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Product Description
Review
Praise for the novels of The Merchant Princes
“[These books] are, first and foremost, great fun. Charles Stross’s Merchant Princes novels are economic science fiction worth reading."
--Paul Krugman, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and author of The Great Unraveling
“Politics, intrigue, and striking plot twists make this story a compelling read. The fast-paced and complex interpersonal and political maneuvering will leave readers hard-pressed to put this book down before finding out how it ends.”
--RT BOOKreviews on The Revolution Business
“For sheer inventiveness and energy, this cliffhanger-riddled serial remains difficult to top.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Merchants’ War
“Stross has taken the broad idea with which he began the series…and expended it logically in several initially unexpected directions. The action continues to be compelling, with the author throwing in new surprises every time the reader thinks the story’s about to settle down.”
--Asimov’s Science Fiction on The Merchants’ War
"Twenty-first-century politics and high-fantasy intrigue make remarkably good bedfellows in Stross' Merchant Princes series. . . . The world-building in this series is simply superb, in other words—it is engaging, crystal-clear and disturbingly real….. The Merchants' War is fast-paced and engrossing and will leave readers ravenous for the next installment.”
--SciFi.com
"The Clan Corporate offers more proof, if any were needed, why Charles Stross has become universally acknowledged as one of science fiction's major new talents."
--Mike Resnick
“The Hidden Family is a festival of ideas in action, fast moving and often very funny, but underpinned by a rigorous logical strategy. . . .Stross’s breezy, almost Heinleinian mode of narration is on fine display in The Hidden Family.”
--Locus
“Stross continues to mix high and low tech in amusing and surprising ways. . . .[he] weaves a tale worthy of Robert Ludlum or Dan Brown.”
–Publishers Weekly on The Hidden Family
“Charles Stross brings info-tech philosophy to the world of fantasy. . . .Stories unfold across three worlds that are brought to life with humor-laced action.”
--The Denver Post on The Hidden Family
“With The Family Trade, Stross brings to fantasy the same kind of sly humor and clear-eyed extrapolation that he previously brought to space opera and horror, Miriam’s predicament is presented with great wit and high suspense.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Blending the surreal hip fantasy of Roger Zelazny’s ‘Amber’ series with the modern drama of The Sopranos, Stross’s latest novel features a determined, independent heroine ready to make the best of a whole new life.”
—Library Journal on The Family Trade
Product Description
Things are going badly for the Clan in this SF novel of the Merchant Princes, the immensely popular series by Charles Stross. Locked in a vicious civil war for control over the kingdom of Niejwein, their army is bottled up inside a fortress under siege in two parallel universes at once. Duke Angbard, the Clan’s leader, has been laid low by a stroke: plotters are already conspiring in readiness for the deadly dance to come.
Miriam, rescued from a tight spot in New Britain, finds the hopes of the young, progressive faction focused on her. But do they want her as a leader or a figurehead? She soon finds herself thrown into a desperate struggle for power. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Clan, researchers working for the US government have achieved a technological breakthrough.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Perils of Pauline,
By
This review is from: The Revolution Business: Book Five of the Merchant Princes (Mass Market Paperback)
These books are a fast and fun read; but after a while they get a big repetitious and you get the feeling that they are just padded out to keep the series going.I'd like some resolution, as well as revolution.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.3 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews) 18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit sketchy, a bit ranty,
By Kevin Murphy - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Revolution Business: Book Five of the Merchant Princes (Hardcover)
I really like this series, and have rated the earlier books 4s and 5s, but I gotta say this installment in noticeably weaker than the others.Portions of it seem a bit sketchy and rushed, notably the New Britain segments. We never see the situation building, just one day everything changes. It reads like the author needed to get from here to there to set up for Book 6, but didn't have the spare pages in which to flesh it out. The situation in America seems, well, a rant. The same story could have been told without dragging current-day politics into it -- distracting greatly from the story and alienating some readers. The previous clowns in office were not the only clowns ever to be there, nor will they be the last. Generic officeholders would have done as well or better. That being said, the promised climax to the series in Book 6 ("The Trade of Queens") should be well worth the wait. 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The others were better but I'd still say buy it,
By Stephen Ashley "Author of Walt Disney World w... - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Revolution Business: Book Five of the Merchant Princes (Hardcover)
From my wife Sarah: I really enjoyed the previous books in the series, and almost didn't get this one because of the reviews. I see that Mr. Stross is writing the next book in this series. So because of that, if you liked the previous books in the series, I'd recommend this book (with one condition - see below) despite the fact that it has some problems.To tell you about this book, I need to first mention the previous ones in the series. They were great reads. The characters are well developed, the plot was really captivating, and the story lines moved forward in a way that really pulls the reader into this other reality. They were really entertaining, creative, surprising and interesting. Now about this new edition. All the sections about the New London world put me to sleep. I had to struggle through each one to get to something good. By the end of the book I had no idea why any of it was in there, especially in such detail. It didn't tie into anything! However I suspect it will be revealed in the next book. There were other sections that lulled me, but not as extreme as the New London story. Also, at times the diaglogue and story line were just difficult to follow. There were long conversations that I just didn't get. I had to really read and reread to try to figure out who some of the characters were, and/or what they were talking about. Some things I just never got. This book was really confusing (I'm a college grad with masters level courses, by the way). I did not find the previous books confusing. The left wing politics that several other reviewers have mentioned didn't bother me. I'm pretty conservative and sensitive to that stuff, but didn't find it to be overwhelming. Regardless of the issues with the book, I still enjoyed the story line that revolved around the main character. This book moved the series ahead, and I'm hoping that in the next edition the author goes back to the clarity and great story lines of the previous ones. I'd recommend this book with one condition: If the next book is as good as the others before this one, then this edition would be worth reading just to keep you up to date with the story. It may be smart to wait for the next release. Then see what the reviews look like on the next edition. If they're good, buy this book, and the next one. Or if you're committed to the series, then just buy this one and just read it for the good parts. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing Dark Deeds,
By Mark Bassett "Mark" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Revolution Business: Book Five of the Merchant Princes (Hardcover)
I'm disappointed ...I had hoped for innovative twists in cross-world travel, revelations of the fourth world, a few resolutions, perhaps some thinking out of the mess by our heroine, and if not a happy ending at least something. But there's not much new here. A lot of the book is the trickery of retracing the material of the prior four with some character so the reader is reminded or brought up to speed on the situation, and things on 47 fronts move two inches further ahead, and several villains do dirty deeds while no good news shows up. And at the end the big revelation is that Cheney is evil... Cheney was a lot more interesting in the plot when he was in office, now it seems a bit passe and reaching. Three stars for decent workmanship in writing and hopes that something more interesting than Republicans happens from here on. |
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