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Mary Sisson

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Trang Kindle Edition

by Mary Sisson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 153 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Trang

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"Trang is a clever return to the social sci-fi of yesteryear."—The New Podler Review of Books. Award-winning writer Mary Sisson brings you the tale of Philippe Trang, the first human diplomat assigned to a mysterious alien station. Haunted by a recent mission that went very wrong, Trang realizes that not everyone on Earth would like his mission to succeed—and the aliens have some nefarious agendas of their own. As he tries desperately to keep everyone from killing each other (not to mention him), strange forces threaten to destroy his very mind! If you like character-driven stories that feature a blend of drama, tragedy, comedy, and action—such as Joss Whedon's works or Charles Stross’ Laundry Files novels—and you don't mind some really bad language, read Trang today! (107,900 words/370 pages long.)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Sisson is an award-winning writer, editor, and journalist. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English and American Language and Literature from Harvard University, and she has a master's degree in Journalism from New York University, where she received the Edwin Diamond Award, the department's highest honor. She has contributed to award-winning books ranging in topic from terrorism to food to history to technology. None of this means she's actually any more qualified to write about aliens and space Marines than the next person, but she carries on regardless. See what's she's up to by visiting marysisson.com!

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004I6DAQ8
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 22, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 704 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 379 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #31,036 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #139 in First Contact Science Fiction eBooks

Customer Reviews:
4.1 153 ratings

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Mary Sisson

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Mary Sisson is an award-winning writer, editor, and journalist. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English and American Language and Literature from Harvard University, and she has a master's degree in Journalism from New York University, where she received the Edwin Diamond Award, the department's highest honor. She has contributed to award-winning books ranging in topic from terrorism to food to history to technology. See what she's up to by visiting marysisson.com!

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4.1 out of 5

153 global ratings

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Leland Somers

A talented, imaginative, exciting writer.

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2013

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I was a little dubious at first about this entire enterprise. But not long into this book I was hooked and hooked good. I love the characters from the FS crew with the foul-mouthed Shanti leading the way to poor Philippe trying to hold it altogether and falling apart in the process - to Creepy - the reluctant Messiah of the Hosts and the Universe or not. I got to feel like I knew them, I liked them, even some of the nastier of the aliens (the non-human aliens - we are all aliens in this book). I'm going to be reading the rest, Trust me. Thanks you so much for the talent you have and are sharing with the world. What a joy to read something so imaginative, innovative and exciting.

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Amazon Customer

Please don't eat the human diplomat

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2013

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As usual, I am late to the party here. Trang is the first human diplomat to a space station housing diplomats from a variety of alien species. Given the unique nature of his assignment and all of the unknown elements involved, he is assigned a special forces military security escort instead of the usual "Union Police" entourage he would normally have. This forces him to venture into the uncharted territory of alien relations with a security detail that he fears will approach diplomacy with a "shoot first and ask questions later" mentality. Who poses the bigger threat to Trang and his mission, the aliens and their hidden agendas or his own military escort? Trang finds himself drawn into their "Hosts'" mysterious prophecy. Is he the chosen one? Will the prophecy be fulfilled? Is this the beginning of the end of the universe? One thing is certain: this author has a lot to say.

I can only assume (and hope) that the author is laying a lot of ground work in this first book for the sequels. Otherwise this book would benefit from shedding a few pounds. She has created an interesting Earth in the background of this story. Many developed nations have joined together in a "Union" with its own governing body, police, science administration and diplomatic corps. China is the base for the space agency and Canada is home to the diplomatic corps. And there are all the attendant levels of bureaucracy with each. In the product description it states that not everyone in the Union wants Trang's mission to be a success. This is even stated in the book a couple of times. But there is never any evidence of this in the action. Trang and some of the other characters also have well developed back stories.

The strongest aspect of this book is character development. It is, in fact, a character driven story. And the author shows a deft hand at envisioning and developing multi-faceted characters. This is strangely at odds with what I felt was the book's weakest aspect, dialogue. Particularly in the early parts of the book I felt a lot of the dialogue between the humans to be amateurish. I almost stopped reading because I kept thinking that people do not really talk that way. It was just not convincing to me. In fact, at first the dialogue between Trang and the aliens seemed more convincing than some of the human dialogue. Fortunately I kept reading and either I became more enlightened or the dialogue developed a more natural flow. Also on dialogue I must give credit where I feel credit is due. The author writes her dialogue in pretty much contemporary English. She does not try to remind us that the action is taking place in the future by having her characters speak in "future speak." In most cases I am not interested in learning a whole new made-up vocabulary just so I can figure out what a character is talking about.

And then there is Trang himself. It sees odd that in a book with a character driven story line that some reviewers would find the titular character to be less than interesting. And I would agree he is not the most interesting character in the book. He is not strong enough on his own to hold my interest. He is not damaged enough to make him sympathetic. And as a sheep among wolves, he is not vulnerable enough to make me feel for him. Now it is possible that the author over exerted herself on the supporting cast and had nothing left for her title character. But I am wondering if perhaps she is just a bit too subtle for some of us (i.e. me). When I realized that Trang was the main character in a story that is not really about him I had to stop and think about his role for a moment. Trang is a diplomat. Now I am not a diplomat and I do not know any but based on pure speculation I would guess that being a diplomat shares one thing in common with being a journalist. A journalist is never supposed to be the story and I assume that a diplomat never wants to be the story either. "Being" the story for a diplomat would seem to imply failure or scandal. Perhaps this was the author's intent and she deliberately crafted the story to have this feel. And there is another possibility. I read into the book a certain disdain for bureaucracies, which may be the result of my own personal bias. But if the author's personal opinion of bureaucracies and bureaucrats is reflected in her book then I can see where writing an interesting bureaucrat as its main character could be problematic.

I gave it four stars because liked it. Good characters, an interesting story and interesting ideas. The book is well written overall and I look forward to reading the next.

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2013

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It just didn't get my attention and keep it..A slow start doesn't keep me reading. I think it was the author's style of writing.

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Self

Fun if you don't mind the language

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2013

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Stick a diplomat together with a VERY rough group of soldiers on an alien space station, and what do you get? An interesting and humorous tale about managing intergalactic relations..

Someone complained about the language. Is it really that bad? Sweet mother Gaia, yes! I get the way the nickname for the special forces plays off of SF, but... oh Mary, why that? The language is so bad that it becomes a distinct part of the story's flavor, and was part of why I enjoyed it so much. If that bothers you, don't buy this book.

Otherwise, buy it. It's a fun read.

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Battledad

Different, interesting, easy read

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2013

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Let start out saying I enjoyed this book. I work out 4-5 days a week which includes 30 minutes on a stationary bike where I read. One of the questions I ask myself is whether I am looking forward to reading the current book or whether I want to slog through or give it up. When I look forward to reading the book it's already on my + list.

The story has some twists and the settings are reasonably interesting. The main character is a pacifist in the midst of warriors. The author's concept of action appears to be focused on describing the interactions between the "diplomat" Trang and the aliens. Not as much traditional action as what might be used to. However, it seems to work ok.

The writing style is decent. No overt errors in word choice, sentence structure or spelling. The warriors types use a lot of colorful language so if you are offended by the F word and similar then you will be disappointed. Not a lot of depth to the characters with the exception of Trang.

Overall a decent read. So, my next question (to myself) is whether I would buy the next book. This first book is free to get the reader involved and to buy in. When I go to look for Book #2 I see that it's priced at $4.99. So from free to $5. That either means #2 has to be exceptional or that you are really paying $2.50 for book one since you are averaging them in. Since the author tempted me with Free for #1 then I consider #2 on the merits and whether it is worth $5.

Unfortunately for me (and perhaps the author) I simply can't bring myself to pay $5 for #2. This brings me to the subject of marketing. Giving #1 away for Free is a clear attempt to engage new readers and get them invested. If #1 is good enough people will buy #2 IF....IF...they are truly invested. Given that background I just can't (in my mind) make a case for $5. I think a better approach would be to offer #2 for $1.99 or maybe (maybe...) $2.99. They then could make #2 a $1 more than #2 since the more the reader is vested in the series the more likely they are to spend their money. I realize that's my opinion but going from Free to $2 and then to $3 for electronic makes a lot more sense than going from Free to $0.00.

If the author changes their mind I would pay $2 for Book #2 but until then I'll keep reading new books that are free or much less expensive than $5.

Cheers!

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Kindle Customer

This book is the best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2013

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If I could give out a prize I would for this really lovely story. The characterisation is excellent. The proofreading is excellent. The emotions are intense. The plot is intricate and tricky. I adored the aliens. I even laughed out loud a few times and I must admit I found the soldier's vulgarity a total hoot. I dread to think what that says about me! More please. Just read it again for the second time. Enjoyed the whole thing all over again just as much as before. I really love all these people and the aliens too. A really life enhancing story.

Jean Corbel

Classique et plaisant

Reviewed in France on December 28, 2012

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M. Sisson crée un univers dans un style narratif classique, où les découvertes s'enchainent pour le plus grand plaisir du lecteur.
Le livre est une histoire complète, et une solide!
Nous sommes loin des auteurs à page, comme on dirait au kilo...

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Longshot

Enjoyable and inventive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2015

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Very enjoyable sci fi that works on many levels. I found the characters were easy to get into but by no means shallow.despite the humourous tone taken throughout the book there's some real depth and clever ideas behind the story. I particularly liked the naming of the alien races - that worked well on several levels.

This would be worth reading at a full price so I would highly recommend it.

Susan Stepney

triumph of diplomacy over force

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2023

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This reminded me a little of a cross between Ryk Spoor’s Grand Central Arena series, writ small, without the Doc Smith-ian scale or superpowers, and James White’s Sector General series, without the medicine. There’s the same idea of a motley group of humans trying to understand lots of different alien perspectives, with more at stake than they originally knew.

Trang is a competent bureaucrat with a past, trying his best to ensure humanity survives. The aliens are interesting, and alien, and have conflicts of their own. The denouement suitably racks up the tension and consequences, and the solution is an interesting triumph of diplomacy over force.

I’m interested to see what Trang does next.

Ella

Imaginative view of human reaction to aliens

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2013

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What an excellent book! It creates a world where the story focuses on people, even when they are alien, rather than technology. But this is no space opera, the hero Phillipe Tang, a career diplomat, attempts to juggle humans' approach to aliens which is to assume the worst and be ready to use violence against real or imagined threats with the need to make contact with the aliens and negotiate peaceful understanding between the species.
This is achieved with a dry wit and believable characters.
I look forward to the next installment.