A Thousand Words for Stranger

by Julie E. Czerneda

Book Overview

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Czernedas debut novel--the story of a women whose memory has been taken from her by a stasis block--DAW is releasing a special Premium Edition, complete with a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0886777690
• ISBN13: 9780886777692
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.8" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Alone In a World Not Her Own

A Thousand Words for Stranger (1997) is the first novel in the Trade Pact Universe. The Clan are not human, but appear so to others. They are said to be powerful telepaths. While not members of the Trade Pact, some live within Trade Pact space. In this novel, a Trade Pact enforcer, P'tr wit 'Whix, is following a Clansman and his companion in the Auord shipcity when six assailants attack. The Clansman kills or seriously injures four of the assailants and is holding off the last two when someone interrupts the proceedings with a blast globe. The concussion takes out the other two attackers and renders the Clansman unconscious. Meanwhile, his companion has run away. Then the Port Authority corpsmen arrive and shortly thereafter 'Whix's backup, Constable Terk. She is lost, alone, and amnesic in a strange shipcity when she finds Jason Morgan, follows him to ask for help, and is given some local currency and sent on her way. Unfortunately, her way is into the hands of labor recruiters -- slavers -- and into their warehouse. They have drugged her, but it wears off early. She tries to escape, only to be quickly caught again by the recruiter captain. She uses the only thing she knows, Morgan's name and ship, to get the captain's attention. He is interested, but first has her sent to be tested for telepathy. Barac sud Sarc, First Scout, Third Level Adept of the Clan, awakes to find himself in the temporary custody of Pact Enforcers, led by Commander Lydis Bowman. Barac tells the Enforcers as little as possible, but learns that the assailants wore mind-shields, so they knew that Barac is Clan. He is also informed that the Enforcers are investigating the murder of a Clansman, about which Barac already knows, for the murdered man is his brother, Kurr. This novel is a mixed genre tale, mixing romance and mystery in a SF setting, and the author handles it quite well. This first novel starts off slowly but builds its pace at the end. Moreover, the series per se is first class. Highly recommended for Czerneda fans and anyone who enjoys SF mysteries with a touch of romance. -Arthur W. Jordin

A New Talent, Reminiscent of Norton

Julie Czerneda's great first novel is strongly reminiscent of Andre Norton, a Grand Master at producing science fiction that blends harrowing plots, colorful evocations of complex societies, deftly sketched aliens, strong heroines, and overtones of things mysterious and magical. All of those elements are present in A Thousand Words for Stranger. There's also an intermittent shading of Harlequin Romance, another road Norton's been known to travel. In fact, some of the smallest narrative touches in Stranger seem like an intentional salute to Norton's influence. The story, however, is all Czerneda.After a scene-setting, if somewhat foot-dragging, prologue, Stranger's protagonist hits the ground running. Literally. No past, no identity, no friends or kin, all she has to guide her are a series of inner compulsions: stay hidden, find the right ship, get off-planet. She knows she's in trouble even before the first bad guys put the snatch on her, but not how or why. Only her non-personal knowledge remains intact.Driven by her compulsions, she hooks up with Jason Morgan, independent trader and captain of the Silver Fox. He's been paid by the Clan, her people, to keep her safe until a rendezvous can be arranged. Morgan knows her name, Sira, and that some kind of protective mental shield has blocked off her recollection of self.Inner compulsions give way to interplanetary hounding by various known and unknown parties. No longer sure where safety lies, it's all Morgan and Sira can do to stay ahead of the pack. To complicate matters further, new and different compulsions regarding Morgan become increasingly personal and intense for Sira. A bond forms between the pair that has nothing to do with mere physical attraction.What's really going on? Is there any way out that won't get either of them killed? Who's responsible for sending Sira into danger at all? And why to Morgan in particular? As the answers finally fall into place, there are surprises all around.Stranger alternates Sira's first-person narration with third-person accounts of key characters on her trail. Czerneda's writing is creatively gifted and technically proficient. Someone's done a good job of purging most grammar, spelling, and similar errors. There are some very minor storyline flaws, easily overlooked in the general richness of detail. In fact, if there's a complaint to be made here at all, it's about information overload. The Trade Pact Universe is vivid and realistic. The Clan has its own complex and ritualistic culture separate from the mainstream. The story is full of shadowy political maneuvering and plots within plots. Without careful attention, it's easy to lose track of the finer points. That's a complaint most readers will be more than willing to live with.Stranger is the first of a trilogy. Czerneda's set herself a very high bar to clear with the remaining two books.

Science Fiction with depth and character(s)

Though a wonderful and complete story itself, _A Thousand Words for Stranger_ is also the start of a wonderful series. I've long been an SF fan, but I find SF books on my "to read" table less and less often. For too many writers, it seems, the idea is the story and the characters surrounding the story plod along as required to drag the plot to the writer's climatic conclusion. Yet in _A Thousand Words for Stranger_ Ms Czernada brings a story not only rich in traditional SF themes but also rich in character -- and rich in wonderful characters. The collection of beings that populate this book (and the series) have a wonderful depth. They are driven by emotion as well as intellect, which means they don't always do the smart thing. In other words, they're human -- even the aliens (smile). She has a full array of well thought out alien creatures and civilizations that develop in this series, aliens that not only have species characteristics but individual characteristics as well. That a lot of background development went into these civilizations is obvious in the writing; they work.All in all, an SF story with a touch of mystery, a touch of detective novel, a touch of romance, a touch of intrigue, touches of humor, and just plain interesting and fun to read. It makes you want more, and luckily that is readily available in the books that follow. I enjoyed the entire series very much.

The Kick Inside

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.

Interesting mix of emotion and adventure.

I have quickly become Julie Czerneda's biggest fan. I say this because she has successfully merged my favorite genre (science fiction) and my least favorite genere (romance). THOUSAND WORDS FOR STRANGER is for science fiction writing what BRAM STOKERS DRACULA is for horror film. Those of you out there who understand this connection I will say no more, for those of you who do not understand it, well, let me put it this way, it's erotic but without being sexual. Perhaps it is the voyer in us, uh, me. The relationship between Morgan and Sira is not the reason to read THOUSAND but it is part of what keeps you hooked. The story line is involved and interesting (I don't want to give anything away!) and best of all it is believable! I was wondering how I could have missed her work until I found out it was her first. I am glad I got in at the ground level and am earnestly awaiting her next book!