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The 1st Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper...

When Ishmael Wang is orphaned by a flitter crash, he must make some hard decisions about how to survive in a Company-owned universe. With limited time and fewer options, he lands a job as the newest hand on the Solar Clipper Lois McKendrick and learns there's more to life than making coffee. Join Ish, Pip, Big Bad Bev, and the rest of the Lois McKendrick's crew as they sail the galaxy in search of profitable trade.

For more information on the book and the Golden Age, see http://www.durandus.com/golden

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Audio Quality: Out of 167 ratings

Narration Quality: Out of 167 ratings

Writing Quality: Out of 164 ratings

Overall Rating: Out of 166 ratings

By: Nathan
Thanks, Ed. Yea, the ratings WERE more difficult in the service, but that was due, partly, to the competition. In the Trader's Tales, the idea is that you can create a kind of "skills transcript" that lets you take various jobs in a manner that's totally unrealistic. It's a dollup of plotonium, for sure, but I thought it worked out. He's not particularly bright, but he CAN take tests well. That's a comment on educational assessment as much as anything :) Thanks for the long note and I appreciate the feedback.

By: Ed C
I just finished Quarter Share, and I'm now somewhat sad - Sad that its over! I've enjoyed J.C. Hutchins, Scott Sigler, - There are different rides in an amusement park. Some scare the h*ll out of you and are enjoyable for that reason - others are pure, unadultered fun! Auditory Happiness! I only have a couple of gripes. Ratings aren't that easy! Ok, it wasn't for me. Then again, I didn't like the Navy, so I didn't study (much) - just waited to get out....though I confess the Navy saved my sanity and perhaps my life - much as this merchant vessel saved Ish's life - gave him something new - a new family that challenged him in ways that he'd apparently never been challenged before. The only other plotholeum I saw, was where the youngsters thought of so many new things that more senior and seasoned members of the crew hadn't thought of. Then again, I suppose that young people do tend to be catalysts, where more experienced people might choose decorum rather than ingenuity. I guess this is why young people are valued in industry... but I would expect family-sized merchant vessels to be looking for every single way they could to make money (because it couldn't possibly be cheap to run a ship that size). This story - more than any Star Trek story - made me want to live in this universe - and it talks of personal responsibility - more than the characters in ST. In ST, the Captain does what s/he wants, with little apparent regard for the crew. Here, the Captain and XO do seem to take unusual interest in the most junior members of the crew, but they do so in a positive way - and this is slightly explained in who the Captain is: The granddaughter of someone special. Moreover, it is a really small crew, so perhaps the interest isn't so unusual after all. I LOVED this story. I totally enjoyed grinning continuously the entire time I was listening... I liked the sound of the page turning in the background, and the chuckle as Nate read the text - reminded me of simpler days, when my parents read to me. Of course, they didn't have access to nearly as fun a story as this one (and, I'm 42, so this story takes me WAY back). I enjoyed the first person POV also. It is how we experience our lives (we don't see the hidden conversations of others in our daily experience) - so it made it easier for me to 'shadow' or 'hang around with' Ishmael - because I wasn't off hearing someone else's conversations. I listened to it at work whenever I took a break, and startled quite a few people with my (from their perspective) frequent, spontaneous chuckles. I'm sure they were wondering just what the heck I was listening to and grinning about! I found it impossible to not tap my foot during the melodic interludes in between chapters. Good choice! Keep up the outstanding work. I hope that you succeed beyond your wildest dreams, when you started this thing! I can't recall when I've had this much fun - (and as I'm a rather grumpy sort, thats saying something!) Best Regards -

By: Abbie
You're welcome. I gave you the sort of review I'd put on Amazon because you wrote a good book, and it deserved more than a pat on the head. I figured that some of these things were addressed in later books. These are just my impressions from book one. First person is both a powerful and a limited technique. You use it well, but, yeah, it can't see around corners. The thing about all my criticisms is that none of them stopped me from reading. You're always going to have places in a book where a reader is confused or thinks you're being unrealistic or doesn't like what you're saying, but at long as they're not _so_ annoyed that they stop reading, you're good! None of this got anywhere near my put-down-the-book switch. On an unrelated note, I'm listening to Alen Greenspan's _Age of Turbulence_, which is his biography and also a sort of biography of the economy. It's more interesting than I expected. Bet you'd like it. ;)

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