Customer Reviews

The Family Trade (Merchant Princes)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Charles Stross is a relatively new writer who has already developed quite a track record of breathing new life into classic SF themes. In Singularity Sky and Iron Sunrise were stories of interstellar adventure, but set in a post-singularity universe. In the Atrocity Archives he gave us spies vs. Lovecraftian horrors. Now, once again, it is time for something completely different.

The Family Trade is a slim book that is clearly the first of a series (Merchant Princes). Miriam Beckstein is a financial reporter specializing in biotech. She is fired when she stumbles over a money-laundering scheme that her bosses have a stake in, and then discovers that she is the long lost child of a family of Merchant Princes from an alternate earth who have the genetic ability to cross from their medieval alternate earth to ours, and who have built up a financial empire based upon cross-world import/export and smuggling.

The naive character suddenly over her head in an alien culture is a familiar SF theme, and Stross handles it expertly. The Merchant Princes have an essentially medieval attitude toward women, while Miriam is a modern, American, professional woman. The Merchant Princes have a complicated family structure (they are required to marry into the family to maintain expression of the recessive world-walking trait). Miriam must quickly find her balance in the complex family intrigues of the Princes before one of them decides to assassinate her (and assassination is hard to avoid when an assassin can suddenly pop in from an alternate world). But she has one key asset--her knowledge of modern business practices and her skills as an investigative journalist.

Like Stross's other work, "The Family Trade" manages to bring back fond memories of classic stories without seeming at all derivative. In this case, I was beset by fond memories of Zelazny's "Nine Princes in Amber." And like the first book in Zelazny's Amber series, "The Family Trade" is frustratingly slim, ending just as it gets going really good. Nevertheless, while it left me wanting more (and soon; I hope he writes fast), "The Family Trade" is a satisfying read. However, be warned that if you get started on this series, you may well find yourself buying expensive hardcovers because you won't be able to wait for the next one to come out in paperback.

Long ago, when I played a lot of fantasy role playing games (D&D for grownups) we had long discussions about how much one could do with a single magic spell. In a sense, that's what the author has examined here: if you had the single "magic" capability of swapping between two universes in a flash... what could you accomplish that you couldn't do now? What would you bring back and forth, and who would benefit?

It's a great premise, and the author does a good (not blow-me-away-wow but good) job at exploring it. Miriam is a high-tech journalist who loses her job and, on the same day, through a series of mishaps, discovers that staring at her birth mother's locket can bring her to an alternate universe. (It's in the same place as Boston, for instance... just a different history that brought the people there.)

Do be aware that this is the first of a series; the author doesn't wrap up very much at the end, so you may not feel as though the book has closure. Also, the story is heavy on political intrigue, and brings up economic theory; that may be a turn-off or something you appreciate.

While the story isn't perfect -- there were a few places in which I thought the protagonist simply wouldn't DO that -- the book held my interest, and I stayed up late to finish it. It also re-sparked our old discussions about what you could do with this particular single magic spell: would *you* have made the same decisions that Miriam did? that her family did? Any novel that instigates philosophical conversations gets a positive nod.

You have to love a book that starts out with this kind of a bang: "Ten and a half hours before a mounted knight with a machine gun tried to kill her, tech journalist Miriam Beckstein lost her job. Before the day was out, her pink slip would set in train a chain of events that would topple governments, trigger civil wars, and kill thousands."

The trouble starts when Miriam uncovers an enormous money-laundering scheme. When she brings it to the attention of her boss, she's instantly fired. As it turns out, Miriam's now ex-employer's parent company is deep in the action. Miriam visits her ailing adoptive mother, who gives her newspaper articles about Miriam's birth mother --- a "Jane Doe" who was stabbed to death. The murdered woman's baby, Miriam, was adopted. Now Miriam's adoptive mother challenges Miriam to investigate the murder.

Along with the papers, Miriam receives a locket worn by her murdered mother. As she examines it, she sees blue-white lights, smells burning toast, her stomach is upset, the light goes out, and she falls down. When she rises, she is no longer in her home. Instead, she's outside in a forest. As she attempts to orient herself, she spies a most disorienting sight --- armored knights riding horses toward her, and shooting at her. She gazes again at the locket and finds herself near her home.

Miriam decides she must return to the mysterious place. Not only must she satisfy her journalist's curiosity, but she also needs to find the connection that the strange forest may have with her birth mother. After her life is threatened concerning her knowledge of the money-laundering scheme, she suspects that she may someday have to travel to the forest to hide. However, that makes her wonder: if her birth mother could have escaped to the other world, why hadn't she done so to escape her murderer?

As Miriam sleeps in her own bed, she is kidnapped. Her kidnappers wear swords and call Miriam "your highness." The reader discovers what happens when take-charge Miriam finds herself in an unbearable and dangerous situation. Her actions set this series in motion, leaving us anxious for volume two of the series. Can Miriam single-handedly drag her new world out of the middle ages? Can she somehow change the despicable trade her family is engaged in? And, with her life in constant danger, will she survive to accomplish her lofty goals?

THE FAMILY TRADE's characters are endearingly flawed and likeable. The pace is quick, with many unusual twists in the plot, and the story is riveting from the first sentence --- an excellent read! When, oh when, will Book Two be out?

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

"The Family Trade" is the first volume in a new series by Charles Stross called "The Merchant Princes." I would assume this series is going to be a trilogy, but I could not find this stated. In theory, the type of world Stross created would allow for as many volumes as the author can think up stories. There will definitely be a sequel, "The Hidden Family", and the structure of this first book is such that it feels like the beginning of a trilogy.

Miriam Beckstein is an investigative reporter for a technology magazine in Boston. When Paulette, a co-worker and researcher at the magazine brings Miriam an exhaustive stack of research on a story Miriam is working on, what they discover is strong evidence of corruption and money laundering. Bringing it to her editor, Miriam is promptly fired and soon receives death threats. Paulette, for being involved is also fired. The cause has nothing to do with the offense except that the company that owns the building the magazine works in (and possibly the magazine) may be implicated. Miriam goes to her adoptive mother to tell her about being fired and her mother says it is time Miriam knew a little bit more of how she ended up in the care of the family she did. She also gives Miriam a shoe box containing some of her true mother's belongings.

When Miriam gets home she opens the box and discovers a locket. The locket has a strange pattern and when she focuses on the pattern she finds herself in the middle of a forest with no sign of civilization except for a horseman riding towards her holding a machine gun. She focuses back on the locket and returns home. This is the true beginning to the story. As an investigative reporter, Miriam needs to figure this out, to find out what happened or if she is simply going crazy. While going crazy might work for a short story, it would be a pretty poor opening for a fantasy novel if the fantasy world isn't real. It is, of course, and she begins to investigate what this medieval styled world is like and what is all about. She soon learns that she is part of the aristocracy there, but that things are darker and more dangerous than what she expected.

As a long time fantasy reader I think the idea behind this book is fascinating. I want to know how these worlds are connected, why, who and how this was discovered. I want to see further interaction between the worlds as Miriam discovers how this works and what her place is in either world. I even want to know what happens in the next book. I just want someone else to write it.

See, "The Family Trade" is a very interesting concept and Miriam Beckstein is a smart woman who behaves in a much more realistic way than most fantasy characters who get plopped into a strange new world. Most behave as if they know everything or as if they can know nothing. Miriam seems to learn and it makes sense how she figures things out, even if there may be jumps in logic which don't work for me but might work for a reporter. The problem is the writing, especially early on, is just cheap and weak. Here's an example of page four of the paperback and where I almost gave up:

"Back upstairs, fortified by an unfeasibly large mug of coffee, she had to work out what to wear. She dived into her closet and found herself using her teeth to tear the plastic bag off one of the three suits she'd had dry cleaned on Friday --only to discover it was her black formal interview affair, not at all the right thing for a rainy Monday pounding the street--or at least doing telephone interviews from a cubicle in the office"

Bear in mind this is just after Miriam fled downstairs and switched on the coffee percolator. The beginning of the book was all like this and while it did get somewhat better, this was still the same tone that was used throughout the book and it simply downgraded what is, at heart, an interesting story.

In the hands of another author I am sure I would have loved this book and would be excited to read the second volume. As it stands, I didn't and I'm not. I am interested enough in the core story that I'm actually considering it, but I can only hope that the writing style improves somewhat.

The bottom line is that as a first book in a series, this is not a complete story. The pace is fast enough that this is a book that will be finished fairly quickly and the idea is interesting enough that I still do want to know what happens next. The way Stross phrases sentences, ideas, and paragraphs just leaves a little to be desired.

-Joe Sherry

Stross takes a good shot at a world walker premise and gets it right.

The start is a bit rough, some edits would have helped. Not every choice of the author propels the story, but it gets good within the first few chapters.

The protagonist is engaging, the story has lots of meat. It compares favorably to other stories of this kind (Zelazny's 'Amber series' mentioned most often, is superior.)

One star removed for an abrupt, unsatisfying ending forcing reader to the next book. High marks for very consistent quality and strength of execution of premise.

Since others have outlined the plot of this book, I will just say that I enjoyed reading it. However, the author does seem to have a lot of trouble with the various relationships of Miriam's family. First, her mother is her presumed uncle's sister, then his step sister, then possibly a half sister. Roland is variously described as a first cousin to Miriam, then a 2nd cousin, etc. Gets very confusing! Just the same, the concept is fun and Miriam (of course) always gets out of a jam. I still don't know just why, on her first visit to the alternate world, there was a knight in armor shooting at her with an automatic weapon. Forget the strange juxtoposition of that - why was he shooting at her in the first place, instead of trying to capture her and find out who she was and how she arrived on the road he was travelling.

A good, fast book, if you are looking for a fast read.

This series reminds me a great deal of Doris Egan/Jane Emerson's "Gate of Ivory" books. Female heroine finds herself in dire straits in a world she is not familiar with and she has an unknown "magical" power.

This is the first book of the Merchant Clan series and sadly it is the best. Book 2 (The Hidden Family) is nearly as good, but Book 3 (The Clan Corporate) is almost so different that it seems to have been written by another author.

Overall, Stross is a readable writer. I use the term "readable" in many of my reviews because that is the first, and most important, thing that I look for in a book. I've read a ton of books, and I'm tired of forcing myself to trudge through a difficult-to-read book to find out how it ends. So I score highly on whether the book was entertaining and fun to read. Stross is readable in most cases, and that earns him points.

Next, I look for one of two things - a plot that forces me to finish the book because I want to see how it ends, or a character that is so good that I want to find out how things turn out for them.

Stross succeeds in both cases here. I'd give him four stars for the plot and five stars for the character. Miriam/Helge is an interesting character and I found myself enjoying her "take charge" attitude throughout the book. The plot is also interesting, once you get past the rather cliche premise. Without spoiling anything, I will say that you will just have to accept the first part of the book and move on, or you won't enjoy any of it. It is a fantasy genre, and it has a fantastic setup. Once past that, the plot is fairly interesting.

BE FOREWARNED THOUGH, this is NOT a complete book. It ends abruptly with little or no plot resolution. Book two (The Hidden Family) is simply the second half of this book. Buy them both, or you will be frustrated when you come to the end of this book.

I gave this book four stars, and would have given it four and 1/2 if I was able to do so. Overall, it is a very readable and enjoyable piece of fantasy-fiction and worth your time if you enjoy this sort of writing. Stross is a (mostly) solid and readable writer and I recommend most of what he has written to sci-fi and fantasy readers.

Others have probably summarized the plot and the main conceit of this book for you. Let me add that the characers are very much to my taste. And I find the central idea interesting and his depiction of our own society, even though he and I differ greatly about many real-world matters, is excellent. His depiction of the "other side" is imaginative. The dialogue is really well-done.

The book, however, does not end. It doesn't end in a cliff-hanger and it certainly doesn't end in the manner of a stand-alone novel. It just stops. This isn't too terrible as the sequels are available and this can be treated as one long novel, as it should be.

However, the next book in the series will certainly influence my rating for this one. And the subsequent books will also, if I read them. If the next book is really bad, I will demote this one. On the other paw, this may be the beginning of a five-star series.

The author brings an interesting blend of several different genres(fantasy/time travel/multi-dimensional travel) together. Some of the strengths of the story are some characters who make sense in the roles that they are cast and that makes them enjoyable. The biggest weakness is the main character who seems to have left her blue and red superwoman suit in her luggage. The author needs to throttle back on the unending stream of skills and abilities that the main character acquires whenever something happens. It's ok to let the main character flounder and fail a bit in order for her to be realistic.

I look foward to the next iteration to see what he does with the storyline because the first book has done a good job of setting a stage where multiple factions appear to be competing with each other to accomplish the death/nullification of the main character. I hope that the author doesn't continue with the trend of her being superhuman, but let's her accomplish get goals through better collaberation and luck instead of a seemingly unending stash of subject specific expertise and spy/soldier skills that don't make a lot of sense coming from a Med School Student/Journalist.

I like alternate-history and alternate-universe stories, so perhaps I was predisposed to like this book. But I also have recently read a couple of disappointments (you can take a look at my other recent reviews) and it was quite a relief to finally get to a current novel that is well-written, well-plotted, has interesting characters...

Well written. While the information presented above gives you what is nominally the first sentence of the book, that is actually the first sentence of an italicized abstract sort of prologue. The real first sentence of the book is this:
"The sky was the color of a dead laptop display, silver-gray and full of rain." Woo! I like that! The chapter titles are clever, too. While there's bits of foreshadowing, it's not heavy-handed.

While the jacket blurbs compare Stross to Zelazny and H. Beam Piper, I am most reminded of Poul Anderson, perhaps because of the clear Viking/Nordic strain running through this rather medieval world. I would strongly recommend reading some of his old classics, if you aren't already familiar with them. Stross himself acknowledges Zelazny and Piper, but I don't see that much Piper in here, stylistically. More of the references to Piper are in incidental things - the fact that someone crosses the worlds at all, of course, and that the world she goes to is more primitive, but also the frequent references to Pennsylvania (you'll recall that Lord Kalvan was a Pennsylvania State Trooper), and the Sky-Father, Lightning-Child, Crone-Mother religion of this world resembles the figures that the first house Kalvan comes to worships. In other respects, however, there is no strong resemblance - unlike "Gunpowder God," priests and religion are not the major players here.

Since many other reviews have detailed the plot, I'll skip rehashing that, and simply mention a few more of the bits I particularly like:
* the use of the phrase "Human Resources" as rather a dirty word;
* the king who drinks because even he can't stand the family politics, and because he knows he's going to have to marry his son the idiot to some unfortunate girl;
* Miriam brings Brill over to our world, and they get into a taxi:
"The cab moved off. Brill looked around in fascination, then reached down toward her ankles. 'It's *heated!' she said quietly.
"'Of course it's heated,' said the driver in a Pakistani accent. 'You think I let my passengers freeze to death before they pay me?'
"'Excuse my friend,' Miriam told him. 'She's from Russia. Just arrived.'"

Family reading alert: there's a mild bit of sex, in no way intended to replace real plot or characterization - unlike some fantasy and SF books I've read lately, where sex replaces any real romance, covers up all kinds of plot discontinuities, and fills the book out. Perhaps as a result of this lack of unneccesary filler, the book is a little on the thin side, and it ends in the middle of the plot - luckily, the next book is already out. The bit of sex there is might make this a bit racy for younger teens who happen to be invading the adult-level science fiction section, as I was when I was 13, but it's no racier than most paperback romances, and a lot less racy than, say, the current crop of vampire novels, so it probably would be acceptable reading for older teens. And there's a heck of a lot less gore and four-letter language than most graphic novels. So if these things concern you, this book is fairly mild. (Unlike some of Stross's other stuff, which isn't.)

Speaking of which, Stross has several different series running, and they don't all resemble each other that much. If you are expecting the bouncing-off-the-wall pace and skewed humor of Manfred Macx and the group-mind satellite lobsters, the style of this book will be a bit of a shock to you - it's quite different. At first, one might also feel it's slower, because it's not in that superfast, cyberpunk-on-Ritalin style, but in fact, there's quite a bit happening, quite quickly. So don't skip parts - you will miss things you need to know. You might also want to keep an index card handy to start sketching family relationships, because otherwise they could become hard to follow.

In sum: call it alternate-history, although it's a little different; read some classic Piper and Anderson to increase your appreciation of the cultural references and feel like you'll be getting the inside nods to SF readers, and plan on getting hooked on the series.