The Family Trade is the first book of Charles Stross' alternate history, science fiction series The Merchant Princes. Nominated for a Locus Award in 2005,, the novel also won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.
The first novel introduces us to journalist Miriam Beckstein, who finds herself in a parallel world in which her extended family holds power.
Miriam's adoptive mother gives her a shoebox filled with items that belonged to Miriam's bi...
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The Family Trade is the first book of Charles Stross' alternate history, science fiction series The Merchant Princes. Nominated for a Locus Award in 2005,, the novel also won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.
The first novel introduces us to journalist Miriam Beckstein, who finds herself in a parallel world in which her extended family holds power.
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...
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