Audiobook Review: Nathan Lowell's Half Share

Half Share is the second book in Nathan Lowell's Trader's Tales series.  The second in the series was much like the first, with very little conflict and an interesting recount of the events aboard the Lois McKendrick.  I didn't enjoy Half Share as much as Quarter Share mostly due to the sexuality portrayed in the book.  In one scene, Ishmael goes shopping for new clothes.  While shopping he becomes aware of how attractive he is.  This also makes him realize that many of the women on the ship also notice that he's attractive and the attraction is mutual.  There is some uncomfortable sexual tension throughout the book.

While uncomfortable, the tension does help to give a better understanding of what its like to be a spacer.  Since the ship doesn't allow relationships between crew members, intimacy is limited to one night stands at port.  Lowell uses this as setup to help us understand why Ishmael should and may eventually want to move on to a different career.

This book is also available as a free podcast download from iTunes.  As he mentioned in his comment on my Quarter Share post, Lowell did end up dropping the "Previously on..." blurbs at the beginning of each episode in the podcast.

Like Quarter Share, Half Share was about 7.5 hours long and took about two weeks at my current training schedule to complete.  While the sexual tension is uncomfortable, I believe it makes a point.  I'd say the book is worth the listen!