Book Review: Owner's Share by Nathan Lowell

Summary

Captain Ishmael Wang lost his job when the CEO of his company passed away suddenly. Luckily, his portion of a salvage claim is about to make him a very rich man. Suddenly awash in the culture of those with money to spare, he finds himself at a loss of what to do. He can't give up space, but can he really afford to buy a ship of his own and start his own company? He needs advice, a ship, and a crew. But all he has is the promise of money coming to him, and the experience of decades of being in space.  

That's my summary. Here's the one I pulled from http://nathanlowell.com/owners-share/

Sometimes getting what you want is not enough.

When Diurnia Salvage and Transport undergoes a change in management, Captain Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself adrift in a sea of red ink, and intrigue. He dives in only to find that he is over his head in a universe where cut-throat competition takes on an all new meaning.

What tragic price will he pay for his Owner’s Share?

Context 

Owner's Share takes place roughly shortly after the previous novel, Captain's Share.

My Thoughts

This book was an amazingly fitting end to the Trader Tales series in Lowell's universe. We've seen Ishmael journey throughout space, but the trials he comes up against in Owner's Share are totally different from any other conflicts he's endured. Now with the promise of money and influence, Ish faces situations that will challenge his very core and all his ethics. Where the two previous books, Double Share and Captain's Share, were very similar in theme and the magnitude of problems Ish faced, this book took things to an even larger level, and the world suddenly got even bigger. The financial and business red tape that Ish has to jump through suddenly gives new depth to the culture Ish lives in.

Personally, I was most affected by this book, and I think it is one of my favorites in the series. It's certainly the first one to bring tears to my eyes, and it did so twice. Over these six books, the reader grows so connected to Ishmael that it's hard to feel what he feels. I can't rave enough about this series. It's amazing. Period.

Would I Recommend This Book? A thousand times yes. Lowell gives us a great ending to a stellar series, though it isn't the last we'll see of Ishmael Horatio Wang. It's the end of this storyline, of Ishmael going from a penniless teenager to a multimillionaire ship captain. I plan to read these again and again. I give Owner's Share a secure 5 of 5 stars.

For more on the author, visit http://nathanlowell.com/