The Family Trade- Charles Stross - NEW Book
new paperback
Book 1 of the Merchant Princes
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 a distant relation by name of Roland, who would also like to be free of the Clan's machinations.
Merchant Princes series
The Merchant Princes is a series in which some humans have an ability to travel between parallel Earths, which have differing levels of technology. This series is science fiction, even though it was originally marketed by the publisher as fantasy.
The first three books were collectively nominated for and won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2007.
* The Family Trade
* The Hidden Family
* The Clan Corporate
* The Merchants' War
* The Revolution Business
* The Trade of Queens (scheduled for 2010)
About the Author Charles Stross
In the 1970s and 1980s, Stross published some role-playing game articles for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the White Dwarf magazine. Some of his creatures, such as the death knight, githyanki (borrowed from George R. R. Martin's book, Dying of the Light), githzerai, and slaad (a chaotic race notable for their rigid caste system) were later published in the Fiend Folio monster compendium.
Charles Stross first published short story, "The Boys", appeared in Interzone in 1987. Charles Stross first novel, Singularity Sky was published by Ace Books in 2003 and was nominated for the Hugo Award. A collection of Charles Stross short stories, Toast: And Other Rusted Futures appeared in 2002. Subsequent short stories have been nominated for the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, and other awards. His novella "The Concrete Jungle" (available online) won the Hugo award for its category in 2005. His novel Accelerando (also available online) won the 2006 Locus Award for best science fiction novel, was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the year's best science fiction novel, and was on the final ballot for the Hugo Award in the best novel category. Glasshouse won the 2007 Prometheus Award and was on the final ballot for the Hugo Award in the best novel category. Charles Stross novella Missile Gap (likewise available online) won the 2007 Locus Award for best novella and most recently he was awarded the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award or Skylark at Boskone 2008. In addition to working as a writer of fiction he has worked as a technical author, freelance journalist, programmer, and pharmacist at different times. He holds degrees in Pharmacy and Computer Science.
Rogue Farm, an animated film based on his 2003 short story of the same title, debuted in August 2004. He was one of the Guests of Honour at Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) in March 2008. He is the Author Guest of Honour at the Maryland Regional Science Fiction Convention (Balticon) in May 2009.
The Family Trade- Charles Stross - NEW Book
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