Double Share

Golden Age of the Solar Clipper #4

by Nathan Lowell

AN INEXPERIENCED OFFICER. A DYSFUNCTIONAL SHIP. LIFE IN THE DEEP DARK JUST GOT A LOT HARDER.
In his first assignment as an officer, Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself fresh out of school, wet behind the ears, and way out of his depth. Aboard the William Tinker the senior officers are derelict and abusive, the crew demoralized and undisciplined, and change unwelcomed and dangerous. Can Ishmael use what he learned aboard the Lois McKendrick to help the crew find the ship’s heart? Or will he discover that bucking the system may come at too high a price? Return to the Deep Dark with Ish in this fourth installment of the award winning Solar Clipper Series as he makes the transition from crew to officer.

“Fans of Nathan Lowell’s Solar Clipper series are legion, and for just cause. Each book provides another chapter in the life of one of the most endearing characters to come along in recent memory. Nathan demonstrates that suburb story telling doesn’t require massive space battles or warring aliens, just great characters and a knack for spinning a really compelling tale.” —Michael J. Sullivan, author of the Riyria Revelations

2009 PARSEC AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST SPECULATIVE FICTION

BOOKS BY NATHAN LOWELL
Books in the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper
Quarter Share
Half Share
Full Share
Double Share
Captain’s Share*
Owner’s Share*

Shaman Tales
South Coast*
Cape Grace*

*Forthcoming

AWARDS FOR GOLDEN AGE OF THE SOLAR CLIPPER SERIES
Awards for Golden Age Series
2011 Parsec Award Winner for Best Speculative Fiction for Owner’s Share
2010 Parsec Award Winner for Best Speculative Fiction for Captain’s Share
2009 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Double Share
2009 Podiobooks Founder’s Choice Award for Captain’s Share
2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Full Share
2008 Podiobooks Founder’s Choice Award for Double Share

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

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2008

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

[JasonA · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time that we see a time jump between books. Four years later, Ishmael has just graduated from the academy and is now a third officer on a new ship in a new quadrant. Unfortunately, this ship is the polar opposite of what Ishmael is used to.

This book is quite a bit darker than the previous books in the series. It deals with some of the things that have been discussed in previous books, but we've not actually seen before.

After thinking about it, I dropped it to four stars. It never sat right with me that one of the antagonists gets off scott free and is immediately "reformed" after his protector goes away. There should have been some kind of consequence for his actions.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ishmael Horatio Wang (“Ish”) enters ship service at a young age. Ish had little choice when his mother (his only relative on planetside) died in an accident and there weren’t excess credits in the estate she left. The early months shipboard are recounted in Quarter Share

We are now on Book 4, Double Share.

We learn that each ship has its own culture and habits both when on a voyage and when in port. Ishmael Wang has graduated from Officer Academy and has taken the third mate position on a troubled ship…something he had no inkling about when he signed on. Things get bad and then, worse. There is a nice interplay between “Wang the newbie” and “Ish the problem solver.”

Things that readers seemed to enjoy from earlier books are relegated to the “barely mentioned.” These include Ish’s skill in trading and the “magical realism” introduced in the first books.

I listened to the audio version and gave Jeffrey Kafer high marks for both diction and characterization. (I originally was given a podcast version of this with the narration by Lowell, himself. I felt that Kafer was a far better reader.)

3.5
PS: These books extol the human virtues: Loyalty, helpfulness, trust, kindness, cheerfulness, friendliness, bravery, and, even, intelligent money management.

[Estara · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Can Ishmael use what he learned aboard the Lois McKendrick to help the crew find the ship’s heart? Or will he discover that bucking the system may come at too high a price? "

No, of course not. He's learned a martial art at the university. Oh, he isn't really a fighter, you know, so he learned with THE top sensei of the peaceful arm of that martial art. He's so surprised that with just a little bit of additional tuition he can't seem to help make other people fall into the walls or break their arms, etc.

And the company who hired him and the ship he was hired for should just kiss his feet because as soon as he gets there, story threads and manipulations that have taken years to develop start to unravel and people start trusting him with their problems and he solves them.

There's the institutionalized female abuse and rape, that EVERYONE, even the women officers, have put up with, there are the accidents that have happened for years, which are only now being investigated slowly. There's the captain who vanishes into his cabin for the whole journey - AND who it is implied with so many hints - is writing ROMANCE NOVELS instead of taking care of the crew!!

But don't worry, Ishmael can save almost everyone. Only one girl who had already put her trust in him and started to stand up for herself, gets almost beaten to death. That's finally enough impetus for the others to really throw themselves behind Ishmael's plans (and study for higher qualifications while they're at it).

[StickyP · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read the first three books of this series in just a few days and really liked them. But this book left me angry and with a bad taste in my mouth.

Spoiler-Warning

The first thing was that this book felt completely disconnected from the entire story so far. I'm aware that a step of 4 years deserves a cut, but boy what a cut. Every known protagonist was cut out (almost) without so much as a goodbye. A short sentence for Pip and he's gone. Same for Brill. Bev get's a little more attention but then she's also gone. Will they try to keep contact? Plans to work together? One of the main themes of the previous books was the money. That wasn't even mentioned once, if I'm not mistaken. How did Ish finance the academy? What is he earning now? Is he in debt? Has he plans for trading?

Give me at least some kind of transition, please. But maybe that's just my taste..


What left me really disturbed was the story aboard the ship. Let me sum it up:

A captain who is a mixture of megalomaniac and completely incompetent left the running of his ship in the hand of his first mate and disappears into his cabin, with the exception of a view hours of work every month. The first mate is some kind of sadistic deviant who turns the ship into his own little piece of hell. Not for everybody but if you are a woman than good luck. You'll need it. There is rape, assault, sexual harassment, blackmail and strong hints of torture and murder. And of course dereliction of duty as being drunk on watch, simply not working, having nonfunctional security drills, etc.

This has gone on, as the company owner says, for 5 years. And nobody could do something about it. Oh boy, am I glad I don't have to live in that kind of environment. The captain does not work, ever! The first mate terrorizes the whole crew. Sex is mandatory... or else. If you are really unlucky than you become the victim of serial beatings, just because. And better never stand up against it or you'll end up raped or with broken bones or dead. It's explained as some kind of "the captain is god aboard his ship"-thing, but I just can't believe it. If it would be that easy, half the ships in that universe had to be some kind of flying hell.

To clear up this mess, Ish is thrown in without any information or any backup. As most junior officer, without any experience as an officer. Yes, sure, that's a great idea! Undercover police, simply interviewing the crew or surveillance of the ship must have gone out of style. After some strange changes aboard, everything clears up... through sheer luck. The captain get's fired for not taking command when the first mate is injured. Which in turn makes it possible to fire the mate, too. Pure coincidence and nothing that somebody solved. Had the captain worked for 10 days when the mate was injured, nothing would have changed. Both will never work in their jobs again, that's it. One of the main main henchmen, who at least raped one woman, assaulted Ish and was described as a life-threatening thug suddenly is a "good boy who fell in with the wrong crowd". WHAT THE F...!?

Almost every victim magically recovered (Captain DeGrut, huh?) or simply disappeared from our views. What happened with them, other than Davies? At least 2 officers have left the ship in the last year. Not to mention normal crew.And is has gone on for 5 years at least. There has to be dozens of victims. The immense risk that Ish was exposed to, is just shortly mentioned. He was for months in constant fear for his live,learned that he was set up for it and.... nothing!? The perpetrators escaped practically for free. Sorry, but thats disgusting. Not that is happened itself, but that everybody seems to think it's okay that way.

I'm left with a feeling of injustice.

Sorry for any mistakes, I'm not a native speaker.

[James Tomasino · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. The enjoyment I've been getting from this series derives almost entirely from the low-conflict, light-hearted nature of the books. Double Share takes that and throws it out the window. My first reaction was positive. This could be something new, something great. Then reality set in.

Rather than the Lois McKendrick, our protaganists' home in the Deep Dark for the past few books, we now move the setting to a new ship, the William Tinker. This ship is gross. It's filthy, smells, everyone is nasty to one another, and, oh yeah, the entire female crew is being constantly raped.

I absolutely hate rape stories, whether in book, TV, or film. They make me want to throw up, and that's not how I enjoy spending my light-hearted reading time. Really, the only way to make it worse is to treat the rape as anything less than horrific. Guess what Nathan Lowell managed to do?

I'm not going to really spoil anything here because this book can't get any more spoiled. In the end, after the dust has settled and things are "resolved", the new female captain (who has witnessed these atrocities happening for years) keeps one of the rapists aboard. The character even manages to explain away what he did by saying "he's a good boy that fell in with a bad crowd". How about we tell that to the women he raped time and time again over the course of YEARS while they had no means of escape except the emptiness of space? How about we go back to the part when we learn that he has murdered women that have tried to fight back or complain?

This book was digsusting. Much more so than the William Tinker.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series builds over time, but this one jumps four years into the future with Ishmael graduating the academy and all his friends spread to the four winds. You can legitimately start here, though I'm not really sure why you'd want to.

Ishmael gets a posting as third mate on a completely dysfunctional ship that doesn't work, like, at all. I mean, the bully boys are fully in power and they are truly gross. We're talking rape on the regular gross. I spent this entire book cringing, pretty much just going along with it because it is obviously going to be about Ishmael fixing things. Which it is. And he does.

But it doesn't really work because the bad guys are too successful to be stupid and too stupid to be successful and yet...

Anyway, Ish saves the day. The end. Three stars because At least we're clear for him to upgrade to captain in the next book. Yay!

A note about Chaste/Steamy: Honestly, I forget if there is any steam in this as Ishmael doesn't fraternize and he's on board ship so much that I doubt it. But it has been enough days that I honestly don't remember.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a qualified 3 stars, because it’s very different than the 3 books before. I’m not a big reviewer, but some thoughts.

The other reviews on this book primed me to expect a shift in tone, as well as some ... awkward... handling of a very loaded set of issues.

I’ve read enough in this genre to recognize the trope at work here. Our too-brilliant hero faces his hardest challenge yet— plucked from the safety of the ship that raised him, and confronted with the dysfunction of a ship with poor leaders and a lack of the pride/ownership that these books holds up above all. This book is fine within that trope. Fine in the qualitative sense. It’s ok.

Most angry reviewers are upset at how the culture of rape and sexual harassment is portrayed. It’s listed as just one of many problems in the ship’s dark soul, and it’s not given the weight it probably should be. I actually give the author the benefit of the doubt here. The culture of this ship is so insidious that these behaviors are institutionalized and the perpetrators are protected. This feels topical, given the amount of Weinstein creepery that’s been coming out of Hollywood forever but is only now been given light. There’s outrage from most of the crew, but it bashed right into those institutions— leaving would-be defenders silenced by futility.

I think it’s a lot more problematic that Ish is the one to solve this problem. He’s been a letch and a lothario for 3 books, and the relationships he cultivates with the beautiful women around him are Larry Stu at best. Throw him onto a ship where the crew have been hand chosen for their physical features to be easy prey for a handful of unrepentant rapists, and those relationships are a lot less forgivable. Ish is our white knight savior, but he’s also leering and ogling and surrounding himself with bunnies of his own. He protects these girls by making it known they’re in his harem, for chrissakes.

Like I said, I get and respect the tropes at play, and I still like the overall arc of these stories but the thing I liked most about these books was the low stakes. The very real stakes at play in this entry are too high for a fluff character like Ishmael Horatio Wong to stand up to, and he winds up looking so much the worse when seen in that light.

[Chant · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plot driver: ongoing rape of female crew. if you think this is a spoiler(idgas), your looking in the wrong place. One stars at book 4 are for people who have read the F-ing book and don't get all the 5 stars.

[ElDani · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first three books of this series were natural continuations of each other, where the author managed to start and continue the tale of Ishmael Wong after he lost not only his mother but also the only home he ever knew. Space being the place he ultimately chose for himself, he continued to improve not only himself but also his circle of friends and shipmates.

In this fourth book we see the protagonist take on a very different role. Just finished with the naval academy and having become an officer, the story begins with Ishmael's travel to his first job posting, which he received with the help of the academy commandant, who himself is the father of his former captain aboard the Lois McKendrick.

Yes there are definitely weaknesses in the execution of the plot of Double Share, other readers have written about that in detail in their reviews and I can't say they're wrong. Those issues are not the reason for my low rating of 2 stars though, after I rated the first three books in the series at 4 stars. No, the reason for my low rating is that it totally failed my expectations and after reading this book I was not only unsatisfied but really depressed.

When book 3 ended, Ishmael was traveling to the naval academy with several of his friends and he had a girlfriend who was so in love with him, that she followed him to the academy. Now the 4th book begins, four years of the naval college have gone by almost entirely unmentioned and the people who I have come to like in the author's earlier books don't rate more than a mention or a single scene in the very beginning.

As Double Share progresses, we need to come to terms with the fact that Ishmael's old life is suddenly over, that we have skipped four years in his life, that the author doesn't see the worth in writing about his life and experience at the naval academy at all and if that wasn't enough, the author also blindsided his readers with a novel written in a totally different tone introducing an entirely new cast. While the first three books were written in a relaxing slice-of-life tone as the protagonist grew as a person, this fourth novel suddenly throws Ishmael into the deep end of a tense drama all by himself.

Frankly, I'm not happy about any of that.

[Wm Cruz Carroll Sr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while you read a book, and it was so good that you end up reading it over again later. But when you re-read it 4 or more times a year just because it is so great, it has to mean something. This is the start of an Epic Arch of a land rat boy to the man whom becomes a true Spacer. This is the start of a saga living out in the deep dark.

WARNING: This book and the entire series may cause cravings. Notably exceptional coffee, eggs over easy, fried potatoes with onions, buttered toast and perfect crispy bacon. These cravings will come at you at all hours and you main gain weight and cholesterol levels while reading these books.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

By the fourth book the day to day running of the spaceship isn’t particularly interesting and unfortunately I really didn’t like the main storyline of physical intimidation and sexual abuse of women.
By the end of the book the problems are solved and ”all is sweetness and light”, but I didn’t enjoy the journey.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018 re-read: So very enjoyable! 2020 re-read: Each book is better than those before it.

[Andy Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but utterly absurd premise.

[Juni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is utterly addictive.

[Artrain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry but I cannot endorse this book. 300 years in the future, are you telling me that you can turn a ship in a rape bucket and get away with it? Heck there are SoS buttons on Ubers today to at least help prevent that kind of shit, and the author wants me to believe that an entire ship can be subjugated and subjected to physical, sexual and mental abuse and there's no law in his world to bring the criminals to court? No evidence? The entire crew is fucking evidence!

And while all this is happening on the ship, the spectacularly gutless main character (one punch and he's out of the fight forever), has more important things to deal with like: how to fix the coffee, or how to make the food taste better. Brilliant. They even joke about the things that are going on the ship, cause hey, rapes make good jokes right?

Presenting problems, especially a serious problems like this, without giving a solution is something I cannot forgive authors for doing.

Also the constant gushing of everyone over the main character feels like one of those b-grade wuxia novels. Worse actually. At least in those novels the main character gets praised about because he's stronger than everyone. Here... he can make better coffee than everyone? Wow what a benchmark to rate someone by.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all of the Solar Clipper novels, but this one a little less than most. The reason? Chekhov's Gun.

The Russian playwright Chekhov famously said that if you hang a gun on the wall in Act I, it better be fired by Act III. But, despite the fact that Ishmael spends several chapters setting up electronic surveillance of the ship using the intercoms (although he's not sure if it's legal, or legally admissible), this activity ends up leading nowhere at all. The situation is resolved by what is almost (not quite) a deus ex machina, almost (not quite) not because of any of Ishmael's actions at all, and the intercom evidence is never used, or mentioned again.

Chekhov's Gun fail, Lowell.

Otherwise a good book, though, with Ishmael being an inspiration to better and braver behaviour for other members of the crew.

[Teresa Carrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm "reading" the podiobook version of this one, because it's not available in other formats yet. Book 3 ended with Ishmael leaving for the officer academy. Book 4 (this one) starts 4 years later with him leaving the academy. There are a few paragraphs mentioning things that happened while at the academy, but I feel rather short changed. Oh well.

I'd enjoy this better if I were reading it. I can't get immersed in a story when I'm listening. Still worth listening to, particularly since I loved the first 3 books so much and there's no telling how long it's going to be before the next several appear in paper or ebook versions. It takes me a lot less time to read a book than to listen to somebody say all the words.

BTW, the podiobook version of this series of books is FREE (donations encouraged) and yes I figured out how to get it onto my ipod or ipad.

Excellent series.

[Norman Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Double Share is the first book where Ish is without his safety net and for the first time since QUARTER SHARE alone in the Deep Dark without a shoulder to lean on and have to survive on his own wits and Lessons learned from both the academy and the Lois. Ish's new Ship the Tinker is a ship of lost souls. Ish comes on and tries to Save them and finds that the Spacer's Handbook doesn't exactly cover his situation. The Tinker has a colorful crew to say the least and when Ish discovers what exactly is going on his Has to scramble not only to keep his head above water, but connect to his neck as well. Nathan Lowell's Character drive style continues in this story, but there is more action as ISh is constantly kept on his toes. as he tries to win over the crew and survive the deep dark.

[Cor Markhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

While not necessarily a bad book it is very jarring departure from the previous books that seemingly tries to hit every trope there is in the age of sail (and this is very much an age of sail book, no matter its sci-fi setting) genre. And as much as liked the previous books Lowells writing isn't special enough to overcome how predictable and thus boring this book is.

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are getting better with each one. Still, if you're looking for military gun porn and epic space battles this series ain't it. The universe isn't on the verge of ending, and the losses that do happen are individual and personally felt. It would be true to call this character driven space opera in which the story is the day-to-day of a young (new?) adult joining the space equivalent of the merchant marines, due to lack of viable life choices, and then making it his rather successful life.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's trouble and more action in this one. It doesn't detract from all the wonderfully mundane. Only two left in the series. I need to slow down; I'm devouring these books. I hear there's another series!

[Willow tree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, I like it a bit, it should have a little more grammar and I am well after all it is a good book.

[Dan Kenkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just like this series....,.,

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something different for a change.

Tension, drama, conflict! But still, it's Ishy, we know he'll manage.

Good stuff.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan Lowell's Solar Clipper series continues to defy my expectations. The first three volumes of Ishmael Wang's rise through the ranks of an interstellar merchant marine were almost drama free -- hippy, feel-good stories where nothing (well, almost nothing) really goes wrong.

In Double Share, Ishmael has completed the Academy and is a freshly-minted officer en route to his first assignment. But this time, he finds himself in a truly grim situation -- a filthy, slack ship; enlisted women sexually harassed and assaulted by officers; a captain who thinks Ish is a spy.

Can Ishmael's eternally sunny, can-do attitude keep him safe from forces that, quite literally, want him dead?

You betcha! Like the water that erodes the rock, Ishmael's relentless drive to work hard, build teams, and chip away at what's wrong makes things all better And that's what's so awesome about these books. Lowell seems to believe in the inherent goodness of all people and, if just given the chance, they'll do the right thing. It will be interesting to see how much darker the next two get and I'll gobble those up just like I did this one.

[Kristoffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book pretty well but nowhere near as much as the previous books. My favorite part of the previous books was the trading, and that was absent in this book. That stuff was a ton of fun to read about. I also liked that there weren't really any villains in the previous books, and this book had villains unfortunately. They were the basis for a large part of the story, and they felt a bit too obvious as villains to be very good villains. The author is great at writing likable characters but not so much at villains. The best villains tend to be ones who have multiple dimensions and don't seem too bad but really are because of some actions they take. The villains in this book were one dimensional or lacking even one dimension. One of the villains was just absent all the time and let bad stuff happen but didn't really appear or have even a little bit of depth to him. The resolution at the end of the story was also lacking, with story details going unexplained, which annoyed me. This book was an unfortunate departure from the general feel of the series, and I hope the author either improves at writing villains and explaining plot elements or just goes back to writing fun stories. Still, I did enjoy learning about the good characters in the story and do like the main character still.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

After graduating from the merchant marine officer's academy, Ishmael Wang starts work as a "boot" Third Mate on the cargo ship William Tinker. He soon discovers that the ship has serious problems, with crew morale dangerously low. The Captain is a recluse who almost never comes out of his cabin, the First Mate is a sociopathic sexual predator and the crew is subject to daily humiliation and assault.

While the first three books of the series are mildly enjoyable, this one ups the ante considerably. Mr. Lowell knows how to write pithy dialogue and describe character dynamics. What was missing was serious conflict in the plot. Nothing momentous really happened in the first three books. Certainly this was by design, as Mr. Lowell did not want his character to be some kind of "chosen one" and have a glorious foretold destiny. However this made for pretty dull stories only held aloft by the interest the reader had in the protagonist. While there are no exploding stars in this book, the gravely dysfunctional crew of the William Tinker makes for interesting reading, especially when Ishmael inevitably starts rebelling against the status quo.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1733

[Ann Schwader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure why I haven't done a text review for this series yet, but it's past time -- because Golden Age of the Solar Clipper is a remarkable immersive experience (in Podiobook form, anyhow) for those of us who enjoy space opera.

The premise is simple: follow a POV character (the improbably named Ishmael Wang) through his career in a spacefaring version of the merchant marine. Lowell's world-building -- or universe-building -- is detailed, & his characters have depth. This series has gotten me through many treadmill miles and house-cleaning sessions.

Until this volume, however, I was finding the plot a bit mild. No fear this time around! Double Share is the edgiest of the series thus far, placing Our Hero as a newly minted third mate aboard a nastily dysfunctional ship.

I've already put a bit in the Podiobooks tip jar for this one, & downloaded some of Vol. 5 to my iPod. Fans of Lois McMaster Bujold, David Weber, or C.J. Cherryh should definitely try this series, if they haven't already.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2nd book in this series really bothered me and disappointed me. (For the why, see my review of Half Share.) The 3rd book and this one redeemed the series enough that I am willing to read the rest.

Ish has completed the academy and taken his first contract position as 3rd mate. The ship is sick. By being the person he is, from teaching the galley crew to make good coffee to protecting a woman from abuse, to physically cleaning the bridge, he helps most of the crew find some self-respect and comrade. He gets beat up by the bad guys and is forced to defend himself in a way that he did not have to in his postings prior to the academy (the prior 3 books). In the end, the ship is better, the crew is better, the bad officers are removed, and the corporation is happy with him.

Yes, a simple story of morality, ethics and goodness, but done in a manner that you don't feel preached to. The story of the ship and the crew and their everyday lives is somehow made interesting by Lowell. If it weren't for the sexual content of book 2, I would still consider this series to be young adult.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

[5/15/12]
This is the fourth installment of the tales of Ishmael Wang and his adventures in interstellar commerce. Ish has graduated from the Academy and gets his first assignment as a junior officer on a trader. He is introduced to the dark side of shipboard life, where the top officers have absolute power and the inclination to use it to exploit those under their command. As usual, Ish works to find unexpected solutions. For a while I thought ... come on, he's young and inexperienced, how can we believe he'd be able to solve as many problems as he has in his short career. But then I realized, it does make sense. As the outsider, who did not grow up in the trader culture, he is able to see options without the blinders of expected behavior that familiarity creates. And he's just so charming that I want to believe it ... so I do.

A very enjoyable read, but it's best if you've read the preceding installments first.