Some of you will be hitting the end of the Trader’s Tales for the first time in a few hours. Many people find the ending a bit troubling. Many of you will be prompted to make comments about that ending because – yeah – it’s an ending. A really final ending.
Ishmael Wang has many more stories to tell and we’ll get to them. Have patience while I finish grinding through the old work.
In the meantime, I would ask you all to respect the terms of Article 37 of the Confederated Planets Joint Committee on Trade’s Handbook For Commercial Space Operations (commonly referred to as The Spacer’s Handbook) quoted below for reference:
Article 37
Certain circumstances require the Captain of a vessel to exert extraordinary control on the flow of information from the ship. Special cargoes, important passengers, or other sensitive information can be temporarily suppressed for the safety and welfare of the ship and crew. When questioned about these situations, all crew will be instructed to politely invoke Article 37 and refer all inquiry to the Captain or other designated source for official information.
Anytime you feel the need to curse me for the story, please feel free to do so, but instead of creating the spoiler by saying why you’re cursing me, invoke “Article 37.”
Some examples that I have received to date:
- “You *@*@*#& Bastard! You [Article 37]??”
- “How could you [Article 37]!! I’m never reading anything you ever write again! Ever!!”
- “You have violated the reader’s trust with [Article 37]. Unconscionable!”
Thank you for your understanding in this manner.
Thank you sir for finally letting me pay you for owner’s share. Now it is time to see if I handle [Article 37] better in text.
I realized this was a little vague. I mean that [Article 37] is something that I appreciate when an author does not shy away from, but for a short while it can be hard to handle. Thank you for your courage/conviction, stay well, and I shall wait with baited breath for your future works.
I can wait some time to find out what Ishmael does next but I’m not going to live forever. Congratulations, Captain, on a great series from a cynical old three badger.
I’m not, either, Squid. 🙂
After this last month, I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me.
Well, I haven’t gotten to [Article 37] yet, but somehow I doubt I’ll be cursing you. For one thing, it’s very much NOT my style, but more importantly, it’s _your_ story to tell. Not mine. And not any other of your reader’s.
I personally have no problems with any part of the story and enjoyed all of it.
I remember when we were all listening to the last book on Podiobooks. I’m sure “Article 37” was a trending topic on Twitter 🙂 I love the series so much. Thanks for putting it out there for us Sar. I may just have to listen to them all again when a new Ishmael story comes out. Happy writing!
Wow, it’s been a couple years since we all got to mainline Owners Share and invoke many “Article 37’s”. I bought the book immediately after discovering the email in the inbox this morning. Thank you s much for this series Nathan!
[Article 37] was a surprise for sure when first listening to the stories, but I also feel that it was necessary. Ishmael’s character always shines through, and he is a better person for it. I love Trader’s Tales (having listened to the stories at least ten times already) and look forward to more stories highlighting Ishmael’s time in the deep dark.
Awesome, Cap’n. Thank you for all the stories you’ve given us so far, despite the major [……………………………………………… Article 37 ………………………………………………]. Despite that issue, I can’t wait to consume your next masterpiece!
Thank you Sar, for all the time and effort in getting this book out to us. You are an awesome story teller !!!
While I did NOT enjoy [Article 37], I LOVE the concept of Article 37! You just may have added a new phrase to our lexicon. (And, [Article 37] does not detract from the story at all – it strengthens the story.)
I finished Owner’s Share last night. I enjoyed the book, though it left me a bit melancholy at the end due to the [ Article 37 ] event. Although, being honest, I don’t feel as bothered by that as the fact that important new character in the book never had any love interests… in anyone! That could have added a delightful complexity to the story 🙂
The book is beautiful. Every life includes Article 37, as Ishmael knows well. The ending fit. And I await the next install ment eagerly. Congratulations on getting all the Solar Clipper series books out!
See! Hissy fits DO have an effect!
Oompa Doompa Bumpidy Doo…Who’s wrote a story to sell it to you!
Finished Owner’s Share all too swiftly. I get to re-read it, of course, and I will. But still . . .
I will say Nathan, the first line of QS and the last of OS are true perfection. I actually said, “Oh!” out loud.
As to [Article 37] as soon as the [Article 37] began I thought back to Full Share and Ishmael’s epiphany about spacers: “I remembered one of my mom’s old stories about a sailor who wound up in a foreign land and slowly came to love and respect the people of this new home even more than those of his birth. He had to learn a new language and new ways of thinking, but eventually he figured out how to get along, and he really started to enjoy that life. Unfortunately, somebody killed him in the end because he was too happy or successful or something. Except for that last bit about being killed, I had an idea of what he must have felt like when he realized the full depth and scope of his adopted culture. I was not sure what word to put on it. Hope, maybe.”
Yeah, maybe. Conrad was a dick, too.
Write more, I’ll buy ’em.
While I can see why others objected, I never found the story line an issue. Life doesn’t always go as expected, and stories don’t either. If they did, there would be no reason to read them. Kepp up the writing and may the stories lead where they may…
When I saw Owner’s Share on Amazon I felt like running into the living room shouting “The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!”, but the kids wouldn’t get the reference. Looking forward to reading it.
I was so excited to get the email that Owner’s Share was finally live on Amazon, and I really did enjoy the story! But what happened with your editor / Amazon??? All of the typos, “&ellipse”, etc were terribly frustrating and such a departure from the smooth reading I am used to with your books… if I wasn’t such a fan, I honestly would have stopped reading from frustration.
It was me. I missed a coding error when the tools translated the valid html-entity for an ellipsis into the actual text of the html-entity instead of the three dots. There was also a cascade of misplaced span tags at the beginning of chapter 4. I wasn’t paying close enough attention.
The file was corrected in a matter of hours but about a hundred people got the bad file. Everyone should be getting a notice from Amazon that a new file is available for download.
Just so folks here know, Amazon is sitting on the updated version of the book. But if you open a Chat with the Kindle team, they’ll push it to you immediately. I finally did that this morning and they sent me the new one. It will eventually make its way through their process, but they don’t seem to be in any hurry at all. Here’s a snippet from my online chat with them this morning:
—-
Amazon: The content update had not yet been reviewed by our quality team.
So we hadn’t yet released it through the auto update.
Once it is reviewed, it would have been released through the auto update as well.
You can let any other purchasers of the title know that they can contact us for the content update if they want it right away.
Thanks Captain!
Greetings Mon Captain….
I haven’t seen it mentioned (yet) but there was that same coding error w/ the Nook books from Barnes and Noble too…. I just downloaded the book a few days ago so I wasn’t sure if there had been any notices on this for that platform. I know that the Kindle version was corrected according to recent posts so I thought I would throw my 2 cents in…..
Can’t wait for more from Capt. Ishmael and his crew….. Perhaps a reunion w/ old shipmates from earlier like maybe Pip and his family of independent spacers???…. 🙂
The Nook version was supposed to have been repaired as well. Thanks, Ben.
And there’s more coming 🙂
Same error on the KOBO edition. Really enjoying the story but am now a little apprehensive as to the ending. Looking forward to more Ishmael Wang stories as well as more stories set in the solar clipper universe.
May I inquire when The Owner’s Share will be available on Kobo or any other internationally available websites? Because I cannot buy it from Amazon, it says it is not available in Central Asia, where I am now. And proxy servers don’t work either.
Thank you.
It’s been on Kobo since Saturday afternoon. We’re just waiting for them to approve it.
Thank you, Mr. Lowell. It has finally been approved and I managed to get it today.
I am compelled to let you know how much I have enjoyed this series. After completing “Owners Share” I seem to have an empty feeling knowing I won’t be able to continue following the story of Ishmael Wang. You have created the type of character that can really involve your readers. Many thanks for you stories.
Why won’t you be able to continue following Ishmael’s story, Marion?
Article 37 feels like a cheat after being sucked into this aspect of the story. Book has lost any re-readability for me (unlike the earlier stories).
About 10% of the podiobook listeners hated the ending as well.
To put it in perspective, 15-20% hate every book for one reason or another. Generally, the stated reason for disliking the story is the same reason that over half the audience liked it.
Life is filled with “cheats” like this, but to be fair, I struggled with writing it this way. My alternatives were limited.
1. I could end Ishmael Wang as a character by either (a) Harry Pottering him or (b) giving him the happy ending that most people seem to think should be there.
2. I could have some other catastrophe befall our hero.
What I needed was an *end* to the story arc so I could begin a new one. Killing him wasn’t an option. The story arc I have in mind does not include the “happy ending” option. It doesn’t really matter how he gets there, but he has to end up the way he does at the end of the series. The challenge was to write a story that tied up as many loose ends as possible, gave me a realistic plot involving the darker side of the Golden Age, and leaves a rabbit hole that Ishmael can go down in the next book. This story did what was needed.
There is also the option of having him “pass the torch” and settle into obscurity while the others take the torch forward. – Like most of us ultimately will do with our children. We pass the torch and they run from there.
Thank you for replying personally, much appreciated! You have created a character that managed to get me “committed”.
Nathan,
You gave me a very similar answer when I asked the same question years ago after listening to the podcast. Since I’ve had so long to ponder this, I’ve come up with dozens of ways to have avoided Article 37 and had a more satisfying (to me) ending. But you’re the writer and I’m the reader so more power to you. You get to choose your own plot. 🙂
I’ve listened to the books so often that I hear your voice now as I read them – and that’s a good thing.
I just hope Ish does a “walkabout” where he learns more about the Welkies perhaps even becoming a shaman. I am a maritime college grad and love all your books and have my 83 year old mother-in-law who is just about finished with quarter share and loving it!(she is an aurthor too).
Thank you I love all your worlds
Jim
It’s really great when an author has such a close ‘relationship’ w/ his/her readers!! I have really loved your Solar Clipper series of books and basically blocked out a huge portion of my holiday time to read them all in series, from start to finish… The last book was the most poignant of the books thus far but I think it could be a great place to jump off into bigger and better things for the intrepid Capt. Wang & Co. I am really looking forward to the next installment and hope to see more from this series in the future. Like David Weber, Mike Shepherd and Jack Campbell, you weave a very good tale with interesting and ‘real’ characters you can believe in and care about. To me, that is the measure of a great space opera. Please keep it up!!
Sir
It’s your story and you get to write it the way you want. Article 37 aside, the ending makes sense to me. Life happens and not necessarily the way we hope or like. We learn from those events (or should) and hopefully we also learn something about ourselves and can move on. I think, knowing Ishmael, he will take Article 37 and grow from it right into the next story arc. He has a lot of room to grow too with the average lifespan being much greater in his universe. This of course means many, many more novels. Right?
I have been a follower since you started this back on Podiobooks and this is the first time I have sent any comment to you. I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to these stories over the last 6-7 yrs. I can’t say that I absolutely love them, but they are so intriguing as a universe, story, and lifestyle that I keep coming back for more and each time I get additional insight. I can certainly identify with Ishmael and others in his world as I am a military retiree (US Army Paratrooper) that started out at the bottom and worked my way up through the ranks to a senior level before biting the bullet and moving on to the next chapter of my life. I have seen life take extreme wrong turns concerning those I care about right in front of my eyes. I didn’t like it, but I learned from it and moved on. It would be interesting to see what the average age of the Article 37 complainers are. My bet is they are younger and less life experienced.
I will say that if there was a way to get into Ishmael’s world I would be fighting to be the first in line. I would take a Quarter Share berth or a job working with Kurt in a second. Until that happens I will be waiting as patiently as “the twin barrels of some odd gun, precise, mechanical” for the next installment of the life of Ishamael Wang. Thanks for opening up such a world for me and others! Hear ya later on TOMMW.
~Michael
What I shared on Facebook when I concluded the story still applies: “Other avid readers will understand the bittersweet feeling that comes when you read the last page of the last book of a much-loved series, pause, and close the cover. There’s a satisfaction that comes with reaching the end of your journey, but also a sadness at parting with a traveling companion you have come to know and love.”
Even if we meet Ishmael again on some other road in the future, after [Article 37] he won’t be quite the same Ishmael we have traveled with for seven years.
But these books have never been about some grand Hero’s Journey arc, the fate of the galaxy never hangs in the balance, there’s no Great Evil that the hero must struggle against. It is just moments in one man’s life, and as with real life many times the obstacle to be overcome is just Ishmael himself (especially in the earliest books). If he got some fairy tale happy ending, it might have been fulfilling, but that’s rarely how life works. Sometimes, circumstances dictate a road other than the one you saw yourself walking.
And in a sense, that brings us full circle on these stories.
Or, more succinctly, “Bittersweet as it may have been, thank you for the stories.” 🙂
[Article 37] still hits me hard every time In fact, I find myself anticipating it earlier every time I listen to the audio book, and I suspect I can hear traces of YOU anticipating it in your voice.
My wife and I both finished Owner’s Share on our Kindles this week. We weren’t disturbed by the ending, knowing that we will be getting more of Ish.
BTW, my wife is not a SF reader, with scattered exceptions, but as soon as I got her to try Quarter Share, soon after I had read it, she was hooked.
There was so much invocation of Article 37, that well before I go to the point I knew what had to happen. I would have been far better off not coming here until completing the book. Oh well, I do not believe that the foreknowledge in any way impaired my enjoyment.
May I merely suggest, Nathan, that whoever your editor was that held this up for so long NEVER be used again? My 10 year old niece could have done a far superior job of editing your book. The elipse issue was minor, actually. The misspellings, the messed up continuity (at one point Ishmael and a crew member are speaking in the third person about THAT crew member – there are a few other continuity concerns)…. well, frankly, just about everything an editor should catch… your editor failed to catch.
I almost didn’t mention all this. Perhaps I should not have. But you are far too excellent an author for that. You deserved better from someone I presume you paid.
I loved your book so much that I just read through it and did not permit it to diminish my enjoyment of your book.
Thank you for the journey. I shall miss it.
Just came back to review the other comments, and reread mine. I should clarify my last sentence. I shall miss THIS PARTICULAR story arc… I cannot wait to read what happens next to Ishmael.
I enjoyed the story a lot, just like the others. The ending was a surprise, but the hope of future stories is nice. Sooner the better. Haven’t read the Tanith series yet, but thats next.
Hi,
The ending of Owners Share actually caught me by surprise. As usual I was so engrossed in what was happening to Ishmael et al that I hadn’t realised the end was nigh – more of an issue with e-books than physical I suspect.
Anyway, I thought that [Article 37] was actually a beginning. The old saying about one door closing and another opening. Obviously this does not tie in with the fact that it’s the last book in the series, but it feels like a whole new set of stories are waiting to be told, all springing from the situation at the end of Owners Share.
In fact, in my head I thought there was one more book for me to read (double disappointment at the end of Owners Share). I thought it was called Masters Share – if I had thought about it, I would have realised this doesn’t exist or fit with the share system. But it would be a new direction………
Just my 2 cents !
Martin.
More please, I need more tales about Ishmael.
I can only say that I would have appreciated one more book in this arc. The timing of the article 37 put me in the mind of a syndrome named after article 37. On the other hand I have wiled away many hours trying to imagine which way you will take Horatio Wang in the future. Looking forward to the next book and I check this sight once a week for news.
OOps Ishmael, got my nautical fiction references mixed up for a sec.
Thanks Captain Lowell. I liked the series a lot and the ultimate book particularly. Mostly I like the way you’ve created a complex universe in your head ( numerous universes actually ) and that you allow us periodic access to this universe and it’s characters. With apologies for such unseemly self-interest I am very keen for you to have a long and fruitful ( writing ) life so I hope you are fit, well and eating your greens? I intend to stick around for a long time too and your books, and through them, you – are great company to have. I am keen to continue to experience that joy and anticipation I get when I see that you’ve, written another book. ( my wife says I chortle – I am sure I don’t! ). Thank you. Mark
I see just now that Owners Share is number 24 on the Amazon Best Sellers in Science Fiction and Fantasy, Woot! Congratulations, that is truly awesome and we’ll deserved.
Great books, great reading (podiobooks.com), can’t wait for more of Ishmael ! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Sorry I like real reviews where the reviewer tells exactly what they like and don’t like about the book. Article 37 may work if you have signed the Articles — but not if you are a reader who has purchased a book. Reviewers can label their review with “spoiler alert” (or not); but I don’t accept the Article 37 evasion.
I can only ask that you not spoiler it for others. What you do is up to you.
[Article 37] aside, I was very [Article 37] when [Article 37] did [Article 37] and [Article 37] 😀
sorry just wanted to abuse [Article 37] a little … fantastic ending even though i was a little sad, you sir, write very believeable characters that have hooked me since i first purchased the first book on amazon. it was a shame about [Article 37] but i guess as you say it had to happen to get Ish into the position for a new series to start.
All i can add is do you have any remote idea about when you will be starting to write them. just a rough year would be good as it will just add to the anticipation i am sure many people will be feeling.
Many thanks for a fantastic series, yes i have read the lammas woods books also, which are good, but i just prefer the sci-fi genre. 😀
Thanks!
I’m working on Cape Grace now … that’s the last of the “old books” that I need to get out. It plugs the hole between South Coast and Half Share.
I’ve got three new Ishmael books on the calendar for this year in addition to three new “not Ishmael” Golden Age books. The only question is how long it takes me to get this old stuff put to paper and audio so I can start new stuff without this huge pile of stuff hanging over my head. It’s coming together. Slowly, but it’s coming together.
Both [article 37] and [article 37] left me a bit melancholy, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the series and am looking forward to the further adventures of Ishmael and other tales of the deep dark.
Thank you so much.
I must say that this book was VERY difficult for me to finish. The whole was very upsetting to me as I recently experienced this with an immediate family member after a long . I had to put the book down and leave it for a number of weeks and only recently finished it.
I’m not complaining, just letting you know that the ending hit me like a freighter on a ballistic trajectory.
Rest assured that I’m still a fan.
I must have used an invalid character to brace my [article 37s] in my previous comment as the seem to have been removed from the post.
Wow, only recently someone pointed me to those great audio books and I finished all of them in about 2 weeks. I simply could not wait to get on with listening to them. Great to have the author reading them too, it make little nuances like the “du Bois” name possible. I wonder how you got that acros in the e-books / paper version.
Looks like I will need to buy those for my Kobo reader, I am sure to read them at leasst a few more times. And the next time I will at least be prepared fo the end of “Owners share”. But at least you “promised” us more Ismael stories, so we have something to look forward to.
Thanks!
More are coming.
And it’ll be sooner than GRRM’s “winter” 🙂
I just finished Owner’s about an hour ago, after diving headlong into Ishmael’s life for the past couple weeks, with as little time as possible spent doing other things, like sleeping, work, eating, mumbling at my family, and so on. Like others here, no problem with the ending, except of course the [Article 37] left me rather melancholy as well. Sure, I was rooting for Ishmael’s happily ever after, but sometimes life doesn’t work like that. You, Sar, are a masterful storyteller. I look forward to visiting your other universes.
Thanks for the great stories they are a pleasure to read. Even though it is si-fi it is still realistic. I listened to all the stories on Pod cast then I went to Amazon and purchased the Kindle books so when I need a good relaxing read I can fall back.
Looking forward to your future works I have Ravenwood 1,2,&3, Trader Tales 1-6, and South Coast read so you know that I like your work. Ish is my favorite but, all are great story lines.
You are in my prayers and hope to see more soon. HAVE a Great Spring.
Tammy
I finished Owner’s Share a couple of months ago. As much as I’ve enjoyed the Solar Clipper series, the ending of the final book was so jarring I couldn’t write or talk about it until now. In fact, it’s catapulted my recreational reading in a totally different direction for the time being. I understand your need to unequivocally bring this particular story arc to a close and have a jumping off point for future books. And I acknowledge your prerogative as an author to do anything you wish with the stories and the characters. But the ending was tough. Artfully conceived and well written, but tough. I didn’t realize until Article 37 just how emotionally invested I was in the characters, especially Ishmael. It may take me as long as it takes Ishmael to get over Article 37 and be ready to move on to his next series of adventures.
That said, I hope to see more stories about Ishmael in the not too distant future. I also look forward to the sequels to A Light in the Dark. Have a pleasant and productive summer!
P.S. I discovered the Solar Clipper series quite by chance. I was browsing through Amazon’s Kindle offerings one day and the cover art for Quarter Share caught my eye. I was curious whether the story would equal the cover art, so I read the free excerpt. The story engaged me immediately and I didn’t look back. Never underestimate the value of a good book cover in attracting readers!
Imagine how jarring it was for me. 🙂
I’m sure. Who could be more emotionally invested than the author!
I’m struggling here a bit. I can’t seem to see my keyboard very well. It keeps swimming around through my tears. [Article 57] took me completely off guard. It’s going to take some time to recover, I’m afraid. I had my hopes set on Captain Wang’s [Article 57] being [Article 57]. I just found Owner’s Share in Amazon a few days ago and I’ve been lost ever since (as always when reading one of your tales). I read about your health problems while trying to post my appreciation on your website for the many stories you’ve made available to us and I was concerned, quite selfishly, that I would never see Owner’s Share again as it was out of print. I’m very glad to see that you have recovered and am praying for your continued good health. I’m looking forward to much more of your very excellent style of storytelling. The things you write and the way you write them is not only entertaining and enlightening, but also makes me want to be a better person. As for the rather poor editing, I attributed that to missed deadlines, with you being ill and all. Perhaps you should follow the advice of a previous poster and hire a new editor. All that aside, without a doubt, you are my favorite author and I’m very glad to know you are healthy and still hard at work. Not only transcribing previous works to e format, but producing new magic for us to enjoy. Thank you Captain, and God speed!