TRADE WORLD SAGA: trade world 1 - 4

by Ken Pence

This is the complete TRADE WORLD SERIES -- all four books in one. (Re-edited) Amazon Reviewer - Had I known how much I would enjoy this I would have paid double! Amazon Reviewer - Engrossing tale that I could not put down. Amazon Reviewer - Wow. Long but a good readMANUAL INTERPRETATION - Rett didn't expect to be rescued and then attacked by a primitive on a test flight. Andrew didn't expect to save an alien and nearly destroy his planet because of what he learned. Earth didn't get to choose their representative for a planet-wide treaty and then be threatened by an alien confederation. Surely Earth couldn't defend itself. Surely we couldn't have had contact with others, from off-planet, before now...but what was this backwater planet doing with a fleet of ships, advanced navigation systems and a galactic-class trading facility with personnel who spoke all the major galactic languages. Every species got it wrong. We were just trying to fit to follow the manual.PATENTLY OBVIOUS - Earth is venturing out into space with technology adapted from aliens. We have no clue on how to trade and which planets are occupied and which are vacant. How will we move out into the void when there is political sniping at home? How do you convince the public it is a good thing when they don't believe they really exist? Aliens are headed to Earth. What do we trade? What will we ask in return? How do we handle intellectual property off planet? Every technology -- every trade good is fair game. This is about Earth going through its growing pains and being tested at every turn. Earth has a lot of growing up to do and it isn't all fun and games...it is a test we have to pass...A CERTAIN EXPERTISE - shows our young race suddenly moving into deep space. Empires had existed before us but we had come from the fringe of the galaxy and the older races were near the core. Some races progressed slowly even though they were much older due to their bureaucracy. Others appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. We were currently leaving a mark on our galactic arm through our trade and rediscovered ancient technology but we really don't have a clue. We have overcome local competition and are probing deeper toward our galaxy Core. We are searching for the creators of molecular circuitry that can improve electronics or form intelligent machines. We are also, struggling with our humanity and facing political jockeying at home due to radical changes in longevity, energy availability, and mobility. New power sources and alien influences may be a bit much for Earth should we even survive the tourists and traders. The more advanced species that are further inward on the spiral arm are another kettle of fish altogether. CORE VALUES - Earth and the Exploration Service destroyed the bulk of the Allung slave traders. New transition technology lets them travel thousands of light years instantly and they’ve seized accumulated positional data (charts) from the Allung Confederation. The Earthers are traveling closer to the galactic core where the Allung may have run into the Ylee, the possible creators of the lamlee. The Ylee region of space is close to LeiLei and Shiv’s home world and we will go there first. Earth wishes to explore, and tame further systems near the core. They have to decide what type of expedition to form – do they need a lone ship, a squad or an armada. Earth has had opposition at every step of their travels and many groups on Earth are finding the means to look for a future, an escape into space. Earth may not survive its successful trading...is trade worth five billion human lives? Looks like we have no choice...

799 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2013

About the author

Ken R Pence, Ph.D. is a professor of engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is a retired captain from the Metro Nashville Police Department where he served 31 years (16 on SWAT) and has taught police and military in the US and Europe (England, Germany, France, and Northern Ireland) in confrontation management skills. He has researched sniper shot location for DARPA, acoustic sensors to protect African elephant herds and inexpensive magnetic levitation. He lives in Nashville with his wife and his large - drooling - black lab (Drools Verne).

ken.pence@vanderbilt.edu

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pence, Ken R. Trade World Saga. Kindle, 2013.
Ken Pence has an impressive work history—professor of engineering, police captain, and conflict resolution expert. He is also the author of twenty science fiction novels and owns a big dog named Drools Verne. This bio is a few years old, so I hope Drools is still doing well. Trade World Saga combines four short novels that provide the whole story arc for the series that began with Manual Interpretation (2010). I am happy to have the whole thing available, but the first novel stands out above the rest. A near-future college student is kidnapped by an alien, and escapes with some of its gadgets. He is the leader of a multidisciplinary team that must develop an original project to earn their degrees. How about antigravity for a start? And off we go to explore and trade among the stars. It turns out that reverse engineering and marketing are our real strengths as a species. The prose was not this novel’s strength. Faint praise, I know. 3.5 stars.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love these books! I've started reading them before and wasn't able to set aside the time to finish them in the past. But I was able to read all of these books in less than a week recently. Once I started I wasn't able to put them down, I just wanted another one. I love the story line and just kept wanting more and more! The only thing that would have helped me to get through these faster is if I had been able to get an audio reading of them. I rarely have time to actually sit down and read, but have frequent opportunities to listen to them. I love works by this author and have more on my reading list already that I am working on as well as others that have just been released that I am anxious to read. Yes, there are some typos, but that is not so unusual and is easily fixed once the areas of concern have been pointed out. Overall, I just adore these books and want more!!

[Mike Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science in this Excellent Fiction

Pretty sure the Author has worked on reverse engineering other worldly (ufo)technology.
Anyway this story of a guy who stumbles on a visiting alien who leaves some technology that his team reverse engineers to get cold fusion to allow them to build a spaceship was Fantastic.

[Malcolm McLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Latest take on classical science fi

That gee whiz feeling of Doc Smith and the Skylark of Space lives again in Pence's Trade World. Brilliant extrapolation of technology, swashbuckling occasionally sobering story.

[Robert Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I have read in sometime

This is a must read a Definite page turner. Thanks goes to Pence Can’t wait to start reading more of his works

[Thomas C Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good Space Opera

Worth your time. A fine story with neat aliens and battles galore. Recommended highly.

I enjoyed the fact that all 4 volumes were included. Saves a search.

[Daniel Broadstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I couldn’t put these books down until I had read them all. Now I have to go back to the real world and get some work done.

[Steven Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Series!

I really enjoyed this series and now wish there were 4 more. Fun characters, great tech, and a good pace. Hoping there is more!

[MSP · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are the government and we are to help...
Can't stop liking this man!

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half stars. This is a collection of four novellas. The first was written many years ago and is pretty rough in both its story telling and editing. As the books progress, both improve greatly but the editing in each still leaves much to be desired.

Pence paints an interesting universe, a loose Trade Federation with a vague enforcement arm called the Exploration Service. This is kind of a libertarian fantasy where there is a world government that is weak and largely ineffectual and the galactic Exploration Service is primarily responsible to ensure free trade.

The characters are more than two dimensional but not fully developed. Where Pence really shines, is in showing the challenges and misunderstandings of interactions between the many races in his universe. A fun read from a promising author.