Quarter Share cover art

Quarter Share

Trader's Tales, Book 1

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Quarter Share

By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
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About this listen

What if we sent freighters instead of frigates?

In a universe run by corporations, where profit matters more than life, how can an orphan with no skills, no money, and no prospects survive?

When Ishmael Wang's mother dies in a senseless accident, he's given a choice: leave the planet on his own, or the company will remove him. To avoid deportation Ishmael finds work as a mess deck attendant on an interstellar freighter.

Find out what Ishmael must do to earn his Quarter Share.

©2016 Nathan Lowell (P)2016 Podium Audio Adventure Fiction Science Fiction Space Opera

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All stars
Most relevant  
Loved this book. Really engaging story. Military feel but with fantastic economics themes. If you ever wanted a little more real world economics in your sci-fi this is the book.

Excellent Sci-fi Trading Story

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This isn't your usual sci-fi with desperate battles and back to back life or death situations. If you like those sorts of stories, you may like this as a change of pace.
This series explores life as crew on an interstellar trading ship where even the crew members get in on the trading action as an expected and even endorsed side hustle, hence the title.
I really would like to justify why I like this but I don't want to spoil the story for you.
This audiobook comes with the first 2 chapters of the second book, Half Share which I also listened to and then had to immediately continue the second book.
If you are a maker of any kind (potter, sewist, leather worker, knitter.....), THIS SERIES IS FOR YOU!
If you're not a maker, I hope you can lose yourself in the story telling as well.

Delightfully and unexpectedly good

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While in search of authors new to me I noticed this one coming up. It’s a rather different approach to science fiction in that it’s really a coming of age story that just happens to be set in the distant future. The futuristic setting provides the framework of the story rather than being the focus. It is a very gentle story, and I found it surprisingly engaging. If you are looking to set your phasers on maximum then you’ll have to set a course elsewhere because this is about a young man making his way in the world or rather galaxy. It is about encountering problems and overcoming them, about making friends and relationships in a new environment. Looking for a direction in life when the one you had always imagined for yourself is ripped away from you unexpectedly.

It’s a warm story and the author clearly has a lot in the way of human empathy. The narration feels right bringing the feel of almost classical fiction to the reader. Personally I like my battles and a good dose of “the engines canna take it” but this story kept me engaged. There is a good amount of detail that has gone into the way that this future universe works and how the trading ships operate which comes through. The characters also have a genuine feel to them.

Even given the premise I have to say I don’t think it’s perfect. I found it a little strange that virtually everyone that Ish, the lead in our story, came directly into contact with was actually genuinely nice. It’s hard to imagine hard-working crews of deep space freighters being quite so friendly across the board. You’d expect at least some kind of harder element to show up. I also have a bit of a beef about the length of the book. Something like an hour of this one is dedicated to a free introduction to the next in the series. Positive is that they are obviously planning to release more of the series for those that will continue with it. Negative, that seems a bit much to me, free previews are nice but some might feel that’s being used to pad this relatively short book into appearing more than it is . . .

That aside, and I’m still not 100% sure why but I enjoyed the maturity from the author of just writing a story set in the future. “The Golden Age” gives a good feeling for the his intentions. So if that appeals this one may well be worth one of your credits. Just put your phaser back in its holster first 

Genuinely Interesting Concept

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This book won't be for everyone because there's no big threat to the hero or a quest that needs a long and arduous journey. Instead this is a fantastic foray into normal people's lives in a futuristic galaxy. The narrator is great and lends gravitas to the mundane setting. But what amazed me was how absorbed I became in the protagonists journey, when it's really just a day by day account of a kid doing a job, meeting new people and starting a small business with them. Really great writing to pull that off I think.

A brilliant understated story

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I guess you have to like stories about people just trading to enjoy this book, but I do and I just found it refreshingly nice to listen to.

Really enjoyed in an odd way.

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Knowing nothing of the author I decided to give this book a go and loved it.
I was looking for a series where combat and world saving was not the focus and I was not disappointed. The story is that of interstellar trading, plain and simple and therefore feels more positive than a lot of books I've read of late. Simply put it's a good story, expertly narrated and I look forward to listening to the rest.

A delightful surprise

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This is an unusual premis for a story. It's about a teenage lad who finds work on a trading clipper and explains to us in minute detail what his jobs are and how they set up a stall to sell stuff on the flea markets at the space stations they visit to make extra cash. Everyone is very nice and the only real remarkable thing about it all is that it's set in space. And in the sci-fi genre that's not even very remarkable.

If a friend was telling you this story down the pub you'd be stifling a yawn and making your excuses pretty quickly.

The book came included with membership but for me at least you couldn't give it away I'm afraid.

Unusual book

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Quarter Share is an odd sort of book, I found it deeply absorbing despite there being relatively little drama. The key to this is the level of detail and the emphasis on character.

Jeffrey Kafer's narration really helps sell this story. It can seem a bit dry at first but it quickly grows on you and after a few chapters you find yourself caught up in the story.

Quirky SF slice of life.

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This is the first of Nathan Lowell's Solar Clipper series. Jeffrey Kafer does a good job.

The story is not complex and avoids unnecessary thrills and spills. Instead it concentrates on Ishmael Wong, an unskilled but likable new crewman aboard a freighter.

The characters are not deep. There is no group dynamics for him to deal with. He just puts his head down and works hard. Which is great.

Unusually there seems to be some sort of exam certification which qualifies spacers for certain roles rather than practical tests. Ishmael works hard to pass said exams.

The story is easy to understand and listen to. There is a small element of Mary Sue, where the protagonist thinks up obvious solutions. But over all the book is entertaining

Well performed easy listen

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fifth time listening. to this book love the series but as the later ones were read by Jeffery I decided to re visit the earlier ones as the original set I listen too was read by the author Nathan Lowell I said it when listened to new series and I'll say it again I'm afraid Jeffery lacks something his pronunciation are off compared to Nathan's and I think the writer knows best

fantastic book

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