Chapters (30)
- The Hidden Family
- Praise For The Merchant Princes Series
- Contents
- Part 1
- Business Plans
- Learned Counsel
- Pawnbroker
- Part 2
- Point Of Divergence
- History Lesson
- Cleaning The Air
- Gold Bugs
- Part 3
- Capitalism for Beginners
- Interrogations
- Agreements
- Snark Hunting
- Part 4
- Stakeout
- Tip Off
- Facing The Music
- Extraordinary Meeting
- Part 5
- Meltdown
- Escape Plans
- Going Postal
- Epilogue
- Preview
- 1. Tied Down
- Tor Books by Charles Stross
“Don’t underestimate them,” warned the duchess. “They always win in the end, and you’ll need to make your peace with them sooner or later. I’m unusual, I managed to evade them for more than three decades. But that almost never happens, and even when it does you can’t actually win, because whether you fight them or no, you end up becoming one yourself.” She raised one finger in warning. “You’re relatively safe, kid. You’re too old, too educated, and you’ve got your own power base. As far as I can see they’ve got no reason to meddle with you unless you threaten their honor. Honor is survival here. Don’t ever do that, Miriam—Helge. If you do, they’ll find a way to bring you down. All it takes is leverage, and leverage is the one thing they’ve got.” She smiled thinly. “Think of them as Darwin’s revenge on us, and remember to smile and curtsey when you pass them because until you’ve given them grandchildren they will regard you as an expendable piece to move around the game board. And if you have given them a child, they have a hostage to hold against you.”
“Stross effectively keeps all the the plates spinning that he launched into motion in the first volume of this series…. Stross is having great fun with these books, and it’s contagious.”
—Scifi.com
“The sequel to The Family Trade continues the adventures of Miriam, the high-tech journalist flung into a fantasy world that really does recall the early volumes of Roger Zelazny’s Amber series…. Laugh your way to an ending that clearly promises further enjoyable volumes.”
—Booklist
Tor Books by Charles Stross
The Family Trade
The Hidden Family
The Clan Corporate
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE HIDDEN FAMILY
Copyright © 2005 by Charles Stross
Teaser copyright © 2006 by Charles Stross
Edited by David G. Hartwell
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN: 978-1-4299-1488-8
