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C. J. Cherryh

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Merchanter's Luck (Alliance-Union Universe) Paperback – July 1, 1982

by C. J. Cherryh (Author)

4.6 60 ratings

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The fateful meeting between the owner of a tramp star-freighter that flies the Union planets under false papers and fake names and a proud but junior member of a powerful starship-owning family leads to a record-breaking race to Downbelow Station--and a terrifying showdown at a deadly destination off the cosmic charts.

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About the Author

C. J. Cherryh planned to write since the age of ten. When she was older, she learned to use a type writer while triple-majoring in Classics, Latin and Greek. At 33, she signed over her first three books to DAW and has worked with DAW ever since. She can be found at cherryh.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ DAW; Reissue edition (July 1, 1982)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0886771390
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0886771393
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,975,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #99,156 in Science Fiction (Books)

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4.6 60 ratings

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C. J. Cherryh

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I've written sf and fantasy for publication since 1975...but I've written a lot longer than that. I have a background in Mediterranean archaeology, Latin, Greek, that sort of thing; my hobbies are travel, photography, planetary geology, physics, pond-building for koi...I run a marine tank, can plumb most anything, and I figure-skate.

I believe in the future: I'm an optimist for good reason---I've studied a lot of history, in which, yes, there is climate change, and our species has been through it. We've never faced it fully armed with what we now know, and if we play our cards right, we'll use it as a technological springboard and carry on in very interesting ways.

I also believe a writer owes a reader a book that has more than general despair to spread about: I write about clever, determined people who don't put up with situations, not for long, anyway: people who find solutions inspire me.

My personal websites and blog: http://www.cherryh.com

http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore

http://www.closed-circle.net

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Ella Robert-Edwards

Very good quality book

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2023

Verified Purchase

The seller delivered exactly the quality they offered, quickly and cleanly. The book arrived wrapped gently in butcher paper with a sweet note from their team thanking me for the order. For a first printing pulp book more than 40 years old, it is in remarkably good condition. The spine is strong and no pages are dog-eared or missing. I will be using their team going forward as I search for every book in the union-alliance universe. I cannot wait to read it!

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CH

A Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2012

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I have read Science Fiction since I was a 'Tween (stopped for a while to study Psychology and Computer Science) and just now (at 50) discovered CJ Cherryh. I had been reading through a list of about 10 books from an internet list on good spaceship themed books, and Merchanter's Luck was on the list. It stopped me in my tracks with it's style. After reading it, I paused my spaceship-centric reading and went back to read all three books leading up to Merchanter's Luck (see Wikipedia page on her work), including Downbelow Station which won several awards. I still like this one best so far. I am now re-reading Merchanters Luck, and I don't know of another time that I have re-read a Science-Fiction book. And I am getting even more out of it on the second reading! There are many different styles of Science Fiction, and this is one that really resonates with me. Early favorites for me included Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, A.E. Van Vogt, and many, many short story authors. Very worth checking out!

10 people found this helpful

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Sarah Stegall

A grimmer Han Solo

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2012

Think of Han Solo and the Millenium Falcon. Think of Malcolm Reynolds and Firefly. Now make them lonely and reckless and hopeless. Sandor Kreja is pretty much these guys, without the supportive crew/sidekick. All he's got left after the raid that killed his family is his ship, a battered version of the Falcon or Firefly. In the opening chapter, Sandor walks into a bar and falls in love at first sight with the raven-haired Allison Reilly, a Merchanter daughter on leave. A quick roll in the hay only throws fuel on his fire, and he vows to see her at her next port, which is (for his little ship) impossibly far away. For reasons he can't or won't examine, he actually follows through with this, and arrives after staying awake on drugs and nerve through three jumps, to find that he has made himself the center of a lot of unwelcome attention.

The rest of the novel is about the lingering echoes of Sandor's family catastrophe, about how something resembling post-traumatic stress disorder can screw with a man's head the rest of his life, and about how hard it is to look past all of these things to find love and trust. It's a book about desperate love. In a few of Cherryh's trademark clipped, condensed paragraphs in the first pages, she paints a picture of a young man on the edge of life, scarred by a horrific tragedy in his youth, eking out a living in the shadow of the big players of Downbelow Station . That novel made a big splash in the early 80s, and I read it, but this story is the one that stuck in my mind for thirty years. I come back to it over and over because of the tone Cherryh puts into it, because of the way she expertly balances the yearning in Sandor against his fear of betrayal, his pride, his survivor's guilt, the secrets and ghosts (metaphorical) that are all he has left. Sandor is a victim who doesn't realize he's a victim, so he behaves like a hero and then is surprised when people say nice things about him.

Cherryh's typically compact and evocative prose supports a story which is perhaps too long on Merchanter/Alliance/Union politics and too short on the romance that fuels the story. Even though I was familiar with the referents, I didn't care. They were only window dressing for the real story, the love story. Cherryh set up a good one and didn't quite pull it off; the romance is lower-key than it needs to be to hold up a whole novel. While the ending felt rushed, it still managed to leave me with a feeling that matters had been resolved -- patched together, leaking, limping -- but resolved. It's a very human, realistic ending, not the neat, happily-ever-after ending of the conventional romance.

The taut, allusory prose, the simple and straightforward story structure, and the outstanding delineation of a very sympathetic main character make this a standout book, one of Cherryh's best. In the grand tradition of space opera, it swept me off my feet and kept me enthralled over three decades.

7 people found this helpful

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Mike Archcraft

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2016

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One of Cherryh's best works. I read it in high school and still love it after 30 years.

2 people found this helpful

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Amaxon Customer

Layers Upon Layers

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2014

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It's not just the plot, but characters that are composed of layers. Where will the indie named Lucy find cargo? How will Sandor finance it- or will he end behind bars? He needs crewmen, too. At first, the shabby spacer prospects in bars, when he meets someone out of his league. In fact, she might be syndicate. Authorities become suspicious. He flees, but is caught like a fly in a web.
A backroom deal is quietly arranged; Sandor has no real choice. My only dissatisfaction with the book is that he terrifies his exec and crew with his paranoia. This psychological study forms the middle of the story. Any other author would have high-lighted the romantic elements, or the actions of adversaries.
Unlike Owner's Share (Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper Book 6) , this author did not foresee stationnet listings of cargo availability, use of pocket computers to monitor ship's computer or using solar winds like sailing ships of old. Yet the Lucy and her crew get by.
Toward the end of the trip, another layer of the plot exposes -again Sandor has no choice. These characters deserve a sequel.

4 people found this helpful

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Jim

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2017

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still one of the best of her novels.

3 people found this helpful

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Michael Adams

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2014

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Good quality older paper back. Quick shipper

One person found this helpful

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Belinda

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2015

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No complaints.

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Top reviews from other countries

kif

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2015

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A very short book but keeps you to the end.

2 people found this helpful

the beadman

very good

Reviewed in Canada on March 30, 2012

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Merchanter's Luck is one of the few books that i read over and over again a good plot and story i belive how a small ship goes up against a big ship with a well know name and a bit of a dream love story . to go all out for a once in a life time dream and go for broke i hope other enjoy it as much as i did and wish there was a 2nd one carry on. i purchased this item at Amazon. good service.

hsh

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2016

Verified Purchase

Excellent condition

Amazon Customer

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2018

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ok