Fair Trade

This is the third book starring Jethri Gobelyn ven'Deelin who has come far from being an unwanted extra on his birth ship to becoming a fully trained and competent trader. This story sees Jethri gaining his own ship through the offices of his mother foster Master Trader Norn ven'Deelin Clan Ixin and Master Trader pin'Aker Clan Midys who both expect great things of him.They send him to the South Axis Trade Fair which is a gathering of Terran traders. This is an ideal location for him to talk about the Envidaria - a document talking about the future of trade which was first written by Jethri's father Arin who died when Jethri was a child.But the Envidaria is not a universally popular document. Members of the Combine and TerraTrade don't want anything to upset their very comfortable current situation. And, after all, the coming of Rostov's Dust won't affect very many worlds. Jethri disagrees and needs to get very political if he is going to be able to save the Loopers, and family ships, and the planets who will be disrupted by the coming Dust.Jethri has allies. Freza and Brabham from the Balrog have been working on Arin's plan since long before Jethri even knew about it. And other Loopers are also signing on to make the changes needed to survive the coming of Rostov's Dust. He also has enemies at the Trade Fair including Senior Technical Administrator Bory Borygard of TerraTrade who knew Jethri's father and disliked the Envidaria because it would disrupt his comfortable life.Jethri has obstacles outside the congress too. While his master and mentor want him to be raised to the rank of Master Trader, the Liaden Trade Guild has enough members who don't want a Terran to be admitted to their ranks to throw a number of obstacles in Jethri's way.Outside this main story of Jethri at the Trade Fair, we have the story of Dulcimer and her crew. They used to trade on the dark side with contacts who look like earlier versions of the Juntavas. But with the death of their parents, the new captain wants to shift their focus to the clean, legal side of trade. They also have a pod of norbears onboard which is causing conflict between those who want to keep them there and those who want to space the animals. Squithen Patel is the one who communicates best with the norbears but is otherwise a very low-ranked member of the crew. She was a very interesting character. The hints at the story of how the norbears came to be on Dulcimer is a story I want to know.There is also another plot line concerning the Elsavair and her crew who seem to be earlier versions of the Bedel. They trade in Old Tech and have deals with the Uncle who happens to be Jethri's actual uncle being the brother of his father Arin. Jethri is particularly sensitive to Old Tech, a tweak his uncle and father built into his genetics, and ends up buying some disturbing devices from the Elsavair including a device worn like a hood which is a teaching tool that almost overwhelms him.My only complaint about this story was that, while progress was made on a number of fronts, nothing was finished. It does make me eager for the fourth book in Jethri's story which is still mainly residing in the authors' brains as I finish this book.

I really wanted to find out what happened to Jethri, so looked forward to the book.However, it is largely a "bridge" to another (future) novel and left poor Jethri "up in the air."It was hard to stay as interested in the book as in the previous ones.

A Terran, adopted into a Liaden clan, who trades among mixed ports. Dust encroaching on parts of the universe, interfering with space travel, leaving some worlds isolated and at risk. Occasional encounters with 'old tech'. Family loopers, Liaden clan ships, Scout ships. Trade Ship Politics, a smattering of romance. And NORBEARS!! How can it get any better?This is the latest novel in the Liaden Universe series, and continues the story of Jethri, who was introduced in Balance of Trade, then Trade Secret, and now Fair Trade. Maybe not the book where you want to start in the Liaden Universe series, but so much fun once you reach this point in books! It makes me so look forward to what is still to come in the Jethri branch of the Liaden Universe stories!

I've read and enjoyed all the Liaden books. This third book about Terran trader Jethri is well-written in the authors' inimitable style, but it lacks the tension and cultural interest of the previous novels featuring Liadens and Clan Korval. This is probably personal preference, but I hope Lee and Miller focus on Liaden characters in their next novel, perhaps the next generation of Clan Korval, and let Jethri rest.

I meant to give it 4 stars, but for some reason only 3 show up. As with all Liaden Universe novels, it is very enjoyable. However, it is evidently a sequel to one of their earlier novels, but does not ever say so, let alone tell you which one. Also, it is evidently set at an earlier time than some of the other novels are. So, there is a lot of back-story that is not explained.