The Trade of Queens

Wait - is this the end of Merchant Princes series? But what happens NEXT?! I want MORE! Stross! You can't do this to me!

Anyway, my one and only complaint about this book is that it's been too long since I read the other five, and that isn't Stross' fault. Or maybe it is, in a backwards sense, but only in that it takes longer for him to write than for me to read. If I'd stuck to my guns about not starting any series until it was finished, I'd be fine, but then I'd hardly have anything at all to read, would I? It's just that this particular series is full of intricate plotting and many characters, and I really could have used some sort of serious online reference for this world.

Some plot threads were tied up, and a few new ones were introduced. I'll could understand this book as a resting point for Stross, but not a stopping point! While most series would have lost my interest after six books, this one hasn't. He really is that good.

That said, some of the post-9/11 mania is a little dated, and it is good to be past that. I imagine he's glad to be done writing it, too. I wish our society were completely done with the erosion of civil rights caused by it, too.