Acquired Book By: I was chosen to participate in Julie E. Czerneda’s #timeandstarstour on behalf of the seventh volume of The Clan Chronicles ‘This Gulf of Time and Stars’. Ahead of reading that installment, I reached out to the author to sort out a way to read her entire series spilt between two trilogies: a prequel and the inaugural trilogy which launched the series as a whole. She offered to have DAW Books send me the series in paperback editions to help me sort out the hours I would need to read them as I could only use inter-library loan which has a built-in delay from receiving books via your local library.
Thus a book parcel from her publicist at DAW arrived forthwith and gave me the two trilogies ahead of ‘This Gulf of Time and Stars’. I received a complimentary copy of ‘A Thousand Words for Stranger’ 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!
Continuing onward inside 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.
Hidden behind Rift in the Sky was a ‘secret addition’ Stonerim III, of which I felt was a clever surprise for readers as Rift in the Sky was fully complete with it’s own Epilogue and Cast of Characters; a tradition of closure for The Clan Chronicles. Rather than speak about this additional chapter of Clan insight on my last review, I decided it would be best to attach it to my thoughts on behalf of The Trade Pact Universe, as I gathered a deep sense this would become the gateway to A Thousand Words for Stranger and everything that would come from within it.
The presumption of Marcus’s people to believe he had any connection to the results of interference proved how willing his kind were to make leaps of baseless argument. They could only presume to know what happened on Cersi as they were nowhere near the site of what happened; how could they even theorise about something they wouldn’t have the capacity to understand? A numbing realisation that what I gathered about Marcus’s origins had been a bit more accurate than how I would have cast an arrow to marker. They were not as immune to deception as the Om’ray were led to believe nor were they entirely honest in their intentions for excavating Cersi. Marcus was the wisest of his kind, compassionate with fatherly empathy, kind-hearted and trusting; he was a true explorer who left not footprints but heartprints behind where he walked.
When the Om’ray of Sona shifted through time (as teleportation is their most dangerous and powerful Talent), they did not simply leave behind the Cersi ruled by Oud and Tikitik; they left their memories of being on Cersi! A whole new realm opened up before my eyes, as I knew the Trade Pact Universe was going to be completely different from Stratification but how different, I was not quite prepared! This is a ruthless universe banking on bartering and incautious greed. A place where tech is necessary to understand and where seemingly appearing to be human isn’t quite the same as being human. This is where Marcus was from and why his datalock of memories influenced the Sona Clan to travel here is at this time a bit of a wonderment!
A credit to Aryl, Naryn and Enris – they continue to trust their bond to each other and their protective instincts towards their Clan (more than seven hundred strong!). Their survival skills are bar none akin to another as they do what they need to do in the moment of necessity; even if there are after effects of their actions. They are blind to this world’s habits and traditions; they do not even blend by thread or fabric and yet, they chose to come here for re-colonisation. They even chose an otherworld name for their Clan which hints towards their Talent: M’hiray Clan. Their memories stirred inside kinetic reminders of who they once were even if the signals were a bit blurred and out of focus; they felt something of their past.
The shadow which looms over Stonerim III is a shadow-line of our own societies where the pursuit of power and wealth can sometimes overtake the logical sense of reason. Disassociating what is the thin line walked between right and wrong and that little grey area where wrong choices can be most disparaging. True to form, Ms Czerneda has interlaced a larger scope of depth inside her universe; you only have to read within the lines of her stories to see what The Clan Chronicles is truly attempting to teach you.
I was right. This was the beginning of Sira di Sarc.
The great-granddaughter of Aryl.
A Thousand Words for Stranger
Subtitle: 10th Anniversary Edition
Synopsis on the Back Cover:
Ambushed by unknown assailants, cut off from her escort, and on the run with no memory of who she was, what she was doing on the world known as Auord, or why she was driven by a compulsion to find a specific ship and head for an unknown destination, she was forced to accept the help of a space trader named Morgan. Captain Morgan gave her the name Sira and a berth on his spaceship, but there was something about him she could not quite trust, something he was hiding from her.
Yet, sought by the Enforcers of the interstellar Trade Pact, by representatives of the Clan of which Sira herself was a member, and by mysterious pursuer determined to use Sira for his own ends, she had no choice but to ally herself with Morgan - even though each might well prove the other's doom. . . .
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Julie E. Czerneda's debut novel, DAW is releasing A THOUSAND WORDS FOR STRANGER in this special edition, complete with an Introduction by the author, and a bonus story, "Brothers Bound".
Places to find the book:
Borrow from a Public Library
Add to LibraryThing
ISBN: 9780756404581
Series: Trade Pact Universe
Also in this series: Ties of Power, To Trade the Stars
on 4th September 2007
Pages: 444
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)
Available Formats: Hardcover, Paperback and Ebook
About Julie E. Czerneda
Since 1997, Canadian author/editor Julie E. Czerneda has shared her love and curiosity about living things through her science fiction, writing about shapechanging semi-immortals, terraformed worlds, salmon researchers, and the perils of power. Her fourteenth novel from DAW Books was her debut fantasy, A Turn of Light, winner of the 2014 Aurora Award for Best English Novel, and now Book One of her Night`s Edge series.
She began her first fantasy series: Night’s Edge with A Turn of Light, winner of the 2014 Aurora Award for Best English Novel. A Play of Shadow followed, winning the 2015 Aurora. While there’ll be more fantasy, Julie’s back in science fiction to complete her Clan Chronicles series. Reunification #1: This Gulf of Time and Stars, came out in 2015. #2: The Gate to Futures Past released September, 2016. Volume #3: To Guard Against the Dark, follows October 2017.
An award-winning editor as well, Julie’s edited/co-edited sixteen anthologies of SF/F, including the Aurora winning Space Inc. and Under Cover of Darkness. Her most recent anthology is the 2017 Nebula Award Showcase, published May 2017, a singular honour.
Next out will be an anthology of original stories set in her Clan Chronicles series: Tales from Plexis, out in 2018. When not jumping between wonderful blogs, Julie’s at work on something very special: her highly anticipated new Esen novel, Search Image (Fall 2018).
Biography updated November 2017
Photo Credit: Roger Czerneda Photography
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | LibraryThing | Wikipedia | FantasticFiction | Book Website
Read More