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The Merchant Princes #1
The Family Trade
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.
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.
308 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
139 people are currently reading
3368 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 505 reviews
November 16, 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 perfectly prepare her for whatever comes up, but take away any pretense to her having goals; just let her drift along being scared and planning to do something--with no idea what--"when the time comes"
3. Remove all subtlety from the politics
4. Spend 2/3 of the book doing absolutely nothing
5. Throw in some unnecessary and unbelievable sex to make the protagonist seem desperate and easy
6. End with nothing accomplished. Actually have a denouement without a climax
Oh, and throw in three chapters scattered throughout the book that have nothing to do with anything on-stage so far, just to shout "Hey, look! I have stuff going on you don't know about! Keep reading the series!"
On the plus side,
A. Take time out after every interesting scene that could move the plot to reflect on the socioeconomic forces that come into play or the implications and limits of the magical technology and how it correlates to the industrialization of third-world countries.
In short, replace all story with author intrusion.
Now, I like Stross' discourses on how Arab princes could import luxuries and live in opulence but didn't have the transport or infrastructure to import materials to industrialize. I like his discussion of what you could do to make money or secure power with the world-walking ability in the book (most effective: drug smuggling). I'd read a book that abandoned all pretense to plot and alternated essays and short stories on those themes. But I do kind of want a story in my story.
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 pretense to her having goals; just let her drift along being scared and planning to do something--with no idea what--"when the time comes"
3. Remove all subtlety from the politics
4. Spend 2/3 of the book doing absolutely nothing
5. Throw in some unnecessary and unbelievable sex to make the protagonist seem desperate and easy
6. End with nothing accomplished. Actually have a denouement without a climax
Oh, and throw in three chapters scattered throughout the book that have nothing to do with anything on-stage so far, just to shout "Hey, look! I have stuff going on you don't know about! Keep reading the series!"
On the plus side,
A. Take time out after every interesting scene that could move the plot to reflect on the socioeconomic forces that come into play or the implications and limits of the magical technology and how it correlates to the industrialization of third-world countries.
In short, replace all story with author intrusion.
Now, I like Stross' discourses on how Arab princes could import luxuries and live in opulence but didn't have the transport or infrastructure to import materials to industrialize. I like his discussion of what you could do to make money or secure power with the world-walking ability in the book (most effective: drug smuggling). I'd read a book that abandoned all pretense to plot and alternated essays and short stories on those themes. But I do kind of want a story in my story.
May 19, 2014
This was just okay. Oddly, it had exactly the opposite problem as the last (and only other, so far) Charles Stross novel I've read so far. Neither are enough to put me off reading more. When I read Singularity Sky, I found the writing very dense, and was often at sea, with no real idea what was going on. In The Family Trade, I initially found the writing style too simplistic. Whether that changed, or I finally got into the rhythm of the book, it's hard to say. But either way, this isn't a classic. But neither is it terrible.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn 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 withdrawn 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
February 16, 2009
The Family Trade is atrocious. It remains to date the worst book I've ever read.
Nothing is resolved, or even close. This isn't a case of a few loose ends, this is a case of the author was as annoyed as I was with the plot and characters and couldn't be bothered to finish the rest of this disaster. The major story Miriam was investigating and that the novel starts off with? We never hear about it again after Paulette assures Miriam she's got backup files if they want to keep pursuing the story as freelancers. The romantic interest, Roland, is completely incidental, someone you could write a full plot summary without mentioning. He's some distant second cousin of Miriam, has been through schooling in the "real world" and like her, longs to change things in the Clan. Initially, she sleeps with him more or less to rebel against the Clan head, her uncle, and then suddenly both she and Roland are going on about how they're madly in love. If you're confused, well, that's only because it makes no sense at all.
Things in the world are meant to be medieval European, but they smuggle things over from our world, like televisions and cell phones. I can't for the life of me figure out how a tv would work, though. How do they generate the electricity to run the thing? Did they smuggle an electrician with it? And why, if they're open to the idea of modern conveniences like this, do they not wear more comfortable clothes, instead of insisting on elaborate dresses with corsets that take three hours to put on?
The writing itself is awful. I can't count the number of times I read a phrase that made me stop and silently whimper to myself. Allow me to share a few, since I can't simply be content to suffer alone. Some of my personal favourites are from what's meant to be an intimate scene between Miriam and Roland. I swear, I haven't altered a thing in these sentences:
"He stroked her flank silently."
"She felt his nod: It sent a shiver through her spine."
"She felt lips touch the top of her spine."
Now that's a sexy scene.
Even the characters were poorly handled. Not a single one of them was particularly likeable, and none of them were convincingly consistent in their personality. Paulette is introduced as an incredibly smart, slightly naive woman, never having considered that one of the companies involved in the money-laundering scheme she and Miriam uncovered was something her boss worked with. Later, when the locket's abilities are revealed, Paulette is the one who realizes the implications something like that could have to someone criminally minded, and Miriam is horrified at the possibilities.
There really is nothing redeemable about this book. It took me twice as long as it should have to get through this sludge, because I was just slogging through it. Only the thought of putting up a review and preventing others from making the same horrible mistake as me and picking up this book got me through it.
I suppose there is one way it could have been worse: I could have paid for this thing instead of taking it out of the library. At least now I can give it back and let the healing start.
Nothing is resolved, or even close. This isn't a case of a few loose ends, this is a case of the author was as annoyed as I was with the plot and characters and couldn't be bothered to finish the rest of this disaster. The major story Miriam was investigating and that the novel starts off with? We never hear about it again after Paulette assures Miriam she's got backup files if they want to keep pursuing the story as freelancers. The romantic interest, Roland, is completely incidental, someone you could write a full plot summary without mentioning. He's some distant second cousin of Miriam, has been through schooling in the "real world" and like her, longs to change things in the Clan. Initially, she sleeps with him more or less to rebel against the Clan head, her uncle, and then suddenly both she and Roland are going on about how they're madly in love. If you're confused, well, that's only because it makes no sense at all.
Things in the world are meant to be medieval European, but they smuggle things over from our world, like televisions and cell phones. I can't for the life of me figure out how a tv would work, though. How do they generate the electricity to run the thing? Did they smuggle an electrician with it? And why, if they're open to the idea of modern conveniences like this, do they not wear more comfortable clothes, instead of insisting on elaborate dresses with corsets that take three hours to put on?
The writing itself is awful. I can't count the number of times I read a phrase that made me stop and silently whimper to myself. Allow me to share a few, since I can't simply be content to suffer alone. Some of my personal favourites are from what's meant to be an intimate scene between Miriam and Roland. I swear, I haven't altered a thing in these sentences:
"He stroked her flank silently."
"She felt his nod: It sent a shiver through her spine."
"She felt lips touch the top of her spine."
Now that's a sexy scene.
Even the characters were poorly handled. Not a single one of them was particularly likeable, and none of them were convincingly consistent in their personality. Paulette is introduced as an incredibly smart, slightly naive woman, never having considered that one of the companies involved in the money-laundering scheme she and Miriam uncovered was something her boss worked with. Later, when the locket's abilities are revealed, Paulette is the one who realizes the implications something like that could have to someone criminally minded, and Miriam is horrified at the possibilities.
There really is nothing redeemable about this book. It took me twice as long as it should have to get through this sludge, because I was just slogging through it. Only the thought of putting up a review and preventing others from making the same horrible mistake as me and picking up this book got me through it.
I suppose there is one way it could have been worse: I could have paid for this thing instead of taking it out of the library. At least now I can give it back and let the healing start.
July 25, 2020
'The Family Trade' is the first part of a six part series written by Stross nearly ten years ago. They have been republished in 3 volumes this year, with each volume containing two books. This is the first Stross I have read even though I know it is not his most popular work. But the concept attracted me.
Miriam Beckstein, a technology journalist, stumbles into intrigue when she is fired from her job and discovers that she can travel to a mirror universe where she seems to have heritage. As a baby she was found alongside a murdered woman who was never identified. Seems a bit cliche and contrived right?
Correct. But it is a wonderful ride. Sure you can see some plot points coming from 100 pages away, and the main character seems a little too well-equipped for the situation she finds herself in. I really didn't care too much about this because it was clever and fun.
I think an analogy to the 'Harry Potter' books is apt. The 'Potter' books did not offer any new insights into the fantasy genre. Everything in those books had been done before. But they told a fun story, with lots of detail, and explored plenty of ideas. This book was the same idea. Definitely not of the same quality of the 'Potter' books, but a great read anyway.
The storyline seems like it could easily have been a 90s/2000s US TV show that had a cult following but only lasted one season. Something pitched as 'Sliders meets The Godfather'. It has an air of cheesiness to it, but all the ideas and adventure make it so much fun.
I have been careful not to spoil too much of the storyline, and I'm reluctant to say any more. The details that I revealed above happen in the first 30 pages and are probably less that what you'll get reading the blurb on the cover or above on the goodreads page. It is one of those books where you need to stay away from spoilers as you do read it to find out what is happening and what can happen next. So my recommendation is steer clear of blurbs on this one. I'm continuing on with the series and I'll not be reading any blurbs or reviews just in case.
FEB 2014
I got distracted last year and didn't get beyond about 100 pages in the next volume. I just reread this in the hopes of continuing on in the series. It was still great fun!
August 16, 2014
I was under the impression that this was a science fiction book set in the far future, with a family that controlled merchant interests across a far-flung, loosely-connected human civilization. I was completely off the mark on that … and I couldn’t be happier. The word for this book, I think, is romp. Specifically, it’s a low-tech/hi-fi political and corporate intrigue and espionage romp. I love heist movies. I live for that moment where the protagonist gets a bunch of people together and says, “Let’s rob a bank.” The Family Trade isń’t a heist novel, but it has that same vibe. The protagonist, Miriam Beckstein, gets sick of being a pawn in other people’s plans—so she forms an alliance of her own and decides to upset every other gambit in play. My kind of heroine.
I suppose I should backtrack and explain one essential plot point. Miriam is adopted. It thus follows, by the laws of Fictional Universes, that she is the Long Lost Something-or-other (TVTropes)—the last of her kind, or in this case, long lost daughter of an inter-universal mob. She’s a high-ranking heir in one of the six families of a Clan from a parallel dimension, and believe me, the bizarre starts there. With a medieval, pre-industrial culture rooted in Scandinavian-style language and mythology, the Clan and its world is backwards compared to our Earth. Members of Clan families have the intrinsic ability to walk between the two worlds, and bring anything they can carry along with them. This allows the Clan to operate a very limited import/export trade. And now that everyone knows Miriam exists, she is a rogue chess piece on the playing board. No one wants that.
Charles Stross doesn’t always wow me. I’ve liked almost all of his books so far, but it’s safe to say that only Palimpsest looms large in my mind (though I have a soft spot for Singularity Sky as well). As a thinker, he gets it when it comes to theorizing and philosophizing about humanity’s futures. And as a tech guy, he knows how to make with the sexy science talk. But his narratives have seldom managed to grab me and make me go whoa.
The Family Trade changes that for me. As I’ve read more of Stross’ work, particularly Rule 34 , his skill at planning the arc of a story has become increasingly apparent. It’s even more visible here, where there are tantalizing hints at this vast new parallel world and society—as well as dark secrets even the Clan doesn’t know. Discovering all this along with Miriam is great fun, and the fact that she refuses to submit and just play along makes it all the more entertaining. Stross knows where subterfuge and subtlety is necessary and when the shit should hit the fan.
Miriam’s problems start almost immediately. She works for a magazine, and she discovers a criminal conspiracy of which the magazine’s parent company is a part. She realizes this too late and gets fired (and threatened). And if her day had stopped there, it would have sucked, but she could have moved on. Instead she pays a visit to her mother, retrieves a locket that was found on the body of her biological mother, and ends up sitting in her desk chair in the middle of a forest. Welcome to a parallel universe, Miriam. You just got more problems.
And her reaction is the reaction of a normal human being: she freaks out. Then her journalist instincts and training kick in, and she starts to think about how to document. She tries to replicate her results. She brings in outside help—a friend—and tries it again. Miriam’s methodical approach lands her in more trouble, yes, but it keeps an otherwise slow start to this story from feeling dull and lackadaisical. Instead, we’re treated to watching Miriam try to figure it out before the other shoe—which we know is there—drops.
What really surprised me, however, is how much I liked Roland and Olga. Stross really pulled a fast bait-and-switch, because our first glimpses of them are not in favourable lights. Roland shows up and sounds like a whiney brat who doesn’t get to play with the best toys. Olga sounds like, as Miriam herself describes her, an airhead ditz. Eventually we get to know them better, and while Roland is still a bit of an oaf, he has a three-dimensional personality and a good brain of his own. (I just wish the whole romance aspect didn’t feel so forced!) But Olga … I love Olga. She is a total paradox: raised in this backward world and never allowed to visit ours, she has very strict ideas about station and etiquette and comportment. She does seem like an airhead—harmless 15th-century nobility. And then she turns, and you can see the steel in her. She’s not quite a spymistress yet, but with a few more decades of practice … I have high hopes for her.
The other side of The Family Trade is the fusion of corporate espionage with royal backstabbing politics—a match made in some kind of writer heaven. As with Rule 34, much of the jargon Stross employs here goes over my head—I can grok “hostile takeover” and not much more. I’m a mathematician, but the moment financies or economics get involved, I start looking for the exit sign. My inability to understand the intricacies of these plots, however, didn’t much reduce my enjoyment of watching Miriam, Roland, Angbard, et al do their plotting. I just went along for the ride, and I’m glad I did.
These sort of parallel world, mixture of modern and medieval fantasy novels don’t always turn out well. (Case in point: The Fionavar Tapestry .) I was expecting something good from Stross, but instead I got something even better—probably the best Stross novel I’ve read since Palimpsest and Singularity Sky. Maybe it’s because it’s just so different from the science fiction I’m accustomed to seeing from him—the fantasy feels fresh but still very comfortable. If you were hoping for another nanotechnology-laden dream from a master of posthumanism, then this is not going to be it (I honestly don’t understand why I thought this was science fiction). But putting that expectation aside, The Family Trade is by all measures very satisfying.
My reviews of The Merchant Princes series:
The Hidden Family → (forthcoming)
I suppose I should backtrack and explain one essential plot point. Miriam is adopted. It thus follows, by the laws of Fictional Universes, that she is the Long Lost Something-or-other (TVTropes)—the last of her kind, or in this case, long lost daughter of an inter-universal mob. She’s a high-ranking heir in one of the six families of a Clan from a parallel dimension, and believe me, the bizarre starts there. With a medieval, pre-industrial culture rooted in Scandinavian-style language and mythology, the Clan and its world is backwards compared to our Earth. Members of Clan families have the intrinsic ability to walk between the two worlds, and bring anything they can carry along with them. This allows the Clan to operate a very limited import/export trade. And now that everyone knows Miriam exists, she is a rogue chess piece on the playing board. No one wants that.
Charles Stross doesn’t always wow me. I’ve liked almost all of his books so far, but it’s safe to say that only Palimpsest looms large in my mind (though I have a soft spot for Singularity Sky as well). As a thinker, he gets it when it comes to theorizing and philosophizing about humanity’s futures. And as a tech guy, he knows how to make with the sexy science talk. But his narratives have seldom managed to grab me and make me go whoa.
The Family Trade changes that for me. As I’ve read more of Stross’ work, particularly Rule 34 , his skill at planning the arc of a story has become increasingly apparent. It’s even more visible here, where there are tantalizing hints at this vast new parallel world and society—as well as dark secrets even the Clan doesn’t know. Discovering all this along with Miriam is great fun, and the fact that she refuses to submit and just play along makes it all the more entertaining. Stross knows where subterfuge and subtlety is necessary and when the shit should hit the fan.
Miriam’s problems start almost immediately. She works for a magazine, and she discovers a criminal conspiracy of which the magazine’s parent company is a part. She realizes this too late and gets fired (and threatened). And if her day had stopped there, it would have sucked, but she could have moved on. Instead she pays a visit to her mother, retrieves a locket that was found on the body of her biological mother, and ends up sitting in her desk chair in the middle of a forest. Welcome to a parallel universe, Miriam. You just got more problems.
And her reaction is the reaction of a normal human being: she freaks out. Then her journalist instincts and training kick in, and she starts to think about how to document. She tries to replicate her results. She brings in outside help—a friend—and tries it again. Miriam’s methodical approach lands her in more trouble, yes, but it keeps an otherwise slow start to this story from feeling dull and lackadaisical. Instead, we’re treated to watching Miriam try to figure it out before the other shoe—which we know is there—drops.
What really surprised me, however, is how much I liked Roland and Olga. Stross really pulled a fast bait-and-switch, because our first glimpses of them are not in favourable lights. Roland shows up and sounds like a whiney brat who doesn’t get to play with the best toys. Olga sounds like, as Miriam herself describes her, an airhead ditz. Eventually we get to know them better, and while Roland is still a bit of an oaf, he has a three-dimensional personality and a good brain of his own. (I just wish the whole romance aspect didn’t feel so forced!) But Olga … I love Olga. She is a total paradox: raised in this backward world and never allowed to visit ours, she has very strict ideas about station and etiquette and comportment. She does seem like an airhead—harmless 15th-century nobility. And then she turns, and you can see the steel in her. She’s not quite a spymistress yet, but with a few more decades of practice … I have high hopes for her.
The other side of The Family Trade is the fusion of corporate espionage with royal backstabbing politics—a match made in some kind of writer heaven. As with Rule 34, much of the jargon Stross employs here goes over my head—I can grok “hostile takeover” and not much more. I’m a mathematician, but the moment financies or economics get involved, I start looking for the exit sign. My inability to understand the intricacies of these plots, however, didn’t much reduce my enjoyment of watching Miriam, Roland, Angbard, et al do their plotting. I just went along for the ride, and I’m glad I did.
These sort of parallel world, mixture of modern and medieval fantasy novels don’t always turn out well. (Case in point: The Fionavar Tapestry .) I was expecting something good from Stross, but instead I got something even better—probably the best Stross novel I’ve read since Palimpsest and Singularity Sky. Maybe it’s because it’s just so different from the science fiction I’m accustomed to seeing from him—the fantasy feels fresh but still very comfortable. If you were hoping for another nanotechnology-laden dream from a master of posthumanism, then this is not going to be it (I honestly don’t understand why I thought this was science fiction). But putting that expectation aside, The Family Trade is by all measures very satisfying.
My reviews of The Merchant Princes series:
The Hidden Family → (forthcoming)
December 3, 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).
March 27, 2023
This was odd, a sort middle-grade portal fantasy with a gun and a sex scene. I would have expected the writing from something coming out in the 80s. For something in 2004 I would call it stilted and flat.
CONTENT WARNING:
It was sort of fun to think about being a princess suddenly, but everything about it was bland.
CONTENT WARNING:
It was sort of fun to think about being a princess suddenly, but everything about it was bland.
October 5, 2017
Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded up because DAYUM!
August 11, 2016
I might have given this book a 2-star rating if it had managed to have its own story arc (instead of just being an installment in the series), but it really can't stand on its own. All it contains are an introduction to the world and some incidents. Then the book ends, and apparently we're supposed to want to jump right into the next one despite having just read 300 pages that fail on many levels: characters, a coherent setting (the mediaeval part), fashion, consistent world rules...
And seriously, what was with the dictaphone? I couldn't buy into that as an exposition device.
The worst part is that it feels like the book is setting up Miriam to win in the end when really what should happen is that she destabilizes their entire society, leading to death and destruction and setting them back even further.
And seriously, what was with the dictaphone? I couldn't buy into that as an exposition device.
The worst part is that it feels like the book is setting up Miriam to win in the end when really what should happen is that she destabilizes their entire society, leading to death and destruction and setting them back even further.
April 4, 2013
Raamat läks käima õieti alles kusagil teises pooles, sissejuhatus oli liiga pikk ja ei viinud tegelikult mitte kuhugi -- võimalik muidugi, et mingid asjad muutuvad oluliseks hilisemates osades, aga siiski muutis see esimese osa tarbetult lohisevaks. Kui käima läks, siis ikka kohe sajaga, kohe hakkas ikka niimoodi juhtuma, et tuul vilistas kõrvus ja põnevust oli enam kui küll.
Aga Strossi jutud meeldivad mulle ikka kohe palju rohkem. Ta vist ikka pigem lühivormide meister :)
Aga Strossi jutud meeldivad mulle ikka kohe palju rohkem. Ta vist ikka pigem lühivormide meister :)
July 1, 2025
Miriam Beckstein, a reporter, gets fired on the day she gets a lead that will overthrow governments—only to discover she’s part of a secretive, alternate-world aristocracy that uses interdimensional powers for profits. What begins as a personal mystery expands rapidly into a geopolitical chess game across timelines.
4/5
The early chapters lean heavily on exposition, the payoff is a fast-paced, genre-bending tale that feels like The Bourne Identity meets Game of Thrones, with a dash of The Man in the High Castle.
HUGE bonus points for a protagonist who's intelligent but not a complete mary sue.
There's a princess who gets given an uzi. Comedy ensues.
4/5
The early chapters lean heavily on exposition, the payoff is a fast-paced, genre-bending tale that feels like The Bourne Identity meets Game of Thrones, with a dash of The Man in the High Castle.
HUGE bonus points for a protagonist who's intelligent but not a complete mary sue.
There's a princess who gets given an uzi. Comedy ensues.
March 22, 2020
I liked this book a lot in 2005, but never reviewed it. Nicholas Whyte has a good review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Stross's story notes, as usual, make interesting reading: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-... (no real spoilers, that I saw). It's the story of how the Merchant Princes series came to be, about the publishing business, and about the writing process for the series. It’s quite a story, that will be more interesting if you've read some of the books, and are interested in the ups and downs of a freelance SF writer:
“The first six Merchant Princes books weigh in at 640,000 words. I had to fix any errata, redraft, and edit them into three books in three months. [Compare to] War and Peace (Nikolai Tolstoy) — 620,000 words[!]”
Proofreading: “Checking the proofs to the Merchant Princes in three months nearly broke [the proofreader]. The stack of foul paper — marked-up papers: he likes to work it old-school — is more than a foot deep.”
His earlier story-notes are fun, too: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog... World-building for the series:
"Rule 2: Steal from the best! ...
Rule 3: If you steal an entire outfit from one writer's wardrobe, people will mock you for being imitative. So steal from at least two, and mix thoroughly. ...
Rule 4: When choosing the themes to pilfer, only pick ones that you, personally, find interesting — if you pick something boring you'll only have yourself to blame if it's successful and you end up chained to the desk to write more of it for the next decade. ....
Rule 5: However much you're stealing, make sure it doesn't look stolen. Genre publishing is a beauty show, and originality wins prizes (but not too much originality). ..."
Around 2004, the first book was bought by David Hartwell at Tor. After editing, it came in at "just under 200,000 words. Then the dread words came down from on high: "can you split this into two volumes?" This is my sole apology to those readers who are annoyed at the abrupt ending of 'The Family Trade' — it's the first half of the original book, splitting them so that the series would run in 300-page chunks (rather than 600-750 page doorsteps) wasn't my idea (in fact, I protested it), but in the final analysis I can only tell my publisher where to get off if I'm willing to get off (and go find another publisher. ..."
Stross's story notes, as usual, make interesting reading: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-... (no real spoilers, that I saw). It's the story of how the Merchant Princes series came to be, about the publishing business, and about the writing process for the series. It’s quite a story, that will be more interesting if you've read some of the books, and are interested in the ups and downs of a freelance SF writer:
“The first six Merchant Princes books weigh in at 640,000 words. I had to fix any errata, redraft, and edit them into three books in three months. [Compare to] War and Peace (Nikolai Tolstoy) — 620,000 words[!]”
Proofreading: “Checking the proofs to the Merchant Princes in three months nearly broke [the proofreader]. The stack of foul paper — marked-up papers: he likes to work it old-school — is more than a foot deep.”
His earlier story-notes are fun, too: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog... World-building for the series:
"Rule 2: Steal from the best! ...
Rule 3: If you steal an entire outfit from one writer's wardrobe, people will mock you for being imitative. So steal from at least two, and mix thoroughly. ...
Rule 4: When choosing the themes to pilfer, only pick ones that you, personally, find interesting — if you pick something boring you'll only have yourself to blame if it's successful and you end up chained to the desk to write more of it for the next decade. ....
Rule 5: However much you're stealing, make sure it doesn't look stolen. Genre publishing is a beauty show, and originality wins prizes (but not too much originality). ..."
Around 2004, the first book was bought by David Hartwell at Tor. After editing, it came in at "just under 200,000 words. Then the dread words came down from on high: "can you split this into two volumes?" This is my sole apology to those readers who are annoyed at the abrupt ending of 'The Family Trade' — it's the first half of the original book, splitting them so that the series would run in 300-page chunks (rather than 600-750 page doorsteps) wasn't my idea (in fact, I protested it), but in the final analysis I can only tell my publisher where to get off if I'm willing to get off (and go find another publisher. ..."
June 20, 2024
This sounded like a great story concept and it is! That concept is great: A modern day American woman finds she is a lost heiress from another world where an inherited characteristic allows you to walk between world. Sadly, the concept is poorly developed, neglected in favour of a frenetic pace of events often with no apparent rhyme or reason to them and a great concentration on the main characters experiences...
We start with the main protagonist, Miriam who comes across as a strong, intelligent and capable woman - exactly the sort of woman I like as a main protagonist in action type stories. She does not live up expectations however, routinely behaving in batshite crazy ways (She buys heaps of camping gear, and without ANY camping experience goes to ANOTHER WORLD to test it solo for the first time) Which she survives, somehow, repeatedly and regrettably.
The editing/proof reading/continuity at the start is also erratic, on pg[41] we hear that the slope 'explains why she skidded' when not mention of her skidding is ever given: I re-read those pages 3 damn times looking for this reference that I assumed I had missed, but, no, it was not me missing it. This sort of thing happened a lot and it frayed my concentration.
When Mirriam gets over to the other side, she is warned there is danger, that the social mores are complex and different, she realises she knows nothing about this world, which is essentially pre-industrial only with toys brought in from our world. Does this new heiress (who we are told is an investigative journalist and super SUPER smart) ask for tutors, books, information on the world? Maybe training in the language which she does not speak? Nope, nope nope she just muddles along. She does question a couple of maids at one stage. And then, with zero knowledge about ANYTHING in this world, she decides to update their sources of wealth.
And then, to add insult to insult; this book does not even have an ending. No resolutions, no story arc completed NOTHING to compensate the poor reader for having slogged through over 300 pages. just a "..." which can be translated to 'go out and buy the next book beyetch'
Great concept, very poor execution. I had already bought the second book or I would never have kept going.
We start with the main protagonist, Miriam who comes across as a strong, intelligent and capable woman - exactly the sort of woman I like as a main protagonist in action type stories. She does not live up expectations however, routinely behaving in batshite crazy ways (She buys heaps of camping gear, and without ANY camping experience goes to ANOTHER WORLD to test it solo for the first time) Which she survives, somehow, repeatedly and regrettably.
The editing/proof reading/continuity at the start is also erratic, on pg[41] we hear that the slope 'explains why she skidded' when not mention of her skidding is ever given: I re-read those pages 3 damn times looking for this reference that I assumed I had missed, but, no, it was not me missing it. This sort of thing happened a lot and it frayed my concentration.
When Mirriam gets over to the other side, she is warned there is danger, that the social mores are complex and different, she realises she knows nothing about this world, which is essentially pre-industrial only with toys brought in from our world. Does this new heiress (who we are told is an investigative journalist and super SUPER smart) ask for tutors, books, information on the world? Maybe training in the language which she does not speak? Nope, nope nope she just muddles along. She does question a couple of maids at one stage. And then, with zero knowledge about ANYTHING in this world, she decides to update their sources of wealth.
And then, to add insult to insult; this book does not even have an ending. No resolutions, no story arc completed NOTHING to compensate the poor reader for having slogged through over 300 pages. just a "..." which can be translated to 'go out and buy the next book beyetch'
Great concept, very poor execution. I had already bought the second book or I would never have kept going.
Read
October 21, 2007http://nhw.livejournal.com/493161.html[return][return]I had been looking forward to reading this for some time. Reviews that I had skimmed (and indeed hints dropped by the author) led me to understand that it borrows the feudal and feuding families who can walk between the worlds of Roger Zelazny's Amber series, a firm favourite of mine from an early age. But my anticipation was mixed with a little trepidation: even Zelazny was unable to really pull it off in the end - while the Amber books contain some of his most lyrical prose, the plot has holes you can drive an army of dark, clawed, fanged, furry man-like creatures through, and his own interest and energy had very obviously faded by the middle of the second series. And as for the Betancourt prequels - critical reaction has been pretty unanimous, so I don't think I'll bother.[return][return]Well, I think Charlie has pulled it off. He's taken Zelazny's idea and wondered what people with that ability would actually do with it in today's world; applied an economic model to it, if you like. Amber was always supposedly a great trading nexus (Corwin had written its anthem, the Ballad of the Water Crossers), but the evidence of this was pretty minimal - rather than wealth, its children seemed to be more attracted to power, and went off to find kingdoms and wars of their own. In the Stross version, there is a convincing business model using the fact that those with the gift can shift between our world and one where the Vikings settled North America and Europe never developed (and, we suspect, at least one other such parallel universe). Also in the Stross version, we have a plot that makes sense and is compelling reading; and some very interesting and complex characters. The Family Trade doesn't have the vivid imagery of some of his other work, but I sat up much later than I should have last night to finish it, and now can't wait for the sequel, The Hidden Family.
April 18, 2024
Damn you, Charlie Stross! I was just getting into this when it ended inconclusively and thereby forcing me to immediately order the second one in the series. Yes, it's that good!
When Miriam, an investigative journalist, uncovers something dirty and takes the scoop of the century to her boss, she's immediately sacked along with the analyst whose done some of the research with her. Later, at a loose end, she visits her adoptive mother only to be given a family heirloom, a locket with a strange pattern on the inside. Later, at home, she discovers that pattern enables her to walk between worlds. What meets her in that alternate America is stranger than she ever thought possible. It turns out she's the long lost heir to a fortune and is part of a clan of families who make millions in the import/export trade and via a series of courier operations, running drugs and high value commodities via various inter-world routes.
The whole new family situation is a vicious tangle of politics. Several different factions seem to want Miriam dead and she doesn't know who to trust. And then there's Roland, a somewhat distant cousin, world-walkker and her forbidden lover, Can she really trust him?
And just when it's getting warmed up with Miriam accepting her place in the alternate world and determining that she would make changes from the inside... it stops without coming to any kind of conclusion or even a seemingly natural break point.
When Miriam, an investigative journalist, uncovers something dirty and takes the scoop of the century to her boss, she's immediately sacked along with the analyst whose done some of the research with her. Later, at a loose end, she visits her adoptive mother only to be given a family heirloom, a locket with a strange pattern on the inside. Later, at home, she discovers that pattern enables her to walk between worlds. What meets her in that alternate America is stranger than she ever thought possible. It turns out she's the long lost heir to a fortune and is part of a clan of families who make millions in the import/export trade and via a series of courier operations, running drugs and high value commodities via various inter-world routes.
The whole new family situation is a vicious tangle of politics. Several different factions seem to want Miriam dead and she doesn't know who to trust. And then there's Roland, a somewhat distant cousin, world-walkker and her forbidden lover, Can she really trust him?
And just when it's getting warmed up with Miriam accepting her place in the alternate world and determining that she would make changes from the inside... it stops without coming to any kind of conclusion or even a seemingly natural break point.
September 5, 2009
I'm all the way to Book 4 of this series, and I'm really sad that I'm so hooked on the storyline, because I'm just not really enjoying the reading experience.
On the good side, the basic concept is interesting: There are multiple worlds out there where history diverged, and a few people with a recessive trait are "world walkers" who can travel between them. Miriam is the lost child of one of these families, and (re)discovers them, her skill, and this other world.
On the down side.... (1) The whole thing in this first novel feels forced. Stross just seems to be trying too hard. ("Here! I am writing a woman main character! Here! This is how a woman main character would react!") (2) Miriam's career as an investigative reporter is just a little too convenient, with *way* too many occasions of her pulling out her dictaphone and explaining what's going on, because apparently the reader isn't picking it up from the actual reading. (3) Stross has clearly thought out the larger/longer story line way into the future and is setting up a ton for future novels. That, in itself, is great, but it means that he's packing way more into this story than it can hold. (4) This first novel ends with absolutely nothing resolved. It might as well have been in the middle of a sentence. No thanks on that style!
On the good side, the basic concept is interesting: There are multiple worlds out there where history diverged, and a few people with a recessive trait are "world walkers" who can travel between them. Miriam is the lost child of one of these families, and (re)discovers them, her skill, and this other world.
On the down side.... (1) The whole thing in this first novel feels forced. Stross just seems to be trying too hard. ("Here! I am writing a woman main character! Here! This is how a woman main character would react!") (2) Miriam's career as an investigative reporter is just a little too convenient, with *way* too many occasions of her pulling out her dictaphone and explaining what's going on, because apparently the reader isn't picking it up from the actual reading. (3) Stross has clearly thought out the larger/longer story line way into the future and is setting up a ton for future novels. That, in itself, is great, but it means that he's packing way more into this story than it can hold. (4) This first novel ends with absolutely nothing resolved. It might as well have been in the middle of a sentence. No thanks on that style!
July 27, 2017
I guess what it comes down to with this one is I just didn't get it.
I didn't get how the parallel worlds worked, I didn't get why some things could move to the other world but other things could not. I didn't understand why someone would stay in medieval world (with no running water, indoor sanitation, spending 3 days to travel 200 miles etc) if they didn't have to. I didn't understand the relationships of the clans, and why they were mafioso families. I just didn't get it.
I did not get why there was an insta-love relationship in an adult fantasy, or why the main character trusted all these people. You get transported to another world and yet you just trust people? Shouldn't you spend time orienting yourself and understanding the rules and mores of their world?
And the ending - well that was just piss poor. I'm giving it three stars and I might have considered seeing what comes next except I read a spoiler for the overall series, and it was just so ludicrous I know I would get there and be pissed at myself for wasting all that time. So one and done for me.
I didn't get how the parallel worlds worked, I didn't get why some things could move to the other world but other things could not. I didn't understand why someone would stay in medieval world (with no running water, indoor sanitation, spending 3 days to travel 200 miles etc) if they didn't have to. I didn't understand the relationships of the clans, and why they were mafioso families. I just didn't get it.
I did not get why there was an insta-love relationship in an adult fantasy, or why the main character trusted all these people. You get transported to another world and yet you just trust people? Shouldn't you spend time orienting yourself and understanding the rules and mores of their world?
And the ending - well that was just piss poor. I'm giving it three stars and I might have considered seeing what comes next except I read a spoiler for the overall series, and it was just so ludicrous I know I would get there and be pissed at myself for wasting all that time. So one and done for me.
April 18, 2019
Ideas of parallel instances of a multiverse have been fascinating to me ever since I read some of Michael Moorcock’s classic fantasies, Stephen A. Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (both iterations), the marvelous Arthurian retelling of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry, and even, to some degree Terry Brooks’ Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold series. Of course, I generally think of former Adobe “mathonaut” Rudy Rucker’s novels dealing with multiple realities when I think of multiverse science-fiction today. But, I wasn’t expecting that from Charles Stross when I picked up The Family Trade, first volume in his Merchant Princes series. I was actually expecting trading in space. I found modern fantasy—Stross’ forte, but expressed somewhat differently in style.
The Family Trade offers a brilliant female protagonist, a journalist by trade with a fascination for organized crime and enough medical background to be an expert on the finances of start-up biotech firms, named Miriam Beckstein. Readers quickly discover that Miriam both is and isn’t her real name as she was adopted. Indeed, she was so well-adjusted that she never showed much curiosity about her birth parents. Yet, after a career crisis that escalates into potentially fatal threats, she has information and physical artifacts from her birth mother thrust into her possession.
At this point, things get fascinating. Miriam, who has been fascinated by organized crime, discovers that her birth mother may have been “hit” by members of her own “family.” She discovers that her real name is Helge and she is more intimately involved in the matters that used to fascinate her than she ever imagined. But, there’s a nasty twist (or perhaps, in light of one of the most important artifacts in the story, I should call it a nasty knot) in that Helge finds herself in a bit of a Catch-22: does she go “all-in” with her new-found relatives or allow herself to be eliminated as a potential loose end to their plans.
Of course, I am oversimplifying the problems faced by and the tentative conclusion settled upon by this capable, charming, intelligent, and sensual woman. Since I have already written that this is a series of novels one assumes that she finds some sort of rapprochement with her “family,” yet there are indicators in The Family Trade that she has something of her own “Kobayashi Maru” solution, akin to, but not equivalent to Cadet Kirk’s approach to the no-win situation at Starfleet Academy. But that shouldn’t be a spoiler for anyone reading this review, as her solution isn’t completely revealed by the end of this volume. And the fact that this story requires at least one alternate earth may be obvious from the way I began this review, but I haven’t given away how or why. Plus, the novel ends on more of a tease than a cliffhanger, but matters are still unresolved enough to seduce readers into joining the extended journey.
Considering that both novels are modern fantasy, it is intriguing that Stross has been able to build settings which are distinct from one another—a sense of horror in one and a sense of feudal anachronism in the other. I find both series of novels stimulating and probably like the protagonist in The Merchant Princes series better than the protagonist (and his formidable significant other) in The Laundry Files series.
The Family Trade offers a brilliant female protagonist, a journalist by trade with a fascination for organized crime and enough medical background to be an expert on the finances of start-up biotech firms, named Miriam Beckstein. Readers quickly discover that Miriam both is and isn’t her real name as she was adopted. Indeed, she was so well-adjusted that she never showed much curiosity about her birth parents. Yet, after a career crisis that escalates into potentially fatal threats, she has information and physical artifacts from her birth mother thrust into her possession.
At this point, things get fascinating. Miriam, who has been fascinated by organized crime, discovers that her birth mother may have been “hit” by members of her own “family.” She discovers that her real name is Helge and she is more intimately involved in the matters that used to fascinate her than she ever imagined. But, there’s a nasty twist (or perhaps, in light of one of the most important artifacts in the story, I should call it a nasty knot) in that Helge finds herself in a bit of a Catch-22: does she go “all-in” with her new-found relatives or allow herself to be eliminated as a potential loose end to their plans.
Of course, I am oversimplifying the problems faced by and the tentative conclusion settled upon by this capable, charming, intelligent, and sensual woman. Since I have already written that this is a series of novels one assumes that she finds some sort of rapprochement with her “family,” yet there are indicators in The Family Trade that she has something of her own “Kobayashi Maru” solution, akin to, but not equivalent to Cadet Kirk’s approach to the no-win situation at Starfleet Academy. But that shouldn’t be a spoiler for anyone reading this review, as her solution isn’t completely revealed by the end of this volume. And the fact that this story requires at least one alternate earth may be obvious from the way I began this review, but I haven’t given away how or why. Plus, the novel ends on more of a tease than a cliffhanger, but matters are still unresolved enough to seduce readers into joining the extended journey.
Considering that both novels are modern fantasy, it is intriguing that Stross has been able to build settings which are distinct from one another—a sense of horror in one and a sense of feudal anachronism in the other. I find both series of novels stimulating and probably like the protagonist in The Merchant Princes series better than the protagonist (and his formidable significant other) in The Laundry Files series.
February 14, 2025
Nope. Rambled along for 60% and DNF.
August 11, 2013
Kui ma olek õigesti arusaanud siis plaanis Stross alguses 4x800 leheküljelist raamatut. Lõppes asi aga selliselt, et meisterdas mees valmis 600 lehelise sissejuhatuse ning seegi raiuti lõpuks kaheks eri teoseks. Põhjus miks ma selle fakti kohe esimese asjana esile toon seisneb selles, et kogu raamat mõjus ühe pikaks venitatud sissejuhatusena. Võrreldes antud teost Zelazny Amberiga (jah, sellest võrdlusest on võimatu hoiduda) siis läks vanameistril lugu kohe esimestest lehtedest pauguga käima ja küttis head tempot tagakaaneni välja.
Vürskaupmeestega aga lugu venib ja vindub. Isegi sedavõrd venib, et panin vahepeal raamatu käest ja otsisin tiba erksamat lugemisvara. Esimesed sada lehekülge jutustatakse meile põhimõtteliselt edasi sedasama mis on juba öeldud tagakaanel oleval sisututvustusel – lugeja juba teab, et peategelaseks olev neiu reisib varsti teise maailma, kohtub mingi automaadiga relvastatud rüütliga ja jätab maha enda toasussid. Miks jokutada, võiks juba romaani alustadagi selle stseeniga. Ja kogu see liin tema endise töökohaga? Tundub ausaltöeldes hetkel üsnagi ebavajalik. Võibolla saab see järgnevates raamatutes kütet juurde aga hetkel jäi tiba üleliigseks lihaks.
Olles esimesed sada lehte läbi närinud ning peategelane lõpuks ometi teispoolsuse kuningriiki jõudnud läheb lahti kohalike kommete ja maailma tutvustamine ja üleüldine seanaha vedamine mis pole põrmugi tempokam kui teose esimene pool. Paleeintriigid ja majandusteemalised arutelud pole minu lemmik lugemisteemad. Stross tundub aga eriti viimast sügavalt nautivat (mis paistis välja ka „Accelerando“ esimeses pooles). Põhimõtteliselt on raamatu parimaks ja lahedamaks osaks just viimased 50 lehekülge, kus lõpuks kogunenud pinged kulmineeruvad ja läheb suuremaks püssilaskmiseks ning põgenemiseks.
Võibolla olen ma liiga labastunud maitsega actioni ihaleja ega oska lihtsalt hinnata väärt teost. Hetkel tundub aga esimesest teosest jäänud mulje ajel, et Amberi Corwini sari oli ikkagi parem. Eks võtan varsti ka teise osa kätte ning vaatab kas see mulje jääb püsima ja süveneb või saab pudemeteks löödud.
PS: Olen Raul Sulbi ja Indrek Harglaga täiesti nõus, raamatu kaanepilt on lame ja oleks võidud selle kujundamisel rohkem loomingulisust üles näidata. Paljukirutud Fantaasias vähemalt otsitakse kunstnikke ja lastakse neil pilte maalida. Siin oli tegemist lihtlabase ja primitiivse fotoshopi montaažiga.
PPS: Vürstkaupmeeste nime tõlge on ka tiba ebaõnnestunud. Miskipärast kipub keel pidevalt seda nime VÜRTS kaupmeesteks hääldama (Ilmselt liiga palju Düüni lugemist). Ka käesolevas kirjatükis tegin korra seda viga (märkasin õnneks küll kohe ja parandasin ää). Printskaupmehed oleks ehk pisut selgem olnud.
Vürskaupmeestega aga lugu venib ja vindub. Isegi sedavõrd venib, et panin vahepeal raamatu käest ja otsisin tiba erksamat lugemisvara. Esimesed sada lehekülge jutustatakse meile põhimõtteliselt edasi sedasama mis on juba öeldud tagakaanel oleval sisututvustusel – lugeja juba teab, et peategelaseks olev neiu reisib varsti teise maailma, kohtub mingi automaadiga relvastatud rüütliga ja jätab maha enda toasussid. Miks jokutada, võiks juba romaani alustadagi selle stseeniga. Ja kogu see liin tema endise töökohaga? Tundub ausaltöeldes hetkel üsnagi ebavajalik. Võibolla saab see järgnevates raamatutes kütet juurde aga hetkel jäi tiba üleliigseks lihaks.
Olles esimesed sada lehte läbi närinud ning peategelane lõpuks ometi teispoolsuse kuningriiki jõudnud läheb lahti kohalike kommete ja maailma tutvustamine ja üleüldine seanaha vedamine mis pole põrmugi tempokam kui teose esimene pool. Paleeintriigid ja majandusteemalised arutelud pole minu lemmik lugemisteemad. Stross tundub aga eriti viimast sügavalt nautivat (mis paistis välja ka „Accelerando“ esimeses pooles). Põhimõtteliselt on raamatu parimaks ja lahedamaks osaks just viimased 50 lehekülge, kus lõpuks kogunenud pinged kulmineeruvad ja läheb suuremaks püssilaskmiseks ning põgenemiseks.
Võibolla olen ma liiga labastunud maitsega actioni ihaleja ega oska lihtsalt hinnata väärt teost. Hetkel tundub aga esimesest teosest jäänud mulje ajel, et Amberi Corwini sari oli ikkagi parem. Eks võtan varsti ka teise osa kätte ning vaatab kas see mulje jääb püsima ja süveneb või saab pudemeteks löödud.
PS: Olen Raul Sulbi ja Indrek Harglaga täiesti nõus, raamatu kaanepilt on lame ja oleks võidud selle kujundamisel rohkem loomingulisust üles näidata. Paljukirutud Fantaasias vähemalt otsitakse kunstnikke ja lastakse neil pilte maalida. Siin oli tegemist lihtlabase ja primitiivse fotoshopi montaažiga.
PPS: Vürstkaupmeeste nime tõlge on ka tiba ebaõnnestunud. Miskipärast kipub keel pidevalt seda nime VÜRTS kaupmeesteks hääldama (Ilmselt liiga palju Düüni lugemist). Ka käesolevas kirjatükis tegin korra seda viga (märkasin õnneks küll kohe ja parandasin ää). Printskaupmehed oleks ehk pisut selgem olnud.
February 27, 2011
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 makes a series of logical decisions that she is in more danger Over Here and therefore ought to scamper Over There. You hardly want to be transported to a land of magic and wonder because it is the most sensible thing to do.
I wonder if the problem is the great yawning divide between SF and F. Star Wars is Fantasy; the Force is magic. Star Trek is Science Fiction: the science is balderdash but it is still science. When Star Wars tried to explain Annakin Skywalker's talent for the Force -- he had a high midichlorian count? -- it felt like a betrayal of the genre. Stross has created a fantasy premise - magic locket transports those of the Blood -- but then approaches the story rationally, like an SF author. What sort of things would you do if you could walk between the worlds? Open a courier service, natch. You can Fedex things in this world that would take a long tme to travel in that world. You can smuggle huge quantities of drugs, slowly but surely, across the Other World.
Who cares?
This, I think, was my big problem. I felt there was no real emotional issue. Nothing that could only be solved by the heart; nothing without whose solving the heart would remain forever restless.
Dorothy wants to get home.
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE was about kids who were unimportant in this world feeling terribly important in this world. (Oh, and it's an allegory for the last days of Jesus Christ. Sorry.)
I did not know what the main character wanted. Or rather, she wanted too many sensible things. She wants safety. She wants a guy. She wants to liberate the peasants.
So what?
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 makes a series of logical decisions that she is in more danger Over Here and therefore ought to scamper Over There. You hardly want to be transported to a land of magic and wonder because it is the most sensible thing to do.
I wonder if the problem is the great yawning divide between SF and F. Star Wars is Fantasy; the Force is magic. Star Trek is Science Fiction: the science is balderdash but it is still science. When Star Wars tried to explain Annakin Skywalker's talent for the Force -- he had a high midichlorian count? -- it felt like a betrayal of the genre. Stross has created a fantasy premise - magic locket transports those of the Blood -- but then approaches the story rationally, like an SF author. What sort of things would you do if you could walk between the worlds? Open a courier service, natch. You can Fedex things in this world that would take a long tme to travel in that world. You can smuggle huge quantities of drugs, slowly but surely, across the Other World.
Who cares?
This, I think, was my big problem. I felt there was no real emotional issue. Nothing that could only be solved by the heart; nothing without whose solving the heart would remain forever restless.
Dorothy wants to get home.
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE was about kids who were unimportant in this world feeling terribly important in this world. (Oh, and it's an allegory for the last days of Jesus Christ. Sorry.)
I did not know what the main character wanted. Or rather, she wanted too many sensible things. She wants safety. She wants a guy. She wants to liberate the peasants.
So what?
February 5, 2015
My Grade = 88% - B
This book was a recommendation by a friend who shares the same nerd/geek genes as I.
This isn't exactly a summary, but an idea of what's going on:
On the day that 32 year old Miriam is fired from her investagative reporter job in Boston, her foster mother gives her a showbox with mementoes from her real mother who was killed not long after Miriam was born. In the box is a locket with a Celtic knot design. While looking at it closely that night, Miriam is transported to another land. As it turns out, a parallel Earth. She examines it again and is transported back to her apartment; almost - she actually lands just outside the apartment, apparently the distance she moved "over there."
It seems that Miriam is a "lost" member of a ruling family from a parallel universe - which seems to be stuck in a medieval time - who have the ability to "cross over" by studying the celtic design - a piece of jewelery, a photo, drawing, picture, or tattoo of the design.
There are hundreds of members of this family who have this ability. Many of them use it to spend years studying at the best colleges in America to learn how to work the family trade, basically an import/export business.
In the other universe, stuck in medieval times, it takes months to travel from America's East to West Coast, so family members pop over, Fed Ex packages from coast to coast (and anywhere else), and become unbelieveably rich. Imagine if early European explorers could fly to India, China, Japan, buy trememdously expensive tea, coffee, silk, spices, jewels - and just mail them thousands of miles away, then bring them back to their universe.
Any that's a start of what's going on. Complications with the Royal Families, arranged marriages, etc. abound.
After the story was over, there were an additional 3 pages, either an epilogue or preview of the next book, which, it seems, occurs in a 3rd Universe.
I googled a summary of the second book, and decided to stop after the first one. It seems there are 6 in the series.
This book was a recommendation by a friend who shares the same nerd/geek genes as I.
This isn't exactly a summary, but an idea of what's going on:
On the day that 32 year old Miriam is fired from her investagative reporter job in Boston, her foster mother gives her a showbox with mementoes from her real mother who was killed not long after Miriam was born. In the box is a locket with a Celtic knot design. While looking at it closely that night, Miriam is transported to another land. As it turns out, a parallel Earth. She examines it again and is transported back to her apartment; almost - she actually lands just outside the apartment, apparently the distance she moved "over there."
It seems that Miriam is a "lost" member of a ruling family from a parallel universe - which seems to be stuck in a medieval time - who have the ability to "cross over" by studying the celtic design - a piece of jewelery, a photo, drawing, picture, or tattoo of the design.
There are hundreds of members of this family who have this ability. Many of them use it to spend years studying at the best colleges in America to learn how to work the family trade, basically an import/export business.
In the other universe, stuck in medieval times, it takes months to travel from America's East to West Coast, so family members pop over, Fed Ex packages from coast to coast (and anywhere else), and become unbelieveably rich. Imagine if early European explorers could fly to India, China, Japan, buy trememdously expensive tea, coffee, silk, spices, jewels - and just mail them thousands of miles away, then bring them back to their universe.
Any that's a start of what's going on. Complications with the Royal Families, arranged marriages, etc. abound.
After the story was over, there were an additional 3 pages, either an epilogue or preview of the next book, which, it seems, occurs in a 3rd Universe.
I googled a summary of the second book, and decided to stop after the first one. It seems there are 6 in the series.
March 10, 2013
This is an unusual one for me. I'm not normally to be found reading a straight 'this happened, then this happened' story written with such up front language.
In one way, I feel that writing like this - general, popular fiction-style writing - is a waste of the format: why bother just writing down EVENTS HAPPENED in the most basic language you can, when you have the entire dictionary at your fingertips, just waiting to be twisted and pulled and wrangled into all kinds of contorted shapes that can make your readers feel anything you want them to? I remember once reading a free excerpt from a big, bestselling, modern-day naval thriller (whose author I can't for the life of me bring to mind), and thinking, this is just a film script with some adjectives. For my money, if you write visually, you should be making movies, because you're seeing it all happen anyway. The beauty of writing novels is you can evoke and create atmosphere with the placement and choice of words.
So for me, this is kind of a fail. I didn't know what it would be like when I got it from the library, and I'm not really intrigued enough to keep going with the series. There aren't many occasions where I think, yeah, all I really want is to read an action movie. If there were, I'd be a bigger Clive Cussler fan...
On the other hand, it was fun, and fast, and catching. But, the characters aren't particularly memorable, there's a lot of kind of American jargony tech-talk and business-talk that I just skimmed right over, and you could absolutely tell this was meant to be a much bigger book that had to be cut in half for economy's sake (Stross writes about it on his blog).
In short, it passed the time, but I'm certainly not its target audience.
In one way, I feel that writing like this - general, popular fiction-style writing - is a waste of the format: why bother just writing down EVENTS HAPPENED in the most basic language you can, when you have the entire dictionary at your fingertips, just waiting to be twisted and pulled and wrangled into all kinds of contorted shapes that can make your readers feel anything you want them to? I remember once reading a free excerpt from a big, bestselling, modern-day naval thriller (whose author I can't for the life of me bring to mind), and thinking, this is just a film script with some adjectives. For my money, if you write visually, you should be making movies, because you're seeing it all happen anyway. The beauty of writing novels is you can evoke and create atmosphere with the placement and choice of words.
So for me, this is kind of a fail. I didn't know what it would be like when I got it from the library, and I'm not really intrigued enough to keep going with the series. There aren't many occasions where I think, yeah, all I really want is to read an action movie. If there were, I'd be a bigger Clive Cussler fan...
On the other hand, it was fun, and fast, and catching. But, the characters aren't particularly memorable, there's a lot of kind of American jargony tech-talk and business-talk that I just skimmed right over, and you could absolutely tell this was meant to be a much bigger book that had to be cut in half for economy's sake (Stross writes about it on his blog).
In short, it passed the time, but I'm certainly not its target audience.
May 20, 2011
It's cliche to suggest this book bears a strong inspiration to Zelazny's Amber (albeit with a bit more economics and a bit less drugs). A woman who discovers she has a blood heritage embodied in a "pattern" on a broach that allows her to travel to another world of medieval lords and feuding families ... yeah, hard to argue the basic similarity there.
That said, Stross focuses more on the pragmatic than the phantasmagoric. His protagonist, Miriam Beckstein, finds herself at the center of the plotting of various factions in a world physically the same as ours, but politically (and economically) feudal, with the greatest wealth and mercantile domination coming from the bloodline that possesses the power to cross from their world to ours -- a power used to amass wealth and import luxuries, and a power that corrupts in Machiavellian ways.
Stross is, if nothing else, practical, and his analysis of the financials of the other world and its interactions with ours -- as well as how the "magic" works -- is satisfyingly solid. Miriam, in turn, is neither hapless victim nor shrill critic of the world she finds herself a part of -- but she immediately realizes that she can't accept the role laid out for her, the plans built around her, or the system she's compelled to be a part of. She's an admirable protagonist, not a super-woman but a worthy adversary to the folks around her.
The first of a series, and one I plan to read through to its conclusion.
That said, Stross focuses more on the pragmatic than the phantasmagoric. His protagonist, Miriam Beckstein, finds herself at the center of the plotting of various factions in a world physically the same as ours, but politically (and economically) feudal, with the greatest wealth and mercantile domination coming from the bloodline that possesses the power to cross from their world to ours -- a power used to amass wealth and import luxuries, and a power that corrupts in Machiavellian ways.
Stross is, if nothing else, practical, and his analysis of the financials of the other world and its interactions with ours -- as well as how the "magic" works -- is satisfyingly solid. Miriam, in turn, is neither hapless victim nor shrill critic of the world she finds herself a part of -- but she immediately realizes that she can't accept the role laid out for her, the plans built around her, or the system she's compelled to be a part of. She's an admirable protagonist, not a super-woman but a worthy adversary to the folks around her.
The first of a series, and one I plan to read through to its conclusion.
January 15, 2013
Miriam Beckstein discovers an old locket among her birth mother's effects, and realizes that by gazing at it she can transport herself to a parallel world. Physically, the worlds are nearly identical, but her world has developed technologically far beyond the parallel world. Her long lost biological family quickly finds her and explains that she is the heir to a large fortune and, because she has the rare world-walking ability, must be part of the family business. Miriam goes along with it because A)they have guns and B)so do all of her newfound enemies, who want her inheritance. But even as she starts working in the family business, teleporting in between the worlds with trade goods in hand, she's working out ways to modernize the system and maybe even break herself free.
There's a whole subgenre of stories about setting up a typical fantasy scenario (You're the only person left on earth! You've travelled through time! You have stumbled across a vampire conspiracy!) and then having the main character act as sensibly as possible, generally by collecting various gadgets, enlisting helpful friends, and talking everything out. This belongs solidly in that genre. Long stretches are just Miriam buying camping&computer equipment, or Miriam recording her thoughts and theories on the events of the scene before. I found it bland and uninteresting, so I doubt I'll continue with this series.
There's a whole subgenre of stories about setting up a typical fantasy scenario (You're the only person left on earth! You've travelled through time! You have stumbled across a vampire conspiracy!) and then having the main character act as sensibly as possible, generally by collecting various gadgets, enlisting helpful friends, and talking everything out. This belongs solidly in that genre. Long stretches are just Miriam buying camping&computer equipment, or Miriam recording her thoughts and theories on the events of the scene before. I found it bland and uninteresting, so I doubt I'll continue with this series.
July 27, 2009
This is the first book in a trilogy and the premise is interesting. The main character is the long lost relative of a powerful family that can travel between two worlds. She doesn't know anything of these relatives or her special abilities until her adopted mother gives her a locket found on the body of her murdered mother and she opens it and finds herself somewhere else. Unfortunately the dialog is awkward and unnatural. The characters display emotion through their conversation that seem inappropriate to the circumstances or their relationships to the people they are talking with. If there was no dialog, this would be a better book which is saying a lot for me since I appreciate dialog more than anything in a book. I'm reading the next book to see if the author's editor does a better job and because I already have it borrowed from the library.
May 23, 2015
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 meek submissive stereotype to the constantly battling for equality stereotype. I am really not interested in either. I want good characters with good stories Did Ripley have to fight a war of equality before she ripped the alien apart? Also as a sci-fi reader I am generally more interested in the future than the past. Debating if I will read the next installment or not.
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 meek submissive stereotype to the constantly battling for equality stereotype. I am really not interested in either. I want good characters with good stories Did Ripley have to fight a war of equality before she ripped the alien apart? Also as a sci-fi reader I am generally more interested in the future than the past. Debating if I will read the next installment or not.
September 24, 2020
"Десять принцев Амбера" в реалистическом исполнении. Что произойдет, если могущественная царственная семья из средневекового мира, умеющая силой мысли перемещаться между реальностями, откроет проход на современную Землю?
Ну что-что, будут потихоньку колумбийский героин в США возить через свой амбер, а на вырученное бабло покупать антибиотики и бензин :D
В цикле 6 книг. Дочитаю, напишу подробнее.
Ну что-что, будут потихоньку колумбийский героин в США возить через свой амбер, а на вырученное бабло покупать антибиотики и бензин :D
В цикле 6 книг. Дочитаю, напишу подробнее.
January 30, 2021
Charles Stross? Well, he is an incredibly complicated - I thought after reading "Antibodies", which I reread twice before the light of understanding begin to down at the end of the tunnel. Such a cruel biopunk (after "Rogue Farm"). But it`s very cool, he knows how to combine the science intensity with a space opera for an unpretentious taste ("Singularity Ski" "Iron Sunrise"). And, my gods, what an impossible fireworks of ideas. Again the combination of super-complex ideas of Economy 2.0 with the cozy genre of the family saga" ("Acchelerando").
He'll be able to talk about the difficult way that the reader is not drawn with displeasure: "This nonsense", can combine incongruous, to dilute the conversation about the economy and futurology car chases shootings for fans of brutal, outfits-make-up - anxious for the girls ' hearts. By Stross, everything should have a solid foundation.
Принцесса торговка
Наше личное счастье и благополучие не имеют ничего общего со взглядами клана на нашу жизненную позицию.
Чарльз Стросс? "Ну, это невероятно сложно," - подумала после "Антител", которые перечитала дважды, прежде чем в конце туннеля забрезжил свет понимания. "Такой лютый биопанк" (после "Бродячей фермы"). "Но очень круто, однако он умеет сочетать наукоемкость с космооперой на невзыскательный вкус" ("Небо сингулярности", "Железный рассвет"). "И, боги мои, какой немыслимый фейерверк идей! Как все сложно, но в том-то вся и прелесть. Снова сочетание сверхсложных идей Экономики 2.0 с уютным жанром семейной саги" ("Аччелерандо").
Что ж, он такой, умеет говорить о сложном так, чтобы читатель не тянул недовольно: "Такая заумь", может сочетать несочетаемое, разбавлять разговор о политэкономии и футурологии погонями-перестрелками для любителей брутального, нарядами-макияжем - для трепетных девичьих сердец. По Строссу у всего должно быть крепкое основание.
Вот и амбероподобная, в лучших традициях Желязны, серия о множественных мирах и аристократах, способных между ними путешествовать, превращается у него в оду экономическому прогрессу. Марксизм, прибавочная стоимость и игра с ненулевой суммой - не в противопоставление, а скорее в дополнение к революционным идеям другого видного марксиста от фэнтези и фантастики, Чайны Мьевиля.
И что, получается? Довольно неплохо. Несмотря на прохладный прием критики и сплошное недовольство со стороны читателей (на русскоязычных ресурсах ни одного доброго слова), серия Торговых принцев на сегодняшний день включает восемь романов, девятого ждем в сентябре наступившего года (тут следует суеверно прибавить: "Если живы будем").
О чем книга? Тридцатидвухлетняя разведенная журналистка Мириам Бекштейн, воспитана приемными родителями. Бездетной еврейской паре диссидентов и борцов с системой позволили удочерить девочку, оставшуюся сиротой после смерти матери, предположительно бродяжки хиппи. Там была ужасная и какая-то мутная история, женщину с перерезанным горлом нашли в парке, подле нее был младенец - жуть.
В любом случае, Мириам считает своих родителей лучшими на свете мамой и папой, и роднее их никого в целом свете у нее нет. Отец, только вот, уже умер, а мама серьезно больна. Рассеянный склероз, жуткая штука. Но Айрис борец по натуре и легко не сдастся даже этой напасти. Дочь, из которой родители хотели сделать фармацевта (салют, личный опыт автора - фармацевта по первому образованию), нашла себя в журналистике, где довольно успешно подвизается на ниве финансовых расследований. Даже личное парковочное место возле редакции, не хухры-мухры.
С личной жизнью как-то не заладилось. Муж, военный с афганским синдромом (угу, не только у нас) и несколько садическими наклонностями, отправлен в отставку. Была еще беременность по подростковому залету, семья все скрыла, девочку отдали на удочерение тотчас после рождения - да, у них эт�� обычная практика. События книги начинаются с того, что, как выяснилось, с работой все тоже не так хорошо, как казалось.
Всю правду о дворцах некоторых персон не стоит пытаться обнародовать, если твое имя не Навальный (простите, не удержалась). Копнув чуть глубже, чем позволено, молодая женщина оказывается уволенной. В мгновение ока и с предупреждением о том, что если попытается поднять шум, работодатель расскажет миру о ее страсти посещать с рабочего компьютера порносайты. Бред? Конечно. А вот поди отмойся, когда тебя в таком изваляют.
В день увольнения Мириам едет за поддержкой к приемной матери и получает от нее свое наследство. Вещи, которые были в момент смерти у биологической матери, среди них медальон с затейливым рисунком (салют, лабиринт Амбера), вглядевшись
в переплетение линий, молодая женщина упала с кресла... и очутилась в сумрачном лесу. Где ее тотчас попытался застрелить из автомата всадник в рыцарских латах. Упс. Добро пожаловать домой, Хельга, деточка.
"Семейное дело" лишь первая часть саги о параллельных мирах и клане аристократов-торгашей - подлинных родственников сиротки. Я теперь уже четвертую книжку этой серии читаю, не разделяя всенародного "фе", потому еще, как минимум, три текста о напишу. Стану рассказывать по порядку
He'll be able to talk about the difficult way that the reader is not drawn with displeasure: "This nonsense", can combine incongruous, to dilute the conversation about the economy and futurology car chases shootings for fans of brutal, outfits-make-up - anxious for the girls ' hearts. By Stross, everything should have a solid foundation.
Принцесса торговка
Наше личное счастье и благополучие не имеют ничего общего со взглядами клана на нашу жизненную позицию.
Чарльз Стросс? "Ну, это невероятно сложно," - подумала после "Антител", которые перечитала дважды, прежде чем в конце туннеля забрезжил свет понимания. "Такой лютый биопанк" (после "Бродячей фермы"). "Но очень круто, однако он умеет сочетать наукоемкость с космооперой на невзыскательный вкус" ("Небо сингулярности", "Железный рассвет"). "И, боги мои, какой немыслимый фейерверк идей! Как все сложно, но в том-то вся и прелесть. Снова сочетание сверхсложных идей Экономики 2.0 с уютным жанром семейной саги" ("Аччелерандо").
Что ж, он такой, умеет говорить о сложном так, чтобы читатель не тянул недовольно: "Такая заумь", может сочетать несочетаемое, разбавлять разговор о политэкономии и футурологии погонями-перестрелками для любителей брутального, нарядами-макияжем - для трепетных девичьих сердец. По Строссу у всего должно быть крепкое основание.
Вот и амбероподобная, в лучших традициях Желязны, серия о множественных мирах и аристократах, способных между ними путешествовать, превращается у него в оду экономическому прогрессу. Марксизм, прибавочная стоимость и игра с ненулевой суммой - не в противопоставление, а скорее в дополнение к революционным идеям другого видного марксиста от фэнтези и фантастики, Чайны Мьевиля.
И что, получается? Довольно неплохо. Несмотря на прохладный прием критики и сплошное недовольство со стороны читателей (на русскоязычных ресурсах ни одного доброго слова), серия Торговых принцев на сегодняшний день включает восемь романов, девятого ждем в сентябре наступившего года (тут следует суеверно прибавить: "Если живы будем").
О чем книга? Тридцатидвухлетняя разведенная журналистка Мириам Бекштейн, воспитана приемными родителями. Бездетной еврейской паре диссидентов и борцов с системой позволили удочерить девочку, оставшуюся сиротой после смерти матери, предположительно бродяжки хиппи. Там была ужасная и какая-то мутная история, женщину с перерезанным горлом нашли в парке, подле нее был младенец - жуть.
В любом случае, Мириам считает своих родителей лучшими на свете мамой и папой, и роднее их никого в целом свете у нее нет. Отец, только вот, уже умер, а мама серьезно больна. Рассеянный склероз, жуткая штука. Но Айрис борец по натуре и легко не сдастся даже этой напасти. Дочь, из которой родители хотели сделать фармацевта (салют, личный опыт автора - фармацевта по первому образованию), нашла себя в журналистике, где довольно успешно подвизается на ниве финансовых расследований. Даже личное парковочное место возле редакции, не хухры-мухры.
С личной жизнью как-то не заладилось. Муж, военный с афганским синдромом (угу, не только у нас) и несколько садическими наклонностями, отправлен в отставку. Была еще беременность по подростковому залету, семья все скрыла, девочку отдали на удочерение тотчас после рождения - да, у них эт�� обычная практика. События книги начинаются с того, что, как выяснилось, с работой все тоже не так хорошо, как казалось.
Всю правду о дворцах некоторых персон не стоит пытаться обнародовать, если твое имя не Навальный (простите, не удержалась). Копнув чуть глубже, чем позволено, молодая женщина оказывается уволенной. В мгновение ока и с предупреждением о том, что если попытается поднять шум, работодатель расскажет миру о ее страсти посещать с рабочего компьютера порносайты. Бред? Конечно. А вот поди отмойся, когда тебя в таком изваляют.
В день увольнения Мириам едет за поддержкой к приемной матери и получает от нее свое наследство. Вещи, которые были в момент смерти у биологической матери, среди них медальон с затейливым рисунком (салют, лабиринт Амбера), вглядевшись
в переплетение линий, молодая женщина упала с кресла... и очутилась в сумрачном лесу. Где ее тотчас попытался застрелить из автомата всадник в рыцарских латах. Упс. Добро пожаловать домой, Хельга, деточка.
"Семейное дело" лишь первая часть саги о параллельных мирах и клане аристократов-торгашей - подлинных родственников сиротки. Я теперь уже четвертую книжку этой серии читаю, не разделяя всенародного "фе", потому еще, как минимум, три текста о напишу. Стану рассказывать по порядку
June 29, 2024
So unbelievably cringe. All of the typical men writing women in fantasy tropes. Pretty fast paced though and an interesting setting.
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