Rating: 
Summary: Gag me!
Review: I was hoping for an explaination for the quasi-enjoyable Thousand Words, and this book did not offer anything. It was so poorly written (confusing, too hard to follow the randomness) that I could not even bring myself to finish it, especially after the hockey game. . . The characters have no qualities that make you want to have any compassion at all for them. Sira was weak and not a very likable person. Her fellow Clan members were deplorable as well. I easily tossed this book aside and have not had any regrets. While the author has some good ideas that may be worth working with, this book and Thousand Words were just too drab and drawn out.
Rating: 
Summary: The Sensual World
Review: In this, the second in Czerneda's rollicking "Trade Pact Universe" series, Sira Di Sarc Morgan, having conquered her amnesia in the first book in the series, "A Thousand Words for Stranger," just wants some peace and quiet, but her friends and relatives keep pulling her back in. Her species, the telepathic Clan, whose butts she kicked in the first book in the series _A Thousand Words for Stranger_ are still engaged in endless plotting within plotting, and Sira just can't stay out of it. For which readers can be grateful. In addition to the characters from the prior book--Captain Jason Morgan, her Chosen; the arthropod-like restauranteur Huido; the trade-pact "enforcers"; her scheming relatives--Sira this time out meets up with some new critters, first amongst them the Drapsk, to whom she's the long sought for Mystic One. Czerneda's abilities to create species, and worlds, is probably unsurpassed these days (you'll probably be able to smell the scummy Ret 7 if not reach out and touch it) and her multiple POV plotting, carried over from the first book in the series, has her juggling a lot of balls in the air (and she leaves her characters hanging on plenty of cliffs). But she never drops the balls (or pushes people over the cliffs). More tales of Sira and Captain Morgan seem planned. And that's fine with me.
Rating: 
Summary: Continuing the high-class SF writing from "1000 Words..."
Review: Julie E. Czerneda is definitely on her way to being one of the greats of Canadian Science Fiction. Her sequel to "A Thousand Words for Stranger," "Ties of Power" brings us back into the world of Sira Di Sarc Morgan and Jason Morgan. Sira uncovered in the previous novel that previous to her amnesia and meeting Jason she was not a terribly nice person, planning on using Jason as a tool to reach maturity in her powers, Sira's amnesia was self-inflicted as part of one of the many plots of her people, the telepathic Clan. In this book, Sira navigates the integration of her previous life with her experiences with Jason, and the character development on this track is stunning! The plot moves forward even though there's quite a bit of flashback as we explore the pasts of some characters, and all of it is in the name of character development, which is a balance done well in this novel. More, as usual, even though she introduces many new technologies and alien races, Czerneda doesn't let them over power the real strength of the tale: the characters. Enter one of the cutest/most interesting alien races I've read to date into a series already deft and intruiging, and you're in for a great read. The Clan plotting and conniving picks up a pace, and the interplay between Sira and Jason is wonderful. I, for one, can't wait for book three. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: Continuing the high-class SF writing from "1000 Words..."
Review: Julie E. Czerneda is definitely on her way to being one of the greats of Canadian Science Fiction. Her sequel to "A Thousand Words for Stranger," "Ties of Power" brings us back into the world of Sira Di Sarc Morgan and Jason Morgan. Sira uncovered in the previous novel that previous to her amnesia and meeting Jason she was not a terribly nice person, planning on using Jason as a tool to reach maturity in her powers, Sira's amnesia was self-inflicted as part of one of the many plots of her people, the telepathic Clan. In this book, Sira navigates the integration of her previous life with her experiences with Jason, and the character development on this track is stunning! The plot moves forward even though there's quite a bit of flashback as we explore the pasts of some characters, and all of it is in the name of character development, which is a balance done well in this novel. More, as usual, even though she introduces many new technologies and alien races, Czerneda doesn't let them over power the real strength of the tale: the characters. Enter one of the cutest/most interesting alien races I've read to date into a series already deft and intruiging, and you're in for a great read. The Clan plotting and conniving picks up a pace, and the interplay between Sira and Jason is wonderful. I, for one, can't wait for book three. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: Good but frustrating
Review: Much better than the first book. The author explains more that helps to explain what was going on in the first book. However, now I'm not sure what was going on in this book. Exactly what the Drapsk are looking for is unclear and even they admit they don't know what it is. The M'hir and its nature is still confusing even more so now. I suspect a trend where you have to read the next book in the series to figure out what went on in the previous one. Which I suppose is a good thing in a series, if not just a bit frustrating.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: Sira is the most powerful Chooser ever to be born in the Clan. Her power is so great that no clansman can survive her testing. But there is one who can. He is Jason Morgan, a human telepath. The Clan is afraid of Sira's power and Sira's choice of the human, and so they seek to destroy her. Sira exiles herself to a remote planet in an effort to have, even for a short while, control over her own life. But forces are at work to seek out Sira and take from her what only she has the right to give, and to destroy forever any hope that she and her human love can be together. Julie Czerneda has a unique outlook on life. The understanding with which she writes of races and cultures unknown to humankind is stunning and brilliant. Her prose is sprinkled with word-pictures so real that the reader becomes caught up in her fantasy world without even realizing it. Sira's story is engrossing, captivating, suspenseful and utterly compelling. Ms. Czerneda's talent grows and grows. Rickey R. Mallory
Rating:
Summary: Starts Slow But Ends Well
Review: The second book in Julie Czerneda's series started out slowly. I was surprised and a little disapointed at first, Sira Morgan running a casino? What will she do next, join the space mafia? I actually put the book down for a while. When I finally picked it up again, the plot began to move faster, and by the end of the book, things were happening so fast that I couldn't put it down. There were some nice, suspenseful moments towards the end. I liked the changes in the concept of the M'hir. I thought it made the plot more interesting. I also liked the new species, the Drapsk. Julie characterized them well. They were interesting and loveable. Overall, the book is well worth reading, in spite of the slow start.
Rating:
Summary: Starts Slow But Ends Well
Review: The second book in Julie Czerneda's series started out slowly. I was surprised and a little disapointed at first, Sira Morgan running a casino? What will she do next, join the space mafia? I actually put the book down for a while. When I finally picked it up again, the plot began to move faster, and by the end of the book, things were happening so fast that I couldn't put it down. There were some nice, suspenseful moments towards the end. I liked the changes in the concept of the M'hir. I thought it made the plot more interesting. I also liked the new species, the Drapsk. Julie characterized them well. They were interesting and loveable. Overall, the book is well worth reading, in spite of the slow start.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Story, Somewhat Sprawling
Review: The second book in Julie Czerneda's Trade Pact Universe trilogy has all the color and realism of the first, if rather less direct action in its intertwined story lines. Ties of Power picks up a year after A Thousand Words for Stranger. The bond between Sira di Sarc and Justin Morgan remains strong and warm, but they are neither mated in the Human fashion nor fully Joined in the manner of Clan. Anticipating retaliation from the Clan Council, Sira and Morgan have been keeping a low profile on a backwater planet. When the attack finally comes, however, it takes them both by surprise. Sira is left injured as the Council seizes the only thing it now wants from her. In a fury, she sends Morgan off to retrieve what was stolen. Sira, who again narrates her story line in first person, spends over half of Ties sidelined with the alien Drapsk, on either their ship or their homeworld. Czerneda does an excellent job of bringing the Drapsk and their planet to life, and sets an absorbing puzzle for Sira as she tries to get a handle on the incomprehensible Drapsk culture and on the purpose of a mysterious competition they're determined to have her enter, but some readers may become impatient with the slow pace of this story line and its relative lack of plot development. Some of Sira's rage has implanted itself in Morgan, leaving him hair-trigger-tempered and aggressive as he hunts the Clan who violated Sira. Having few leads to go on, he doesn't get anywhere very fast, but he does get to spend time with some interesting characters. As in Stranger, there are a number of different parties on either his or Sira's trail, for widely varied purposes, most of which have little or nothing to do with the pair's best interests; these story lines are interspersed with Morgan's search in brief, third-person "interludes," again as in Stranger. Free at last, Sira goes after Morgan. Good guys and bad guys alike converge on a dismal little ball of swamp called Ret 7. Several ongoing or new plots are laid bare, including one that makes the Clan itself more pawn than player. In view of other events occurring as the tide finally turns in favor of the good guys, the long-deferred Joining between Sira and Morgan is disappointingly anticlimactic. Sequels are always harder to pull off than originals, and newer authors often find it hard to match the impact of a successful debut novel. That said, Czerneda's turned in a solid performance with Ties of Power. Compared to Stranger, this book is more sprawling in its story lines and not quite as free of basic writing errors, but its aliens and worlds are fun and fully realized, the writing in general is leavened by an undercurrent of humor, and Czerneda shows a flair for taking her plots off in unexpected directions. It will be fun to see how she chooses to wrap up this trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Story, Somewhat Sprawling
Review: The second book in Julie Czerneda's Trade Pact Universe trilogy has all the color and realism of the first, if rather less direct action in its intertwined story lines. Ties of Power picks up a year after A Thousand Words for Stranger. The bond between Sira di Sarc and Justin Morgan remains strong and warm, but they are neither mated in the Human fashion nor fully Joined in the manner of Clan. Anticipating retaliation from the Clan Council, Sira and Morgan have been keeping a low profile on a backwater planet. When the attack finally comes, however, it takes them both by surprise. Sira is left injured as the Council seizes the only thing it now wants from her. In a fury, she sends Morgan off to retrieve what was stolen. Sira, who again narrates her story line in first person, spends over half of Ties sidelined with the alien Drapsk, on either their ship or their homeworld. Czerneda does an excellent job of bringing the Drapsk and their planet to life, and sets an absorbing puzzle for Sira as she tries to get a handle on the incomprehensible Drapsk culture and on the purpose of a mysterious competition they're determined to have her enter, but some readers may become impatient with the slow pace of this story line and its relative lack of plot development. Some of Sira's rage has implanted itself in Morgan, leaving him hair-trigger-tempered and aggressive as he hunts the Clan who violated Sira. Having few leads to go on, he doesn't get anywhere very fast, but he does get to spend time with some interesting characters. As in Stranger, there are a number of different parties on either his or Sira's trail, for widely varied purposes, most of which have little or nothing to do with the pair's best interests; these story lines are interspersed with Morgan's search in brief, third-person "interludes," again as in Stranger. Free at last, Sira goes after Morgan. Good guys and bad guys alike converge on a dismal little ball of swamp called Ret 7. Several ongoing or new plots are laid bare, including one that makes the Clan itself more pawn than player. In view of other events occurring as the tide finally turns in favor of the good guys, the long-deferred Joining between Sira and Morgan is disappointingly anticlimactic. Sequels are always harder to pull off than originals, and newer authors often find it hard to match the impact of a successful debut novel. That said, Czerneda's turned in a solid performance with Ties of Power. Compared to Stranger, this book is more sprawling in its story lines and not quite as free of basic writing errors, but its aliens and worlds are fun and fully realized, the writing in general is leavened by an undercurrent of humor, and Czerneda shows a flair for taking her plots off in unexpected directions. It will be fun to see how she chooses to wrap up this trilogy.
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