The Merchant Prince

The Merchant Prince #1

by Armin Shimerman, Michael Scott

Despite his lack of physical stature, the five-foot-tall John Dee was a towering figure in Renaissance to royalty, enemy to the vicious de Medici clan -- and confidant of Dyckson, a member of the alien race known as the Roc. Ancient and wise, the Roc have come to Earth to observe the evolution of humanity, not to interfere. But during the course of his studies, Dyckson has come to call Dee friend. When the de Medicis arrest Dee in Venice, Dyckson chooses to save his friend from prison and leave him in suspended animation until the year 2099. The "philosopher of Albion" wakes in a confusing future where humanity is on the brink of developing the ultimate weapon -- a weapon that will mean the destruction of the human race! The only thing that can prevent Armageddon is a genius from the past -- but can even the great John Dee save humanity from itself?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Mayaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Itty bitty Elizabethan alchemist and space dragon team up to take down Jeff Bezos.

This is delightful. The cheesiest of balls. The past is well-researched. The future is on fire and full of Punks who like, aren't exactly described as looking like Kiefer Sutherland in Lost Boys, but... also time travel angst and evil bald rich man hoarding the world's resources while the rest of us burn or are eaten by Kiefer Sutherland. Also did I mention the space dragons? Who are also aliens/angels?

Come for Quark, stay for the goddamn space dragons.

Oh and there's a cat. Named Gull. Gull the cat. This was a gift.

[Noel Swegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE the story, it starts in the middle ages and transforms into the future. It's amazing how things one little action can cause such big waves in people's lives. How such a small event can bring strangers together. It shows that no matter what, who your real friends are and they prove without a doubt that they are with you to the end. Once you start reading it you can't put it down!

[Mathew Walls · Rating 1 out of 5]

Armin Shimerman is either astoundingly narcissistic or tragically insecure. What other explanation could there be for casting himself in the role of the brilliant, charismatic, incredibly sexy rogue who saves the world from Lex Luther and aliens?

This book is dumb. Really dumb. But the plot exists only as a backdrop for Shimerman to tell us about how wonderful his self-insert protagonist (he even put his own face on the cover picture!) is, how clever and talented and capable and magnificent he is. Not that we ever see much evidence of this, other than his propensity for quickly and decisively winning fights to the death, but we're told repeatedly how impressive he is.

In fact, despite all assertions to the contrary, John Dee doesn't actually seem to be all that bright or particularly good at anything. He only manages to win because he eventually listens to one of his employees and does as she suggests, which he could have done at any time and succeeded a lot sooner. And the only reason he's even in a position to succeed in the first place is because he has some convenient alien technology gifted to him.

Really, the only reason to read this book is a sort of morbid fascination with how Armin Shimerman either sees himself or wishes he could be, and that's probably not enough.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

GREAT FUN

[Elena Knödler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half took me a while to get through, and I can't really remember why. I'll attest it to the fact that the setup is both weird and complex and requires a lot of world building, which slows down the pace. However, the second half of the book made it well worth it! I finished the second half within a day.
No matter how trashy this book sounds, Shimerman and Scott pull it off with a healthy mix of humour and seriousnes, great characters and absolutely beautiful prose.

[Name Not Found · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite editing errors and a rather goofy plot, this was a fun read. Perhaps it’s because I’ve read far too much low-quality science fiction in my quest to read as many Star Treks as I can get my hands on, but the flaws didn’t prevent this from being a highly enjoyable light read.

[Sarah Yasin]

This book is fun to read. Esoteric allusions are fun. The world needs more.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most hackneyed plots I've ever read, but surprisingly well-written enough to have kept me soldiering on to the end. The story is basically a badly-thought-out excuse for Armin Shimerman to be able to write Shakespeare-style prose (he's a Shakespeare teacher) in a hard science fiction novel (he's famous as a sci-fi actor). So, we have the tale of a medieval British spy who gets transported by an extra-terrestrial politician to a post-apocalyptic future in order to stop the richest man in the world from building a doomsday weapon that will force the Nephilum to come down to Earth and enslave all mankind. Once the awful set-up is out of the way, the story finally stops being an utter crap fest and puts forth a couple pretty cool ideas. The novel's real strength, though, is that the writing, though not fantastic, is far better than the story deserves. On another note, this book has just about the strangest denouement I've ever seen...

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being the Star Trek lover that I am, I went the the Star Trek attraction in Vegas in 2000. While I was there, Armin Shimerman was doing a book signing. I couldn't refuse to read a book written by Quark. I enjoyed the book, especially since it was written and signed by the author from where no man has gone before.

[Vladimír · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because of the co-writer, Michael Scott, who is one of my favorite authors. And because of the character of John Dee, which is one of Michael's favorite characters, though in his Nicholas Flamel Series, it is definitely one of the good guys. But here it is. Sort of. Anyway, I liked it.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting read.
I've waited a while to read this one..since meeting Mr. Shimerman @ a Convention..[and watching him enjoy the snow.]

Not sure where this books will go from here we shall see....
give it a try.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read. The author is Armin Shimerman who played Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The book read sort of like as Star Trek episode to me, so if you are a Trek fan this book will probably entertain you.

[Hikewriterepeat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely done. The main character has a little bit of Quark in him, which I expected, given that I wouldn't have noticed the book had it not been written by Shimerman. But it's subtle, therefore entertaining rather than a cheap knockoff.

[Every Other Wednesday · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a great book, but it's really endearing. I love so much that he tried!

[Kellee Kranendonk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Shinmerman's Star Trek role shone through in a few humourous places. A great read.