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Julie E. Czerneda

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A Thousand Words for Stranger: 10th Anniversary Edition (Trade Pact Universe Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Julie E. Czerneda (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 163 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Trade Pact Universe

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The tenth anniversary edition of Julie Czerneda's debut science fiction novel, the story of a woman on the run, from the law, her own people, and an unknown pursuer. Her memory taken from her by a stasis block, Sira must stay free long enough to regain her identity and the full use of her telepathic powers-for failure may cost not only her own future but that of her entire race.

Editorial Reviews

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Former biologist Julie Czerneda's science fiction has received international acclaim, awards, and best selling status. Her first novel, A Thousand Words for Stranger, was published in 1997 by DAW Books, starting her Trade Pact Trilogy. Her second novel, Aurora Award Finalist Beholder's Eye, was published by DAW in 1998, becoming the first in her Web Shifters series. In the Company of Others, a standalone sf novel published in 2001, was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished Science Fiction and winner of the Canadian Prix Aurora Award and RT Reviewer's Choice Award. Her newest novel, Migration, published in May 2005, is the second novel in her Species Imperative trilogy. Julie is the editor of the Tales from the Wonder Zone anthology from Fitzhenry and Whiteside, and of the DAW anthology: Space Inc. DAW has purchased two new science fiction novels from Julie, a duology entitled Reunification, to be published after her two prequels to The Trade Pact Universe, entitled The Stratification: Books I & 2 and the final volume of the Species Imperative trilogy.

About the Author

Julie E. Czerneda is a biologist and writer whose science fiction has received international acclaim, awards, and best-selling status. She is the author of the popular "Species Imperative" trilogy, the "Web Shifters" series, the "Trade Pact Universe" trilogy and her new "Stratification" novels. She was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her stand-alone novel, In the Company of Others, won Canada's Prix Aurora Award and was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished SF. Julie lives with her husband and two children in the lake country of central Ontario, under skies so clear they could take seeing the Milky Way for granted, but never do. You can find her at www.czerneda.com.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001JK9C72
Publisher ‏ : ‎ DAW; Reissue edition (September 4, 2007)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 4, 2007
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1311 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 487 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #455,084 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,279 in Time Travel Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #3,283 in First Contact Science Fiction eBooks
- #3,341 in War & Military Action Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 163 ratings

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Julie E. Czerneda

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A love of reading turned into a love of writing for Julie E. Czerneda. A former biologist, then writer and editor of non-fiction, in 1997 DAW Books published Julie's first sf novel, "A Thousand Words for Stranger" and she hasn't stopped since. Her work has received international acclaim, multiple awards,and best-selling status. You'll find her work in anthologies as well, as she enjoys working with other writers. Julie is a popular speaker, whether on writing, science, or the use of science fiction to promote scientific literacy. Her recent adventures included being Guest of Honour for the national conventions of New Zealand and Australia, as well as Master of Ceremonies for Anticipation, the Montreal Worldcon.

Her first novel led to The Clan Chronicles, a nine-book (3 trilogy) series concluding in "To Guard Against the Dark." Fear not, fans of Sira, Morgan, and the gang. They're back in The Clan Chronicles: Tales from Plexis, an anthology from DAW containing original stories by other authors in Julie's world, as well as a framing novella of hers.

Julie's also released two new titles about her most popular character, Esen, beginning The Web Shifter's Library series. Next up, a standalone fantasy, "The Gossamer Mage."

For more on Julie's work and upcoming events, please visit www.czerneda.com

Oh, and when not writing or at conventions? Julie and her photographer husband grab their canoe and disappear into the glorious wilderness surrounding their central Ontario home.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

163 global ratings

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K. L. Phan

MUST READ!

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is my absolute favorite book ever. I have about four hard copies and one 1st printing edition autographed by the author. This lady pays a lot of attention to her fans, reaching out to those who are trying to publish their own stories, and being loyal to fans, new and retained.

Non-Spoilers:

This story introduces a wide variety of races, some humanoid in appearance, with different customs and ethical values than we're accustomed to and a few non-humanoid species to reflect over in Mrs. Czerneda's descriptions. With an education in Biology, it's not wonder she utilizes the field to depict her creations so vividly. In this first book, she captures the journey of a young, humanoid girl trying to identify who she is and how she found herself in such an unusual place, apparently abandoned. There's action, heart wrenching moments sprinkled with a touch of unrequited love and a mixture of supportive romance with a huge wallop of controversy, science, and interspecies communication.

For those who enjoy complexity in their fiction, Mrs. Czerneda delivers in excess. I've read her book over a dozen times and can tell you I pick up something new every time. While re-reading this book with my boyfriend, I discovered her sense of humor trickles throughout the book in the persona of the main character, Sira Morgan. You are gradually introduced to different races, their customs and quirks, from the onset of the first chapter. It's her humor that made me continue this book after reading the beautiful summary so many years ago.

This book delivers and will keep you hooked, however if you don't prefer alteration of Third Person to First Person, you may have to adjust to this. As an avid Sci-Fi reader, I'm accustomed to italics being used for thought-speak/telepathy, but I had to explain this to my boyfriend many times. It's fairly new to individuals who've never read fiction before.

Mrs. Czerneda doesn't write young adult fiction, therefore this is a challenging read for people who prefer YA Books. However, for individuals who prefer books with very minute foreshadowing, you'll love this book. You can anticipate, but not truly identify where she is going to take you as Sira Morgan takes you on her adventure to discover why her memory was erased, who she was, struggles to come to terms with it, and save herself from the fate the past would have set herself on.

11 people found this helpful

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AntiochAndy

A Strong First Effort

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2000

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This is very good scifi. It's not quite Dune or Ringworld, but it is impressive for a first book. Let me start by saying that I am not generally fond of stories that rely on special mental powers (i.e. telepathy) to further the plot, and in this book, such powers are central to the story. However, the author sticks to the idea of writing an ordinary story rather than an apocalyptic description of the ultimate fate of the human race. And her "ordinary" story is pretty good. It keeps the reader guessing as to exactly who is doing what to whom right up to the end, with many twists and turns along the way. Further, her main characters are engaging. You find yourself rooting for Sira, the main character, as she seeks to recover the pieces of her missing past and to understand her relationship to the other principal character, Jason Morgan.
The author seems to subscribe to a "Star Wars" vision of the universe, with multitudes of alien species (sentient and otherwise) and easy transport and communication between habitable planets. This may be unrealistic, but for the purpose of a story, Niven's concept of a gigantic ringworld is the only thing that surpasses it when it comes to providing an endless opportunity for cultural and biological variety. All in all, this is entertaining reading and 4+ stars in my book.

15 people found this helpful

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Leslie Bialler

The Kick Inside

Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2000

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Among the many species of the author's "Trade Pact" universe are a race of telepaths, the Clan, who have the ability to know all about each other; but they've managed to create a culture in which, instead, they are strangers to each other. And, as you'll discover, the main reason why this is so is their spiderlike mating ritual.
The book has a romantic hum to it (this is the kind of stuff that probably drew you to science fiction in the first place) and Czerneda will keep you awake reading late at night, as she displays her conflicted Clansters against a multispecies backdrop (Huido the alien restauranteur is a creation fans of Jack Vance and Mike Resnick will salute) that includes, of course, humans.
Czerneda proves herself the master of complex plotlines. Her heroine, the amnesiac telepath Sira (and maybe she's the best telepathic character since James Schmitz's Telzey Amberdon) has a compulsion to hook up with the human trader, who Czerneda has named Captain (Jason) _Morgan_ (yes, Czerneda has quite a sense of humor and doesn't fear to display it), who is himself not without telepathic abilities, in hopes that he can help restore her shattered memories.
Czerneda propels Sira's quest along, often recklessly, but she never drops the reins. The author's technique is clever. What Sira experiences directly she tells us in the first-person narratives, and what she doesn't is told in third-person "interludes" tacked on to the ends of chapters. As the characters drift in and out of Sira's POV, they leave one narrative and pop up in the other. And the telepaths do have a way of popping up!
Julie Czerneda, like Catherine Asaro (of the superb Skolian Empire series), puts the fun back into a genre that's grown more than somewhat cold and antiseptic in recent years. I'm glad she's joined the party.

7 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Thousand words for stranger - awesome

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2011

Verified Purchase

I ordered this part of the trilogy, I found the other two parts elsewhere. I started reading this one, and I could not stop...The suspense, never knowing what was going to happen, and who Sira would turn out to be...A great story. Read the other two parts, pretty much back to back, non-stop. I have read most of the rest of Julie's stories - they are all deeply rooted, with rich characters, and amazing things happening. Her imagination is incredible. Read this book!

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A Thousand Words for Stranger: 10th Anniversary Edition (Trade Pact Universe Book 1) Kindle Edition

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Julie E. Czerneda

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