To Trade the Stars

To Trade the Stars (2002) is the third SF novel in the Trade Pact series, following Ties of Power. In the previous volume, Jarad di Sarc challenged Faitlen di Parth for stealing reproductive tissue from Sira di Sarc and killed him shortly thereafter. Two Board Members invited the Clan to join the Trade Pact. Jarad voted against the motion, but Sira challenged him for the Council seat, proved to be the stronger, and reversed his vote. The Clan is now a member of the Trade Pact and Sira is the Speaker for the Clan Council. In this novel, Sara is now part owner of the Silver Fox and the lover of Jason Morgan. Yet they cannot get any privacy for the interruptions, even in midflight. Other Clan Council members are not comfortable with technology, so they don't call before they drop in for a chat. Nor do the Rugherans. Then Sector Chief Lydis Bowman does call to invite the Morgans for a talk; the Conciliator just happens to be alongside the Silver Fox. One of Bowman's Constables seems to have been brain-wiped, despite her implanted mind-shield. Also, Bowman has received reports that seven ships have landed on Acrannam and left shortly thereafter. Moreover, a human telepath, Naes Fodera, has been murdered on Plexis. Jason is able to help the supposedly brain-wiped Constable. Sira learns that the seven ships have been used to transport fosterlings from Acranam to other planets. Then she travels to Plexis through the M'hir to check on Huido. Huido is having problems at the Claws and Jaws on Plexis. Naes Fodera has shown up at the restaurant . . . in pieces. His only remaining Certified Multi-species Master Chef wants to serve the remains to the customers. Huido finally fires his Chef, but is left without anyone to cook for the restaurant. However, a young member of the Clan and kitchen worker, Ruti, knows the recipes and is capable of doing the work. Huido decides to feed his customers and worry about Multi-species certification later, but Ruti has an unsavory friend: Ren Symon. And then another Carasian shows up. When Sira arrives on Plexis, she sees Symon in the company of a Clan child. Unfortunately, he also notices her and overcomes her before she can react. Then he pops her into a stasis chamber. In this story, Jason pursues Sira, but finds Symon instead. Sira is rescued by the Drapsk, but taken to the homeworld of the Rugherans. Barac rescues Ruti, but finds her to be a Chooser. The story also has a planetary romance. The plot is nicely muddled, but unraveled by the conclusion. Highly recommended for Czerneda fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of mental powers, high adventure and romance. -Arthur W. Jordin

The five stars here are more for the series as a whole than for just this novel, "To Trade the Stars." Yet, this novel is still better than average (I'd give it about 3.5 to 4 stars if it were a stand-alone work), mainly because of the romance between Barac sud Sarc and Ruti. Barac, who's been an important minor character in the first two books ("A Thousand Words for Stranger," "Ties of Power"), really comes into his own, here.And it's because of the fact that he finds love, then is able to act on that love (when he'd believed he was incapable of finding anyone) that makes this book so good. His anguish at finding love, to believing he wouldn't be able to convert (due to the additional psionic complications of being a member of the Clan, and his beloved also being the same), to finding out that yes, indeed, he'd finally found his beloved and *was* going to be able to live the rest of his life with her, was well worth every bit of what I paid for this novel.The rest? Well, the Morgans spend too much time apart, here. Considering Sira has the ability to teleport practically anywhere, Ms. Czerneda had to put her basically into a coma, locked inside her head -- that made sense. But making the Drapsk do it, and then not really explaining why they did it except with the sort of Gallic shrug (as in, "Who knows why they did it? They're aliens!") didn't really cut it with me.I really liked Huido, though, and his colorful asides in the Interludes also helped liven up the book. Still, as I said, if this were a stand alone novel, I'd have given it a lesser rating. And because it _is_ a series novel, I'd definitely not even try to have someone start here; read the previous two books in the series, or you'll be hopelessly lost.

"To Trade the Stars," the third in Julie E. Czerneda's "Trade Pact Universe" series, is as much about love (and looking for it in the wrong and the right places) as it is about resolving all--err, well many--of the plot lines begun in "A Thousand Words for Stranger" and "Ties of Power." And there are all kinds of love here: love of family; love of friends; even love between species. All the characters from the earlier books return: Sira di Sarc, now Speaker for the Clan Council; her "Chosen" Captain Jason Morgan; her schemeing relatives; Huido, the restauranteur; the twisted schemer Ren Symon; and the maddening Drapsk, who still insist that Sira be their "Mystic One." An interesting new clan member, Ruti, is also introduced, and she plays a key role in the proceedings.Again the tale, at least slightly tongue in cheek (Sira is captured by Morgan's enemy and everyone else is zipping along trying to find her), rollicks along in alternating "Chapters" (told in the first person by Sira) and "Interludes," which clue you in to what other characters are doing. Czerneda keeps things moving along to a satisfying, moving finale.While the publisher is billing the book as the end of a trilogy the author does seem to have left the possibility of continuing on (I for one would like to know what's next for Ruti) and I for one hope that she does.Warning: Don't even think about reading this unless you've read the first two books in the series.

In the far distant future, mankind lives on many different worlds all across the known universe. Until recently, The Clan, a humanoid looking xenophobic race with incredible mental powers have hidden themselves in plain sight on the human worlds. Now that Sira is the speaker for the clan council, the clan is a member of the Trade Pact. They fervently hope that working with humanity will be able to save them from extinction.Sira is mated to human Jason Morgan and their mental bond is unique in a universe full of wonders. Jason is a space trader and Sira is part of his crew but when their spaceship needs repairs, Morgan uses his powers as a telepath as payment for getting the ship fixed. Morgan's most deadly enemy captures Sira forcing Jason to hunt for her, a job made much more difficult by a race who has their own plans for his beloved.Space opera fans will love TO TRADE THE STARS, a colorful action packed novel that brings to life many new worlds inhabited by various sentient and colorful species. The protagonists of this work are endearing characters whose love for each other means risking their lives to make sure the other one is safe. Julie E. Czernada ties up all the loose ends in her Trade Pact universe, making this one the top science fiction series of the new millennium.Harriet Klausner