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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Hounds of Love, July 7, 2002
This review is from: To Trade the Stars (Trade Pact Universe) (Paperback)
"To Trade the Stars," the third in Julie E. Czerneda's "Trade Pact Universe" series, is as much about love (and looking for it in the wrong and the right places) as it is about resolving all--err, well many--of the plot lines begun in "A Thousand Words for Stranger" and "Ties of Power." And there are all kinds of love here: love of family; love of friends; even love between species. All the characters from the earlier books return: Sira di Sarc, now Speaker for the Clan Council; her "Chosen" Captain Jason Morgan; her schemeing relatives; Huido, the restauranteur; the twisted schemer Ren Symon; and the maddening Drapsk, who still insist that Sira be their "Mystic One." An interesting new clan member, Ruti, is also introduced, and she plays a key role in the proceedings. Again the tale, at least slightly tongue in cheek (Sira is captured by Morgan's enemy and everyone else is zipping along trying to find her), rollicks along in alternating "Chapters" (told in the first person by Sira) and "Interludes," which clue you in to what other characters are doing. Czerneda keeps things moving along to a satisfying, moving finale. While the publisher is billing the book as the end of a trilogy the author does seem to have left the possibility of continuing on (I for one would like to know what's next for Ruti) and I for one hope that she does. Warning: Don't even think about reading this unless you've read the first two books in the series.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Planetary Romance?, October 16, 2006
This review is from: To Trade the Stars (Trade Pact Universe) (Paperback)
To Trade the Stars (2002) is the third SF novel in the Trade Pact series, following Ties of Power. In the previous volume, Jarad di Sarc challenged Faitlen di Parth for stealing reproductive tissue from Sira di Sarc and killed him shortly thereafter. Two Board Members invited the Clan to join the Trade Pact. Jarad voted against the motion, but Sira challenged him for the Council seat, proved to be the stronger, and reversed his vote. The Clan is now a member of the Trade Pact and Sira is the Speaker for the Clan Council.
In this novel, Sara is now part owner of the Silver Fox and the lover of Jason Morgan. Yet they cannot get any privacy for the interruptions, even in midflight. Other Clan Council members are not comfortable with technology, so they don't call before they drop in for a chat. Nor do the Rugherans. Then Sector Chief Lydis Bowman does call to invite the Morgans for a talk; the Conciliator just happens to be alongside the Silver Fox.
One of Bowman's Constables seems to have been brain-wiped, despite her implanted mind-shield. Also, Bowman has received reports that seven ships have landed on Acrannam and left shortly thereafter. Moreover, a human telepath, Naes Fodera, has been murdered on Plexis.
Jason is able to help the supposedly brain-wiped Constable. Sira learns that the seven ships have been used to transport fosterlings from Acranam to other planets. Then she travels to Plexis through the M'hir to check on Huido.
Huido is having problems at the Claws and Jaws on Plexis. Naes Fodera has shown up at the restaurant . . . in pieces. His only remaining Certified Multi-species Master Chef wants to serve the remains to the customers. Huido finally fires his Chef, but is left without anyone to cook for the restaurant.
However, a young member of the Clan and kitchen worker, Ruti, knows the recipes and is capable of doing the work. Huido decides to feed his customers and worry about Multi-species certification later, but Ruti has an unsavory friend: Ren Symon. And then another Carasian shows up.
When Sira arrives on Plexis, she sees Symon in the company of a Clan child. Unfortunately, he also notices her and overcomes her before she can react. Then he pops her into a stasis chamber.
In this story, Jason pursues Sira, but finds Symon instead. Sira is rescued by the Drapsk, but taken to the homeworld of the Rugherans. Barac rescues Ruti, but finds her to be a Chooser. The story also has a planetary romance. The plot is nicely muddled, but unraveled by the conclusion.
Highly recommended for Czerneda fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of mental powers, high adventure and romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
But Why Did She End It THAT Way?, September 29, 2002
This review is from: To Trade the Stars (Trade Pact Universe) (Paperback)
This final book in the Trade Pact Universe trilogy picks up three months after Ties of Power. The Clan have signed on to the Trade Pact, but their assimilation is not without its rough spots, and the break-away Clan colony seems to be up to mischief again. The Human telepath, Symon, may also be building up to some sort of power play. On top of all that, a contingent of Drapsk shows up with warnings of a new alien menace. Each of these story lines involves a number of peripheral stories. Events conspire once again to separate the Morgans for most of the book. Sira spends several chapters locked inside her own head, suddenly reliving memories that had remained suppressed even after her previous mind block was removed. Though well written as usual, these passages do little to move the story along. As before, Sira's first-person story alternates with third-person accounts of Morgan and several other key characters. Also as before, all of the characters and locales are well-drawn, the plots creative. There are murders, disappearances, chases, and assorted surprises. Maybe just a little too assorted. It isn't until the final third of To Trade the Stars that the narratives at last organize themselves around a "main" plot that gives some focus to the rest of the book. If anything, the many story lines in Stars are even more sprawling than in Ties, which in turn was more disjointed than Strangers. Variety is the spice of life, but too much spice can overwhelm an otherwise fine dish. This trilogy has all the high-quality ingredients that make up a fine dish, but a little less variety in its story lines would have made it easier to savor their individual flavors and enjoy the blended whole. In the first two books, Czerneda set up several excellent story lines relating to Clan, Human telepaths, or both, all of which deserved better treatment in Stars. Instead, many story lines have been given pat wrap-ups-or have simply been dropped-without ever being fully developed. Czerneda's eventual choice of direction for the last part of the book is inexplicable in view of everything else she had to work with, and ultimately disappointing. Czerneda's ability to create vivid and diverse characters, cultures, and places is by now well-established, as is her skill at braiding together a number of small but intriguing story lines within a single book. There are times, however, when the reader misses a strong, centralized plot to unify the wealth of information and viewpoints she provides so well. The Trade Pact Universe is a fascinating construct, well worth revisiting again and again, as Andre Norton has done in any number of otherwise-unrelated tales set within a common universe. Perhaps in future efforts, Czerneda will take her readers back to fill out those abandoned story lines, preferably with more depth and just a little less scope.
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