Ratings22
Average rating3.7
Miriam Beckstein has gotten in touch with her roots and they have nearly strangled her. A young, hip, business journalist in Boston, she discovered (in The Family Trade ) that her family comes from an alternate reality, that she is very well-connected, and that her family is a lot too much like the mafia for comfort. In addition, starting with the fact that women are family property and required to breed more family members with the unique talent to walk between worlds, she has tried to remain an outsider and her own woman. And start a profitable business in a third world she has discovered, outside the family reach (recounted in The Hidden Family). She fell in love with a distant relative but he's dead, killed saving her life. There have been murders, betrayals. Now, however, in The Clan Corporate, she may be overreaching. And if she gets caught, death or a fate worse is around the bend. There is for instance the brain-damaged son of the local king who needs a wife. But they'd never make her do that, would they?
Series
6 primary booksThe Merchant Princes is a 6-book series with 6 released primary works first released in 2004 with contributions by Charles Stross.
Series
8 primary booksMerchant Princes Universe is a 8-book series with 8 released primary works first released in 2004 with contributions by Charles Stross.
Reviews with the most likes.
Good book. But, definately not a stand-alone novel. This is the middle volume of the reedited and reissued omnibus editions of Charlie Stross's Merchant Princes stories. (This one combines The Clan Corporate and The Merchants' War.) The Bloodline Feud should be read before The Traders' War and it will be necessary to read The Revolution Trade to finish the story.
What's it all about? Well, there are alternate Earths with histories that differ from our own. And, there are some people, a small related group, that have a genetic mutation that allows them to “walk” between the worlds. This trilogy is the story of their intrigues, conflicts, power struggles, and romances. The story is fast-paced and very entertaining, and I found some of the characters to be quite likeable.
This book was a good installment in the Merchant Princes saga. I liked how Miriam tried to keep her dignity and sense of self even when things look bleak. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Merchants' War.