What do you think?
Rate this book
Trang #1
Trang
"Trang is a clever return to the social sci-fi of yesteryear."—The New Podler Review of Books. Award-winning writer Mary Sisson brings you the tale of Philippe Trang, the first human diplomat assigned to a mysterious alien station. Haunted by a recent mission that went very wrong, Trang realizes that not everyone on Earth would like his mission to succeed—and the aliens have some nefarious agendas of their own. As he tries desperately to keep everyone from killing each other (not to mention him), strange forces threaten to destroy his very mind! If you like character-driven stories that feature a blend of drama, tragedy, comedy, and action—such as Joss Whedon's works or Charles Stross’ Laundry Files novels—and you don't mind some really bad language, read Trang today! (107,900 words/370 pages long.)
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 4, 2011
32 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Mary Sisson
14 books18 followersMary Sisson is an award-winning writer, editor, and journalist. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English and American Language and Literature from Harvard University, and she has a master’s degree in Journalism from New York University, where she received the Edwin Diamond Award, the department’s highest honor. She has contributed to award-winning books ranging in topic from terrorism to food to history to technology. None of this means she’s actually any more qualified to write about aliens, space Marines, or pixies than the next person, but she carries on regardless. See what she’s up to by visiting marysisson.com!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 30, 2022
This is a bit of an old-fashioned space opera, and I found it hugely enjoyable. We have a protagonist who is the first diplomat sent to a space station created by a particular species of alien in order to bring together as many others as possible. I had great fun following him around as he tried to understand the completely new world he's in, and apply his diplomatic skills. I also liked his developing relationships with the Special Forces soldiers who are there as his security detail (culturally, they may as well be aliens!).
The big developments in the ending didn't work quite as well for me (it felt like the plot got a bit out of Sisson's hands), but I had too much fun with the rest of it for it to bother me too much. I will definitely be reading the sequel.
The big developments in the ending didn't work quite as well for me (it felt like the plot got a bit out of Sisson's hands), but I had too much fun with the rest of it for it to bother me too much. I will definitely be reading the sequel.
February 19, 2020
Couldn’t finish this book and I tried very hard. Don’t waste precious reading time on this book. Terrible plot and characters.
June 12, 2012
In Trang, by Mary Sisson, a missing satellite orbiting Saturn leads to the discovery of a mysterious portal. After several years of communicating with the aliens residing in a space station on the other side, a diplomatic mission is sent through the portal. The expeditionary force consists of a diplomat, the titular character Philippe Trang, and a squad of Special Forces, headed by the feisty Shanti, to provide security. Once at the station, humanity's representatives meet other alien races and eventually get pulled into a crisis that threatens to start an interstellar war.
Trang struck me as a throwback to 60's sci-fi. In particular, it runs in the vein of soft or social science fiction. While the aliens are quite "alien" in appearance, they are intrinsically civilized in a familiar way. The technology comes across as magical, with nary an explanation as to how it works. It just does. Action is light as dialogue carries the story. While this will be a turn off to some, particularly the hard sci-fi crowd, they'd be missing out on Sisson's strengths.
Sisson's strengths lie in characterization and dialogue. All of her characters, even the aliens, have distinct traits which make them unique. Trang is a borderline effeminate, elitist bureaucrat who can't stand the grunts that have been assigned to the mission. Their uncouth behavior, as compared to the Union Police he normally works with, rankles him. Shanti is the no nonsense CO of the Special Forces unit on the station. She drops F bombs with abandon, but is 100% focused on her job and has the complete respect of those under her command. Sisson invests as much time resolving their conflict as she does establishing relationships between the humans and the aliens.
This is a dialogue heavy novel, and the conversations feel authentic. As mentioned above, Trang is a virtual minefield of F bombs and other profanity. However, at no point did I feel it was gratuitous. In fact, there was a fair amount of barracks humor. On the non-profane side, Philippe Trang speaks the language of diplomacy with ease and genuine amiability. Communications with the aliens is handled effectively: the years between first contact and the meeting on the station were spent programming a translator, but it isn't perfect. Every so often the words "cannot translate" pop in to highlight its shortcomings.
As for the technicals, there are plenty of typos and typesetting errors. A second set of eyes would've cleared these up. Also, the story also runs a bit long. While 370+ pages isn't necessarily a lot, I feel that the story would've been much tighter had it been about 20-25% shorter. There are whole sections (the discovery of the portal, the hate mail from Trang's ex-girlfriend) that didn't add to the story. An editor would've been able to help cut out the filler.
Trang is a clever return to the social sci-fi days of yesteryear. Convincing dialogue and strong characterization drive the story, with action forced to ride in the back of the bus. While the story could use some tidying up and a tighter fit, it's still appealing enough to give it a try.
Trang struck me as a throwback to 60's sci-fi. In particular, it runs in the vein of soft or social science fiction. While the aliens are quite "alien" in appearance, they are intrinsically civilized in a familiar way. The technology comes across as magical, with nary an explanation as to how it works. It just does. Action is light as dialogue carries the story. While this will be a turn off to some, particularly the hard sci-fi crowd, they'd be missing out on Sisson's strengths.
Sisson's strengths lie in characterization and dialogue. All of her characters, even the aliens, have distinct traits which make them unique. Trang is a borderline effeminate, elitist bureaucrat who can't stand the grunts that have been assigned to the mission. Their uncouth behavior, as compared to the Union Police he normally works with, rankles him. Shanti is the no nonsense CO of the Special Forces unit on the station. She drops F bombs with abandon, but is 100% focused on her job and has the complete respect of those under her command. Sisson invests as much time resolving their conflict as she does establishing relationships between the humans and the aliens.
This is a dialogue heavy novel, and the conversations feel authentic. As mentioned above, Trang is a virtual minefield of F bombs and other profanity. However, at no point did I feel it was gratuitous. In fact, there was a fair amount of barracks humor. On the non-profane side, Philippe Trang speaks the language of diplomacy with ease and genuine amiability. Communications with the aliens is handled effectively: the years between first contact and the meeting on the station were spent programming a translator, but it isn't perfect. Every so often the words "cannot translate" pop in to highlight its shortcomings.
As for the technicals, there are plenty of typos and typesetting errors. A second set of eyes would've cleared these up. Also, the story also runs a bit long. While 370+ pages isn't necessarily a lot, I feel that the story would've been much tighter had it been about 20-25% shorter. There are whole sections (the discovery of the portal, the hate mail from Trang's ex-girlfriend) that didn't add to the story. An editor would've been able to help cut out the filler.
Trang is a clever return to the social sci-fi days of yesteryear. Convincing dialogue and strong characterization drive the story, with action forced to ride in the back of the bus. While the story could use some tidying up and a tighter fit, it's still appealing enough to give it a try.
July 2, 2012
Disclaimer: I received this ebook via the LibraryThing Member Giveaway direct from the author. I'd like to thank Ms. Sisson for going above and beyond to ensure that my copy was not trapped in an erroneous email spam filter. I'd also like to apologize to her for taking so long in writing this review.
First contact with an alien civilization has been established. As our race communicates with and investigates those behind the contact, we learn there are multiple races living in relative harmony aboard a community station. The station has strict rules, of course, and humans are the latest race to be invited so we're to be on our best behavior. Set in the not-too-distant future, we can imagine the large-scale human traits we encounter today hold true here: xenophobia, paranoia, and greed.
Rather than treating this first physical contact as a momentous occasion akin to "one giant leap for mankind," Earth's leading government seems bent on seeing this operation fail. They send a good--but not the best--diplomat they have. He's protected by an elite squad of marines who all seem to have discipline issues. Philippe Trang, the diplomat, is bombarded by petty emails unfiltered by any sort of assistant, who I would expect to accompany mankind's first representative to the stars. We're meant to believe that Mr. Trang is quite competent at his job but he has neither the accoutrements nor the experience to back that assumption. He has one solid, impactful line item in his resume but his behavior throughout the book really didn't jump out at me as being clever enough to warrant what I would see as an enviable position in history.
The pacing started out a little slow but I think that works in the story's favor. The reader sees through Trang's eyes as he's learning the methods and intricacies of each of the races present. He's taking everything in and cataloging it for future use. He's not taking chances. He's making friends and learning about them. It's exactly what I'd expect a diplomat's default behavior would be. Unfortunately, the pacing didn't increase until the very end which featured a deus-ex-machina and a twist that smacked of "bet you didn't see this coming!" which relied on some convoluted (but consistent, at least) metaphysical behavior.
While I thought the choice of a diplomat protagonist was an interesting take on the genre, neither he nor the story resonated with me. I am very much a resonance reader; if I latch onto something, be it an idea or character, I'm hooked until the wee hours. Unfortunately, I was searching too long for something to really hook me here and it affected my enjoyment of the work.
First contact with an alien civilization has been established. As our race communicates with and investigates those behind the contact, we learn there are multiple races living in relative harmony aboard a community station. The station has strict rules, of course, and humans are the latest race to be invited so we're to be on our best behavior. Set in the not-too-distant future, we can imagine the large-scale human traits we encounter today hold true here: xenophobia, paranoia, and greed.
Rather than treating this first physical contact as a momentous occasion akin to "one giant leap for mankind," Earth's leading government seems bent on seeing this operation fail. They send a good--but not the best--diplomat they have. He's protected by an elite squad of marines who all seem to have discipline issues. Philippe Trang, the diplomat, is bombarded by petty emails unfiltered by any sort of assistant, who I would expect to accompany mankind's first representative to the stars. We're meant to believe that Mr. Trang is quite competent at his job but he has neither the accoutrements nor the experience to back that assumption. He has one solid, impactful line item in his resume but his behavior throughout the book really didn't jump out at me as being clever enough to warrant what I would see as an enviable position in history.
The pacing started out a little slow but I think that works in the story's favor. The reader sees through Trang's eyes as he's learning the methods and intricacies of each of the races present. He's taking everything in and cataloging it for future use. He's not taking chances. He's making friends and learning about them. It's exactly what I'd expect a diplomat's default behavior would be. Unfortunately, the pacing didn't increase until the very end which featured a deus-ex-machina and a twist that smacked of "bet you didn't see this coming!" which relied on some convoluted (but consistent, at least) metaphysical behavior.
While I thought the choice of a diplomat protagonist was an interesting take on the genre, neither he nor the story resonated with me. I am very much a resonance reader; if I latch onto something, be it an idea or character, I'm hooked until the wee hours. Unfortunately, I was searching too long for something to really hook me here and it affected my enjoyment of the work.
January 6, 2012
Mary Sisson's Trang reads like a mini space opera, covering the first posting of a human diplomat to an alien space station. The first chapter of the book lays down a situation that engaged my interest and had me wanting to find out what happens next, and this forward momentum is carried throughout the rest of the book.
*** SOME SPOILERS AHEAD ***
While the diplomat Trang and his Special Forces security chief Shanti are well developed as was their evolving relationship to each other, there were some characters who probably should have contributed more to the storyline with a bit more page time. The whole of Chapter One is taken up by Wouter Hoopen, but he is mentioned only fleetingly in the rest of the book. An astrophysicist whom Trang meets early in the book is likely largely absent after her chapter is over. On the other hand, the aliens depicted by Sisson are well constructed, feeling neither too conveniently human-like, nor too alien as for them to appear artificially constructed by a too eager hand.
Trang's mission is presented as a series of engagements with his own mission personnel, as well as encounters with the various aliens on the alien space station, with each race of aliens having their own agenda. His later emerging psychological problems again drew me in wanting to know what exactly was happening to the protagonist of the book.
Overall, despite some minor quibbles I have with the book, it was a pleasant read that had me tearing through the pages wanting to know what would happen next.
*** SOME SPOILERS AHEAD ***
While the diplomat Trang and his Special Forces security chief Shanti are well developed as was their evolving relationship to each other, there were some characters who probably should have contributed more to the storyline with a bit more page time. The whole of Chapter One is taken up by Wouter Hoopen, but he is mentioned only fleetingly in the rest of the book. An astrophysicist whom Trang meets early in the book is likely largely absent after her chapter is over. On the other hand, the aliens depicted by Sisson are well constructed, feeling neither too conveniently human-like, nor too alien as for them to appear artificially constructed by a too eager hand.
Trang's mission is presented as a series of engagements with his own mission personnel, as well as encounters with the various aliens on the alien space station, with each race of aliens having their own agenda. His later emerging psychological problems again drew me in wanting to know what exactly was happening to the protagonist of the book.
Overall, despite some minor quibbles I have with the book, it was a pleasant read that had me tearing through the pages wanting to know what would happen next.
March 17, 2013
Trang, by Mary Sisson, is a surprisingly clever novel about the world's first space diplomat, dealing with a collection of strange and not always comprehensible alien species on space station. He is assisted, and “assisted”, in this task by a platoon of space marines: extraordinarily tough and rude killing specialists.
The aliens are the stars of the book. Each species is distinctive, and most are unusual. Their motivations range from comprehensible to obscure, which is a good thing for aliens.
Actually, the space marines came a close second. Trang initially thought that they were all cut from the same cloth, but several of them soon revealed distinctive personalities beyond their super-tough violent space-marine veneer.
And it's pretty funny. Not in the intensely silly style of a Hitchhiker's Guide or something, but little things. I was particularly taken with the automatic translator which usually let the characters communicate, but sometimes had to resort to very general terms: "The hull is not made of glass. It is composed of a composition."
Disadvantages: The plot sort of wandered around for most of the book. Trang himself isn't all that interesting.
Four alien species out of five. I'm planning to read the sequel.
The aliens are the stars of the book. Each species is distinctive, and most are unusual. Their motivations range from comprehensible to obscure, which is a good thing for aliens.
Actually, the space marines came a close second. Trang initially thought that they were all cut from the same cloth, but several of them soon revealed distinctive personalities beyond their super-tough violent space-marine veneer.
And it's pretty funny. Not in the intensely silly style of a Hitchhiker's Guide or something, but little things. I was particularly taken with the automatic translator which usually let the characters communicate, but sometimes had to resort to very general terms: "The hull is not made of glass. It is composed of a composition."
Disadvantages: The plot sort of wandered around for most of the book. Trang himself isn't all that interesting.
Four alien species out of five. I'm planning to read the sequel.
March 13, 2011
So far about half way through and SOMETHING needs to happen. Formatting is weird. Reading on Kindle, double line spaces between paragraphs, no indents, occasional omitted word or wrong word used. I don't think anyone ever hears "footprints" although they can hear "footsteps".
3/4 of the way though and it just gets worse. Must...keep...reading... Must...get...to...end...of...book.... Also note this book keeps dragging my mind back to the far better Brin Cameron series by C. J. Cherryh. Trang has his own crazy ex-girlfriend also. Except she only makes an appearance via emails and hearsay.
So something began to happen about 6/7 of the way through this book. Too little, too late. I think the problem with this book was the author's inexperience. The story has a few-- very, very few good moments.
3/4 of the way though and it just gets worse. Must...keep...reading... Must...get...to...end...of...book.... Also note this book keeps dragging my mind back to the far better Brin Cameron series by C. J. Cherryh. Trang has his own crazy ex-girlfriend also. Except she only makes an appearance via emails and hearsay.
So something began to happen about 6/7 of the way through this book. Too little, too late. I think the problem with this book was the author's inexperience. The story has a few-- very, very few good moments.
September 20, 2011
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it. I am so glad I did! While I am not a writer (as you can probably tell from my review), I am an avid reader, and was very happy to find this little gem among the many rough books I've received to review. The plot kept moving forward at a good pace. The writing was crisp, clean, and well edited. I was able to connect with the characters as they matured throughout the course of the book. I appreciated the straightforwardness of the writing, with no flashbacks, flash forwards, or other distractions. The product description provides a good glimpse into the story. In short, I loved the book and can't wait to learn more about Trang and the alien races, especially the White Spiders, in future books. Thank you, Mary Sisson, for such a pleasurable read.
September 10, 2012
Trang starts with Wouter Hoopen the general manager of the Titan Station trying to get funding and worried about his future promotion potential. Then everything changes when a hole in space opens and on the other side is an alien station. Sisson has a true gift to write humor in her narration.
Phillipe Trang the first human representative is a wonderful character, but my favorite character is Shanti one of his body guards from the Special Forces. Sission excels at characterization through dialogue and I love how Phillipe and Shanti's relationship evolves through the books.
All of her characters and alien races have distinct traits which make them unique, yet there is enough familiarity to get a solid picture in the reader's mind. Her descriptions are so well blended into the narrative, I never feel the information dumping problem of some science fiction.
Phillipe Trang the first human representative is a wonderful character, but my favorite character is Shanti one of his body guards from the Special Forces. Sission excels at characterization through dialogue and I love how Phillipe and Shanti's relationship evolves through the books.
All of her characters and alien races have distinct traits which make them unique, yet there is enough familiarity to get a solid picture in the reader's mind. Her descriptions are so well blended into the narrative, I never feel the information dumping problem of some science fiction.
September 13, 2012
Trang, both the book and the character, reminded me of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Trang the book is an interesting story of first contact with a number of aliens on a space station. The different alien species are very different from each other and the interactions are an essential part of the plot. Trang the character is the human diplomat trying to make sense of it all, as well as of his military guards. The story is very character-driven, which I enjoyed, but also has a good dose of action. Mary Sisson's writing style makes it all easy to follow. I'm hoping Trang, Shanti, the Hosts and all the others have many more adventures for me to read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.
April 10, 2012
I found this story of the first human interaction with alien species to be interesting. I am normally not a sci-fi reader but won this book from LibraryThing.
This story was well crafted and written. The different species types and their interactions was interesting and I found myself anxious to read more to see what happens next.
I especially enjoyed the characters and their development. The author does a good job quickly establishing the many characters in a way that I was able to grasp each as individuals yet manage to keep them separate and independent.
This is a good read and should be read by all scifi buffs.
This story was well crafted and written. The different species types and their interactions was interesting and I found myself anxious to read more to see what happens next.
I especially enjoyed the characters and their development. The author does a good job quickly establishing the many characters in a way that I was able to grasp each as individuals yet manage to keep them separate and independent.
This is a good read and should be read by all scifi buffs.
May 18, 2015
This is the first book of a series. It revolves around Earth finding aliens that are friendly and wanting to to engage in learning about each other. There are a few different types of aliens and the author does a really good job differentiating each type from the others. The Earth diplomat is put in a unique position and the story unfolds really well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was slightly disappointed when it was over. The author does a really fantastic job of showing the different perspectives of situations for each of the aliens, the Earth diplomat, and the Diplomats guards.
April 17, 2013
Mary Sisson has created a good science fiction novel of the old school. An interesting premise handled well. It held my attention and kept me reasonably engaged, but it lacked something for me. I found the characters a tiny bit flat; I vaguely hoped things would work out well for them rather than rooting for them. Don't get me wrong; I liked it well enough to recommend this book, and I will buy the sequel, but it fell a little short for me. Definitely worth reading though.
July 16, 2013
This is "personality" SciFi. The story revolves more around personalities than battles, conquests, technology, or xenophobia. Consequently the main characters are well developed and their interactions form the basis for the story. I found this story both refreshing and entertaining. I will be moving on to the next in the series.
April 10, 2014
A decent book. I quite enjoyed it, especially the politics side, and it 'felt' right. The main problem I had was that sometimes the aliens weren't well described, so it was hard to picture them. Looking forward to reading the next one though.
August 5, 2015
I like This book
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was afraid that hurt was going to drag and be to political. The characters are good and are developed well. There is enough action to keep me entertained. I would recommend this book. I am getting the second one now.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was afraid that hurt was going to drag and be to political. The characters are good and are developed well. There is enough action to keep me entertained. I would recommend this book. I am getting the second one now.
December 29, 2012
Very classical but nice SF.
Of course, if you are a prude, better fuck off ;-) - language issue for you...
Of course, if you are a prude, better fuck off ;-) - language issue for you...
Want to read
January 27, 2013Kindle freebie, 1/27/13
December 22, 2016
Hooked from the get-go! I was surprised by the well-drawn characters and twisty, fast-moving plot in this free Kindle version. Ordering the next in the series - Trust!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews