- The Family Trade
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The Family Trade Author(s) Charles Stross Cover artist Paul Youll Country United States Language English Series The Merchant Princes Genre(s) Alternate history, Science Fiction Publisher Tor Books Publication date December 2004 Media type Print (Hardcover & Paperback) Pages 303 pp ISBN 0-7653-0929-7 OCLC Number 55044730 Dewey Decimal 813/.6 22 LC Classification PR6119.T79 F36 2004 Followed by The Hidden Family The Family Trade is the first book of Charles Stross' alternate history, science fiction series The Merchant Princes. It placed fifth in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel as well as winning the Sidewise Award for Alternate History a year later (as part of Stross's "Merchant Princes" sequence)[1].
Contents
Plot introduction
The first novel introduces us to journalist Miriam Beckstein, who finds herself in a parallel world in which her extended family holds power.
Plot summary
Miriam's adoptive mother gives her a shoebox filled with items that belonged to Miriam's birth mother, a Jane Doe who died mysteriously when Miriam was only a baby. Among other items, Miriam finds a locket. Inside is a design not unlike a Celtic knot, and when she focuses on it, she is transported to a parallel world that never developed beyond the Dark Ages—except for the men on horses who try to kill her with machine guns.
Miriam quickly finds herself caught up in the feuds of her estranged family, which calls itself the Clan. The Clan has used the genetic ability to travel back and forth between the two worlds to build a lucrative import/export trade. However, one of their main sources of income is transporting drugs into and out of the United States which bothers Miriam for ethical and other reasons.
Miriam finds a kindred soul in Roland, a distant relation who would also like to be free of the Clan's machinations.
Sequels
The second book in the series is The Hidden Family (2005); these two were originally written as one novel. They are followed by The Clan Corporate (2006), the first part of the second story. On June 3, 2006, Stross announced "I just handed in #4 and should be starting on #5 in another couple of months. Nope, it's not a trilogy."[2] The Merchants' War (#4), The Revolution Business (#5, 2009), and The Trade of Queens (#6) were published in 2007, 2009, and 2010 respectively. No other novels are written, but Stross notes on his website that "he's been making notes about ... a future "Merchant Princes" trilogy."[3]
Awards
- Winner - the Sidewise Award for Alternate History {as part of trilogy)[1]
References
- ^ a b Locus Index to SF Awards
- ^ Stross announces more novels in series
- ^ The Charles Stross FAQ, antipope.org (Stross's website), visited 2011/02/10.
External links
- The Family Trade at Worlds Without End
Works by Charles Stross Eschaton series Laundry series The Atrocity Archives (2004) · The Jennifer Morgue (2006) · On Her Majesty's Occult Service (omnibus) (2007) · "Down on the Farm" (2008) · "Overtime" (2009) · The Fuller Memorandum (2010)Merchant Princes series The Family Trade (2004) · The Hidden Family (2005) · The Clan Corporate (2006) · The Merchants' War (2007) · The Revolution Business (2009) · The Trade of Queens (2010)Halting State series Halting State (2007) · Rule 34 (2011)Other fiction Scratch Monkey (1993) · "A Colder War" (2000) · Toast: And Other Rusted Futures (2002) · Accelerando (2005) · Glasshouse (2006) · "Missile Gap" (2007) · Saturn's Children (2008) · Wireless (2009) · "Palimpsest" (2009)Nonfiction The Web Architect's Handbook (1996)Categories:- 2004 novels
- Sidewise Award winners
- Alternate history novels
- Novels by Charles Stross
- 2000s science fiction novels
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