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Quarter Share

Trader's Tales, Book 1

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Quarter Share

By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
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What if we sent freighters instead of frigates?

In a universe run by corporations, where profit matters more than life, how can an orphan with no skills, no money, and no prospects survive?

When Ishmael Wang's mother dies in a senseless accident, he's given a choice: leave the planet on his own, or the company will remove him. To avoid deportation Ishmael finds work as a mess deck attendant on an interstellar freighter.

Find out what Ishmael must do to earn his Quarter Share.

©2016 Nathan Lowell (P)2016 Podium Audio Adventure Fiction Science Fiction Space Opera
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While in search of authors new to me I noticed this one coming up. It’s a rather different approach to science fiction in that it’s really a coming of age story that just happens to be set in the distant future. The futuristic setting provides the framework of the story rather than being the focus. It is a very gentle story, and I found it surprisingly engaging. If you are looking to set your phasers on maximum then you’ll have to set a course elsewhere because this is about a young man making his way in the world or rather galaxy. It is about encountering problems and overcoming them, about making friends and relationships in a new environment. Looking for a direction in life when the one you had always imagined for yourself is ripped away from you unexpectedly.

It’s a warm story and the author clearly has a lot in the way of human empathy. The narration feels right bringing the feel of almost classical fiction to the reader. Personally I like my battles and a good dose of “the engines canna take it” but this story kept me engaged. There is a good amount of detail that has gone into the way that this future universe works and how the trading ships operate which comes through. The characters also have a genuine feel to them.

Even given the premise I have to say I don’t think it’s perfect. I found it a little strange that virtually everyone that Ish, the lead in our story, came directly into contact with was actually genuinely nice. It’s hard to imagine hard-working crews of deep space freighters being quite so friendly across the board. You’d expect at least some kind of harder element to show up. I also have a bit of a beef about the length of the book. Something like an hour of this one is dedicated to a free introduction to the next in the series. Positive is that they are obviously planning to release more of the series for those that will continue with it. Negative, that seems a bit much to me, free previews are nice but some might feel that’s being used to pad this relatively short book into appearing more than it is . . .

That aside, and I’m still not 100% sure why but I enjoyed the maturity from the author of just writing a story set in the future. “The Golden Age” gives a good feeling for the his intentions. So if that appeals this one may well be worth one of your credits. Just put your phaser back in its holster first 

Genuinely Interesting Concept

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Something a little different. This is a series with a slow burn. It is not my usual listen and I had anticipated after a short time into the book that I would finish the book and leave it there.

However, not so. It is a story, to put it very simplistically, about housekeeping! It starts of with a young lad, whose mother has died, having to fend for himself, so he signs on as a deck hand, more or less.

The story gradually unfolds and although not full of battles and fighting, it is a gentle tale of what goes on onboard ship within the crew which have become, more or less, like a family.

I am now hooked and about to start the second book.

Not a Bad Start

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Loved this book. Really engaging story. Military feel but with fantastic economics themes. If you ever wanted a little more real world economics in your sci-fi this is the book.

Excellent Sci-fi Trading Story

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A light, fun book; no real plot or conflict, just slice of life in space.
Main character is sympathetic, and gets pretty much everything right, but that didn't bother me; it's a bit of Gary Stu / wish fulfillment, enjoyable to listen to.

Learn all you ever wanted to learn about making coffee, buying and selling belts, and growing mushrooms in space!

It took a chapter or so to to warm up to the narrator, but eventually I really liked him; the way he differentiated between different characters, without using silly voices etc, was great.

Lovely, undemanding story to play in the background, when you can't pay full attention, or want something that is not too heavy.

No worries in the deep dark

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Trading on the high seas in a galaxy far, far away. No, not Star Wars. Not Star Trek either. This is about trading between Star systems using solar winds, hence the nautical references. This is an adrenaline-free book describing growing maturity, of the main character and is very engaging, despite a lot of "niceness" as described by other reviewers. The world building is logical and plausible, as in the best sci fi books.
I came across Nathan Lowell's own narration in podcast form years ago and fell for his gentle tales and wonderful narration. Not all authors are good narrators of their own works but Nathan's is better than the narrator chosen here. Yes, this is the start of a series, which progresses very satisfactorily, and although there isn't a lot of trauma in this book, things do warm up in further books, and by then we are invested in our hero! Despite my preference in narrator, I highly recommend this book as an undemanding yet engaging read I'm sure you'll enjoy.

The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper

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