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The Trade of Queens by Charles Stross
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The Trade of Queens

Book Six of the Merchant Princes

$28.34

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Kate Reading
Length 11 hours 58 minutes
Language English
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A dissident faction of the Clan, the alternate universe group of families that has traded covertly with our world for a century or more, have carried nuclear devices between the worlds and exploded them in Washington, DC, killing the President of the United States. Now they will exterminate the rest of the Clan and keep Miriam alive only long enough to bear her child, the heir to the throne of their land in the Gruinmarkt world.

The worst and deepest secret is now revealed: behind the horrifying plot is a faction of the US government itself, preparing for a political takeover in the aftermath of disaster. There is no safe place for Miriam and her Clan except, perhaps, in the third alternate world, New Britain--which has just had a revolution and a nuclear incident of its own.

Charles Stross's Merchant Princes series reaches a spectacular climax in this sixth volume. Praised by Nobel laureate Paul Krugman as "great fun," this is state of the art, cutting edge SF grown out of a fantastic premise.

CHARLES STROSS (he/him) is a full-time science fiction writer and resident of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has won three Hugo Awards for Best Novella, including for the Laundry Files tale “Equoid.” His work has been translated into over twelve languages. His novels include the bestselling Merchant Princes series, the Laundry series (including Locus Award finalist The Dilirium Brief), and several stand-alones including Glasshouse, Accelerando, and Saturn's Children.

Like many writers, Stross has had a variety of careers, occupations, and job-shaped catastrophes, from pharmacist (he quit after the second police stakeout) to first code monkey on the team of a successful dot-com startup (with brilliant timing, he tried to change employers just as the bubble burst) to technical writer and prolific journalist covering the IT industry. Along the way he collected degrees in pharmacy and computer science, making him the world’s first officially qualified cyberpunk writer.

Kate Reading is the recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named by AudioFile magazine as a “Voice of the Century,” as well as the Best Voice in Science Fiction & Fantasy in 2008 and 2009 and Best Voice in Biography & Culture in 2010. She has narrated works by such authors as Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Edith Wharton, and Sophie Kinsella. Reading has performed at numerous theaters in Washington D.C. and received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Aunt Dan and Lemon. AudioFile magazine reports that, "With subtle control of characters and sense of pacing, Kate’s performances are a consistent pleasure."

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Reviews

“[These books] are, first and foremost, great fun.” —Paul Krugman, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Unraveling on the novels of the Merchant Princes

“If imagination is the key to success for a writer, Charles Stross has it in spades.” —The Times (London) on the novels of the Merchant Princes

“Twenty-first-century politics and high-fantasy intrigue make remarkably good bedfellows in Stross' Merchant Princes series. . . . The world-building in this series is simply superb, in other words—it is engaging, crystal-clear and disturbingly real….. The Merchants' War is fast-paced and engrossing and will leave readers ravenous for the next installment.” —SciFi.com on the novels of the Merchant Princes

“Raises the tension several more notches.... The action continues to be compelling, with the author throwing in new surprises every time the reader thinks the story's about to settle down for an easy lope through a world that many writers would consider sufficiently interesting to explore without searching for still more wrinkles.” —Asimov’s Science Fiction on The Merchants’ War

“The Clan Corporate is sure to please Charles Stross's growing body of devoted readers.” —Mike Resnick on the novels of the Merchant Princes

“Charles Stross, whose books burst with pop-science ideas, intrigue, strong characters and even romance, continues his Merchant Princes series . . . . Stross is an energetic writer . . . who creates page-turning reads.” —Bookpage on the novels of the Merchant Princes

“These books are immense fun, a sort of 21st-century version of the solid, thought-out costume sword-and-spaceship fiction that provided the enduring spine of science fiction entertainment .” —Locus on The Hidden Family

“Very successful—perhaps even successful enough to give Roger Zelazny’s Amber and Philip Jose Farmer’s World of Tiers a run for their money. Yes, Stross is that good.” —Analog on The Hidden Family

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