Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I originally "read" Quarter Share, by Nathan Lowell, in the original podiobook format. I, like many of Nathan's fans, are eagerly awaiting the print release of his fantastic story (and the rest of the 'Golden Age of the Solar Clipper' series) so that I (we) can delve into his fantastic story again (and again).
If I can give you my quick and dirty recommendation: GIVE THIS ONE A TRY NOW!
It is a fantastic story that will resonate with you long after you have read the last word. It is a refreshing break from mainstream, "shoot-em-up and save the galaxy in time for dinner" science fiction, showing us the real, human side of our potentially bright future. If you like classic Heinlein (such as the Rolling Stones, Farmer in the Sky, Citizen of the Galaxy), then this one is definitely up your alley.Here's my longer, more detailed recommendation:
Quarter Share is not your typical futuristic sci-fi story. It is not a story based on waring nations or individuals bent on conquest or domination, so it does not easily fit into the mold of what many of us have come to expect from the sci-fi genre. Instead, it breaks the mold by concentrating on the life and experiences of what Nathan refers to as the "common man". Truthfully, as I started listening to this, at first I was very sceptical of this type of sci-fi story for the first couple chapters and was very unsure of where it was going. Then without really realizing it, I was fully immersed in the story and found that I was very interested in where Ish (the main character) was going to end up in his life, or at least where he was going to be by the end of the story... and I couldn't stop listening.
It was a strange transition for me--having come to expect conflict and danger and "bigger than life" for the majority of my sci-fi "hero" characters I normally get into--to suddenly be draw so completely into a story about the simple, average, and often repetitive everyday struggles of a common person. By the end of the story, I was more invested emotionally and more interested in the small victories that these common characters were able to accomplish throughout the story than I honestly expected I'd be... in fact, I find that the characters in this story have resonated and stuck in my mind more than most of the other sci-fi books I have read (and I've read hundreds of sci-fi books over the last 25 years). Don't get me wrong, I love a good action oriented hero story set in the sci-fi genre as much as anyone else... it's just that this one is so unlike those other storytelling methods that I thoroughly enjoyed Nathan's Quarter Share as much, if not more, than those mainstream offerings... just in a very different, more meaningful manner.
The story revolves around Ishmael Wang (pronounced "wong" as in "gong"), known as Ish to his friends and intimates, a young man who is growing up on a corporate-owned planet. After his mother dies in a tragic (fateful) flitter crash, Ish is suddenly thrust into the real world when he is notified that he must vacate the planet (since he is not a company employee), forcing him to make some quick and difficult decisions about his potential future. A young man with no real marketable skills (or so he believes) and no idea where his future lies, Ish lands a job as a low level crew member (with a "quarter share" of the ship's profits) on an interstellar solar clipper called the Lois McKendrick. Ish begins to see a brighter future unfold where once he had little interest or premonition of his future, as he begins to learn the ins and outs of shipboard life. The story conveys the normal trials and tribulations of a young sailor on an interstellar trading vessel as he finds his place in the grand scheme of things and starts planning to have an active role in the development of his future... with potentially very lucrative results.
My overall recommendation is to give this story a try, no matter what your preconceived notions of the sci-fi genre are. Leave your normal sci-fi genre expectations at the airlock and travel a bit with Ish, Cookie, Pip, Big-Bad Bev, Mr. Maxwell, and the rest of the Lois crew as they travel the known trading routes in search of profit. This one is well worth the time! You won't be sorry.
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Quarter Share (Solar Clipper Trader Tales)The Golden Age of Sail has Returned -- in the Year 2352When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system--and NerisCo isn't hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope...to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars. Join the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, a Manchester built clipper as she sets solar sails in search of profit for her company and a crew each entitled to a share equal to their rating.AWARDS AND RECOGNITION 2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Full Share 2008 Podiobooks Founder's Choice Award for Double Share 2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for South Coast 2009 Podiobooks Founder's Choice Award for Captain's Share 2009 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Double Share 6 out of 10 Top Overall Rated podio books (#3 Ravenwood, #4 Quarter Share, #5 Double Share, #6 Captain's Share, #7 Full Share, #10 South Coast) as of May 20105 out of 10 Top Overall Rated by Votes podio books (#2 Double Share, #3 Quarter Share, #4 Full Share, #7 Half Share, #10 Captain's Share) as of May 2010ABOUT THE SERIESTRADER'S TALESQuarter ShareHalf ShareFull ShareDouble ShareCaptain's ShareOwner's Share* SHAMAN'S TALESSouth CoastCape Grace
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