• Quarter Share

  • A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 1
  • By: Nathan Lowell
  • Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
  • Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,291 ratings)

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Quarter Share  By  cover art

Quarter Share

By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
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Publisher's summary

What if we sent freighters instead of frigates?

In a universe run by corporations, where profit matters more than life, how can an orphan with no skills, no money, and no prospects survive?

When Ishmael Wang's mother dies in a senseless accident, he's given a choice: leave the planet on his own, or the company will remove him. To avoid deportation Ishmael finds work as a mess deck attendant on an interstellar freighter.

Find out what Ishmael must do to earn his Quarter Share.

©2013 Nathan Lowell (P)2016 Podium Publishing

What listeners say about Quarter Share

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Narration / Fantastic Book!!!


Quarter Share is intelligent, well written, tells a familiar yet original story, and has a fully fleshed out main character whose story you'll care about. (It was also perfect for me over the last few chaotic months when all I wanted to do was stay in bed with the covers pulled over my head while the world went to hell in a hand basket. Hello Hell!)

However, if you are not anxiety prone, and want a action packed sci fi to read, move along -- this isn't it. This is the nuts and bolts of life on a merchant space ship with all the attendant excitement of visiting ports of call and making deals on cargo. Our guy is bright, works his way up the chain of command with alacrity, and he has nice friends. However, very little happens beyond that. No wars, aliens, romance, or even disagreements between the crew -- like watching spiffy paint dry on the prow of a really pretty ship. NIce, but really, there are more interesting things to read if you are so inclined.

So of course, I've already bought book 2! (It's looking to be the start of a crazy 4 years, and I need my sleep.)

Younger guys might really like it since it does have a Horatio Hornblower thing going, without the whips and the scurvy.

BUT -- And I'm embarrassed to admit this -- this is an edited version of this review. Originally I wrote the following: ". . . this book was NOT helped by Jeffrey Kafer's "Joe Friday, just the facts, mam" delivery. His monotone precision was a literal yawn, and his blank blandness added zero emotional nuance. It's a shame really. The MC is 18 when it starts, so a younger, more enthusiastic performance could have added much, including the sense of a real young man's life being lived."

WRONG. After reading the entire series (and it's a nice long one), and listening to Jeffrey Kafer's performance in every book, I am convinced that the series wouldn't be as great as it is without him. Consequently, I have placed a dunce cap on my head and spent some time in a corner contemplating the mistake of first impression reviews..

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: For everyone!

Fun Fact: I was on the Exxon Valdez in 1989 (not kidding). I traveled with my ex on the ship from New Orleans to Houston, where we disembarked before it continued on to infamy. I learned that living on a merchant ship was a weird half-life situation full of tedium, monotony, unrelenting engine noise, vibrating metal walls and floors, and ok food. In short: dreary. So, like the characters in this book, getting off ship to relax in port was the ONLY thing keeping the crew sane. Just saying.

But what most people don't know about that particular ship is that the big oil companies lobbied Congress to pass a law allowing companies like Exxon to ship their oil in the cheaper, lighter, single hulled tankers, like the Valdez, to save profits. So, instead of the safer double hulled tankers that they used to run -- that single hull tanker split in half and dumped it's cargo.

So of course they blamed the captain.

Thanks Congress!

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45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Nathan vs Jeffrey

I downloaded these stories some time ago directly from Nathan's page. They were free, so I gave them a chance and was pleasantly surprised at how the story carried forward.

*** This is not a cut at Jeffrey. His performance was nicely done. However, Nathan's reading was exceptional. I was surprised to find that you hadn't used his.

I have no personal experience with the civilian side of nautical service, but think this might be a good rendition of the merchant marine concept taken to space faring. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Easy Listen

Where does Quarter Share rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I am a big fan of all of the Tale's from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, and Quarter Share was my introduction to this universe. This was the first time I've seen a slice of life style story set in a sci-fi world. Normally, if there are spaceships there are either aliens, and/or war. And those stories have a place in my heart, but until I first listened to Quarter Share, I had no idea I even WANTED a story about the day to day life of a furturistic merchant marine. Now I've looked for others, but have yet to find one that compares to this series.There is something timeless about the story, so that, if not for the occasional tech, and science talk, Ish's story feels like it could take place in any time or place, be it today, or 200 years ago.Also, the further the series goes along, the more you feel like your looking at the early years of some great and important figure, and learning how he found his ideals and beliefs.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the timelessness of the story. I also like the spirit of cooperation this story inspires. Ish doesn't set out to change the spacer culture, or to make Pip a better crewman. He just wants to learn, and to make things better for everyone, and it's recognized by others, and people generally respond to it positively.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Ish and Pip begin private trading, and ultimately organize the co-op.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Our Journey Through The Deep Dark

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Start of a Delightful Series

The adventures of Ishmael Wong are a delight and a pleasure. In this first book Ish meets Pip and joins the Solar Clipper Lois McKendrick. The author, Nathan Lowell, is a consummate storyteller, and the result is a space opera without a single space battle.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Had Potential but don't bother.

I really like the idea of this plot and the writing style is not bad. However, not much of anything happens and the rest of the series is basically a wish fulfillment borderline harem story.

I really liked the setting and enjoyed a lot of the beginning and middle. I wanted to hear more about the world and the way things are done. I was actually looking forward to seeing the MC grow from a green kid into a professional space trader. I really thought that it would be interesting. Unfortunately most of the process of him learning about the ship and him qualifying to move up is just kind of hand waved due to how super, amazing, uber, . . ect . . ect. . .ect. . . brilliantly smart and amazing he is. Yet he still has the mind of a young boy going through puberty.

I can overlook the juvenile outlook that the MC has on life due to his age. What I can't forgive is that every single time a new female character is introduced the book proceeds to talk on and on about how sexy they look and almost never develops any of them past sex object. The book does make sure to describe them as strong independent women but has them all act like horny teenagers.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Maybe something happens in book two

Seriously, after the first few chapters setting up the premise, zero things happened for the rest of this book. I cannot emphasize that enough, there was zero conflict for the entire book, everyone got along and made money, coffee, and space sludge. I will say it was an oddly entertaining listen despite that, especially if you enjoy learning about space coffee and really nice, hand made leather belts. I mean really, really nice belts. MAGICAL belts. They looked good on everyone, had cool accessories, came at a great price from the cool lady at the flea market, people couldn't breath over how sexy the belts made people look... honestly, enough could not be said about these belts....

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good But Not Nathan Lowell

What did you love best about Quarter Share?

I adore these stories. I've listened to them for years and I own the hard copies! The overall story line would have to be what I love most.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ishmael is the main character but I have always loved Cookie.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jeffrey Kafer?

Yes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Like I said, I love these books. However, I feel that Audible/Jeffrey Kafer dropped the ball a bit on the recording details. I have listed to Nathan Lowell's performance of these books and Mr. Kafer is mispronouncing many of the names and descriptive words. I would have hoped that the performer would have talked to the author of the book to see how to pronounce the "odd ball" items. It kills me to be expecting "Roo-by-a" and hear "Roob".

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Nice easy story without drama

It's a pleasant listen. Nothing ever goes wrong and everyone is nice to each other. I can only imagine that this is because it should really be the first part of a larger book.

What really bothers me is that the book is advertised as over 7 hours long, but when you check the chapters you'll notice the last one is 1 hour by itself. Turns out that's the preview for the next book. That just feel underhanded and scammy. I like the story but am not sure I want to support this practice by buying the rest of the series.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

a coming of age in space story

Where does Quarter Share rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

this books ranks in the top 10 percent as far as books that I have read

Who was your favorite character and why?

my favorite character is pip the reason why is I have a hard time identifying with the main character Ishmael but Pip is me in many ways. this is a coming of age story and the struggles this secondary character goes through are the same types of struggles I would have,. pip also has my sense of humor and reacts to problems in the same way I would react.

Have you listened to any of Jeffrey Kafer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Jeffery kafer does a good job. I have listened to before reading The empires Corp series by Christopher gnutella.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no...

Any additional comments?

I first listened to this book six years ago. the author had released it free on the internet and actually read the book himself. I am excited to see it on audible and in print because it truly is science fiction of a different type and does not fit the stereotypical science fiction story, there is no climatic battle or life changing story in fact you will spend most the story waiting for the story to start unable to put it down because the book begs you to continue reading till you get to the end and realize you want to hear more of this authors work.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Boring Enough I Missed the Ending...

...then didn't bother to rewind and hear it.

Feels like a teenager, or an unimaginative merchant marine, wrote this. There isn't a plot really to speak of and I am not exaggerating when I say there is no conflict. There isn't even a character that doesn't get along with the main character. I say "main character" because protagonist implies someone you root for or has an nemesis or antagonist or any kind of challenge against them. The main character Ishmael has none of these. The author is almost undoubtedly a white american male because even though Ishmael works for what he has, he uses an unacknowledged privilege of everyone helping him for no discernable reason and the world never actively or even passively tries to keep him from his goals.

All the characters are very flat and one dimensional, or in Ishmael's case non-dimensional(seriously, you could replace his character with an empty pillow case and no one would notice). The few female characters have no depth beyond their physical characteristics that the author seems to think are extremely important to prattle on about. Oh my! One of the engie girls dresses goth/punk?? ThAt'S cRaZy!! Tell me more about how she has piercings!

I like how this is like a memoir of a trade-ship crew through a small lens of scifi, but I don't like how such an interesting concept is made incredibly boring. Literally nothing happens. There are no stakes, there is nothing at risk. At no point was I the least bit worried about or interested in Ishmael's well being. Ishmael coasts through life without anything to challenge his progress or low stakes desires. Even the world it takes place in is drab and grey and makes me nostalgic for dish water. This book needs some serious punch-ups or editing or ghost writers, because as it stands I can't see it appealing to anyone.

Narrator Jeff Kafer feels amateurish as a voice actor, all his voices sound the same. And slow down, Tex! It's not a race. You can speak at the speed people regularly speak to have a conversation, rather than trying to rush through it like you have a bus to catch after the recording session.

I had high hopes for this series but I would NOT recommend it.

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