I acquired this after hearing about it from the author. It's a departure from his more usual hard SF (a subgenre which doesn't presently enthuse me much), being a worldwalking fantasy somewhat along the lines of Zelazny's Amber series, the first few of which remain amongst my favourite fantasy novels ever.
This is different. Instead of the Amberites' neo-Renaissance machinations and aristocratic feuds, tinged with magic and Weird Stuff and drowning in Zelazny's edgy, toughly poetic prose, Stross has updated plot and setting to present us with an alternate Earth (rather than an infinite variety of worlds) with a strongly Norse influence, and a Clan who wheel and deal between the two worlds, laundering a great deal of money via an illicit import/export business. His protagonists: a business journalist and a development economist.
No one in this novel has jewel-coloured eyes.
Am not clearing aside the Zelazny to make room for The Family Trade, but I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
reposted here from LJ in order to keep all my reviews in one place
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