Acquired Book By: I was invited to participate in Julie E. Czerneda’s #futurespasttour wherein I am continuing my readings of The Clan Chronicles where I left off last November. I participated in the #timeandstarstour on behalf of the seventh volume of The Clan Chronicles ‘This Gulf of Time and Stars’. I reached out to the author to sort out a way to read her entire series spilt between two trilogies: Stratification (the prequel) and The Trade Pact (inaugural trilogy) which launched the series as a whole. She offered to have DAW Books send me the series in paperback editions which I was blessed to receive and would have finished reading if I had hadn’t taken ill shortly after I read “A Thousand Words for Stranger”. Due to personal reasons between the end of 2015 and the start of 2016, I was not able to continue my readings until now. I have spent a lot of hours contemplating what ‘comes next’.
This year, I reached out to her publicist at DAW (at the author’s suggestion) to receive “The Gate to Futures Past” to conclude the scope of the series ahead of the final novel. I spoke to Ms Czerneda about completing my readings of her beautifully conceived hard sci-fi series by releasing my reviews of the books in graduated succession during the #futurespasttour; she agreed it would be a great way to celebrate. Therefore, ‘Ties of Power’ kicks off my showcases on Monday, 22nd of August, followed by ‘To Trade the Stars’ on Thursday, 25th August finishing ‘the Trade Pact Universe’ trilogy. I am anchouring the Reunification reviews together on 1st & 2nd of September.
I received a complimentary copy of ‘Ties of Power’ the first novel of original trilogy better known as The Trade Pact Universe. I was not obliged to post a review or share my impressions or opinions on behalf of these stories. I am posting my thoughts for my own edification and to help encourage new readers to meet the characters Czerneda created especially if like me, they are discovering The Clan Chronicles for the first time!
On re-entry into The Clan Chronicles:
As I disclosed on my review of Reap the Wild Wind this is my first reading of the works by Julie E. Czerneda. This is my continuing journey deep into the heart of The Clan Chronicles whilst conversing on Twitter via the tag #whoaretheclan. Occasionally alternating with #TheClanChronicles and #futurespasttour.
As hinted about a moment ago whilst explaining how I came to read The Clan Chronicles – there is a nine month gap between when I last read the series and today. I explained a lot of what was going on at the close of [2015] and the beginning of [2016] many moons ago when I released my post called: Two Years, Two Cats. It seriously took me months to restore the level of joy I had reading and sharing my reading life after those moments where life had started to overwhelm me to the brink where between February and April I was contemplating if I even wanted to continue blogging. Two (epic) migraines in the Spring nearly convinced me to pull the plug, but as this journey of mine has been a walk of faith since it’s conception, I knew in my heart, all would right itself eventually. I simply had had a difficult patch of hours I needed to walk through before the light and joy would return.
Hence why I never truly felt the moment had returnt to where I could dissolve myself back inside the world of the Clan in such a way as to fully attune myself into the narrative arc left behind to discover by Czerneda! Her series has never quite left me either – there is something about this series, as you may have already threaded through my previous reviews and know what I’m going to say – this series becomes a part of you. It transforms how you look at what a hard sci-fi series can give but it’s more than that – these characters are so wholly inherent of their own sentient selves, you find a gateway into their world so instinctively true to who they are and how they live their lives.
It’s been a long journey for me to find favour again with stories and to find myself caught up inside the giddiness of reading a story whose foundation of setting, time and place has been able to fuse into my imagination without any of the woes of the year to inflict a pause of reflection. I’m in a much better mindset now to resume where I’ve left off with the Clan and I am quite excited about re-entering this world on the fringes of the eighth release! Although, part of me is recognising this truly is a sad moment in some regards – there are ONLY nine novels total in The Clan Chronicles! I ought to take stock in handkerchiefs and tissue boxes!
As I start to re-read the ending bits of A Thousand Words for Stranger, ahead of moving into Ties of Power, I am taking a moment to share with you what truly was my turning point in understanding the Trade Pact Universe as I quite literally did leave my heart on Cersi! I felt so entwined with Cersi, when I first read A Thousand Words for Stranger I felt ripped away from Cersi in such a strong way that I grieved it’s loss for nearly the entire length of the novel!
A lightbulb went off in my mind – sometimes when I’m reading a book series, I pick up on subtle differences, little nuances if you will, alerting me there is something not quite as it once were earlier in the sequences. In Chapter 8 I recognised what is missing from the Clan – their emotional reactions! Each time they would telepathically speak to each other, each word, phrase or sentence had a precept of feeling wherein you knew instantly their emotional and mind centre point. Traditionally throughout Stratification the two were adjoined, moving fluidly as if of one thought, one emotion. The Clan in the Trade Pact universe has stepped away from this tradition! That’s why I felt a bit disconnected from them (over and beyond the other reasons!) as they’ve re-identified not with their Clan language and ways, but with ComSpeak! The language of the interstellar travellers of whom they’ve become! They do technically at times share their emotional state but it’s far more reserved. I would not consider them transparent now, as Aryl and Enris would be quite gobsmacked by how vague and cloaked their Clan became in such a short lifespan of time. On the other hand, the Clan views lifespans a bit differently – perhaps it’s too far apart from them to register as a ‘short change’ but rather expelled over too long of a period to bother them?
Sira understands Morgan better than he understands himself which would be easy to do as he’s not a bloke of transparency. Morgan is a bit burnt out and jaded by the choices he’s made as a spacer who works the trades; his ship was his home, a place where he could rule his own destiny. When he had the happenstance meeting with Sira on Auord it set in motion a series of events that would tie the two together. Not surprisingly it also launched them into a duo whose trust for each other would slowly start to drop anchour. Neither one trusted easily, but there are certain things that happen between people who share close quarters; a ship in their world is not any different than a ship in ours. It gives you a measure of space to stay sane but an intimacy that is built on friendship and curiosity.
Oh, my! Morgan’s fate is entwined with Enris or rather, is it the other way round? Time is temporal and this universe asks questions of itself about the order in which things are known or changed. Enris might have come first but Morgan and Sira’s relationship are playing out truth to the nail in line with Aryl’s with Enris. What a beautiful scope of their lineage, Ms Czerneda! Great-grands, yes, indeed share a special connection!
-quoted from my review of A Thousand Words for Stranger
Ties of Power
Subtitle: The Trade Pact Universe #2
Synopsis on the Back Cover:
Self-Exile
became Sira's only choice when she discovered how deeply she'd been betrayed by the leaders of her people. Rather than allow them to continue to use her for their own ruthless purposes, Sira, the most powerful being ever born to the alien race known as the Clan, fled with the human empath, Jason Morgan.
Now, living on a distant world in an environment over which she has control, Sira is striving to carve out a new life for herself. But there are those determined to take from her what she will not willingly give, and when she and Jason fall victim to an unforeseen attack, it sets in motion a series of events which will see Jason searching the starways on a mission of vengeance, and Sira leagued with the Drapsk, a little understood race which is extremely adept at trading. For the Drapsk see in Sira a power which could regain for them something which has long been lost. And they will do anything to protect this woman who is their greatest hope for the future....
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780886778507
Series: Trade Pact Universe
Also in this series: A Thousand Words for Stranger, To Trade the Stars
on 8th October, 1999
Pages: 496
Published By: DAW Books (@DAWBooks)
an imprint of Penguin Group USA
Cover Artist: Luis Royo | Site | Twitter | Facebook
The Clan Chronicles:
- Reap the Wild Wind (Stratification trilogy, No.1)
- Riders of the Storm (Stratification trilogy, No.2)
- Rift in the Sky (Stratification trilogy, No.3)
- A Thousand Words for Stranger (Trade Pact Universe, No.1)
- Ties of Power (Trade Pact Universe, No.2)
- To Trade the Stars (Trade Pact Universe, No.3)
- This Gulf of Time and Stars (Reunification, No.1)
- The Gate to Futures Past (Reunification, No.2)
Available Formats: Hardcover, Paperback and Ebook
Returning inside the final chapter(s) of A Thousand Words for Stranger:
I immediately was drawn backwards in time – series like this do not fully leave your subconscious, so as soon as I read about the M’hir feeling vaguely familiar in an untoward fashion, I remembered where I left Sira all those moons ago in November! This was the hinge-point for me, the place where I had to pull myself out of her story and hope for the day to arrive where I could return; pick up where I had left off and continue until her story concluded. Returning now, I feel as choked on anxiety on her behalf as I did then, for she was not in a place of security; she was as far removed from being in a ‘safe’ place as you could imagine!
Sira had to come to terms with the truth behind her identity and her heritage – inasmuch as who she was when she met Morgan. She had a duality of fates merging into one by the conclusion of the story, one where she wasn’t sure if anyone would fully accept her or embrace how deep the duality of opposites reached. For each self within the two parallels of her own soul had lived separate yet equal lives of the other, but even if she could reconcile the choices she had made, what feared her the most is how could she expect others to do the same?
My Review of Ties of Power:
Never one to reveall all her cards in one hand, Sira takes her cousin Barac off-guard when he discovers her amongst the lower classes in a system far removed from where someone of her parentage would normally surround themselves! I smiled cheekily to myself, as I had a feeling this was only the beginning of where Sira would lay down her next intentional coup of plans to supersede the conspiratorial workings of the Clan against her well-being. They were never one to hold back from choosing to control her and yet, from events in where she showed them her firm resolve in owning her own life, one would think they would get the hint that she was not one to bargain against! Her cousin’s arrival was not surprising; as he’s lost his way without his brother, the double-loss falls to his mother who was not enthralled he too, would be separated from his home.
I liked the turning of the tables – where Morgan could resume giving Sira a bit of fodder to chew rather than allowing her to think she was the only one who could teach him something he did not yet understand. Sira might harness power and understand how to control it (with a certain fragility that keeps her vulnerable to the Clan) but in regards to living her life, she is light years behind him in understanding how to balance her desires with her sense of duty. Sira had generally overridden her personal needs in preference for honouring her commitment to what she deemed was her sole duty to her kin and people. Morgan brings out the humanity her Clan lacks and an internal peace they have not known for a very long time. She is bemused by Morgan’s actions inasmuch as Morgan is working towards keeping Sira off-guard and in wonder of how he instantly knows exactly what to bestow to her as a gift.
The continuity moving through the Trade Pact is as bang-on brilliant as the one I had found in Stratification! You can see the stitchings of how this installment was cast within the previous volume, but so too, how Czerneda has carried forward the counter-measures of Sira’s Clan to act both for her interests and against her at the same time. There are two factions brewing closer to war – a war of mind, power and control, such is the way of the Clan. If they cannot control their source of power and the succession of the channels of where the power is funneling through each new generation, the Clan feels they have failed. Theirs is always a battle to achieve more and stablise the insurrection that began the moment Sira felt she was strong enough to overtake the Clan’s Council. In some ways, I think she could have if she wasn’t knocked down along the way by those who would seek her help only to back-stab her in the end. A curious tenure of moving forward only to feel as if your moving backwards at a pace that is not set by yourself but by those whose intentions are never fully in view of your own mind.
The primitive world Sira has exiled herself on has it’s positives as the forest areas are densely populated by woods and the people who live there are humbled by their respect for outsiders. There she found she could disappear a bit from society and fight to understand her metamorphosis into this stage of Sira’s lifespan that curated itself the most straightedge biting angst against her resolve. Sira no longer trusted her own choices and exile felt the only mode of exit she could use to re-address herself where her guard did not have to heightened to dangers she could only sense were inbound.
Here Sira and Morgan could fall into a semi-relaxed state of enjoying each others company; a luxury they savoured as it had been far too long since they could simply be ‘as one’. Their ease among each other grew, even if Sira kept trying to push Morgan away, he had his own heart set on what his motivations were to keep Sira closer than she felt comfortable. Their love for each other could not have predicted the shattering reality they would awake too, during an unforeseen attack on their adopted village of a kind-hearted tribe who knew more than they let on about their visitors. This was a calculated attack and one that was wrenching in it’s execution. The repercussions were not readily seen as they were put into action by Sira and Morgan who were more joined than the Clan realised; for the Clan had a way of under-appreciating their bond. Your heart is lurching in your own chest as Morgan had to tell Sira about her injuries and what those injuries would mean for her in the long-term. How anyone could act in such a despicable manner is clearly foreseen in the lengths the Clan Council will go to have their prime directives succeed; even if it meant re-writing their own laws.
With Morgan influenced by Sira to seek revenge on her behalf, the two were separated once more through circumstance. Morgan to his credit would have turnt over every distant rock of a planet, sun and moon if it meant restoring Sira’s health. Sira on the other hand went off a bit half-cocked and wound up getting herself into a bit of a pickle with the Drapsk; a species she knew little about and it’s this under assessment on their behalf that was leading her into dangers she could not easily thwart. Meanwhile, her sister Rael re-emerges into Sira’s life at the juxtaposition of where old school Clan meets reformation attempts to restore the old order without the conspiracy of the Council. Yet, Rael is caught up in her own hidden agenda that is making less sense to her with each step she puts forward to accomplish her mission. The ebb and flow of her remorse is so self-evident as she cannot hide her emotional anguish as it reflects itself through her eyes and face whenever she’s too vulnerable to mask her expressions. There are moments like this that make it hard to remember how Rael and Sira are sisters; as they’ve shifted apart due to oppositional allegiances.
I was happily surprised when Morgan re-teamed with his best mate Huido; although for Huido’s sake, I wished it had been a better situation that brought the two back together. Huido is the wise conscience of reason for Morgan, but Morgan is so very tainted by the ire of Sira (who sadly passed her negative energies on to her beloved) Huido’s logic is not getting through to him very well. I had long since felt Huido’s friendship with Morgan is what grounded the Spacer to his humanity; as Huido knew his past far better than anyone else. Including how far Morgan would take things if he felt he was in the right rather the wrong.
Part of the Clan’s main issue is that they had zero tolerance for other species who even had a whisper of an inkling towards inherent gifts similar to their own. They felt they were superior to all others and thus, with that realisation took it upon themselves to ensure their status would never change. In this, they made cardinal errors; they misjudged the strength of others like them and they were too blinded by their own assertions towards truth and justice to recognise they were simply finding further ways to alienate themselves. Not just from other species but from each other; they were breeding distrust and dissension faster than they could staunch the insurrection of their people.
Czerneda has produced such a multi-layered narrative arc of realistic issues facing humanity that you can see parallels between the Clan’s issues and the modern world. You simply have to look through her Futuristic lens to see the cross-comparisons which effectively highlight key difficulties which are universally observable. It’s a credit to her how she’s been able to craft such a finely wrought dramatic arc out of a world that is at best still going through the growth patterns of understanding it’s own destiny. This too could be cross-compared to our own journey of understanding our own projected futures against the living histories of yesteryear. How does one set a course for a future if the lessons of the past are continuing to repeat themselves? The interesting bit here is how she’s given the Clan such hard lessons to embrace and has produced a compelling argument towards the lengths sentient beings have to go in order to understand the principles all species should be willing to accept and adhere towards. Part of that is underscored by why seek to harm and separate good will from the mainstay of their existence?
The Mi’hir:
I am fascinated with each story I read in The Clan Chronicles about the development and re-enhancement of the energy Czerneda has placed at the core of the series: the Mi’hir. Each time you think you understand it’s metrics and components, she adds a bit more to it’s complexity and how it’s role in Clan life has hidden tentacles of revelation. In this setting, the Mi’hir is hiding an ancient truth only a highly gifted Clansman would be able to find, much less seek out to use! This did not surprise me that Sira would find the route her kin were meant to find all along – her mind worked differently than the rest of her kind. She pondered things in ways that they would not understand even if she explained it to them; her perception was altered, thus giving her a bit of an edge in knowledge that was necessary for her to use and understand.
The best way to explain the Mi’hir is that it’s a layered energy vortex, where depending on how you enter it, the more or less can be revealled to others who are exchanging energies within it’s grasp. There are those who blink in and out of it at will; others who dare to last longer inside it’s folds only to risk losing their own minds and yet, others who are purposefully watching the channels within the vortex for routes not readily taken. I consider the Watchers similar to Air Traffic Control – their the ones who know more than even the Council in regards to whose going where and how which route leading to which place is more heavily known by all Clan over the others. For an endless footprint of possibilities, the Mi’hir is both exciting and dangerously addictive.
The Drapsk:
Czerneda has a beautiful gift for embracing species through biological imprinting of their personalities to such an extent that you feel as if their wholly authentic representations of who you would find yourself if you were in Sira’s shoes! The Drapsk are the latest discovery in the Trade Pact, quite the curious sort, too, considering their appearances include feathery antennae, a face without eyes and tentacles that dance in their mouths! They also have the curious aftereffect of curling into tight little balls whenever they feel most anxious or overwhelmed.
A bit short on speech, they communicate in their own unique way involving smell, air vents and curiously another method not disclosed, as they knew instantly Sira was not like others who look like her on the outside. They hinted at the fact they knew she had in her possession a talent that made her individually unique and in these trying times that was enough to put her on extra guard for what she may be indirectly revealling about herself. On the flipside, these curious creatures are very parental in their approach to safeguard her well-being so much so to insist she medically takes the time to properly heal.
In return, they asked so much of her to give them back what they could not find themselves. It wasn’t sure how Sira could aide them or their world; as even the Drapsk were sadly in the dark about their own restoration but it was their belief that one day someone would arrive on their planet with a solution that kept their hope alive. It was in that measure of innocent faith that endeared you to them; even if they were slightly misguided about how they went about resolving their conflicts, to have blind faith in the face of adversity is commendable.
On returning to a beloved series 9 months after I discovered the Clan:
The only direct issue I had resuming my readings is that the font size within Ties of Power is distinctively smaller than the size of font in A Thousand Words for Stranger! This affected me a bit to adjust my eyes, as I was not expecting such a strong reduction of how the words were printed on the pages! I simply dug in deeper and hoped my eyes would re-adjust to the quaint words giving me the next installment of a series I cannot stop thinking about!
I wasn’t quite sure how I would return inside The Clan Chronicles, as being nine months later, I was a bit suspicious I might have trouble re-adjusting! My fears were unfounded, however, as I quickly found out as soon as I began reading Ties of Power I found myself transported straight back into the heart of the tortured and tragic love story of Sira and Morgan. Tortured because they are constantly being torn apart from each other; caught up in the Clan’s struggle for control and their insane approach of cleansing the purity issues of their genetic markers. The Clan strive for purity above all else and they can not be reasoned with for accepting that sometimes like-species can mate together due to how complimentary they are to each other. The concept itself is over their heads as their stubborn nature will not allow them to compromise from their pre-determined goals. This is of itself felt to be their greatest downfall.
I was overwhelmed by how easily it was to transition back inside Sira’s world; to feel as emotionally connected to her plight as I was nine months ago is an incredible blessing! You truly ache for Sira as your caught up in the drama and the adverse journey she had to undertake in order to seek freedom. She’s not quite herself in this installment, as she’s caught between the past and the present, with an eye on the future. She seeks to find a way to make peace with herself even if that means embracing things she cannot change about who she is and what she’s become. It’s such a convicting story-line – your unsure what is more compelling, Sira’s seek for truth or Morgan’s misguided pursuit of redeeming the honour of his beloved.
This book review is courtesy of:
Julie E. Czerneda and DAW Books
As stated on my Twitter Profile:
Knitty Whovian who left her heart on Cersi.
Re-enters #TheClanChronicles before #RRSciFiMonth.
#FuellYourSciFi by what #JorieReads!
I conceptionalised the term ‘Fuell Your Sci Fi’ as a way to re-integrate more science fiction back into my reading life as it’s the genre of choice when it comes to my personal writings inasmuch as one of the first genres that truly had me awestruck as a child! I heart Science Fiction yet I do not feature enough of it on my blog or take enough time to explore it’s worlds as much as I truly should! I tend to get smitten by Historical Fiction! Therefore, if you see #FuellYourSciFi winking on Twitter, you know I’m fuelling my own heart’s curiosity and expanding my horizon with wicked good reads within the sci-fi realms!
I am also exploring personally selected topics in Science through non-fiction releases that warm my sci-fi bookish heart as they parlay into topics & subjects explored regularly in Hard Sci-Fi which is where my addiction thrives in science fiction as I love the creativity of where hard SF authors take us visually within their brilliantly crafted worlds! Of this group, Julie E. Czerneda re-set the standard for me!
Read all posts I’ve been threading through #FuellYourSciFi!
My journey into the heart of The Clan Chronicles began during Sci Fi November 2015.
August is the month all of us get our sci-fi geekery together to set the stage for the next event!
Sci-Fi Month 2016 is a month long event to celebrate science fiction hosted by Rinn Reads and Over the Effing Rainbow. You can join the event here, follow the event on Twitter via the official @SciFiMonth Twitter account, or the hashtag #RRSciFiMonth. Participants already signed into the event this year can be found here!
Bloggers, Authors & Publishers are welcome to become a part of Sci Fi November!
Reader Interactive Question:
What are you seeking out of hard science fiction and what do you love about multi-species narratives that speak to the epic saga of life and living on a world just outside of our own?
If you’ve been reading The Clan Chronicles,
Who are the Clan, to you?
#amreading Hard #SciFi like this is a treat of the imagination! Find out #whoaretheclan! Click To Tweet
Follow my bookish journey:
{subscribe in my blog’s footer}
{SOURCES: Permission to use the book summary for this novel off the back cover was given to me by Ms Czerneda’s publicist who also sent me the book cover for “Ties of Power”; all of which is being used with permission of DAW Books. The author photograph of Julie E. Czerneda and author’s biography were sent to me by the author and used with permission. Tweets embedded due to the codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Ruminations and Impressions Banner, #FuellYourSciFi badge, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge (Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo) and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
<3 @julieczerneda's serial title #TheClanChronicles & reader Q on Twitter w/ #whoaretheclan = spoke volumes on depth & breadth #storycrafter
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) February 21, 2016
@LRWLee Speaking of serials the best world-building I discovered in 2015 was #theclanchronicles by @julieczerneda! Epic <3 was mine! #K8Chat
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) April 29, 2016
@LRWLee The way your talking about your #books reminds of how I experienced #theclanchronicles; thus I think it was the same for her #KChat
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) April 29, 2016
Hallo dear #RRSciFiMonth #readers
<3 #theclanchronicles? Read this s/o by @julieczerneda! https://t.co/uppmqp7fhk— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) July 27, 2016
#futurespasttour starts wicked soon! #TBT where Jorie 1st entered #theclanchronicles https://t.co/uMqH1XjykF #scifi pic.twitter.com/6nNATiVEgg
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) August 18, 2016
.@julieczerneda's #futurespasttour arrived via https://t.co/BuRHQVSryD #whoaretheclan? #SciFi #bookreview @dawbooks pic.twitter.com/nA9ABPUoag
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) August 22, 2016
Julie E. Czerneda’s Editor took a special honour:
Congratulations to the 2016 #HugoAward #BestEditorLong winner – Sheila E. Gilbert! #MAC2 pic.twitter.com/vKozAYInZQ
— MidAmeriCon II (@MidAmeriCon2) August 21, 2016
My happy knows no bounds.
Whooooooooooo
WILDMUPPETARMFLAIL https://t.co/MV7ahQogy4— Julie Czerneda (@julieczerneda) August 21, 2016
Leave a Reply