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Liked It “At some point during the read it became a far better book than the $3-bin had suggested it would be.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “I did not like it that much” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“At some point during the read it became a far better book than the $3-bin had suggested it would be.”
Sue S wrote this review Wednesday, July 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“ I did not like it that much”
Chantal R wrote this review Monday, July 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I just stumbled on a positive review of this series by Paul Krugman. Who knew he was an SF Fan? He recommends this as both a good read and a good discussion of development economics. It's the first of a long series. If I like it I'll add the rest.
Jerry S wrote this review Tuesday, May 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I've read it now and it's a fast read, but it has a little too much shoot em up for my taste. I like my sci-fi cerebral not action. The heroine is supposed to be a journalist, but she acts like a special forces member”
“I ended up liking this book, though I almost returned it to the library unfinished.
Elisabeth wrote this review Sunday, January 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If you can manage to get through the first one or two chapters the story improves. The initial dialog in what you would call present day, seems to be a little out of Stross's depth, awkward, jargon laden, and just not what I would expect two women to sound like. For a book where the dialogue is the plot mover, its a little disappointing. Once we got into "make believe" it became more believable. I think this will be a good series, as the author admits in the beginning this is very different from his normal writing. It really isn't Science Fiction, its fantasy/ alternate reality, more than anything else. The book has good potential for being a interesting series, here's hoping that book 2 doesn't start as slowly as this one did. ”
“I am enjoying this series. Sure, the writing isn't as lyrical as one might expect in a fantasy novel, and sure, some devices (e.g., magic locket) are a bit too convenient . . . but the plot hinges on business, as opposed to the more usual Politics and Morality. Refreshing.”
Beth Y wrote this review Thursday, December 11 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Pretty good story that manages to blend an almost satiric look at the "dot-bomb" event coupled with an alternative feudal universe. Looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.”
mak52 wrote this review Wednesday, April 30 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Four books to go until 2008 reading begins!
Blondie Reads wrote this review Friday, February 8 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
So here begin my own "Goodbye to 2007" final summaries:
Book 57 of 60: Family Trade (Charles Stross). This is Book 1 of an apparently very popular series called The Merchant Princes. Now, I'm told Charles Stross is revered in some circles for his fantasy know-how, but it seems to me that no one like that could have written the first 75 pages of this book. In short, they are terrible. Anyone else (not stuck on a bus/carrying an extra book to read) would have quit. These pages could be used as a workbook exercise in how to edit. Here are two examples from the worst page--and I'm paraphrasing now, bc I might have intentionally lost the book:
1] ...She was not surprised to find the forest had an edge...
2]... That there was no edge to the forest came as a surprise.
Let me reiterate: this is from the same page. Absolutely embarassing. And then, against all odds, it seems, page 76 begins a gradual turnaround, in which I learn about a medieval-seeming parallel world, in which our protagonist, Miriam, is quite important (and wealthy!!). The wealth is based on a complicated import/export system...and magic.
I am told that hardcore sci-fi readers generally prefer the kind of plot where real-world things could possibly lead to the fictional world of the book. But in the case of fantasy (and this book) it's a magic locket that takes you there.
I agree that this is disappointing. It would have been more clever to take the environmental/earth/fuel concerns going on right now and concoct a story whereby we run out of oil (we are near peak production right now), we stop traveling by plane and car so often because we really can't--we work by candelight and ride horses or bikes everywhere. We store the energy we generate by using the exercise bike and this powers our tv...THIS is the kind of story that I think is more useful.
But it's clear there's going to be a hook-up soon between Miriam and sexy Roland. Good enough to draw me to book 2? Not sure. I need to let the memory of pages 1-75 fade.”“This book has an interesting premise, and potential. However, I did not like the characters, nor the way the author tended to describe things. At one point, I believe he fumbles to describe someone as looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I just didn't have fun.”
gryn wrote this review Thursday, December 20 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Charles Stross is at home in the worlds of SF and Fantasy. More lovable characters, lots of action, but... this isn't a standalone novel, there is no sense of closure at the end of the last chapter. needs to be read back to back with the second book in the series.”
Mrraow wrote this review Wednesday, January 31 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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