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Review Summaries
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Meisha Merlin, Feb 2004, 25.00, 464 pp.
ISBN 1592220193
He has lived on the spaceship Gobelyn's Market all his life going wherever the trading takes him but he knew at an early age that he was an unwanted child. His mother and ship's captain Iza Gobelyn wanted to abort him and the only reason she did not is because her husband talked her out of it. When the ship goes in to dry dock for repairs, Jethri is told that he has been transferred to another ship.
Since he doesn't want to go on the ship his mother chose for him, he is happy that when he does a favor for Liaden Master trader Norn Ven ‘Deelin, she insists he be an apprentice aboard the Elthorial, He is the first Terran to be apprenticed by a Liaden and he incurs the enmity of those Liadens who feel threatened by him and wish to see him fail. His friends and family, both Terran and Liaden, go to extreme measures to make sure that Jethri is left in peace to trade on behalf of the people who adopted him.
BALANCE OF TRADE takes place in the early days of space trading when Liaden and Terran preferred to ignore the other's existence. The protagonist's innocence and naiveté endears him to his to the audience who hope he gets his heart's desire. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are great world builders; so much so that readers find themselves actually believing the Liaden Universe actually exists.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Scholar
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Overall Review
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Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 10% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Cultural problems, alien culture
Yes
Culture clash-
- feelings of a human growing up among aliens
Family relations
Yes
Intense exploration of society's culture?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a teen
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Spaceship setting:
- really, really giant spaceship/station
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- humans in a futuristic society
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Takes place in spaceship?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue?
- significantly more dialog than descript
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