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Retread Shop
Retread Shop--an Alien-controlled galactic bazaar of unimaginable wealth, rigid caste systems, violent battles and ancient cutthroat rivalries. Young Billy McGuire, its only human and an orphan, was unwanted, scorned, and forced to steal for his living. But now he has a patron, a mysterious Alien trader and a new ambition--to become the Shop's first human Merchant no matter what the odds! On that path to becoming a merchant Billy finds a friend in the panda bear Melisay, a mentor in the plant-anemone Zilkie, a master trader in the matriarch Ding do-wort, some mobile plants that have secrets they might share, and a whale-like creature who runs a Trading Guild that is multi-species and which may just accept him as a Trading student. If, that is, Billy can survive the guild's Pathway of Challenges! If he can survive starships blowing up, laser attacks, battles with deadly robots, and messianic Aliens! And if he can survive the Alien killers of his parents.
276 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1988
9 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
About the author
T. Jackson King
51 books48 followersT. Jackson King (Tom) is an Amazon bestselling science fiction and urban fantasy author. He is a lifelong reader of SciFi/Fantasy stories and his favorite authors have included Darynda Jones, BR Kingsolver, K.F. Breene, Martha Carr, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Andre Norton, J. K. Rowling, Ann Christy, Lois McMaster Bujold and Ursula LeGuin. Outside of fantasy and science fiction he has enjoyed the novels of Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle, and the urban fantasy crime mysteries of Darynda Jones.
Tom began writing SF novels at age 38, when he discovered he had read all the Human-Alien first contact or encounter novels in his local library. So he decided to write his own, thanks to an overactive, very visual imagination. Those early years produced FIRST CONTACT and RETREAD SHOP. When the New York City publishing houses ignored his later novels because they had no Hollywood tie-in, he went to several small presses, then began self-publishing as an Indy author in 2011. He loves that readers in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are some of his most loyal readers!
Before becoming a bestselling author, Tom worked in a radiocarbon lab at UC Riverside and earned an MA degree in Archaeology from UCLA. His interests in ancient history, ancient cultures and journalism got him several government agency jobs that led him to roam the raw landscape of the Western United States where he worked as a federal archaeologist and newspaper journalist.
Tom lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA and hangs with a group of smart and tolerant Westerners. Divorce taught him to smile a lot and to work at being a Nice Guy. Which earned him the love of his wife Sue. Still, he is pretty weird. Has been since fourth grade when he began reading SciFi. Since then, he and Authority have rarely been in agreement. Readers are welcome to visit his T. Jackson King page.
Tom began writing SF novels at age 38, when he discovered he had read all the Human-Alien first contact or encounter novels in his local library. So he decided to write his own, thanks to an overactive, very visual imagination. Those early years produced FIRST CONTACT and RETREAD SHOP. When the New York City publishing houses ignored his later novels because they had no Hollywood tie-in, he went to several small presses, then began self-publishing as an Indy author in 2011. He loves that readers in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are some of his most loyal readers!
Before becoming a bestselling author, Tom worked in a radiocarbon lab at UC Riverside and earned an MA degree in Archaeology from UCLA. His interests in ancient history, ancient cultures and journalism got him several government agency jobs that led him to roam the raw landscape of the Western United States where he worked as a federal archaeologist and newspaper journalist.
Tom lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA and hangs with a group of smart and tolerant Westerners. Divorce taught him to smile a lot and to work at being a Nice Guy. Which earned him the love of his wife Sue. Still, he is pretty weird. Has been since fourth grade when he began reading SciFi. Since then, he and Authority have rarely been in agreement. Readers are welcome to visit his T. Jackson King page.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 17, 2013
I just finished this book and while I was reading it I thought, "This reads like something from the 80s"
Turns out, it was. 1988
His roots as a professional archaeologist show up in this spot on cultural commentary. I enjoyed it greatly.
Turns out, it was. 1988
His roots as a professional archaeologist show up in this spot on cultural commentary. I enjoyed it greatly.
January 11, 2014
Mostly boring with scattered average bits. The author tried to create long lived aliens but their cultures didn't reflect their longevity . Nothing really fit right and there was no genuine depth. A hodgepodge of ideas strung together badly. Mocking faith at the beginning then introducing worshipped figures and god like characters at the end just didn't have any logical consistency - as if he wrote it over such a long period that he forgot what he had said in chapter 2. Lots of irrelevant details but crucial plot elements left out entirely ("and two years later ...") Dated SciFi. Zzzzzz
October 5, 2007
A truly original story...a rare thing indeed.
March 31, 2013
Although I though the technology in the book bogged down the story in places, and it feels a little dated, overall I enjoyed it. It seemed to me to be a first book in a series, because the end sets up what could be an entirely new adventure. I liked this book well enough that I would have read that next book had it been written. I liked Billy and I would like to continue with Billy on his journey. Unfortunately I see no evidence of such a publication. Tom, if you ever wrote it, please e-pub it.
June 3, 2015
A rollicking fun ride! Billy McGuire, Human, Predator, Omnivore, was orphaned when his parents' ship blew up. Fortunately for him, he was not onboard when it happened. Instead he lived to grow up surrounded by aliens in the ultra competitive trading environment of the Retread Shop.
Through hard work, high intelligence, and a good ability to understand the things that make each alien species unique, Billy begins to rise through the ranks on his way to becoming a trader
Through hard work, high intelligence, and a good ability to understand the things that make each alien species unique, Billy begins to rise through the ranks on his way to becoming a trader
February 28, 2014
This book has all the elements I usually like but it just didn't come together for me. It's like he had descriptions leading up to an event and then no pay off. The author just described what happened then moved on without any depth to justify the events leading up to each payout. The final revenge battle was holy uninspired.
April 9, 2012
I didn't write it (see below).. I enjoyed it! Great premise!
March 3, 2015
I made it about halfway through before realizing there was no plot to be found. Some really interesting ideas are explored, but I grew bored waiting for something to happen.
November 18, 2022
Old SF book that started out well, but then . . Well. This is a pretty marginal book. Dull writing, dull infodumps — plus it keeps putting me to sleep!
Read some of the other 2-star reviews, is my advice. Didn't work for me!
Read some of the other 2-star reviews, is my advice. Didn't work for me!
March 26, 2014
No one could think of such a Hard Core Sci-Fi story (not at least me) other than Tom King.
I proudly admit, after reading this Novel, Tom King is my favorite Hard Core Sci-Fi author. I’m very much impressed and thrilled by the idiolect Tom King possess.
I'm a huge Sci-Fi fan but never have I come across such a fantastic novel.
It's full of crazy imaginations, a world full of aliens and not a single human being except a lanky and gangling boy Billy.
Story:- The story itself was fascinating and very unique from the rest of the sci-fi novels out there.
Retread shop is an alien controlled galactic bazaar, very well narrated and described by Tom, that appears very bizarre and profound.
There's a very thin and scrawny line between poor description and over description, but Tom King has incisively managed to sail on the edge of his writing skills that the whole plot and characterization appears very serene and soothe. PERFECT!
With the fantastic and authentic description of aliens, readers are left with no complain but just to admire the idiolect of Tom King.
It's very exciting to see the only Human, Billy, in the world controlled by aliens, surviving, stinting and thriving for food by surrendering to a patron, a mysterious alien trader.
Billy starts off with the lowest ranks, by stealing for the food and gradually climbs up the ladder as his patron hands him the Retread Shop and he is forced to be a merchant.
It was extremely exciting to watch billy progressing his way up, and the experience he faced.
The way aliens acted, appeared very relatable to human behavior that doesn't takes the toil of the reader. (Claps and Appreciation)
The interaction between aliens and Billy were just as much captivating and page turner that I never realized how fast I swept through pages and reached to the very end of novel.
It just kept me wanting more and more of this stuff.
Crystals were used exceptionally well to access memories, brilliantly written and I loved this exhilarating idea which kept me hooked up to the book full night.
Tom Certainly gave great insights to the characters, Specially few aliens and the lanky boy, Billy. I just loved how neatly the characters were designed and described. It really felt like the author has a deep and vast imagination (unlike many), which clearly reflects through out the novel.
How can I forget about the bizarre technology, the advance society of aliens and the chuck of unimaginable technological ideas?
When we talk about sci-fi, offcourse, that's the first thing which strikes the mind.
Tom even excelled with shear perfection if describing the advance technology of aliens in the galactic bazaar.
The alien species varies so immensely, that it never did appear to be repetitive or boring.
The overall read was just fantastic, unique, bizarre, exhilarating, captivating and thrilling.
Such a complex imagination by the author kept me glued to my study table whole night (I hope I didn't wake up with dark circles under my eyes).
I see this is the first Sci-Fi novel from Tom King published in 1988.
That makes me wonder, how much more this author has to offer after some experience of writing. And I'm sure the new novels will be lot better than Retread Shop (which I loved)...
I'm so much happy and excited to see there are tons of more Hard Sci-Fi novels by the author which I'll surely read in this same year (2013). Yes! I'm that impressed by his writing skills and complex imagination.
But the most striking thing to me was his beautiful language.
It's one of the BEST novels out there if Language is to be considered and admired.
I surely rate Retread Shop Five out of Five and I'm certainly checking out his other novels as soon as possible.
I proudly admit, after reading this Novel, Tom King is my favorite Hard Core Sci-Fi author. I’m very much impressed and thrilled by the idiolect Tom King possess.
I'm a huge Sci-Fi fan but never have I come across such a fantastic novel.
It's full of crazy imaginations, a world full of aliens and not a single human being except a lanky and gangling boy Billy.
Story:- The story itself was fascinating and very unique from the rest of the sci-fi novels out there.
Retread shop is an alien controlled galactic bazaar, very well narrated and described by Tom, that appears very bizarre and profound.
There's a very thin and scrawny line between poor description and over description, but Tom King has incisively managed to sail on the edge of his writing skills that the whole plot and characterization appears very serene and soothe. PERFECT!
With the fantastic and authentic description of aliens, readers are left with no complain but just to admire the idiolect of Tom King.
It's very exciting to see the only Human, Billy, in the world controlled by aliens, surviving, stinting and thriving for food by surrendering to a patron, a mysterious alien trader.
Billy starts off with the lowest ranks, by stealing for the food and gradually climbs up the ladder as his patron hands him the Retread Shop and he is forced to be a merchant.
It was extremely exciting to watch billy progressing his way up, and the experience he faced.
The way aliens acted, appeared very relatable to human behavior that doesn't takes the toil of the reader. (Claps and Appreciation)
The interaction between aliens and Billy were just as much captivating and page turner that I never realized how fast I swept through pages and reached to the very end of novel.
It just kept me wanting more and more of this stuff.
Crystals were used exceptionally well to access memories, brilliantly written and I loved this exhilarating idea which kept me hooked up to the book full night.
Tom Certainly gave great insights to the characters, Specially few aliens and the lanky boy, Billy. I just loved how neatly the characters were designed and described. It really felt like the author has a deep and vast imagination (unlike many), which clearly reflects through out the novel.
How can I forget about the bizarre technology, the advance society of aliens and the chuck of unimaginable technological ideas?
When we talk about sci-fi, offcourse, that's the first thing which strikes the mind.
Tom even excelled with shear perfection if describing the advance technology of aliens in the galactic bazaar.
The alien species varies so immensely, that it never did appear to be repetitive or boring.
The overall read was just fantastic, unique, bizarre, exhilarating, captivating and thrilling.
Such a complex imagination by the author kept me glued to my study table whole night (I hope I didn't wake up with dark circles under my eyes).
I see this is the first Sci-Fi novel from Tom King published in 1988.
That makes me wonder, how much more this author has to offer after some experience of writing. And I'm sure the new novels will be lot better than Retread Shop (which I loved)...
I'm so much happy and excited to see there are tons of more Hard Sci-Fi novels by the author which I'll surely read in this same year (2013). Yes! I'm that impressed by his writing skills and complex imagination.
But the most striking thing to me was his beautiful language.
It's one of the BEST novels out there if Language is to be considered and admired.
I surely rate Retread Shop Five out of Five and I'm certainly checking out his other novels as soon as possible.
March 23, 2013
In full disclosure I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
It should be noted that this book is only suitable for adults due to some swearing and scenes of a sexual nature (including a squirrel-like alien that has to almost constantly copulate)
The story itself was pretty good, as were the characters. It was great seeing Billy start in the lowest of positions and working his way up through the ranks through various experiences. At times the progression seemed a little quick, but not overly so. The cast of alien characters is fantastic with a great many different personalities.
The author done a fantastic job in describing the appearance of the aliens, they have unusual looks but I was still able to visualise them from the descriptions. I enjoyed the fact that they would act in an alien way but there was enough humanity in them to keep them relatable.
The language the aliens used had an authentic feel, they communicate with the human character with the use of automatic translating devices, and the way it was written it did sound like speaking to someone whose English wasn’t their first language or had translated what they said using a program. While this was an interesting and authentic idea, it did get annoying after a while hearing all the characters speak in this way.
My biggest problem with the book was its use of world building, particularly how it would describe the technology. A lot of times the characters would talk about something but we are not told very much about what it was or how it works, at times this would make the story harder to follow since it was hard to understand what something was. Other times we are given a large chuck of information about a few technologies all at once; this again made it hard to follow as it was a lot of information to take in at once.
I loved the idea of using crystals to access memories, these parts of the book were well written and interesting, and I just wish they were used more often.
I like the idea that there was no faster than light technology; meaning ships would take years to travel between stars. As a result crew would use sleeping chambers for the long journeys. This is an idea rarely used in science-fiction and brave of the author to use it.
I like the tests that Billy had to do before being promoted, they were well written and give good insights to the character. Some of the training sections were less interesting, mostly due to the large chucks of information that filled them. I did enjoy the visit to the planet as this was an interesting and exciting part of the story.
Overall this was a good story with well written alien characters. The balance of technological description was off, either not enough information was giving or too much at once. There were many good ideas in here such as memory crystals, no FTL drives and how Billy would be tested.
*** 1/2
It should be noted that this book is only suitable for adults due to some swearing and scenes of a sexual nature (including a squirrel-like alien that has to almost constantly copulate)
The story itself was pretty good, as were the characters. It was great seeing Billy start in the lowest of positions and working his way up through the ranks through various experiences. At times the progression seemed a little quick, but not overly so. The cast of alien characters is fantastic with a great many different personalities.
The author done a fantastic job in describing the appearance of the aliens, they have unusual looks but I was still able to visualise them from the descriptions. I enjoyed the fact that they would act in an alien way but there was enough humanity in them to keep them relatable.
The language the aliens used had an authentic feel, they communicate with the human character with the use of automatic translating devices, and the way it was written it did sound like speaking to someone whose English wasn’t their first language or had translated what they said using a program. While this was an interesting and authentic idea, it did get annoying after a while hearing all the characters speak in this way.
My biggest problem with the book was its use of world building, particularly how it would describe the technology. A lot of times the characters would talk about something but we are not told very much about what it was or how it works, at times this would make the story harder to follow since it was hard to understand what something was. Other times we are given a large chuck of information about a few technologies all at once; this again made it hard to follow as it was a lot of information to take in at once.
I loved the idea of using crystals to access memories, these parts of the book were well written and interesting, and I just wish they were used more often.
I like the idea that there was no faster than light technology; meaning ships would take years to travel between stars. As a result crew would use sleeping chambers for the long journeys. This is an idea rarely used in science-fiction and brave of the author to use it.
I like the tests that Billy had to do before being promoted, they were well written and give good insights to the character. Some of the training sections were less interesting, mostly due to the large chucks of information that filled them. I did enjoy the visit to the planet as this was an interesting and exciting part of the story.
Overall this was a good story with well written alien characters. The balance of technological description was off, either not enough information was giving or too much at once. There were many good ideas in here such as memory crystals, no FTL drives and how Billy would be tested.
*** 1/2
January 4, 2015
some fantastic ideas and wonderful world building, and all of it worthless for lack of a coherent plot. the characters "develop" in the same sense that video game avatars do; the bads get bigger and the treasure gets shinier, but the how and why of that progression is handwaved or only half-assedly explained. i'm all for wallowing in genre schlock, but i do expect basic narrative competence from my schlock suppliers.
January 2, 2013
This is my first hard science fiction action adventure novel that features a young orphan on an alien-run space station that is centered on Trade and how to get rich. Will appeal to readers of books by Alan Dean Foster, David Brin, and James White.
May 1, 2015
Three stars, good book. One of the books that assumes life is all-encompassing and some of it tries to live with the presence of others without being all touchy-feely. Very 80s style sci-fi. Fun little romp, not too taxing on the brain.
May 27, 2015
Only okay. It had a good premise but was awkwardly written and went off the rails at the end.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews