The Merchants' War: Book Four of the Merchant Princes by Charles Stross Search Amazon for other books by or about Charles Stross. Rating: Reviewed by: John Walsh

If the third episode in this series of The Merchant Princes could have been sub-titled "The Empire Strikes Back," then this fourth episode might be called "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Episode three seemed to herald the forthcoming victory of the forces of conservatism and, indeed, things still look pretty bleak at the end of episode four, yet the forces of revolution are not without some power of their own and, having been launched into action, press on at their own pace. Perhaps the most interesting character of the series, Erasmus Burgeson, is the embodiment of that revolution: bruised and battered by the repressive state, he continues his work with the greatest possible secrecy and a steely determination, combined with an insatiable appetite for ideas and, although he has no opportunity to put this into practice, I would imagine for debate as well. In his company, our heroine Miriam Beckstein travels the new-old continent aiming to recreate her business enterprise while avoiding enemies from various different factions. Meanwhile, members of the Clan are struggling with the aftermath of the slaughter that ended the third book and the emergence of a vicious and skilled military adversary. Back in our world, at the same time, the US government is coming closer to understanding the nature of the parallel worlds and thereby seizing and claiming its resources. The fact that nuclear bombs may or may not be ticking on long fuses in the cities of the eastern USA lends a certain urgency to their investigations. The plot has been shaken and the various characters are fluttering about like the flakes in one of those snow scenes in a bottle which, no doubt, have a proper name.

It would appear that author Charles Stross enjoys writing these stories--he may be a prolific author but to have one episode per year in addition to all his other output represents a prodigious work ethic which can only be eased by pleasure taken in the writing. His plotting is sure and, if the end point was not visible from the beginning, then he is able to plan far enough ahead for the books to make sense as they continue and there are no major plot holes beyond what is unavoidable when dealing with a possibly infinite number of parallel worlds. In any case, this does not distract from the narrative, which is driven along at an ever accelerating pace. The number of characters continues to grow and some old favourites, notably Brilliana and Olga, show aspects to their character which had not been previously revealed. There is a lot of solid world building going on in the background, even if the role of popular culture is downplayed perhaps a little more than should be the case.

In the field of urban fantasy, which seems to be a reasonable alternative to contemporary science fiction, there can be few series which are as entertaining and indeed intelligent at The Merchant Princes. Readers would be well-advised to start with the first book, since there would be quite a steep learning curve to starting in media res--this book starts quite literally with Miriam surrounded by cut-throats and it would not be immediately clear who is doing what and why. I would be surprised if many did not want to find out what happens next.