A Thousand Words for Stranger

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Title: A Thousand Words for Stranger
Series: Trade Pact #1, Clan Chronicles #4
Author: Julie Czerneda
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 464
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

A young woman comes to consciousness without her memory but with something inside insisting she get to the spaceport and get off whatever world she is on. After several mishaps, kidnapping by slavers being one, she gets on board Jason Morgan's ship and signs on as a crew. Without show more her memory, Jason chooses the name Sira Morgan for her.

What Sira doesn't know is that The Clan, a race of humanoids with telepathic powers, has contacted and contracted Jason to bring Sira to a particular destination. Morgan has had dealings with the Clan before and even though fully human has some small telepathic power himself. Due to his previous dealings, Morgan doesn't feel it is safe to deliver Sira to anyone, so he keeps an eye on her and reveals what little he knows to Sira.

Sira is captured by a rogue Clan member who wants to marry her, mind wipe her and then impregnate her so his offspring will have her ultrapowerful Clan power. Morgan rescues her and brings Sira's sister and guardian into the picture. They deliver Sira to the Clan Elders and Sira's father reveals that everything was all according to Sira's own plan and that Sira Morgan will die when Sira di Sarc regains her memory. Sira Morgan has fallen in love with Jason and he with her. He comes up with a plan to rescue her but Sira recovers her memories and realizes everything, even her own plans, were a ruse by her father to brainwipe her and use her like an auction piece to gain power for his own House.

Somehow Sira and Morgan escape without alerting any of the Clan that Sira has recovered her memory but not reverted back to Sira di Sarc. She and Morgan are now on the run and just one mis-step away from disaster and annihilation.

My Thoughts:

For some time I was on a real kick with the Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. I had to stop reading them due to some of the moral content but I enjoyed them as they scratched that Jane Austen in Space itch that I had but didn't know I had until I read those books. This book had that exact same vibe. So much so that I went and did a little investigating, thinking that maybe Czerneda had got the idea from the other duo. Turns out this book came out the year BEFORE any of the Liaden books came out (as far as I can tell).

So to set the stage, this IS a romance book. However, unlike that horrible, horrible woman Lindsay Buroker, this is definitely more Austinesque in the romance. It is NOT about beating hearts, or smoldering glances, or tight pants or revealing of various body parts. Nor is it like a Janette Oak book that is nothing but feelings dumped like a hogshead of maple syrup all over the reader. In other words, this is romance that I, the manliest man I happen to know, like. Considing that someone once asked me if it was true that I beat Chuck Norris at Arm Wrestling, I think I'm pretty bleeping manly!

There were times I was a bit frustrated with Sira's memory loss and how she reacted but that was strictly because I had more information than she did. It's always easier to tell somebody what to do when you have more information than them. The other thing that left me a bit confuzzled was just WHAT the Clan actually is. It is never spelled out and little hints are given here and there about their history. Knowing, or not, doesn't affect the story as far as I can tell, just one of those things that I as a reader “want”.

When I started this I was not sure what I was going to get. Thankfully, the book and I hit it off right from the start and I enjoyed my time reading this. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. There is a prequel trilogy, the Clan Chronicles but since they were published AFTER this Trade Pact trilogy I plan on reading everything in publication order.

So remember, Telepathic Jane Austen, In Space and you should be good to go!

★★★★☆ show less

I dived into the audiobook version of "A Thousand Words For Stranger" knowing nothing about it except that I loved the title.

The start took my breathe away. I was dropped into a complex, planet-spanning, multi-species universe where neither I nor the main character knew what was going on other than that she was in danger and had to get off-world fast. I felt the same excitement that I did going to "Star Wars" in 1977 when everything was new and unknown but it felt solid and it moved fast and I really wanted to learn more.

What followed was a romp across strange worlds, including a gigantic shopping mall in space (no, it wasn't called DS9), a swamp city with venomous priests and a city where the buildings had no doors, with the main show more character, Sira being pursued by pirates, Trade Pack Enforcers and members of a telepathic, teleporting race call The Clan.

Sira's memory has been suppressed so she doesn't know who she is or why so many people are after her. She takes refuge with charismatic Captain Morgan, who runs his own spacecraft single-handed and trades across Pact Space.

The relationship between Sira and Captain Morgan is built skillfully and manages to provide the emotional drive of the story as well as being central to the mystery surrounding Sira and her loss of memory.

Some of the secondary characters are beautifully drawn, almost to the point of distracting me. For example, the book opens from the point of view of a Trade Pact Enforcer from an avian species. I loved being inside his head but I didn't get to go there again after the first few chapters.

There was a slight hiatus about eighty per cent through when a major crisis is spectacularly resolved but none of the hinted at but not explained issues around Sira have been dealt with. This made the set-up of the ending a little too dense in content that could have been shared earlier.

These are minor niggles. I spent most of my time cheering for the good guys, hissing at the bad guys and wondering if what I thought I'd figured out would actually turn out to be the explanation (The answer: mostly yes but with a few surprises- I think this is the perfect mix).

After I'd cheered at the end, both because it was a good ending and a great set up for something else interesting to happen next, I looked up Julie E. Czernado and discovered that this idea-packed, well-written, epic SF story was her debut novel and that it was published way back in 1997 (and still stands up).

So the bad news is that, even though I'm an avid Science Fiction fan, I somehow missed out on reading Julie E Czernado until now. The good news is that I have another seventeen novels set in the same universe ahead of me. show less

The first time that I read A Thousand Words for Stranger, I was about middle school age. I was pulled in by the title, as I recall, and I loved the book! This was space opera before I knew what space opera was called, and all that I knew was that I loved it. The world of competing cultures and fantastical alien races gripped me thoroughly. I don't think that I finished the book, which is extremely rare for me (I can count on one hand the number of books that I've began but not finished in my life), but, on this recent second reading of the novel, I found that I eventually crossed a point beyond which I remembered nothing.

I also found that the book read quite differently over twenty years later.

I'll say up front, this is Czerneda's show more debut novel, and debut novels seldom carry the strengths of an author's later works. That disclaimer out of the way, what she does so strongly in this book is to create such a wildly imaginative world (that will be the basis for a series, the rest of which I own but have never gotten around to reading). In these pages you will find creative new aliens, worlds, and cultures, which are painted with prose that, while perhaps not literary genius, certainly has its flashes of brilliance. I had no difficulty soaking in the scenes that were being painted for me here, and, were I to identify a single strength of the author, this would be it.

The alien race with which we become most familiar is the Clan, a race that looks Human, but is a race of reclusive, arrogant, and very powerful telepaths, who consider themselves far above races without telepathic abilities. They look down on the use of technology, seeing it as a tool that inferior races use to place themselves onto somewhat equal footing with more advanced races. This is an interesting theme to develop in a science-fiction novel, that of technology being viewed as inferior to natural, organic abilities. Certainly, it's been done before, but Czerneda explores it well here.

The theme that she is exploring more than any other, though, is the power of choice, the fight to master one's own fate. Sira, our protagonist, wakes on a planet with no recollection of who she is, what she is doing...or of what she is capable. When she discovers the truth, finally won as she fights through webs of deception, she discovers that she has become someone entirely new during the journey, someone that she likes better. Will she be able to push back on the powers that seek to set her destiny for her and choose her own? Well, I'll avoid spoilers, but that should tempt you a bit.

The problem that glared at me reading this as an adult is how Czerneda flirts with a romantic sub-plot (pardon the pun). More than the simple issue that romance is not at all a genre that I read, is the issue that she introduces romantic elements, but never brings them to fruition. Romance is a key conflict for storytelling, but it must be permitted to run it's course once it has been introduced. Czerneda feels timid in writing this element, seeming to toy with the idea and then retreat, all while leaving us with about one hundred too many references to Morgan's blue eyes. Perhaps this was a plot point that she was coerced to emphasize beyond what she wished by an editor? In any case, it feels forced, and was distracting enough to pull me away from the story on many occasions.

When I initially placed this book on my Goodreads shelf, I rated it with five stars based entirely on my childhood recollection. Now, with much maturity between readings, that rating falls by two stars. I think that, if you're interested in reading a story with a very spectacular world, then you should give this a try. I think that the rest of the series will get better, and I hope to make time to read it soon. show less

This is a sci-fi novel (a slight departure for me) with a touch of fantasy. This is a first novel, and once I found time to read it, I enjoyed it.

The majority of the story is told in the first person by a woman who has no memories. The narrative is interspersed with short 'Interludes', told in the third person, about other characters in the story. This device does work, and gives us information that the main character doesn't have; for instance, her real name is Sira, and (though she assumes she is human), she is a humanoid alien, of a species that has psychic abilities which it wishes to continue to keep secret from other species.

While in transit on the planet Auord, Sira is attacked and separated from the rest of her party. With no show more memories before that point, she is rescued by Captain Morgan of the Silver Fox; and so begins an intergalactic chase, as she begins to piece together her past, and tries to understand why so many different factions want her.

I will admit to a few alarm bells (bad romance novel) going off when I discovered the hero had piercing blue eyes, but it turned out alright in the end. I found this book nicely written, with a bit of a mystery as we try to work out the secrets of Sira's past with her. An excellent first novel. show less

Julie's debuet novel that launched her book writing career and the beginning of her Trade Pact Universe series. However, I'm not that taken by the characters or writing here, and probably wouldn't have read anything further. The continual switch between first person for Sira and third for everyone else didn't work well. It was too confusing as Sira, and too many other characters for it to be clear.

Although SIra is clearly the heroine by the end of the book, she doens't start out that way, and ht eopening third is mostly follwoing a couple of police officers as they investigate an unusual brawl on some random world. There are odd excerts of first person view as someone flees the scene. But they can't remember who they are, or what they show more want other than to get away safely to s spaceship.

Julie is a evolutionary biologist by professiona dn this flavours all her writing. In this case she dreamed up a race where the males have to overpower a female, leading to progeny that are increasingly powerful (and eventually a female who can't be overpowered....) It is this superfemale idea that is explored in the novel, but doesn't seem to make any sense to me. In a large enough population there's no reason for one generation of female so be so powerful than no male can succeed. But given a small population (which is trouble in itself) maybe it could happen - always the point of SF!

Other than the switching of voice I between the first and third person the rest of it was well writtne with a suitable drip feeding of ideas and continual twisting of plot to ensure no-one really knows what is going on even beyond the final action scenes - Julie does get better at pacing in her latter books, but this wasn't that bad either.

Readable, but not my favourite by this author. show less

Three and a half stars, rounding up for a positive after-taste. Reminded me somewhat of Andre Norton's Witch World, only with more technologically advanced societies.

I love reading about the bird-person at the beginning, his thoughts on the mission and analyzing the trouble people had reading him due to lack of facial expression. Truly interesting, and it was sad to lose him to the main characters.

The progression of Sira and Morgan's relationship from an infatuated fixation on Sira's part and reluctant compassion on Morgan's to straight up love on both their parts is fun. So is Morgan the human telepath holding his own against Sira's people. The premise of the telepathic breeding was interesting. The settings were well done, from the show more shopping mall planet to the rural isolation of the hideaway. Overall, while mostly predictable, it still was an enjoyable ride. show less

I'm not entirely sure where to go with this book. I picked this up a long time ago (back when I was into Bookcrossing), traded it away and then re-picked it up at my local Indie. Admittedly its the cover that made me interested and I'm a sucker for amnesia trope stories in science fiction.

Largely I liked the cast and I liked Sira and Morgan, but it was not an enthralling read for me. Plus the "Interludes" tended to break things up, distracting me from Sira's current plight (most of the time, occasionally it was Morgan who was the focus of the Interlude, but mainly it was Barac who I had little interest in to be truthful). Sira also, while not unlikable, wasn't the kind of female I liked to read about in scifi books (there was show more nothing...deadly about her. She wasn't very snarky. She spent much of her time sullen or confused). She's kind of watery, a bit bland and sometimes refreshing.

Morgan...rather seemed like a lot of rogue-ish Captains (I'd venture to say he reminded me of Malcolm Reynolds, but Morgan came before Malcolm).

Overall I'm glad enough to have read this, but I wish it was as engaging as her later reads. show less