Captain's Share

Golden Age of the Solar Clipper #5

by Nathan Lowell

A good captain protects his crew. Who protects the captain?

A shuffling of cabins puts Ishmael Horatio Wang in command of the worst ship in the fleet. He learns that being captain doesn't make you infallible and that life in the captain's cabin is filled with new kinds of challenge as he tries to keep the ship moving, the crew out of trouble, and turn a profit to earn his Captain's Share.

In a ship where the officers outnumber the crew, can he keep everybody happy? Welcome to the SC Agamemnon.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Fiction, Space, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure

420 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Nathan Lowell has been a writer for more than forty years, and first entered the literary world by podcasting his novels. His sci-fi series, The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper grew from his long time fascination with space opera and his own experiences shipboard in the United States Coast Guard. Unlike most works which focus on a larger-than-life hero (prophesized savior, charismatic captain, or exiled prince), Nathan centers on the people behind the scenes--ordinary men and women trying to make a living in the depths of space. In his novels, there are no bug-eyed monsters, or galactic space battles, instead he paints a richly vivid and realistic world where the "hero" uses hard work and his own innate talents to improve his station and the lives of those of his community.

Dr. Nathan Lowell holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology with specializations in Distance Education and Instructional Design. He also holds an M.A. in Educational Technology and a BS in Business Administration. He grew up on the south coast of Maine and is strongly rooted in the maritime heritage of the sea-farer. He served in the USCG from 1970 to 1975, seeing duty aboard a cutter on hurricane patrol in the North Atlantic and at a communications station in Kodiak, Alaska. He currently lives in the plains east of the Rocky Mountains with his wife and two daughters.

Awards & Recognition
2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Full Share
2008 Podiobooks Founder's Choice Award for Double Share
2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for South Coast
2009 Podiobooks Founder's Choice Award for Captain's Share
2009 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Double Share
4 out of 10 Books on Podiobooks.com Top Overall Rated by Votes (2. Double Share, 3. Quarter Share, 5. Full Share, 8. Half Share) -- as of Jan 4, 2009
6 out of 10 Books on Podiobooks.com Top Overall Rating (1. Ravenwood, 2. Quarter Share, 3. Double share, 4. Captain's Share, 5. Full Share, 7. South Coast) -- as of Jan 4, 2009

Reviews

[Nathan Lowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. But I'm a bit biased.

[JasonA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one starts off with the biggest time jump in the series and takes place 13 years later. This is my favorite book of the original six. The early books were fun, but I like the older, more mature Ishmael better.

This book actually lays a lot of the groundwork for the next series, besides just leading in to the next book.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This starts years after Ishmael fixes the previous story so I'm not sure you need to worry about those events, like, at all. It's worth skipping that one and picking up relatively fresh here if you want to give the stupid nasty bits a pass.

So the reward for a job well done is another job. And I was actually happy for Ish to pick up this "challenging" assignment. The Agamemnon is a smaller ship so there are fewer crew to keep track of and thus the relationship fail cascade has limitations. In a good way. And I liked seeing Ishmael win his crew's loyalty by extending his own and giving clear directives and listening when he's being stupid and gets called on it.

I particularly liked seeing him dupe his main troublemaker and his cargo chief simultaneously by initiating a cargo selection competition to see who can pick better cargo for the ship's profits. I particularly love that he's up front about his motives because he wins whatever the outcome because now he has two people geared towards the important thing in a merchant vessel—profits.

Plus, I like how his compassion plays for the win time and again. I just like Ishmael and this book was finally a grown-up version of him I could enjoy. Except for the whole wife cheat, divorce thing. That whole subplot made zero sense and drops my rating down a whole star to four.

A note about Steamy: Man, Ishmael and his wife are sure growing apart, don't you know. Except for the phenomenal sex every couple of months. There's steam here, but it's mostly off page so barely worth the tag at all.

[Tony Hinde · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been years since I read this book, but I remember it ruined an otherwise great series for me. It skipped years ahead in the protagonist's life to find him in a dead-end career and with a loveless marriage. Unless time-travel was involved, that felt like a betrayal of the character and thus I couldn't continue reading.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite of the series so far. I loved seeing Ishmael as an adult, running his own ship.

Again, the world is populated with interesting characters and interesting problems to solve.

Enjoying the series very much

[Cst · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the downturn of the last book, this one manages to stabilize the series. It is not as good as it was but it doesn't get worse.

The big problem is, that the series doesn't really do conflict well. While the first books avoided that largely by not having any conflict, the last one focused heavily on it and that made that problem obvious.
This book would like to have a great conflict as well, but in a way it fails successfully. There is a conflict, it has the potential to be of equal dimensions as the previous one, but in the end it is more like the first books. The world is good, the characters are good, everyone's intentions are good and the conflict is more or less resolved after ten pages. Then the story moves back to something approaching the original setting of an independent trader.
The most troubling aspect only came to me much later, but it feels like the supporting characters are basically treated like pets or animals. They are the worst crew you could have in the company. Our protagonist arrives, realizes that the problem is not with “the worst crew” but with the way they were treated before. He treats them decent and is immediately rewarded by absolute loyalty. None of those “scum” is really evil (or in one remarkable case, stupid) but everyone has just been mistreated and is actually a really good human. This is not human behavior, it is the behavior of mistreated animals.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts years after the end of book 4 'Double Share' with Ishmael having been married for over seven years and having difficulties with his wife. I found the beginning of the book quite disconcerting and I was quite reluctant to keep reading.
Fortunately the story of how he turned around the ‘worse ship in the fleet’ was quite entertaining and kept me going. I even thought there was going to be some excitement with the attempt to make the delivery to 'Jett' on time, although it did drag on a bit too long.
I’m afraid I found the last quarter of the book boring especially with a ‘none ending’, which is why I would only give this 2.5 stars.

During last quarter of the book we see a different side of Ishmael’s character. He visits his wife a few days every year, seemingly just for sex, then during one of his very brief visits he finds a ‘boot’ that isn’t his. What’s his reaction? He divorces his wife without saying a word to her, where did this side of his character come from?

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good! 2020 re-read: Superb, this whole series is.

[BigJohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our intrepid Ishmael Wang is back as 1st mate, picking up the story about 7 years after the previous book. Now approximately 38 years old, Ish comes into his own as he prepares to take on command of the ship with the worst reputation in the company. His first captaincy saddles him with a dysfunctional crew, challenging him to use all his naturally charismatic social skills and his years of training and experience as an officer.

Our older and wiser Ishmael is, by now, exactly what we would expect him to be. It's good to see that there's still flaws in this diamond-in-the-rough, though. An infallible character's no fun, and we get to see how pressures of office can impact a man - even a good man.

[Craig a.k.a Meatstack · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of the series thus far, and honestly don't see where it goes from here. It's also the saddest of the series, but not in an obvious way.

Just as Ish gets his master's ticket, his marriage falls apart, and so now he's in a situation where he has really no one to turn to to help with the loneliness. It's not really discussed, but that colors the second half of the entire book.

In general these books remind me of the anecdotal stories usually found in leadership books...but set in science fiction, and written well. I actually like that. I do think you can do too much of that, but we have not hit that point yet.

Strongest in the series, without a doubt. Looking to wrap things with Owner's Share very shortly.

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am finished. Now what am I going to do with my life?

I still can't put my finger on why I loved this series SO much. Ishmael Wong's journey was utterly indulgent entertainment. And I loved every slow, human bit of it. If you like episode 1 of the first book, you'll love the whole series. Just try it. And you can get the podcast for free at scribl, read (beautifully) by the author.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ishmael gets his own ship. Challenges and successes ensue.

[Clumsy64 · Rating 4 out of 5]

After not so good book four this one means a return to good old atmosphere. There is something therapeutic in reading these books! Almost nothing happens and those far and few events are well ahead prepared. This world is familiar and funny, people are nice and honest. Guilty pleasure for my literary palate, but it makes me smile.

[Ryan Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

2) Genre: Science Fiction

3) Synopsis: Finally Ishmael has made Captain. The only problem he was assigned to the worst ship in the fleet. Can Ishmael do it again?

4) Feelings: Think I listened to this book all in one day. Helps having a desk job where I can just push play and listen. Ishmael is growing up but things haven't quite gone how he expected. Good to see him struggle with some aspects of his life. Life never goes just how you plan.

5) Final recommendation: Ishmael is interesting to follow and this story is more of the same. Even Captain's have troubles.

Ryan James Burt
Husband, Father, and Writer
http://ryanjamesburt.wordpress.com/



2011 06-14 This is the fifth book in the Trader Tales. I like these books a lot. I must warn you that only the first two books are available in print. I listened to these in the podia book format.

I am not exactly sure why these are so appealing to me. I do really like them though. In this book Ishmael Wong becomes Captain. I have to admit at the beginning I was confused a bit. I had wondered if I missed a book. Something like 10 years has passed. It took me a little bit to get used to the idea.

I also struggled with the ending of this book. I wasn't even sure it was over. You would think a book that I struggled with the beginning and the end would get a bad review. But it doesn't. I liked it. I have already started on number 6.

[Ann Schwader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike many of my fellow reviewers of this audiobook, I did not find Captain's Share as compelling as most of the previous adventures. I'm not sure why, either. The plot seemed to move more slowly, or at least with more interruptions, than in most of the other books, & I sometimes felt as though I was reading management tips for newly fledged commercial captains!

As ever, though, I did find myself caring deeply about the characters -- sad when Ishmael's marriage finally falls apart, nervous while the Agamemnon takes a terrible risk getting its first cargo delivered on time, triumphant when the crew finally comes together as a family -- and concerned about the small details of their lives. It was also good to see Ishmael making some mistakes while assuming his first command, though I wouldn't have expected anything less of the author.

The immersive nature of this series is still working for me, and I've already downloaded the first few chapters of the final volume to my iPod. So long as treadmills and household chores exist, there will be a place in my audio-reading life for books this consistently involving.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a decade on the William Tinker, where he has progressed from third mate to first mate, Ishmael finally sits for Captain and shortly thereafter receives command of the Agamemnon, a small cargo ship with only eight crew. The Aganemnon has a bad reputation. It is crewed by troublemakers and misfits, and profits have been abysmal.

Unlike Double Share, this book goes back to the adventures in normality model. The problems with the crew are swiftly and painlessly resolved through the application of some good old fashioned leadership. It is still an enjoyable read because the characters are richly realized, and the pithy dialogue is excellent.

On a side note, it seems rather unrealistic to be shipping things like gases and clay from planetary system to planetary system, unless shipping is ridiculously cheap of course. Having said that, the books aren’t really about the items that are being traded, but rather about shipboard life, so I’m willing to forgive Lowell on this point.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1735

[Jared · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weaker story than previous books in the series.

The "worst ship in the fleet" was turned around in a week by the new captain. Basically, what they needed was a captain that wasn't an idiot. And so good an idiot that the fleet owner didn't call him up and go "Uhhh...what's going on over there?"

The whole story was Ishmael being awesome, realizing that he wasn't /that/ awesome, and then becoming more awesome because of that realization. Oh, and everyone loves him.

There wasn't any real conflict on the ship. Everyone went along with Ishmael. He didn't have anything to overcome. The one thing that did bring conflict (his marriage), he just walked away from.

What ever happened to the salvage from the beginning of the book?


And then there are the typos. Oh my goodness. I read this on my iPhone (so seven lines per page) and there were issues every couple of pages. Did any sort of editor actually read the book before uploading it to Amazon?

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

a light pleasant read with some big issues

My major issue with Mr Lowell's writing is that all the shipmates from Wang's different ships have the exact same sense of humor, so the interchanges repeat from one book to the next. I had high hopes at the start of this book that
Agamemnon's crew would be different people, but no, they talk just the same as the Lois's and Wang too often is the same person as he was earlier in the series too. The subplot around his wife Jen shows he's matured in some ways, but also shows he's the same unbelievable man, a man who never loses his temper, always knows what to say and believes the best of everyone. In short, too often he's a tedious saint. At least this volume spared us his much too practiced sexual adventures. . .

[Norman Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captian's Share Like Double share has Ish continue to lose his Fish out of water status as he finds this time Heavy is the head that wears the crown. While Ish's new ship isn't as bad as the Tinker. Afew of the Characters are just as Colorful. Ish's Laid back attitude still continues this time attempt to win over the crew takes much longer as he has to convince them that they are more than they seem. The story is trademark Nathan Lowell as the tale is a character driven piece with action taking a back seat. The action does happen truns out to be a turning point for the characters involved as it allows them to grow.

Another excellent tale by Mr. Lowell

[Gerard Whitfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, with this one we are back into stride. Ishmael is again chosen for an impossible-seeming task, the odds are stacked against him, but e just know that he will find a solution. It was a nice touch to show Ishmael's character flaws via his marital relationship. Its appearance was a little startling as his wife-to-be only had a walk-on part in the previous book.

All that aside, to fans (of which I am definitely one)this audiobook is tiring me out. I have to finish it to make sure I can get a decent night's sleep...although there is one more to go!

Highly recommended to all who enjoy a good yarn with likeable characters.

[Katherine Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 5th book of this series, Ishmael is appointed captain of the worst ship in the fleet. In a matter of a couple of weeks Ish has everything turned around. It seemed to me very much in the style of the first book in the series. I still like the writing style.

I found the timing strange. Ish signed up when he was 18, he spent 2 years in his first tour. he spent 4 years at the academy, he cleared up problems on his first ship and then it says at the beginning of this book that he spent the next 10 years on the Tinker and he's 38 (18+2+4+10 = 34)

[Sotolf Flasskjegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really is the best one in the series for me so far, it's just filled with great moments, and some heardships, but always on the right side. As with the other ones, this time through it was more impactful for me, maybe it is because I'm older, maybe it is because I'm reading it instead of listening to the audiobook. I don't know, but I just really enjoy that these books still are as good as I remembered, if anything they have become even better.

[Dave Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is the best of the series so far
This is the funniest, liveliest, big hearted (-ist? is that a word?) This one has more action, which was not really wanting in the others.
For years the Agamemnon was the worst ship in the trade fleet. A dumping ground for misfits and screw-ups. Now Captain Ishmael is tasked with commanding them in hopes he can turn things around. But first he has to get half of them out of the brig.
I loved it!

[Keith Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I absolutely love this series.

[Chant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
At this point, all we get is a life of a (last to know) sailor away from home.

[ALICIA MOGOLLON · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually did this series as audiobook and it was a fun listen. Kind of like a good tv series. Not like wow, you out of your seat. But engaging enough.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our intrepid hero has grown up, but isn't the starry-eyed, idealistic, determined to master everything he touches hopeful that he was in the first three books of this series. So even after finding out that he was deliberately manipulated into joining the Tinker as 3rd mate and unknowingly tasked with finding an excuse for the owner of DST to fire the captain, Ish chose to stay with DST for his career. (Because reports of a disengaged captain, and a First Mate who ran an extortion and sexual assault team didn't suggest any other solutions than to assign a fresh 3rd mate without briefing or backup to the problem ship.) Then, despite professional contacts with more ethical spacers, Ish chose to stay with the poorly run DST corporation. Thirteen years later, Ish has finally worked his way up to First Mate, and passes his Captain's test. The only ship DST can offer is the worst ship in their corporation. Again, poorly run and barely breaks even financially. (Again, the owner of DST seems clueless and unconcerned as to figuring out why Agamemnon makes the corporation little profit. Not to worry, Ish gets the problematic crew working smoothly together before they clear the gravity well. Again, the unscrupulous owner is willing to manipulate events in Ish's "favor" this time.) This passive Ish who merely deals with what is dumped on his plate seems unconnected to the go-getter of the first three books.

But the biggest surprise is that Ish is married for 7 years now! So our sensual guy from the first three books who drew women like a magnet, who always confidently looked for "the most interesting woman in the room" with no regard to that woman's age or looks found the most interesting woman in the universe? No, he got married "because I thought that that was what I was supposed to do in my 20's." He married a waitress at a station bar, and the best he ever says/experiences with her is good Welcome Home sex. No mention of her intelligence, wit, charm, or admiration for her abilities etc. No mention of her at all aside from anticipating the great sex upon his every 4+ month return to home for less than a week. No messages home, no missing her during his months in space, nothing. Then, Surprise! She's been cheating on you, and is easily disposed of via divorce. Who is this Ishmael?

Not everyone lives up to the promise of their youth, but the Ishmael of these last 3 books seems almost totally disconnected from the Ishmael of the first three in the series.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I have loved this entire series. I guess you either love this series or it isn't for you based on reviews I've read. It's, I supposed, what people are now calling "slice of life" so if that isn't your thing, you won't like either the series or the author, because I'd say that's what he does based on everything I've read by him so far. But that's part of what I love. The day to day life and interactions and events. (I wonder if "slice of life" is peculiar to the science fiction/fantasy communities? It's in these genres that one expects monsters, aliens, vampires or zombies, etc. to come along and change things up...oh, or being discovered as a lost chosen one with untold magical powers. I think in most contemporary fiction, characters go about living their lives and that's the story. I don't know. Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about the label, but I do love these books).

This one returns us to the lighter feeling I remember from the first three books. Where the last book jumped us 4 years in time, skipping Ishmael's years at school, this one skips us ahead another 20-ish years, I think...so that he's much further along in his career. It was a bit odd to me, not just that he was still aboard the Tinker, but that so many of the crew from Double Share were also still aboard the Tinker. I'm pretty sure events that happen at the beginning of this book lay the groundwork for another trilogy or series of books in this world, so maybe it was done so that the reader wouldn't have to learn so many new characters.

I enjoyed seeing how Ishmael handled his first command and the people he was dealing with. I'm sure when I finish writing this I'll read reviews about how the problems they brought were resolved too easily or were presented too simplistically, and yes, there's probably some truth to that. There's also truth to giving people set expectations, and then the freedom to manage them and respect lessening a lot of problems and creating an environment of good will and cooperation. So, for me it was a hit. I'm looking forward to the next one and I'm not. I suspect a jump forward in time again, and it's also the last one of this series. I know Ishmael features large in at least one future series, but I'm not sure about the others in this same universe.

[Clay Kallam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan Lowell makes a very interesting narrative adjustment in his series, The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper.

First, as all of us know consciously or unconsciously, most books have a story arc that sets a problem the protagonists must solve. The problem and its ramifications often occupy most of the narrative, and in the case of some trilogies, the problem extends for nearly a thousand pages before it's finally resolved.

Second, the balance between the problem and the resolution -- in a sense, between the negative (the bad things that must be taken care of) and the positive (taking care of them and enjoying the rewards of so doing) -- is a crucial part of the structure of any story. Often, it seems, authors enjoy the problem and ancillary suffering of the protagonist (and reader) so much that they go on forever with the negative and only offer a few pages of the positive.

Lowell, however, flips that script. He sets up the problem -- in this case, a difficult crew in Ishmael Wang's first time as a captain of a space trader -- in a few pages, and then gets right to the fun part of improving the situation. So in this 408-page novel, there are about 100 pages of difficulties, and then 300 pages of an upward curve.

In short, the book spends much, much more time on the progress of solving the problem than on defining the problem itself, and thus it's a much more pleasant read, at least to me. (Those who prefer pain, suffering and limited hope would disagree, I'm sure.)

So for those who would enjoy this kind of narrative structure, "Captain's Share" is a winner, but really, you have to start with book one, "Quarter Share," to really get the full effect. Then again, that means you have five more books left to enjoy, as the series concludes with "Owner's Share," which I look forward to reading next.

[Velid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nathan Lowell once again delivers an engaging continuation of Ishmael Wang’s journey—this time stepping into his first captain’s chair. The premise is simple but powerful: Ishmael inherits one of the most dysfunctional ships in the fleet. What follows is a fascinating study of leadership, communication, and the ripple effect of small, intentional changes.

The real strength of this book lies in its people. We meet the “Armageddon crew,” a misfit group whose problems reflect a deeper lack of trust and communication. Through Ishmael’s steady and thoughtful approach, we see how even small improvements in personal interactions can completely reshape morale, performance, and the culture of an entire ship. It’s a quiet but inspiring kind of leadership story.

The narrative spans about eight months, and while the overall arc is unpredictable, there is one exception: Ishmael’s divorce. Lowell foreshadows it as soon as Ishmael stumbles across a pair of pants he can’t account for—subtle, but enough to make the outcome feel inevitable. Still, it fits naturally with the themes of transition and growth that run through the book.

If there’s one bittersweet note, it’s knowing the series is nearing its end. With only one more book left, it’s hard not to feel reluctant to say goodbye to Ishmael and the universe Lowell has crafted with such warmth and authenticity.

Verdict: A deeply human spacefaring tale about leadership, trust, and the quiet heroism of doing the right thing. Highly recommended for readers who appreciate character-driven science fiction.