Customer Reviews

A Thousand Words for Stranger

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'll admit that when I first read the plot synopsis of this book, I wasn't all that enthusiastic about it. After all, a main character with amnesia who has to discover the secret of who and what they are is a bit of a science fiction cliche by now. However, I decided to read this book anyway, and I'm glad I did.

In many stories of this kind, the poor amnesiac hero or heroine is basically passive, like a football that gets kicked around by the other characters until they reach the resolution of the story. It's hard to sympathize much with a football. But Sira, the protagonist of _A Thousand Words for Stranger_, displays a remarkable amount of courage and decisiveness. She doesn't let the other characters push her around. This not only makes her a more interesting and sympathetic character, it also makes for a few surprises when Sira does something that neither the other characters nor the reader expect. In fact, the plot of the book in the later half is riddled with surprises and twists as we learn more about Sira. So although the book starts a bit slowly, as it progresses it becomes much harder to put down.

The books is also peopled with several different types of aliens, some of which feature prominently in the story, others of which are more in the background. I sometimes found myself wishing that the book would tell me more about some of these alien species, but it's clear from what it does tell that Czerneda has some talent for creating interesting cultures. I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with in her next book.

This is very good scifi. It's not quite Dune or Ringworld, but it is impressive for a first book. Let me start by saying that I am not generally fond of stories that rely on special mental powers (i.e. telepathy) to further the plot, and in this book, such powers are central to the story. However, the author sticks to the idea of writing an ordinary story rather than an apocalyptic description of the ultimate fate of the human race. And her "ordinary" story is pretty good. It keeps the reader guessing as to exactly who is doing what to whom right up to the end, with many twists and turns along the way. Further, her main characters are engaging. You find yourself rooting for Sira, the main character, as she seeks to recover the pieces of her missing past and to understand her relationship to the other principal character, Jason Morgan.

The author seems to subscribe to a "Star Wars" vision of the universe, with multitudes of alien species (sentient and otherwise) and easy transport and communication between habitable planets. This may be unrealistic, but for the purpose of a story, Niven's concept of a gigantic ringworld is the only thing that surpasses it when it comes to providing an endless opportunity for cultural and biological variety. All in all, this is entertaining reading and 4+ stars in my book.

I have quickly become Julie Czerneda's biggest fan. I say this because she has successfully merged my favorite genre (science fiction) and my least favorite genere (romance). THOUSAND WORDS FOR STRANGER is for science fiction writing what BRAM STOKERS DRACULA is for horror film. Those of you out there who understand this connection I will say no more, for those of you who do not understand it, well, let me put it this way, it's erotic but without being sexual. Perhaps it is the voyer in us, uh, me. The relationship between Morgan and Sira is not the reason to read THOUSAND but it is part of what keeps you hooked. The story line is involved and interesting (I don't want to give anything away!) and best of all it is believable! I was wondering how I could have missed her work until I found out it was her first. I am glad I got in at the ground level and am earnestly awaiting her next book!

A Thousand Words for Stranger (1997) is the first novel in the Trade Pact Universe. The Clan are not human, but appear so to others. They are said to be powerful telepaths. While not members of the Trade Pact, some live within Trade Pact space.

In this novel, a Trade Pact enforcer, P'tr wit 'Whix, is following a Clansman and his companion in the Auord shipcity when six assailants attack. The Clansman kills or seriously injures four of the assailants and is holding off the last two when someone interrupts the proceedings with a blast globe. The concussion takes out the other two attackers and renders the Clansman unconscious. Meanwhile, his companion has run away. Then the Port Authority corpsmen arrive and shortly thereafter 'Whix's backup, Constable Terk.

She is lost, alone, and amnesic in a strange shipcity when she finds Jason Morgan, follows him to ask for help, and is given some local currency and sent on her way. Unfortunately, her way is into the hands of labor recruiters -- slavers -- and into their warehouse. They have drugged her, but it wears off early. She tries to escape, only to be quickly caught again by the recruiter captain. She uses the only thing she knows, Morgan's name and ship, to get the captain's attention. He is interested, but first has her sent to be tested for telepathy.

Barac sud Sarc, First Scout, Third Level Adept of the Clan, awakes to find himself in the temporary custody of Pact Enforcers, led by Commander Lydis Bowman. Barac tells the Enforcers as little as possible, but learns that the assailants wore mind-shields, so they knew that Barac is Clan. He is also informed that the Enforcers are investigating the murder of a Clansman, about which Barac already knows, for the murdered man is his brother, Kurr.

This novel is a mixed genre tale, mixing romance and mystery in a SF setting, and the author handles it quite well. This first novel starts off slowly but builds its pace at the end. Moreover, the series per se is first class.

Highly recommended for Czerneda fans and anyone who enjoys SF mysteries with a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Among the many species of the author's "Trade Pact" universe are a race of telepaths, the Clan, who have the ability to know all about each other; but they've managed to create a culture in which, instead, they are strangers to each other. And, as you'll discover, the main reason why this is so is their spiderlike mating ritual.

The book has a romantic hum to it (this is the kind of stuff that probably drew you to science fiction in the first place) and Czerneda will keep you awake reading late at night, as she displays her conflicted Clansters against a multispecies backdrop (Huido the alien restauranteur is a creation fans of Jack Vance and Mike Resnick will salute) that includes, of course, humans.

Czerneda proves herself the master of complex plotlines. Her heroine, the amnesiac telepath Sira (and maybe she's the best telepathic character since James Schmitz's Telzey Amberdon) has a compulsion to hook up with the human trader, who Czerneda has named Captain (Jason) _Morgan_ (yes, Czerneda has quite a sense of humor and doesn't fear to display it), who is himself not without telepathic abilities, in hopes that he can help restore her shattered memories.

Czerneda propels Sira's quest along, often recklessly, but she never drops the reins. The author's technique is clever. What Sira experiences directly she tells us in the first-person narratives, and what she doesn't is told in third-person "interludes" tacked on to the ends of chapters. As the characters drift in and out of Sira's POV, they leave one narrative and pop up in the other. And the telepaths do have a way of popping up!

Julie Czerneda, like Catherine Asaro (of the superb Skolian Empire series), puts the fun back into a genre that's grown more than somewhat cold and antiseptic in recent years. I'm glad she's joined the party.

I was given this novel as a gift. It was certainly an interesting read, and I think most people who like science fiction literature would enjoy it. The ending was very confusing, and I'm still not sure exactly what happened. The ending is the only reason I wouldn't give this book 5 stars, though. Definitely worth the read, and I hope the sequel clears up some questions I have.

Overall this book suffered too much from the main character's amnesia. As has been stated, Sira spent most of her time being pushed from place to place, with little to no control over her situation, or understanding of how or why she might control it. Her amnesia, rather than drawing the reader in, hindered the story's development, leaving the reader with a sense of lurching along like a drunk leaving a bar with no sense of where they might end up, nor a sense of which way to take the next step.

When she finally obtained control, it was much too late in the book. The denoument left me rather disappointed. Sira Morgan had spent the bulk of the book being built up as a shell that would be discarded. When that shell was discarded, the book ended in a single page, with no sense of what had been hinted at all throughout the book.

And all the events, deep and subtle, that led up to the climax were uncovered much too quickly, and then left hanging with the end of the book. It was a neat explanation, but one that was done too quickly to satisfy. Any number of analogies unsuitable for publication here suggest themselves to mind. The reader is left to fill these in with their inagination.

While the book worked on a number of fronts, that is the story was compelling, the cultures described were sufficiently different to cause an interest in seeing more and the characters interesting, the execution itself was rather disjointed and disappointing.

The author certainly seems to have the potential to tell a good story. This is not it though.

I first encountered Czerneda's writing through "IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS". In that respect I have to assume I am swimming against the tide. I knew before reading "A THOUSAND WORDS FOR STRANGER" that she has a great talent for creating a rich background, a believable universe of interesting people. It coloured my reading of this book though: At the end I felt that the plot took a back-seat to the world building and I was left with a strong yearning to read the next trade-pact book. All-in-all, a double-edged sword.

I was off balance from the start of the book. My own mistake for reading so late at night I guess, but the connection between main characters drew me in as somehow not being right. In that respect I was able to sympathize with the more secondary Clan members. Im not sure if that's an artifact of the late night reading or deliberate intent, but Kudos to Czerneda for weaving a story that made it possible.

It's a tried and true plot: connections between aliens, outrage from all around, amnesiac, etc. Czerneda handled matters in a far superior manner to the likes of Lisanne Norman in her "Sholan Alliance" novels though!

Czerneda's first novel is designed rather cleverly. It's written primarily in the first person by Sira, who at the beginning is trying to escape pursuers with no knowledge of who she is, who is chasing her, or why. Sira finds Jason Morgan, an interstellar trader who helps her escape, and they travel in Morgan's ship, trying to stay one step ahead of enemies and learn the secret of Sira's indentity.

As the story proceeds, the main characters inevitably fall in love, although Morgan is human and Sira is a member of the Clan, a mysterious group with human appearance and psychic powers. It is never made clear whether the Clan is descended from humans by some sort of genetic manipulation/breeding program or is entirely distinct, but it is very clear that the Clan regards humans, and the many other sentient species who populate the Trade Pact universe, as roughly equivalent to lice.

An interesting twist is that Sira goes from desperately trying to learn what her real identity is to having deep reservations about learning her own secrets. There are clues suggesting that Sira's earlier personality may have been a very dubious character. Recovering her memories might mean the de facto death of Sira's current identity, yet failing to do so might leave her helpless against the enemies chasing her for reasons she can't understand.

The story and characters are good, the writing somewhat unpolished. At some key points I was unable to understand clearly what was going on. I think Czerneda has the potential to write really terrific SF; this book, although quite good, doesn't fulfill it.

This is the first volume of a trilogy. While it leaves some questions about the Clan open for the sequels, it finishes up its main story lines enough to stand on its own.

Though a wonderful and complete story itself, _A Thousand Words for Stranger_ is also the start of a wonderful series. I've long been an SF fan, but I find SF books on my "to read" table less and less often. For too many writers, it seems, the idea is the story and the characters surrounding the story plod along as required to drag the plot to the writer's climatic conclusion. Yet in _A Thousand Words for Stranger_ Ms Czernada brings a story not only rich in traditional SF themes but also rich in character -- and rich in wonderful characters. The collection of beings that populate this book (and the series) have a wonderful depth. They are driven by emotion as well as intellect, which means they don't always do the smart thing. In other words, they're human -- even the aliens (smile). She has a full array of well thought out alien creatures and civilizations that develop in this series, aliens that not only have species characteristics but individual characteristics as well. That a lot of background development went into these civilizations is obvious in the writing; they work.

All in all, an SF story with a touch of mystery, a touch of detective novel, a touch of romance, a touch of intrigue, touches of humor, and just plain interesting and fun to read. It makes you want more, and luckily that is readily available in the books that follow. I enjoyed the entire series very much.