Trade Pact Universe #1 Thousand Words For A Stranger [Paperback]

There is nothing I love more than telepaths, and the psi-interactions in this book were excellent. It captured the feel of mind speech in such a way that it seemed entirely natural and not a sci-fi creation. It also did well to define it's particular telepathy in a way that didn't overpower the story and the society it developed was most intriguing.

Nothing in this book about the society and such was ever explained in great detail, but this worked extremely well to identify you with the main character who also really didn't understand everything because they couldn't remember their past. It gave you just enough information to give you a basic idea of the structure, and keep you seeking connections, but not enough that anything was predictible or that the character interactions were simple.

The Romance in this book was simple and subtle. Not the overpowers flights of lusts of passion you see in most "romance" books today but more of a sincere and careful relationship that built up throughout the story. In someways a sideline to the plot and in other ways not, but overall very tasteful and well done and very pure. It wasn't physical romance as much as it telepathic romance (mind speech, shared emotions, pair bonds, etc . . . the best kind) which was well portrayed.

Overall this is a great book for any who likes telepaths, mystery, a bit of suspence, and a twinge of romance, all in a distant and uniquely structured world. I can't wait to read the following books.

Alas, the story quickly became tedious and boring. Semi-techno babble about telepathy, two people falling in love (yo!, this should be sci-fi!!), and some mystery surrounding one of the main characters. I was quickly lost as to where all this was going and even had to put it down for a couple of week, because I could not care less what happened next. My advice: pass this one up, it is not worth your effort.

I recently discovered this book was the first in a trilogy...?

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 gradually suspecting that, prior to her amnesia, she may well have been someone she would rather not know about, and wondering if getting back her memories would also mean destroying who she is now and reviving her past persona.

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.