Owner’s Share by Nathan Lowell

This is Book 28 started, book 24 finished

Owner’s Share by Nathan Lowell
Published by the author, 2014

This is the sixth and final book in a series.  I've stuck through it waiting for the series for quite some time through publisher issues, health issues and I was very happy that this book was finally released on my birthday.  Hurray for me.

One of the things I loved about the first 3 in the series is their lack of plot.  They were just a fascinating tale of a young man’s day to day life on a large cargo vessel; the mundane aspects of his life were written in such a way that they were fascinating.  Every time I thought a plot was about to break out, it never did.   They were great.

After the third one, Ishmael went off to university to become an officer of this interplanetary merchant marine with some of his shipmates and the 4th book picks up 4 years later in a new quadrant with a new company and all new characters.  The difference in books 4 and 5 is that each has a specific plot and as such have a far different feel from the first three.   There is still a joy in the mundane tasks of coffee brewing and an inordinate amount of attention paid to what the crew is eating so part of the feel is still there.

Now, with this book, Owner’s Share, we have a much longer book with a specific plot but with more of the mundane aspects taking the forefront.  It’s a truer to the original feel of the books but this time it’s much darker.  There is violence and fear and intrigue in this one that didn't exist in the series before.  The 4th book had some intrigue and some bullying but this one ratcheted things up a couple notches.  It’s not bad, it’s just much different than what I've come to expect from this series.

Then there’s the ending.  Reading the author’s blog, he hints that there are more stories of Ishmael Horatio Wang coming and that we should trust him and not give out spoilers – fine.  This book didn't end so much as give up and stop.   They worked through the plot and the intrigue, got to where he was now a successful owner of a small shipping and tourism company and then Ishmael makes decisions that are completely counter to his character and then the book and the series ends.

That’s where I was disappointed.  It felt like the author wanted to wrap things up.  Maybe he wanted to set things up for some future stories he has in mind.  But, he did it by having his protagonist act directly opposite to the way he’s functioned throughout six books – he gives up.  Worse, he gives up after succeeding.  The end.

3.5 Stars