Quarter Share

Golden Age of the Solar Clipper #1

by Nathan Lowell

The Golden Age of Sail has Returned -- in the Year 2352

When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system--and NerisCo isn't hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope...to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars.

Join the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, a Manchester built clipper as she sets solar sails in search of profit for her company and a crew each entitled to a share equal to their rating.

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

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

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

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This morning, Saturday, I got up, made coffee in a travel mug, then dressed and walked to the train station, catching the 8.33 service to Birmingham New Street for a pleasant day of shopping in preparation for an upcoming holiday. Whilst on the train, I was annoyed that I'd forgotten to put sugar in my coffee, but pleased that I managed to get a seat with a table.

So, "stuff" did happen to me this morning, but nothing which could be considered a "plot". And so it is with Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share - its narrative arc is shallow enough to be invisible to all but the most sensitive literary radars. Our story opens with Ishmael Horatio Wang, the protagonist, in his late teens and about to start university, living on Neris, a "Company Planet". On page one his only relative dies and within a handful more pages Wang signs up as a galley steward on a space freighter.

And that's it. Really - THAT'S IT. He makes coffee, helps the chef, and studies for exams to improve his rating onboard. Hipster space zombies do not attack, the cargo container in Hold 3 does not contain a time machine and the forced intimacies of close-quarter living do not reveal greater truths about the human condition.

This then is very much a novel of the mundane (still can't believe I forgot the sugar - was I THAT hungover?), populated by a cast of stock characters - the enigmatic Captain, the gruff but ultimately warm senior noncom etc, etc. The World Building is competent, though as this is essentially the US Merchant Fleet in space, there's not a vast amount to do.

A few chapters in, I thought I'd cracked the case - it's a God Squad book - good wholesome entertainment for those who demand their fiction sans cussing or bedroom gymnastics, but no, a cursory Google deep-sixed that theory.

In the final third, Quarter Share's mundanity reaches new levels of Magnolia
with endless discussions about the rental of trestle tables for a flea market booth but, and here's the thing - I KEPT READING. Why? I have no idea, except the dawning realisation that, as I read Quarter Share, the novel had spun a cocoon of multi-layered bubble wrap around me that I'm mildly ashamed to say I quite, you now, LIKED - it's just a calm, even, decent novel which puts Tab A into Slot B and cruises along until the last page.

So, I can't bring myself to stick a cheap, tawdry, critic's shiv into this one - there's an essential humanity and warmth to its world view - decent people, getting along, and doing the right thing by each other. I'm amazed this has spun out into a multi-part series but hey, it takes all sorts.

Thrusting, libertarian types always like to distill human expansion, conquest and ambition back to the first stone-age-cave-woman-man-person who raised her/his eyes to the hill on the horizon and thought "I wonder what's on the other side of that?" Well, Quarter Share is arguably a novel which raised its eyes to the same hill and instead thought "I quite like it here".

[carol. · Rating 4 out of 5]

100% sweet. If you liked Legends & Lattes, I think I'd recommend this, despite there being absolutely no fantasy elements. There is, however, a lot of coffee. I mean, a lot. Urns and urns of it, as ship's mess attendants Ishmael and Pip (no joking, that's their names) bond, discovering teamwork and responsibility on their intergalactic freighter.

Told in first person, the voice feels congruent, if naïve. Ishmael is straightforward, earnest and smart, and he's a great vehicle to introduce the reader to the ship and crew. At times, he's so straightforward that he comes off as a much younger person than his eighteen years, but it could be defended or attributed to his being raised as an only child in a university-centered environment. The writing generally works for that voice, if a little simple. I read that this got its start as a podcast, which makes more sense.

Like Legends, world-building feels genre-standard and doesn't bring much new to the table. A lot of the details focus on the nitty-gritty of ship details, like the galley and the air supply section. I was fine with it. Be warned: I also am the sort of person that is content with 'hyperdrive' as an explanation for long-distance travel. What is surprisingly weak are the cultural changes that surely must have happened over a century or so. Substitute 'sar' for 'sir,' and 'stan' for 'hour' and you're about there. No food shifts. No cultural shifts with entertainment. Standard hierarchal ship structure. You get the idea. Like Legends, you'll have to be okay with 21st century culture for your sci-if.

There isn't much of a plot, just the adjustment to the people and shipboard life, but Lowell makes it entertaining nevertheless. If you are looking for gun battles, complex moral quandaries, or fighting the Earth corporations, look elsewhere. If you want a cup of coffee and an example on how to create a community, start here. 

#10 in the deep space reads obsessively discussing warm drinks

I need a new genre name for this group of nice, uneventful books, and if you suggest cozy punk, I'll send you to your room with a thesaurus.

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

Quarter Share should be boring. It’s quiet, methodical, and a little dry. There are no big space battles, no villains, no epic plot twists. Yet I was completely invested in Ishmael and his journey from the very first chapter.

After his mother dies in a flitter crash, 18 year old Ishmael Horatio Wang is forced to grow up fast. With no money and no options planetside, he signs on for 2 years aboard a deep-space commercial freighter. This story is the day-to-day reality of life aboard a working ship, learning the routines, earning trust, standing watches, making coffee, and slowly finding a place where you belong.

That’s the magic of this book. Watching Ishmael learn how to be useful, how to listen, how to observe, and how to exist in a structured community was honestly so genuine.

This story won’t be for everyone, and I’m a little shocked by how many negative reviews it has. If you’re looking for action, drama, or big sci-fi spectacle, you’ll be disappointed. This is more like calmly watching a very detailed YouTube tutorial on how to succeed aboard a commercial freighter, routine, procedural, and oddly soothing.

This is comfort sci-fi at its best, character-driven, and quietly wonderful.

[Brandon Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't want to frighten potential readers away by saying something off the wall, but I don't know how to better compliment Nathan but to say that I know of no other author who can devote a whole chapter to making coffee and make it utterly engrossing. It's a story I absolutely could not walk away from, and I don't just mean the coffee. I've even listened to the podcast 2 or 3 times. In a world with so much media available, it takes something special to elicit a second read/listen to say nothing of a third.

[JasonA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since this is my fourth or fifth time reading this, I suppose I should write a review. This is one of my absolute favorite series of books. These are my comfort reads; my happy place. If I'm feeling down or in a rut, I come back to this series.

Now, after that intro I have to warn you: these books probably aren't for everybody. From the reviews, people seem to love them or hate them. There's little to no plot, its all just following a character in their day to day life. Some people would consider it boring. There's no hostile aliens or starship battles, just a guy finding his place in the world and the friends he makes along the way. There's humor and heartbreak, love and redemptions. Basically, its just life, that happens to take place on a starship a few hundred years in the future.

[Anthony Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this one on my kindle reader from Amazon, and chewed through it in a couple of days. I'll start with the good stuff - it's certainly an engaging read, which is an accomplishment for a book in which (deliberately) pretty much nothing happens. The author has said that he's wanting to write a book about ordinary people in their day-to-day lives, and he's managed to do this admirably.

Lots of people have praised the setting and world building in this book, and I'd have to concur with them - it's a lovely conception of a universe, and a nice change from action or effects-driven science fiction writing. The engagement in the story is almost fully character driven, which lends it a nice universality.

But (and, I'm afraid, there is a but) it is, to my mind at least, a flawed novel in a few ways.

Firstly, while I can appreciate the author wanting to avoid a conflict driven narrative (and commend him for doing so), he seems to have taken the standpoint that the best way to avoid conflict is to have absolutely nothing bad ever happen to anyone. Nobody is ever really depressed. Nobody wakes up not wanting to go on shift that morning. Every trade works out brilliantly for all involved. The ship never seems to develop even a tiny fault which needs fixing. In one scene, even the filthy job of cleaning dead algae off the ship's scrubber matrix manages to come across as something of a lark for all involved. And for me, this anodyne good karma which pervaded the book also managed to strip it of some of its soul. The protagonist is named Ishmael, after the central character in Moby Dick (Indeed, the book opens with a direct nod to Herman Melville's classic), but there the parallels with the doomed voyage of the Pequod end. By the end of the book, it's closer to a trip aboard the Love Boat.

Secondly, the writing, which is by no means bad, is also by no means good. It's readable, but not - for my money at least - as polished as I'd have liked from a commercially published novel. This might well be something to do with the fact that the book - and all the others in this series - were originally 'written' and released as podcasts, and thus originally construed as audiobooks. I can certainly imagine them as effective in that format, but there's a large gap between the way people talk, and the way we read, and my feeling is that the translation from audio file to the page hasn't been entirely successful. I kept wanting to grab a red pen and give certain paragraphs a good tightening. Which wouldn't have been good for my iPad, if nothing else....

Finally, and this probably relates a little to my first point, the characterisation - particularly of the protagonist - seems just a little... off. Sure he's empathetic, interesting, clever and resourceful. But he also comes across as something of a robot. Case in point - His mother dies on the first page of the book (sorry for the spoiler, but as that event is also covered in the blurb and marketing material for the book, I figure it's not a huge one). We're told he feels disconnected and a sense of loss, and a couple of times later in the book other characters pay lip service to this fact, but - and here's my problem - in real terms it doesn't really seem to effect him. There are none of the stages of grieving - no denial, no anger; Ish just seems to jump straight to a kind of resigned acceptance, and then promptly moves on with his life. And this, for me, didn't ring true - right from the outset. It also made me regard his relationships with all the other characters with a kind of underlying distrust.

Overall, then, this is - despite everything I've just said - still worth a read. It's a nicely conceived idea, and a clever variation on a lot of classic science fiction, in that it takes what are essentially universal human experiences and uses them to drive the story, rather than relying upon clever setting ideas or advanced technology. It's engaging and readable, and I have no doubt that at some point I'll work my way through the rest of the books in the series (though I'm going to wait a while, until they're all available on kindle - the second book has had some very lukewarm reviews, and I suspect I'm going to want at least one after that to keep my momentum up...)

Worth a look, though I'd suggest doing your homework on it first.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ishmael, whose mother was a professor of ancient literature and didn't mind messing with her kid, wakes up one morning to learn that his mom has died. And that he has no job on the company-owned planet and is unlikely to find one before they come to deport him for "vagrancy". Harsh. His only hope is to either join the Marines (but he has to taste for that job) or a Merchant Trader. Having no idea that this is hard, he heads to the Alliance thingy that clears people to join merchant traders.

And the most unlikely thing that hit me over and over is the near 100% hit rate when he said "Call me Ishmael". I mean, we're three hundred years in the future in this story and I think you'd be lucky with a twenty percent hit today.

Anyway, Ishmael is very earnest and the ship he joins is full of do-gooders and nice people. So the story is mainly one of trading, supplies, profit mongering to be able to afford cool stuff, and generally working out how to work together for maximum fun and profit. Oh and using his amazing study brain that lets him test well so he can increase his rating. And I'm shocked to say I was totally down with that.

The only real rub is that the dialogue was stilted and generic. People talking, not moving story. Frankly, I don't really know what kept my interest and engagement throughout, but the story did. The pace is good, though the action is mostly mundane and again, I have no idea how the author managed that.

Anyway, four stars for being engaged despite craft issues. I'm sure I'll be indulging in the rest of the series, too.

A note about Chaste: This is weirdly chaste because there are lots of pretty, young people and they are obviously attracted to one another. Appreciatively so. But no moves are made and everyone is careful with boundaries, so this is pretty chaste.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Call me Ishmael.”

Just like the famous Horatio Hornblower, Ishmael Horatio Wang enters ship service at a young age. But this is the 24th century and things have changed a bit. As the publisher’s come-on notes, 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.

In a first-person manner reminiscent of how Robert Heinlein spun some of his yarns, we are with Ishmael as he gets used to “shipboard life” and starts to think about how he will get from “surviving to thriving.” The emphasis is on the people not the technology. Solar sails are featured in short hauls and there is less specificity with FTL. The world-building is gradual as we focus on Ishmael’s experiences.

The adventures start out modest in this initial book as we learn what trading is all about in a galaxy of space colonies. Lowell keeps the number of characters manageable – for him and for the reader. Speaking of readers, I listened to the audio version and gave Jeffrey Kafer high marks for both diction and characterization.

Some might find this initial book boring because there are no battles or big crises. I didn’t. This may be intended for teenagers, but, if you want to follow an interesting arc of a young man’s maturation in space, this is a quick read which is likely to please.

4*

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

can a book be both pulpy and plotless? this was just nice people doing nice things while sailing through space. and I couldn't put it down.

[Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

So have this one on the Android phone from Kindle. It allows me to swap over from Erikson when my brain needs a rest. It is really looking like a space opera, very light and easy to read. Only a quarter a way in, but nothing yet has happened that would envisage me buying the second in the series. although I will keep going as the author has spent a fiar bit of time building up the character, so I am going to continue on.

Update: omg! Is anything ever going to happen? When I wanted a light book to read at the traffic lights, I didnt want a journal of a coffee maker. GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. No aliens, no military, no angst. Just normal people serving on a merchant freighter plying their interstellar wares.

No real evil corporations taking advantage of all. It's kind of strange reading a book without any of the standard tropes of science fiction and space opera. But I really enjoyed it. The author has an engaging style and manages to educate you without hitting you over the head.

The characters are fun and the technology seems practical.

[York · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟 stars, almost all character driven..about life on a merchant spaceship, but could have easily been about a merchant navy ship sailing the oceans. What could have come across as dull and dry, kept my interest and I will probably read the following books to see what happens to the characters...good story so far, if not that science fictiony...

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 3.75 ***

A very light, slice of life cozy sci-fi, life on a trader ship starting with the most entry position of working in the ship cafeteria and starting some personal trading on the side. Very easy and mesmerizing for a story that doesn't really have a plot... Can't even explain what exactly made it as pleasant as I found it to be, but I will definitely continue with the story!

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hell of a surprise here. One of the best SF novels I've read in the last year.

No explosions, no space battles, no heroic characters fighting their way through space. Just ordinary people on a space freighter moving between the systems for trade.

Sounds dull, right. Not in the least!

Ishmael Horatio Wang is suddenly an orphan at eighteen. His mother, a university professor, is killed in a flitter crash with her current boyfriend and the company is suing both estates for damages. About to enter school, all privileges are gone and Ishmael has three months to get off the planet or the company will ship wherever they want and he'll be in debt for passage.

He signs on as a quarter share, unskilled labor, on the freighter Lois McKendrick, a lucky opening that comes up at the right time.

The book is his story, along with friends he makes along the way, as he strives to move up to a half share, or beyond.

Starting life as a series of podcasts here;

www.podiobooks.com

QUARTER SHARE is the first of five to reach book status, the other four complete being prepared now. Mr. Lowell is working on a sixth.

[David Firmage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing really happens, it's just about life on a ship for a normal crew. Logistics, trading, cooking, training etc. Strangely compelling and an easy listen. Nice palate cleanse.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quarter Share tells the story of Ishmael Wang, an eighteen-year-old living on a space station. When his mother dies in a freaky accident (within the first few pages), he finds himself stranded with little money and few options. He signs up to work on the merchant vessel Lois McKendrick as the lowest-ranking crew member (where he will earn a “quarter share” for his efforts). He learns the shipboard routines and takes exams to become qualified for more responsible positions. The plot consists almost entirely of Ishmael's shipboard education, training, work shifts in the galley, and gradual integration into the ship's social structure. There are no battles but there are a few crises. As the first novel in a series, it establishes the characters. Readers get to know Ishmael’s cabinmates, officers, coworkers, and a few other crew members.

This book goes into a granular level of detail about ship’s procedures and the formation of a business venture in the form of a cooperative. Ishmael is a likeable character. He is not a quintessential hero, but he enjoys taking responsibility, doing his work well, and treating people with respect. I think this book will appeal to those who enjoy character-driven or even business-oriented books that emphasize teamwork. It will probably frustrate readers who want lots of action. I found it easy to root for Ishmael and it was fun to watch his personal growth. I will likely read the next book in the series (and I do not generally read too many series).

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you've ever wondered why people insist that plots require conflict you should read THIS book, because its plot has no conflict whatsoever. This is a story about a young man called Ishmael Wang who, with no other options, takes a position aboard a space-going freighter. Will this young landlubber be able to learn the ropes and adapt to space-faring life? Will he be accepted by his tougher, more experienced crew mates? Will he be haunted by his mother's death and the father he never knew? And what dangers does space travel hold?

The answers, as it turns out, are yes, yes, no and none at all. All obstacles are pretty much instantly overcome or turn out never to have existed in the first place. This is a conflict-free story and guess what, it's pretty bland.

A freighter, you will note, is not a war ship and Ishmael's space freighter is involved in no battles. So there's no external conflicts. Our novice spacer gets along well with his crew mates and in fact is lauded and promoted at every turn, so there's no inter-personal conflict either. And because he's as vanilla a Mary Sue as ever graced the pages of a Golden Age sci-fi novel, there's certainly not an ounce of psychological conflict to be found. Ishmael Wang is like Mary Poppins: "practically perfect in every way."

Golden Age sci-fi authors often populated their books with hostile aliens or Nazis with ray-guns. That's still many people's perception of what 'sci-fi' is, although in fact it's far from the norm these days; those books are fifty years behind us. Nevertheless in science fiction, as in other genres, there need to be obstacles for the hero to overcome, be they large or small. While these MIGHT take the form of invading space aliens or meteor strikes, they could also be as simple as a mean boss, a mysterious past or a good-old-fashioned love triangle. Such complications build tension, which in turn draws the reader in and engages them. They make the story exciting!

Here the most exciting events the reader can look forward to are young Ishmael passing his spacer exams or helping the crew setup a trading co-op. Yes, really! There are pages upon pages of mundane discussions over the best way to rent a booth in a flea market so you can sell leather belts you bought on the last planet back (apparently in the future there are still flea markets and people still wear leather belts). We also learn how to clean out a sludge filter and are treated to the meeting of a 'steering committee'. One might argue that such mundane details help ground the story, but thanks to the conflict-free plot endless pages of this stuff is ALL the author has to offer us.

Besides, isn't this The Future? Aren't we in space? One would expect that the 'mundane details' of a future where a simple space freighter can instantly jump hundreds of light years would be inventive and astounding to earth-bound readers. But no such imagination is on display here. The flea markets of the future appear to operate much like those of the present, and coffee pots are cleaned and filled largely the same way they are today. Let the reader beware: if this is the future, it's a future with today's boring realities tacked onto it.

Based on the glowing reviews, I had high hopes for a fun, Heinlein-esque coming-of-age story set in a golden age of space travel. Instead what I got was a snooze-fest where the 'action' often consists of our dynamic protagonist Ishmael figuring out how to brew a better pot of galley coffee. Heinlein wrote a book where moon colonists rebel against the earth and win their freedom by teaming up with a rogue computer and launching high-velocity rocks at their tyrannical masters. Comparisons between books like that and books like this must have poor Heinlein rolling in his grave.

Nathan Lowell shows promise as a writer - his prose style is clean, simple and engaging, and he kept me going through the first half of the book with the expectation that sooner or later SOMETHING would actually happen. But it never did. By the time the 'trading' sub-plot kicked in about half way through I realized with dawning horror that it was never going to. Perhaps the author finally delivers on that promise in the next FIVE books in this series; perhaps he actually learns that a story without any sort of conflict or tension is as dull as a space-galley's dishwater.

But this is one reader who is not engaged enough to stick around and find out.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Podiobooks, when Lowell was doing the podcast novel-in-installments thing people did back in the late naughties. I really enjoyed it and the next couple. I enjoyed it enough that I decided to buy a paperback copy of it when he got it published.

It is pretty much what we’d call an SF cozy. Low stakes, lots and lots of coffee. This is also sort of a coming of age story, I suppose.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I already bought and downloaded Half Share, the second book in the series.

Short, fast paced, light reading. Call the hero Ishmael, really! And his middle name is Horatio. The author had me at the hero's names. I read all the Horatio Hornblower novels as a teenager and loved them to pieces. I have re-read them many times over the years and still think they are among the best adventure novels I have ever read.

This books sticks to the feel of those books (minus the Napoleonic wars) and transplants the seafaring folk into space. But space is only a background setting for the actual plot here -- the life and coming of age of a young man on a ship, how he settles into his new life of duty and faces the challenges he's being confronted with.

The various main characters are charming and vivid, the humour is light hearted and all in all it's a feel-good book that I found hard to put down.

[Spad53 · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nice book. Nobody got killed and massive amounts of coffee were drunk…….on a spaceship of all places. My criterion for proper SF is that it has to have spaceships, thus it passed my test. Talking of tests there was lots of them too, and there’s the drama part sorted. I enjoyed it a lot; quiet books have a place in the world too. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

[Fred Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I finished this well written book the single perception that I had was that of a feel good story. No blood thirsty aliens, no gratuitous violence, no swaggering macho soldiers or warriors, or Earth threatening: just good fun and achievement.

The story revolves around one Ishmael Horatio Wang. Ish, as his friends call him later in the story, has it made. Living on a company world his basic needs are met and with his Mom working at the University he can stick around and get an education, or at least appear to be getting an education, for free.

This well thought out plan, actually it just fell into his lap, comes to a crash when his Mom dies in a flitter accident and the Company gives him 90 days to get a job or get off their planet. With no skills to get a job, and no money he soon finds himself on a cargo star ship which gets him off the planet.

Much like the olden days you start out at the bottom job on the ship and have to work your way up.
The Author Nathan Lowell has a way of writing that makes time just fly by as you are absorbed into his imaginary world. Ish and the people he runs into help propel the story line along at a quick pace and before you know it you’re finished the book.

Which isn’t a bad thing as Lowell has three more waiting for you entitled: Half Share, Full Share, and Double Share. Read the books to understand the significance of the term “Share” and you to will fall in love with this series.

There are two more books planned after Double Share that the author has committed to complete in 2013 and I can’t wait for those to be released.

[Hiu Gregg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot like Becky Chamber's Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but with less aliens, less societal commentary, and more coffee.

Pretty much a very slice of life story about a cinnamon roll young man who works in a spaceship's kitchen and buys and sells things in his spare time. Found family feels and lots of friendships.

Food for the heart, though there are some things some readers may not like: it's a "nothing happens" book due to being so slice-of-life, there's some mild male gaze (more along the lines of the MC finding others attractive than any lecherous stuff), and the MC tends to succeed at lot.

But hell, I enjoyed it. A quick, easy, heartwarming read that's worked amazingly as a slump-buster. Probably a 4-star book, but gets 5 from me here purely due to personal enjoyment.

Edit: I have since read the second book and am now running a mile from this series. Yikes.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up.

I was originally recommended this series last year on Reddit while I was looking for more slice of life sci-fi books like The Long Way to An Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.

I finally got around to it yesterday and while it was good enough for me to finish, I’m not sure I care to continue with the series. Lowell definitely achieves what he set out to in portraying everyday life for normal people on a trading spaceship, evidently I just don’t find that particularly interesting.

The only thing I really had an issue with was the dialog, which I felt was often wooden and generally not very good. I’d say if you’re interested in extremely low-stakes sci-fi, this is worth trying but maybe don’t expect too much from it.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018 re-read: An awesome series. Great reads all. 2020 re-read: Superb characters, and an environment that you'd love to call home.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a great time reading this one. It took me back to my youthful nautical adventures in the US Navy's Supply Corps. The book itself is pure private enterprise, in a sweet coming-of-age story on board a Solar Clipper freighter, where the crew are strongly encouraged to pursue private trading ventures, alongside the ship's large-scale interstellar trading voyages. It's a very low-key story, and draws on the author's long-ago service in the US Coast Guard, as well as his Down East maritime upbringing on the south coast of Maine. For me this was a 4.4 star book, and I'll be reading on in the series. Features nice people and random acts of kindness. Plus space-station flea markets! High marks.

For more details than you may want to know, see carol's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Coffee!

[Debora Geary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed this morning to wake up and discover I wasn't still bunking on the SC Lois McKendrick. I've just finished reading this book for the second time, and it's like slipping on a favorite cozy shirt. I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. Now I just want to join the crew aboard a Solar Clipper. It takes a special author to write a world that gently sucks in this many readers, and makes us yearn to stay. "Nothing happens" in this book. It happens in your heart. On to re-read Half Share, and then join the throng awaiting Full Share.

[Narilka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

Ishmael Wang finds himself at a crossroads in life. Just as he was preparing to start university, Ishmael's mother dies, leaving him in a predicament. Ishmael's mother used to work for the university, which made attending there affordable and provided for their housing. Finding himself about to be evicted from his home and with his credits running low, Ishmael takes the only opportunity he sees available to him - enlisting for two years as a galley helper on a deep space commercial freighter.

Quarter Share is the first book in the series Golden Age of the Solar Clipper by Nathan Lowell. This is a no stakes, slice of life story about Ishmael learning to be a trader while making the best coffee ever for the crew onboard the SC Lois McKendrick. I enjoyed the slice of life aspect to things for the most part and found the story pretty relaxing. It should appeal to those who like there science fiction with a lot less action. For myself, even for low stakes I do need a bit more challenges for the characters to overcome instead of everything seeming to be so easy. Ishmael took on any task with a relatively low effort and it seemed like he breezed through becoming an advanced trader with little difficulty.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Jeffrey Kafer. Kafer's narration worked well with the story, bringing the characters to life as they went about their work onboard the ship. This title is currently available on Audible Plus.

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Initial thoughts: A no stakes, slice of life scifi story about becoming a trader. It was a relaxing listen for the most part though I would've liked a tad more conflict or challenge for our protagonists to overcome. I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this series or not yet.

[Booth Babcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm slightly embarressed to be reading the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series (even the name of the series is painful to write). But they're cheap via the kindle and strangely relaxing. I'm on the 2nd book ("Half Share") - so far the series follows an adolescent boy who is kicked off his homeworld when he reaches legal age and his mother dies, and lacking other options, signs on to a merchant marine type job on a space freighter. The books lack any particular adventures, there are no aliens or antiheroes or death defying feats...instead, they follow the day to day routines on board a ship and the typical minor challenges working folk face on a regular basis. The series is pitched at an adolescent level (think Heinlein's 1950s scifi books), though about half-way through book 2 the plot pitched unexpectedly to the PG-13, so maybe things change as the protagonist matures.

Kind of boring, but almost hypnotic in the way the plot glides unruffled along the daily routines of life aboard a space ship.

[Paulette Jaxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a soft spot in my reader's heart for the first novels in a series. My favorite Harry Potter book is still Sorcerer's Stone, even though I admit the latter books were better written. There's an innocence to first novels and a sense of wonder in the exploration of new worlds that the following books often lack.

And so it is with Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share. In this book -- the first volume of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series -- we first meet Ishmael "Ish" Wang. Like many young men, about to enter college, he has no real idea where his life is going. Until the day his ancient-lit professor mother dies in an tragic accident. Now that would be a life-changing shock for anyone, but then he's quickly informed by the company that owns the whole planet that he can't enter college as planed, his mother left him nothing, he's broke, he can't get a job, and he's about to be deported at his own expense.

His only way off the planet is to join the merchant shipping fleet that regularly sends freighters to the planet. Without knowing what he's about to get himself into (or that he's not even supposed to try), he heads off to the union hall and signs up. Luck, and his own resilient nature, gets him a low paying job in the galley of the Lois McKendrick, and what he doesn't know about working in space is our gateway to Mr. Lowell's wonderfully thought out and expansive universe.

As Ish works his way though the rigors of ship life, he leads us on a guided tour of what the work-a-day life of the common spacer might be like in a few hundred years. Too many science fiction stories focus solely on the heroics of space exploration and military action. That's all well and good, but personally I can never quite imagine myself in those roles. Where are the middle-aged working women of the 24th century?

Well, in this story one of them is the captain of the ship! I love the breadth of characters in Quarter Share. From Ish's best mate, Pip, with all his trading expertise and penchant for for non sequitur remarks, to the almost robot-like first mate, these are people you know; people you've worked with; people you can relate to. Quarter Share is like Working Girl in space and after reading it (or rereading it, as I've done several times) it makes me yearn for a chance to "sign the articles" and ship out on a solar clipper.

This is not the best written of Mr. Lowell's many works, but it will always be my favorite because it introduced me to the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper.

[Kathryn McCary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not shoot-em-up science fiction. No exploding spaceships, no phasers or light-swords, no monsters. The most violent event, apart from the death of the narrator's mother before the book begins, is a mugging, and all characters appear to be direct descendants of Terrans, living spread across the galaxy in a state of profound peace.

This is also not thinky science fiction. No philosophical discursions, no demand that the reader confront distasteful, alarming, or painful ideas. Ishmael (yes, seriously) Wang is forced by circumstance to take a berth on a solar clipper--complete with solar sails and a gravity keel. Ahem. There is no conflict. Ishmael is liked on sight by officers and fellow crew members and takes--as a duck to water--to shipboard life, the onboard community, and the personal trading in which roughly half the crew appears to engage.

Not a bad book. The style is reasonably polished, albeit sprinkled with slightly jarring turn-of-the-twentieth-century jargon (and it could have used a tad more copyediting and proofreading). It's just that. . .nothing much /happens/. A useful book to have around if, in a time of turmoil, one needs a bland and undemanding read. And curiously compelling--I find myself tempted to read on into the series to see if anything ever does happen.