The Hidden Family

A direct continuation of book 1. But rather than merely wrapping up the story that was left hanging, instead we get a third alternate world. And by the Laws of Fantasy, since the first one was medieval, this one must therefore be steampunk, complete with airships, as is commanded. At first it seemed like an unnecessary complication distracting from the main plot, but as the story progresses it makes sense as an essential piece of the puzzle. The conspiracies are eventually at least partially unraveled and culminates in what for Stross counts as a climax, with sufficient threads remaining for sequels.

Stross does a great job debunking the fairytale of princesses in castles as being a desirable state (no indoor plumbing, electricity, show more antibiotics, dismal conditions for peasantry, etc.) but also is aware that just throwing advanced technology at a problem can make it worse unless the infrastructure and democratic social order are in place to support it. The main character's primary quest is therefore a question of how to best introduce technology in a profitable way without overly alienating the power structure that benefits from the current system based on inequality and stagnation. All while being hunted by assassins and chased by police, caring for her elderly mother, and navigating court intrigue. show less

I have to admit that this is probably my least favorite novel by Charles Stross to date. For the first two-thirds of the story one is just waiting for the other shoe to drop, as Miriam Beckstein finds a whole new world to get into trouble in. It's only with the last third of the book that the other shoe drops, but it's a hob-nailed combat boot, as Miriam learns that much more of what she thought was true was wrong, and war is on. At the very least I'll get to the third book rather sooner then a year and a half from now.

Still entertaining but not really rising above the first book and now I'm more concerned about Mirriam's character than ever. She was set up as a strong female lead but too much plot comes to her rather than vice versa.

The hidden family was just not set up in the most convincing way. The secretive meetings felt sketchy. Then they swoop in and... we have to wait for the next book to see how they respond to Mirriam's peace offering? Ugh!

I had a hard time with the lax security oversight when Matthias turns. You mean in a hundred years of Clan backstab-ery, power plays, and extreme-value shipping they haven't instituted proper checks and balances on their security apparatus? Not buying it.

Or that their response to current-world authorities show more getting wind of them wasn't fully scripted, with enough world walkers always on emergency stand-by? Not buying that one either.

Or that they would let Mirriam lead a counter-response (first to walk over)? Nope, give me a break.

I'm still having some difficulty accepting Matthias' belief that he will get away with his actions. He has to wipe out every last world-walker if he'll ever feel safe at ground level again. He's not going to gain any power so it isn't clear to me why he didn't just keep a lower profile and stay in place.

Oh well, Stross' worst is still beats most others' best. I do want to see how she gets out from under the Clan. And if there are more than three worlds (why not?). I'm on to book 3. show less

I don't know what took me so long to get back to this series. As I read it I remembered how much I liked the old style pulp cliffhanger feeling. Sometimes the plot runs a little thin but I really like the characters and all the back stabbing. I am looking forward to the next one.

http://nhw.livejournal.com/499648.html

Enjoyed it. Our heroine from the first book has a business plan, an economic model, three parallel universes to trade between, and a bunch of enemies out to kill her. Some vivid scene-setting, including of the weather; one nice little touch:

"I don't know much about English history, but it's got this civil war in the sixteen forties, goes on and on about some dude called the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. I looked him up in Encarta and yes, he's there, too. I didn't know the English had a civil war, and it gets better: they had a revolution in 1688, too! Did you know that? I sure didn't, and it's not in Encarta -- but I didn't trust it, so I checked Britannica and it's kosher. Okay, so England has show more a lot of history, and it's all in the wrong order."

As the climax loomed and the number of pages left to read dwindled rapidly, I began to wonder if the book would end on a genuine cliff-hanger to encourage us to look out for The Clan Corporate. But in fact enough was resolved - if in a bit of a rush - for the story to come to a satisfactory halt for now.

Charlie does like his feisty women heroes! And does them well. show less

Not as gripping as the first book, but I liked the initial exploration of how money could be made exploiting patents - slightly disappointing that this got overshadowed by the wider plot.

The second book in the Merchant Princes series is even more fast-paced than the first. Stross is not afraid to pull any punches as he teases out the complexities of running a business across multiple dimensions. This book had a few unsurprising revelations and some unpleasant and surprising plot twists. All in all, it makes me want to keep reading the series to find out what perils await Miriam and the Clan next.