I think in discussing Quarter and Half Share that I’ve made it empirically clear that I like Nathan Lowell’s Trader’s Tales (what I’ve been calling the “Share Novels”). I did not get the chance to tell you that I had a favorite in the Tales simply because we hadn’t reached it yet. Now we have.

Quarter and Half Share were a pleasant build up for a stellar story. Full Share knocks the earlier novels out of the park. It has a plot, as well as its character driven action, and contains both my favorite sub character (Cassandra Harrison) and line.

A plot you say? Yes, a plot; a simple but obvious one that only assists with the growth and development of Ish. The plot brings about my favorite line, “I have it on authority that they teach sneakiness at the academy” and revolves around Ish keeping his berth on the SC Lois McKendrick. You didn’t think I was going to tell you what the plot details were did you?

The writing seems a touch stronger here, and it may have to do with the fact there is a subtle plot to go along with and force the growth and development of more than one character. I found myself on the edge of my seat a couple of times, which hasn’t happened in a while, anxious to know how something was going to work itself out.

I will admit to what I would call an issue. The very first episode of Full Share has a different resonance in voice and production. There’s an additional, if mild, echo as well. This threw me considering I’d gone from the last episode of Half Share and straight into Full Share. Having heard it a few times it’s not as jarring as it originally was. There are also a few yawned and exhaustedly spoken lines that do jar me for a moment, for plot reasons, but outside of those tiny things, this production is as solid as the others.

Praise and minor criticism aside I can only say that I’m looking forward to Double Share with much eagerness. Nathan also has South Coast, a Shaman’s Tale, that is about the Kruge family and I’ll be turning into that this week and turning in a review for that later this month. I encourage you to check out the Trader’s Tales and hope that you will find them as enjoyable as I have.

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