sold it. I learned in an interview he gave Locus magazine that he'd originally planned to make this series four giant novels. Currently, it's projected to be six novels--and at the end of the sixth novel, we'll be at the end of what he originally planned to be the second novel. He expects to write another series at some point in the future that will encompass his original ideas for the third and fourth novels. So basically, this six-book series consists of relatively tiny chunks of what he'd originally planned. The interview goes on to make clear that "The Family Trade" and "The Hidden Family" were the two halves of what was originally intended to be the first book--meaning, I suppose, that the second book was originally going to be twice as long as the first. So, my feeling that "The Hidden Family" was merely the second half of "The Family Trade" has a logical source--originally, it would have been exactly that.
I haven't talked much about the storyline in these books, and I don't really want to, as I hate it when I read a review of a later book in a series and it spoils the ending of the first or third book in the series. Therefore, let's stick to bare bones--Miriam Beckstein, a divorced journalist of independent means, learns that her adoption as a baby came about as a result of her having been brought into modern America by a traveler from an alternate reality, and that she herself can travel back to this alternate reality with the aid of a certain talisman. There, she is the daughter of a rich merchant clan who can "world-walk" from their world to hers. But the world she comes from is trapped in the middle ages on a sociological level, and her family expects her to submit to the role of demure merchant-princess who marries for status and wealth, not for love. She, of course, has other ideas.
So this leads to all kinds of fun stuff--gunfights in medieval worlds! Multi-level courtly intrigue! Corporate piracy! And always, the undercurrent of a woman used to having equal rights struggling to maintain these rights and squirm out from under the thumb of her literally-medieval family. This book, like the one before it, is a blast.
[Continued in my review of "The Clan Corporate"]
I haven't talked much about the storyline in these books, and I don't really want to, as I hate it when I read a review of a later book in a series and it spoils the ending of the first or third book in the series. Therefore, let's stick to bare bones--Miriam Beckstein, a divorced journalist of independent means, learns that her adoption as a baby came about as a result of her having been brought into modern America by a traveler from an alternate reality, and that she herself can travel back to this alternate reality with the aid of a certain talisman. There, she is the daughter of a rich merchant clan who can "world-walk" from their world to hers. But the world she comes from is trapped in the middle ages on a sociological level, and her family expects her to submit to the role of demure merchant-princess who marries for status and wealth, not for love. She, of course, has other ideas.
So this leads to all kinds of fun stuff--gunfights in medieval worlds! Multi-level courtly intrigue! Corporate piracy! And always, the undercurrent of a woman used to having equal rights struggling to maintain these rights and squirm out from under the thumb of her literally-medieval family. This book, like the one before it, is a blast.
[Continued in my review of "The Clan Corporate"]
July 2, 2019
In The Merchant Princes series, Charles Stross is demonstrating his virtuoso technique with an intensity I haven’t seen since the first time I read Michael Moorcock. [Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t read the first volume, please stop reading this review now.] The Hidden Family continues the story of Miriam Beckstein, aka Countess Helge Thorold-Hjorth, who discovered in The Family Trade (Volume 1) that her birth mother had been murdered by a faction from another dimension. When she encounters a crude civilization in a parallel existence, she thinks she has found a lead on the murderer(s) of her birth mother. When multiple assassination attempts on her have been thwarted, she senses that there must be a traitor somewhere in the alternate dimension. That’s pretty much the summary of the first book without explaining the organization of the powerful elite in the alternate world or the way they fund their empire enough to keep control and avail themselves of anachronistic luxuries from our world.
Where The Family Trade was interesting enough to keep me going, The Hidden Family is significantly more interesting. Think one alternate existence is interesting? Imagine what happens when a dimension powered by steam technology is discovered. Part of the book deals with the systematic way Miriam establishes bases in all three dimensions. Part of the story involves the continuing threat to Miriam’s/Helge’s survival and part of it involves a threatened “Clan” assembly at which some want to declare her to be incompetent.
The best part of the novel is that no character seems to be exactly what you think they are. I’m not sure an onion would have this number of layers if you tried to peel it. What secret does Iris Beckstein, Miriam’s adoptive mother, have? After all, her days as an activist in the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and living on the run from the FBI were already known to Miriam. What is the deal with her uncle and with the young man to whom she is clearly attracted? Can they be trusted? Who is the traitor in the family working with the murderer(s) of her mother? How can she transfer valuables from one dimension to another without resorting to the solution used by the family in The Family Trade? Is the seeming naïve relative she has taken under her wing at the end of the last book really what she seems to be?
There is even a surprisingly profound description of blood feuds and the consequences thereof. Stross’ awareness of economic principles comes into play when Miriam informs the entire family that they can no longer transfer precious metals and gems back to their dimension in anonymity because anti-terrorist measures in her world are having to destroy that anonymity in the name of national security. So, she explains that they will have to find a new way of raising capital where relying on the old ways will just bleed them dry, particularly if they pursue a blood feud (as the traitor wishes them to do—p. 282).
The Hidden Family is top-notch, multi-verse fare. I’m not sorry I started The Merchant Princes series.
Where The Family Trade was interesting enough to keep me going, The Hidden Family is significantly more interesting. Think one alternate existence is interesting? Imagine what happens when a dimension powered by steam technology is discovered. Part of the book deals with the systematic way Miriam establishes bases in all three dimensions. Part of the story involves the continuing threat to Miriam’s/Helge’s survival and part of it involves a threatened “Clan” assembly at which some want to declare her to be incompetent.
The best part of the novel is that no character seems to be exactly what you think they are. I’m not sure an onion would have this number of layers if you tried to peel it. What secret does Iris Beckstein, Miriam’s adoptive mother, have? After all, her days as an activist in the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) and living on the run from the FBI were already known to Miriam. What is the deal with her uncle and with the young man to whom she is clearly attracted? Can they be trusted? Who is the traitor in the family working with the murderer(s) of her mother? How can she transfer valuables from one dimension to another without resorting to the solution used by the family in The Family Trade? Is the seeming naïve relative she has taken under her wing at the end of the last book really what she seems to be?
There is even a surprisingly profound description of blood feuds and the consequences thereof. Stross’ awareness of economic principles comes into play when Miriam informs the entire family that they can no longer transfer precious metals and gems back to their dimension in anonymity because anti-terrorist measures in her world are having to destroy that anonymity in the name of national security. So, she explains that they will have to find a new way of raising capital where relying on the old ways will just bleed them dry, particularly if they pursue a blood feud (as the traitor wishes them to do—p. 282).
The Hidden Family is top-notch, multi-verse fare. I’m not sorry I started The Merchant Princes series.
August 21, 2025
Since I couldn't go to sleep until I finished this the five stars seemed necessary.
Book One introduced us to the mechanism involved in "world walking" and this volume takes us into the way everything works in the two - and now three - worlds.
It really pays to pay attention while reading because the story moves very quickly and it is easy to miss details. I certainly never studied economics so the explanations as to how trade works is very interesting. We have three world situations:
"our" world with its complicated alliances and conflicting laws,
Roland's world where the Clan has become rich moving heroin, etc. around "our" world but which is based in a medieval culture where peasants are kept ignorant and poor and nothing is supposed to change and
New Britain, which is an alternate history version of our world, but one in which Scotland won (!). There are some inventions - air ships and steam cars - but it has not had an industrial revolution so Miriam thinks it's ripe for development.
The whole drug thing bothered me since I couldn't imagine reasonable people being willing to found their whole economy on such a deadly trade, but there are a lot of individuals who do it so I suppose as long as you don't see the results you can ignore all that. I was also a little perturbed by the making of disc brakes with asbestos, even though that is the way they were made at first. It made me feel really old when I realized I can remember when disc brakes became popular.
Uncle Angbard is described as rather terrifying but he seems to lose the train of the action and is left rather wringing his hands.
I've tried reading the language of Roland's world, as much as I can guess the pronunciation, and wonder if we'll see any more of it. While the nobles all speak English (how convenient!) they would have used their own language much more than we see and that huge meeting would have been all in it unless English was being used for security reasons. No one suggested that and it would have dealt with the issue of a language Miriam didn't speak for that whole chapter.
The ending seemed rather tacked on and I wondered if it was there to keep readers partly content until the next book (and I'm assuming there *is* a next book).
Aside from a few issues like the language and such this book was a great read and I am even now looking for Book 3.
I read a review which suggested that if Stross wanted to write about economics he shouldn't have written science fiction/fantasy. Well, I for one am delighted to be reading a time/space travel where the characters are actually involved in the actual economy of the world. We have to live and you can't just drift around "having experiences" without some means of making a living and understanding what is going on around you. Loved the real world feel in a book where it is mostly other worldly.
Book One introduced us to the mechanism involved in "world walking" and this volume takes us into the way everything works in the two - and now three - worlds.
It really pays to pay attention while reading because the story moves very quickly and it is easy to miss details. I certainly never studied economics so the explanations as to how trade works is very interesting. We have three world situations:
"our" world with its complicated alliances and conflicting laws,
Roland's world where the Clan has become rich moving heroin, etc. around "our" world but which is based in a medieval culture where peasants are kept ignorant and poor and nothing is supposed to change and
New Britain, which is an alternate history version of our world, but one in which Scotland won (!). There are some inventions - air ships and steam cars - but it has not had an industrial revolution so Miriam thinks it's ripe for development.
The whole drug thing bothered me since I couldn't imagine reasonable people being willing to found their whole economy on such a deadly trade, but there are a lot of individuals who do it so I suppose as long as you don't see the results you can ignore all that. I was also a little perturbed by the making of disc brakes with asbestos, even though that is the way they were made at first. It made me feel really old when I realized I can remember when disc brakes became popular.
Uncle Angbard is described as rather terrifying but he seems to lose the train of the action and is left rather wringing his hands.
I've tried reading the language of Roland's world, as much as I can guess the pronunciation, and wonder if we'll see any more of it. While the nobles all speak English (how convenient!) they would have used their own language much more than we see and that huge meeting would have been all in it unless English was being used for security reasons. No one suggested that and it would have dealt with the issue of a language Miriam didn't speak for that whole chapter.
The ending seemed rather tacked on and I wondered if it was there to keep readers partly content until the next book (and I'm assuming there *is* a next book).
Aside from a few issues like the language and such this book was a great read and I am even now looking for Book 3.
I read a review which suggested that if Stross wanted to write about economics he shouldn't have written science fiction/fantasy. Well, I for one am delighted to be reading a time/space travel where the characters are actually involved in the actual economy of the world. We have to live and you can't just drift around "having experiences" without some means of making a living and understanding what is going on around you. Loved the real world feel in a book where it is mostly other worldly.
September 27, 2009
This book adds some interesting twists to the setting of the Merchant Princes, and expands on the main character, her family/clan, the relationships and business activities.
It shows the main character's quick adaptation and ability to apply an outsider's viewpoint to understanding the economical problems and an approach to them that is new and unique while dealing with assassins and other problems.
The last chapter of the book is its weak point. There's a climactic leap of events at the end that really needed more pages to do correctly, so instead the author does the 'cheat' and knocks the major narrative character out of consciousness and then drops us to an epilogue that skips past weeks of events and gives us only the lightest of 'filling in the details' in a rapid tiny expositional conversation.
If not for that bad ending I might have given the book 4 stars, but its weak use of that literary trick to keep the word count and total book size smaller was really unnecessary and feels forced.
I'm hoping that the third book will not suffer from this sort of bad ending close syndrome (though a number of major authors currently seem to apply it too often).
The book itself still stands in a weird space, so I can't tell if its world walking SF or Fantasy. Except for the world walking there seems to be no other Fantasy elements directly in place, so it may all be SF, but I'll classify it as both for the moment.
It shows the main character's quick adaptation and ability to apply an outsider's viewpoint to understanding the economical problems and an approach to them that is new and unique while dealing with assassins and other problems.
The last chapter of the book is its weak point. There's a climactic leap of events at the end that really needed more pages to do correctly, so instead the author does the 'cheat' and knocks the major narrative character out of consciousness and then drops us to an epilogue that skips past weeks of events and gives us only the lightest of 'filling in the details' in a rapid tiny expositional conversation.
If not for that bad ending I might have given the book 4 stars, but its weak use of that literary trick to keep the word count and total book size smaller was really unnecessary and feels forced.
I'm hoping that the third book will not suffer from this sort of bad ending close syndrome (though a number of major authors currently seem to apply it too often).
The book itself still stands in a weird space, so I can't tell if its world walking SF or Fantasy. Except for the world walking there seems to be no other Fantasy elements directly in place, so it may all be SF, but I'll classify it as both for the moment.
September 5, 2009
Well, more of the same, that is, not really worth reading. Scott stopped reading after this one, and I think he made the better choice.
We're already struggling to assimilate information about two worlds and Clan politics, and then this novel goes and adds a third world. While Miriam's actions there are fairly interesting, I just couldn't figure out why Stross had to add this third dimension. It seems to me there was more than enough of interest in the interaction of the first two worlds he introduced us to.
At least it wrapped up its storyline decently well. Because the third book, well....
We're already struggling to assimilate information about two worlds and Clan politics, and then this novel goes and adds a third world. While Miriam's actions there are fairly interesting, I just couldn't figure out why Stross had to add this third dimension. It seems to me there was more than enough of interest in the interaction of the first two worlds he introduced us to.
At least it wrapped up its storyline decently well. Because the third book, well....
May 24, 2022
Ulmesarja "Vürstkaupmehed" teine raamat ehk järg eelmisel kuul loetud sarja esimesele raamatule "Pereäri". Omapäraselt vastakad tunded on selle sarjaga seoses endiselt. Kui esimest raamatut asusin õhinal lugema, siis poole peal hakkas venima ja pidin ausalt tunnistama, et teosesse sisse pistetud armuloo liin oli see, mis lõpuni lugema sundis. Kõnealune teine raamat ootas pikalt riiulis oma järge ja võib-olla olekski lugemata raamatukokku tagasi purjetanud, kui selle kuu ulmeväljakutsesse sobinud ei oleks. Kui aga kätte võtsin, siis haaras kuidagi endasse ega saanudki enne pidama, kui lõpp juba käes.
Loo peategelane, tänapäeva Bostoni majandusajakirjanik Miriam saab eelmises raamatus teada, et feodalistlike sugemetega paralleelmaailmas on ta tegelikult hoopis mõjuka Klanni järeltulija Helge. Maailmade vahel pendeldamine ning ajast ja arust Klanni tõdede järgi elamine pole kerge, kuid selles raamatus avaneb veel ka kolmas paralleelmaailm, kus nutikas majandusajakirjanik oma teadusalaseid teadmisi edu saavutamiseks kasutama hakkab. Lisaks tuleb ilmsiks nii mõnigi perekonnasaladus.
Midagi selles raamatus on, mis paelub ja teistest analoogsetest ajarännakuraamatutest eristab. Hetkel loen juba kolmandat osa ja see on taas selline raamat, kus ühe soojaga lõpuni ei purjeta, aga meeli oma kombitsatest lugu lahti ka ei lase.
Loo peategelane, tänapäeva Bostoni majandusajakirjanik Miriam saab eelmises raamatus teada, et feodalistlike sugemetega paralleelmaailmas on ta tegelikult hoopis mõjuka Klanni järeltulija Helge. Maailmade vahel pendeldamine ning ajast ja arust Klanni tõdede järgi elamine pole kerge, kuid selles raamatus avaneb veel ka kolmas paralleelmaailm, kus nutikas majandusajakirjanik oma teadusalaseid teadmisi edu saavutamiseks kasutama hakkab. Lisaks tuleb ilmsiks nii mõnigi perekonnasaladus.
Midagi selles raamatus on, mis paelub ja teistest analoogsetest ajarännakuraamatutest eristab. Hetkel loen juba kolmandat osa ja see on taas selline raamat, kus ühe soojaga lõpuni ei purjeta, aga meeli oma kombitsatest lugu lahti ka ei lase.
March 9, 2024
The Hidden Family has continued intrigue and some unexpected developments near the end. I’m curious to see how Miriam, Brill, Olga, and the others will continue on and likely thrive.
December 21, 2025
Fun! I like the strong female protagonist.
Read
October 21, 2007http://nhw.livejournal.com/499648.html[return][return]Enjoyed it. Our heroine from the first book has a business plan, an economic model, three parallel universes to trade between, and a bunch of enemies out to kill her. Some vivid scene-setting, including of the weather; one nice little touch:[return][return]"I don't know much about English history, but it's got this civil war in the sixteen forties, goes on and on about some dude called the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. I looked him up in Encarta and yes, he's there, too. I didn't know the English had a civil war, and it gets better: they had a revolution in 1688, too! Did you know that? I sure didn't, and it's not in Encarta -- but I didn't trust it, so I checked Britannica and it's kosher. Okay, so England has a lot of history, and it's all in the wrong order."[return][return]As the climax loomed and the number of pages left to read dwindled rapidly, I began to wonder if the book would end on a genuine cliff-hanger to encourage us to look out for The Clan Corporate. But in fact enough was resolved - if in a bit of a rush - for the story to come to a satisfactory halt for now.[return][return]Charlie does like his feisty women heroes! And does them well.
November 24, 2009
Stross clearly has some Marx education in his background; a lot of his novels very definitely bring on the way your situation and economics affect how you live your life. Often times this is sci fi economics: how does the ability to travel through space change the way we live, or sentient computers, or something like this.
This is his trip into the fantasy world, where he creates a plausible economics of the ability to jump between dimensions.
Don't worry, it's a lot more exciting than that sounds. On top of that, Stross has created a really rare breed in sci fi/fantasy: a character who doesn't just sit back and travel through a well-thought out world, marveling at the author's creation, but instead tries to start figuring things out, molding it to her advantage and become the master of extremely complicated forces. In a lot of stories, I hate the time between where you, the reader, figure out what type of story the characters are in and you have to wait until the characters themselves figure it out (zombie movie, vampire story, etc.). Miriam immediately sets out to figure it all out.
This is his trip into the fantasy world, where he creates a plausible economics of the ability to jump between dimensions.
Don't worry, it's a lot more exciting than that sounds. On top of that, Stross has created a really rare breed in sci fi/fantasy: a character who doesn't just sit back and travel through a well-thought out world, marveling at the author's creation, but instead tries to start figuring things out, molding it to her advantage and become the master of extremely complicated forces. In a lot of stories, I hate the time between where you, the reader, figure out what type of story the characters are in and you have to wait until the characters themselves figure it out (zombie movie, vampire story, etc.). Miriam immediately sets out to figure it all out.
August 10, 2012
Dans ce deuxième tome, Miriam utilise son talent de traverseuse d'univers pour s'en aller explorer une troisième terre parallèle, coincée à peu près l'époque victorienne, et donc entre le moyen-âge de la terre des voyageurs et son Boston natal (qui est aussi le nôtre, en fait).
Elle y découvre certains secrets des machinations ayant cours autour de sa famille, et se plonge dans des histoires géopolitiques très différentes.
Comme le premier tome, c'est à la fois distrayant, subtil, bien amené. La seule chose que je puisse reprocher à cette oeuvr est en fait que l'héroïne a une chance proprement insolente. Mais je ne crois pas que le propos soit là. je crois plutôt qu'il est dans l'exposition des différentes théories économiques ayant pu avoir cours, du mercantilisme initial à une théorie polus moderne de la valeur du travail.
La seule chose que j'attends, c'est le troisième tome, en fait, pour clarifier un certain nombre d'éléments de ce récit ... Enfin, je crois.
Elle y découvre certains secrets des machinations ayant cours autour de sa famille, et se plonge dans des histoires géopolitiques très différentes.
Comme le premier tome, c'est à la fois distrayant, subtil, bien amené. La seule chose que je puisse reprocher à cette oeuvr est en fait que l'héroïne a une chance proprement insolente. Mais je ne crois pas que le propos soit là. je crois plutôt qu'il est dans l'exposition des différentes théories économiques ayant pu avoir cours, du mercantilisme initial à une théorie polus moderne de la valeur du travail.
La seule chose que j'attends, c'est le troisième tome, en fait, pour clarifier un certain nombre d'éléments de ce récit ... Enfin, je crois.
December 27, 2010
The fun continues. My brother and I disagree about both Miriam and Roland. I think it isn't quite believable that Miriam makes the perfect technology choices outside of her wheelhouse, biotechnology. My brother, a freelance journalist, thinks it is credible. He thinks Roland is out of a romance novel. I think he has been in DC too long.
Olga and Brill continue becoming more interesting; they make a wonderful foil for how emotionally clueless Miriam can be. Her mother's emotional relationships were a pleasant surprise and I found the end really sad.
Olga and Brill continue becoming more interesting; they make a wonderful foil for how emotionally clueless Miriam can be. Her mother's emotional relationships were a pleasant surprise and I found the end really sad.
December 20, 2019
Stross, Charles. The Hidden Family Merchant Princes No. 2. Tor, 2005.
In this second volume of The Merchant Princes, most of the action moves to a third alternate universe called New Britain, in which neither the French nor the American revolutions occurred. It has developed a nineteenth-century level of technology but is hampered by its internal politics and its never-ending disputes with the French. When Miriam Beckstein shows up with ideas about expanding her family business by jump-starting the New Britain economy, the powers that be in multiple universes are rattled.
In this second volume of The Merchant Princes, most of the action moves to a third alternate universe called New Britain, in which neither the French nor the American revolutions occurred. It has developed a nineteenth-century level of technology but is hampered by its internal politics and its never-ending disputes with the French. When Miriam Beckstein shows up with ideas about expanding her family business by jump-starting the New Britain economy, the powers that be in multiple universes are rattled.
May 26, 2020
Setting presentation, design and originality (how cool is the setting?): 3
Setting verisimillitude and detail (how much sense does the setting make?): 4
Plot design, presentation and originality (How well-crafted was the plot, in the dramaturgic sense?): 3
Plot and character verisimillitude (How much sense did the plot and motivations make? Did events follow from motivations?): 4
Characterization and character development: 3
Character sympatheticness: 3
Prose: 2
Page turner factor: 3
Mind blown factor: 2
Final (weighted) score: 3
Setting verisimillitude and detail (how much sense does the setting make?): 4
Plot design, presentation and originality (How well-crafted was the plot, in the dramaturgic sense?): 3
Plot and character verisimillitude (How much sense did the plot and motivations make? Did events follow from motivations?): 4
Characterization and character development: 3
Character sympatheticness: 3
Prose: 2
Page turner factor: 3
Mind blown factor: 2
Final (weighted) score: 3
January 14, 2015
Decent story with good characters. Miriam is nicely complex as a female heroine without being the absurd action hero/ninja that is common in a lot of fantasy fiction. The world building is interesting, if not as imaginative as a lot of Stross's other work. I'm impressed that he killed off a pretty major supporting character near the end. This series is not my favorite work by Stross, but it's enjoyable enough that I'll continue since I've already got the books sitting on my shelf.
August 20, 2014
A reread of the 2nd book in the Merchant Princes series. And as a reread I found it more enjoyable than book 1. Perhaps the books did ramp up - so far I haven't checked my previous write-ups. Still bubblegum - but enjoyable bubblegum with interesting ideas of taking advantage of parallel worlds to boot. 4.5 of 5.
August 23, 2008
The end of this book could have been written such that the reader is mourning the loss of an engaging character but feeling satisfied in the reading experience. Instead, the scenes are so clunky I barely knew what happened. Left me cold.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2016
Read book 3 first by mistake so I read it out of order - still a good yarn. Have ordered the next 3 books from the library - can't wait to read them.
July 9, 2023
Originally the first two books were in fact one tale, so quite naturally this one fulfills promises and concludes arcs abruptly curtailed in the prior installment. Main character Miriam manages to suss out what was implied in the first book: there are another set of world-walkers who transport themselves from Miriam's second medieval world to a third world. This alternate alternate reality features a kind of funhouse mirror speculative history (what if England won the Revolutionary War and lost the war for empire with France?). Miriam here (standing in for Stross) tries her hand at enriching the clan of world two via a trade in ideas to world three. This is Stross's thought experiment about how nations in the modern world can shed the shackles of enforced colonial backwardness and modernize in ways beneficial to the people. Econ geeks will find a lot of food for thought here. Of course Miriam's do-gooder impulses run afoul of her clan family members in world two, many of whom wish to have her declared mentally incompetent for her wish to wean the family off of being narco transporters in world one (ours). And of course there are pesky world three types who want to off Miriam as part of a longstanding blood feud. Fortunately she is well-supplied with chicas in worlds one and two who help her avoid some of the worst outcomes. Stross himself has recently thought through the Bechdel test as it applies to his own works and the fact is this one passes with flying colors. Most of the men are idiots, there is romance, but the women have worlds to save before anything else and much of the plot is driven by their resourcefulness and camaraderie. If the economics aren't fully baked, the story itself cracks along and it's a pleasure to be in Miriam's company most of the time.
July 25, 2023
A direct continuation of book 1. But rather than merely wrapping up the story that was left hanging, instead we get a third alternate world. And by the Laws of Fantasy, since the first one was medieval, this one must therefore be steampunk, complete with airships, as is commanded. At first it seemed like an unnecessary complication distracting from the main plot, but as the story progresses it makes sense as an essential piece of the puzzle. The conspiracies are eventually at least partially unraveled and culminates in what for Stross counts as a climax, with sufficient threads remaining for sequels.
Stross does a great job debunking the fairytale of princesses in castles as being a desirable state (no indoor plumbing, electricity, antibiotics, dismal conditions for peasantry, etc.) but also is aware that just throwing advanced technology at a problem can make it worse unless the infrastructure and democratic social order are in place to support it. The main character's primary quest is therefore a question of how to best introduce technology in a profitable way without overly alienating the power structure that benefits from the current system based on inequality and stagnation. All while being hunted by assassins and chased by police, caring for her elderly mother, and navigating court intrigue.
Stross does a great job debunking the fairytale of princesses in castles as being a desirable state (no indoor plumbing, electricity, antibiotics, dismal conditions for peasantry, etc.) but also is aware that just throwing advanced technology at a problem can make it worse unless the infrastructure and democratic social order are in place to support it. The main character's primary quest is therefore a question of how to best introduce technology in a profitable way without overly alienating the power structure that benefits from the current system based on inequality and stagnation. All while being hunted by assassins and chased by police, caring for her elderly mother, and navigating court intrigue.
October 9, 2025
When I rate or review a book I try to both consider its value as a book, is it well constructed, does it flow, is there an interesting story or characters or both? I also as I must give my personal reaction. Did it appeal to me on some level. This may vary a lot depending on my mood and I've been know to rate the same book at 3 stars on first read and then five stars on a second read some time later.
I am a fan of Charles Stross' Laundry Files series and I wanted to like The Merchant Princes series too. A friend with similar tastes loves them. I started out wanting to read the whole series but have stopped after book four.
They're well written with strong women characters and interesting takes on some What if alternative history themes. Sadly these What ifs turn dystopian in other worlds with serfdom and abuse and hierarchies common. The books would also be more enjoyable if we weren't seeing that transition to fascism happening in real time in the USA. Even the inherited ability for a few people of one family to jump from one specific America to another doesn't help when wars and potential disasters lurk in each.
If you're OK with Succession mixed with Game of Thrones but with portal stepping and no dragons you may like these books. If America and the rest of the world survive the waves of right wing ideologies I may like these books more in a few years too.
I am a fan of Charles Stross' Laundry Files series and I wanted to like The Merchant Princes series too. A friend with similar tastes loves them. I started out wanting to read the whole series but have stopped after book four.
They're well written with strong women characters and interesting takes on some What if alternative history themes. Sadly these What ifs turn dystopian in other worlds with serfdom and abuse and hierarchies common. The books would also be more enjoyable if we weren't seeing that transition to fascism happening in real time in the USA. Even the inherited ability for a few people of one family to jump from one specific America to another doesn't help when wars and potential disasters lurk in each.
If you're OK with Succession mixed with Game of Thrones but with portal stepping and no dragons you may like these books. If America and the rest of the world survive the waves of right wing ideologies I may like these books more in a few years too.
December 12, 2023
Good follow-up to the first volume, with some interesting plot twists and reveals. Stross is definitely got an interest in keeping things very twisty and not giving anyone much time to breathe.
I like how Miriam is moving things forward with her ideas on how to a) develop a power base of her own to keep herself from being killed, b) move the family out of the drug smuggling business, and c) advance the technology levels in other worlds as a means of increasing equality and standards to living. She appropriately recognizes that there's going to be unintended consequences and also real destruction along the way...but she gets an appropriate reality check from one of the characters who has had to live with the inequities.
It does feel like a real chapter close at the end with some major events coming to a head, which...maybe came a little fast for me? While I'm weary of some of the massively deconstructed tomes that some authors roll out these days, i wouldn't have minded a little more time with some of the rest of the cast of characters, allowing them some time to breathe and get fleshed out a little more, rather than so consistently be sidekicks in Miriam's story.
All in all, a series that I'm enjoying
I like how Miriam is moving things forward with her ideas on how to a) develop a power base of her own to keep herself from being killed, b) move the family out of the drug smuggling business, and c) advance the technology levels in other worlds as a means of increasing equality and standards to living. She appropriately recognizes that there's going to be unintended consequences and also real destruction along the way...but she gets an appropriate reality check from one of the characters who has had to live with the inequities.
It does feel like a real chapter close at the end with some major events coming to a head, which...maybe came a little fast for me? While I'm weary of some of the massively deconstructed tomes that some authors roll out these days, i wouldn't have minded a little more time with some of the rest of the cast of characters, allowing them some time to breathe and get fleshed out a little more, rather than so consistently be sidekicks in Miriam's story.
All in all, a series that I'm enjoying
June 20, 2024
Better edited than the first and thankfully this has something resembling the end of a story arc at the end. Do not attempt to read this without the first one; it will make even less sense than it otherwise does.
Our amazeballs, girl-boss Mirriam, who -without knowing ANYTHING about the culture she has stubbled her way into- is determined to fix it up and revolutionise their sources of income continues on her frantic hopping from one place to another. She collects a posse of girlfriends of different worlds and types to be her sidekicks here and there.
There is the revelation of yet a third world that can be travelled to, the source of the clan's infighting and a whole heap of other actual plots and characters to keep me moderately happy in this one. Mirriam is not quite as annoying.
There is a story arc with her mother which is interesting, and I think it is meant to be surprising? !? Though it is so heavily foreshadowed I doubt anyone did not see it coming.
Look, I don't regret reading it, but I do regret buying them in the first place. Previously I have only read sci-fi / cyberpunk from this author before; he does that better.
Our amazeballs, girl-boss Mirriam, who -without knowing ANYTHING about the culture she has stubbled her way into- is determined to fix it up and revolutionise their sources of income continues on her frantic hopping from one place to another. She collects a posse of girlfriends of different worlds and types to be her sidekicks here and there.
There is the revelation of yet a third world that can be travelled to, the source of the clan's infighting and a whole heap of other actual plots and characters to keep me moderately happy in this one. Mirriam is not quite as annoying.
There is a story arc with her mother which is interesting, and I think it is meant to be surprising? !? Though it is so heavily foreshadowed I doubt anyone did not see it coming.
Look, I don't regret reading it, but I do regret buying them in the first place. Previously I have only read sci-fi / cyberpunk from this author before; he does that better.
April 4, 2018
Things get complicated and there is a lot of drama as it all starts going pearshaped.
Matthias betrays as a simple misunderstanding many years ago has become a blood feud that costs 1,000 lives. The Lee family thinks they were abandoned, when in fact they got the knot wrong and go to the wrong world.
Multiverse really starts to kick in as Miriam is the first to figure out there is a third world. Her plan to smuggle knowledge rather than drugs or gold is pretty clever. The implementation is tricky though since you have to be careful to introduce the right tech in the right way. Can't make to big a leap in one shot because it won't work. Can't go from radios to flat screen TV's without all the manufacturing knowledge and systems behind it.
The third world has better tech than #2 but just as bad politics. Again the USA shines in contrast. The story starts to get ludicrous, but there is a really good narration and frankly you just want to see what happens next.
Matthias betrays as a simple misunderstanding many years ago has become a blood feud that costs 1,000 lives. The Lee family thinks they were abandoned, when in fact they got the knot wrong and go to the wrong world.
Multiverse really starts to kick in as Miriam is the first to figure out there is a third world. Her plan to smuggle knowledge rather than drugs or gold is pretty clever. The implementation is tricky though since you have to be careful to introduce the right tech in the right way. Can't make to big a leap in one shot because it won't work. Can't go from radios to flat screen TV's without all the manufacturing knowledge and systems behind it.
The third world has better tech than #2 but just as bad politics. Again the USA shines in contrast. The story starts to get ludicrous, but there is a really good narration and frankly you just want to see what happens next.
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