Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share review

If you're a frequent reader, you know that I typically listen to audiobooks during training runs.  The most recent book I finished was Nathan Lowell's Quarter Share.  The book is the first in a six book series about life aboard a space freighter told from the point of view of Ishmael Wong, an 18 year old intelligent, albeit regular, guy.

In Quarter Share, Ishmael's mother passes away leaving him with nowhere to live and no source of income.  He had been planning to attend the University where his mother had worked, but that is suddenly out of the question.  Ishmael is able to find a job in the kitchen aboard a ship with a very friendly crew.   The story then grows from Ishmael adjusting to life aboard the ship, to him suggesting changes to the ships captain and crew that would allow the crew to do some private trading on the planets they visit.

David Plass recommended this series to me, mentioning that it is a light read and would probably work well for running.  I agree with David.  While there is almost no conflict in the book, it is still interesting to hear what goes on in the world that Lowell created.  The characters are all likable.  Think of it as a friend telling you an interesting story about a world you know very little about. It kept me going for about two weeks worth of runs. Not so long that you can't switch (like a Song of Ice and Fire) and long enough that you get a developed story.

The entire book was available free as a series of podcasts on iTunes.  One drawback to the format is that I find myself having to manually switch from one podcast to the next.  Also, at the beginning of each podcast, the author summarizes the previous one.  This is great if you're listening to just one podcast at a time, but as I run I just completed the 20 minutes that he's summarizing, so it got to be a bit annoying.