Quarter Share (Solar Clipper Trader Tales)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Ish ("Call Me Ishmael--No kidding.") Wang is living an uneventful, late adolescent life with his college professor mother on a planet owned and controlled by a single company. Ish's mother dies suddenly in a crash, most of her estate is liquidated to cover damage to the crop field she crashed into, and Ish must leave the planet because he can't afford to live there anymore. You can almost see him shaking his fist angrily at the sky and cursing the author.
Motivated to change his circumstances, Ish signs on to a space freighter for entry-level wages and a "quarter share" of each trip's profit. Ish impresses everyone by studying for all four half-share rating exams at once, motivating one of his less ambitious shipmates, organizing a private trading cooperative, and inventing a new way to use ship sewage to grow mushrooms. He also works out, learns to cook, and is utterly oblivious to several female crewmates' romantic interest in him. Sometimes you want to shake your fist at him angrily.
There isn't much excitement in this story, just the slow, steady progress of Ish and his friends as they learn about the ship, their jobs, and each other. One of them gets mugged and loses some money. They are always worried that their private trading plans--for leather belts and such--won't turn a profit. But things always work out. And they are overly-intimidated by the ship's senior officers, who go out of their way to help and mentor them. The readers see the half-hidden smiles behind the officers' hands that Ish and company apparently fail to understand.
Comparisons to Robert Heinlein's juveniles are obvious and appropriate, particularly to Citizen of the Galaxy and Farmer in the Sky. This book is an enjoyable read if you don't expect too much from it. Yes, it isn't shoot'em up space wars. Neither is it the kind of concept-driven, Big Idea book that is science fiction at its best. It's good SF comfort food. The second course is waiting in Half Share.
Motivated to change his circumstances, Ish signs on to a space freighter for entry-level wages and a "quarter share" of each trip's profit. Ish impresses everyone by studying for all four half-share rating exams at once, motivating one of his less ambitious shipmates, organizing a private trading cooperative, and inventing a new way to use ship sewage to grow mushrooms. He also works out, learns to cook, and is utterly oblivious to several female crewmates' romantic interest in him. Sometimes you want to shake your fist at him angrily.
There isn't much excitement in this story, just the slow, steady progress of Ish and his friends as they learn about the ship, their jobs, and each other. One of them gets mugged and loses some money. They are always worried that their private trading plans--for leather belts and such--won't turn a profit. But things always work out. And they are overly-intimidated by the ship's senior officers, who go out of their way to help and mentor them. The readers see the half-hidden smiles behind the officers' hands that Ish and company apparently fail to understand.
Comparisons to Robert Heinlein's juveniles are obvious and appropriate, particularly to Citizen of the Galaxy and Farmer in the Sky. This book is an enjoyable read if you don't expect too much from it. Yes, it isn't shoot'em up space wars. Neither is it the kind of concept-driven, Big Idea book that is science fiction at its best. It's good SF comfort food. The second course is waiting in Half Share.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This is the first of a wonderful series of books - insightful, joyous, inspirational and somehow at times nailbitingly exciting even though (in a sense) nothing much is happening. We were addicted and had to listen to the rest on podcasts. Shows that great stories in space can be based on the best in people and their respect for their colleagues, not just space wars.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Forgive my pre-emptive 5 stars, but I have the full "Share" series from podiobooks, told by Nathan Lowell himself. Fantastic series.
Just now spotted that his work is available in book form (for Kindle too).
Buying and downloading now. :)
Just now spotted that his work is available in book form (for Kindle too).
Buying and downloading now. :)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Quarter Share
I try to avoid giving 5 stars but this book deserved a special mention, a great tail of merchant star trading with great characterisation.
Published 8 days ago by PJL
Entertaining. Cheap. Recommended.
This is a review of Quarter Share, Half Share and Full Share together because they are really just three sections of a single work, seemlessly going from one to the next. Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. R. Cantrell
Wonderful
Wonderful hardly says it. Excellent hardly describes it.
The story telling is exquisite, the writing is brilliant.
This really is a must read!
The story telling is exquisite, the writing is brilliant.
This really is a must read!
Published 14 months ago by Ned
Watch this space!
Warning! Once you start reading The work of Nathan Lowell you will be hooked. An absolute gem of a book.
Published 16 months ago by Xlnt
Just the Beginning
Anyone who knows the name Nathan Lowell knows that he has been writing quality for years. It is amazing to finally see his stories in print and available outside the USA. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mel 43
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