Half Share
A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 2
By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
File Size: 763 KB
Print Length: 235 pages
Publisher: Durandus (December 12, 2012)
ASIN: B00AO8QMIW
Genre: Mercantile, Sci Fi, Space Opera
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall, Story 4.5, Narration 5.0
Publisher's Summary
Six months in the Deep Dark. Four different women. One man discovers what it means to be a spacer.
It's a time of change on the Lois McKendrick. Sarah Krugg joins the crew, and Ishmael Wang moves to Environmental. After getting accustomed to life aboard a solar clipper, Ishmael must learn a whole new set of skills, face his own fears and doubts, and try to balance love and loss in the depths of space.
Both Ishmael and Sarah must learn to live by the mantra "trust Lois". For Sarah, there is the hope of escaping a horrifying past. For Ishmael, he must discover what type of man he wants to become and learn his choices have consequences.
Return with the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, and set sail in the next installment of the Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper. All your favorites return: Ish, Pip, Cookie, Brill, Diane, and Big Bad Bev. You might even discover some new friends as you travel among the stars.
©2012 Nathan Lowell (P)2016 Podium Publishing
Review:
Ishmael is looking forward to being transferred to Environmental even though he will miss working with his friends in the kitchen. But he’ll still get to see then in the mess hall. And he already gets along with the crew in Environmental so the transfer should work well. It is Ishmael’s job to greet his replacement and show her the ropes. He is surprised that the woman shows nervousness. Although he senses something wrong, he doesn’t recognize it until Cookie notes that the woman appears to be recovery from abuse.
Ishmael is continuing to work closely with Pip, making successful trading decisions by picking up interesting products to sell at the next space station. The traders and their consortium team are doing well, even finding crafts that they can work on for future sale.
Several of Ishmael’s friends decide he needs to get out to get some relief from restrictions naturally occurring to ‘spacers’ – those out in space for months on end. First three of his female friends help Ishmael on a fun shopping trip to get him dressed in a manner fitting to his personality… assuming he has figured out who he is.
Once Ish is dressed suitably, the ladies take him out to a local bar for a bit of fun. Although one of his friends has set him up for a date, Ish decides to take control of his own situation by approaching a woman of his own choice. The encounter is interesting.
As with the first book, there is not a lot of high action in this book. Once again, I found this surprisingly engaging for a low-key space story. It focuses on the growth of Ismael and other characters. Ishmael is well balanced for a young 18-year-old and it is fun to observe his interactions with the female characters as he controls youthful hormones.
Lowell writes the characters with wonderful personalities that are relatable. As a young man Ismael would be expected to have to deal with his maleness. Lowell deals sensitively and graciously with the situations of abuse and the dating protocols within the spacing communities.
I will be picking up book three, Full Share, further along this year. I recommend this to sci fi fans who are interested in character driven stories.
Audio Notes: Jeffrey Kafer does a remarkable job with the narration. He manages to capture the character nuances presenting the clear personalities that the author has drawn. I like this series in audio and will continue with this format.
Source: 2018 Audible Credit Purchase. This qualifies for 2019TBR, 2019Audiobook and 2019Alphabet goals.
Please see this link to my review of book one, Quarter Share.
