Charles Stross, The Hidden Family

reviewed by Danielle L. Parker

There was a time when you could not spin the radio dial without hearing Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar.” There were and are better anthems out there (Aretha Franklin’s “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” and my favorite, Annie Lennox’s “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves,” among them), but however much it pains you, Reddy’s has been the official ode to the female state ever since it debuted. (Why, by the way, are there no male anthems? The only thin candidates that come to my mind are both blatantly sexual and suspiciously tool-oriented — Peter Gabrial’s “Sledgehammer” and that old chestnut, “I’m Your Handy-Man,” for example. Guys, what is really going through your minds when you slaver over those super-sized power tool gizmos?)

But whatever woman-hear-me-roar anthem you prefer, something should be playing in the back of your mind when you read the latest book in “The Merchant Princes” series. The girls have really gotten it together in this book, and they are, indeed, doing it for themselves. Miriam, the ultimate tough-gal heroine of the first book, “The Family Trade,” is back again, and she and her feminine cohorts are really kicking rear-ends in the newest saga.

When Miriam’s previous outing ended in “The Family Trade,” we had hints that there was another criminally-inclined hidden family around somewhere... one that had some real grudges against Miriam’s newly discovered kin and kith. Miriam, who has acquired a medallion from one of these suspect hidden relatives, tries it out. Her new world-hopping medallion leads her to yet another Earth — one that is apparently unknown to her official drug-smuggling kin. But this new world, with more of an early Industrial Revolution vibe than either its medieval or high-tech alternates, seems to be tailor-made for Miriam. Miriam intends to reform the Family, and showing them a better way of doing business than smuggling small white baggies is her first step. Money talks, and Miriam knows she’s got to prove that Good Pays in cold hard profits, or no one’s going to listen to her.

It’s fun to tag along for Miriam’s answer to the what-would-I-do-if-I-had-a-million-bucks and a turn-of-the-century-opportunity-to-invest-it fantasy. We meet a few new characters, but mostly familiar ones from the first book. Roland, Miriam’s upper-class boyfriend from the first story, is one of the familiar ones, but once again he’s outclassed. Our tigress still gnaws Roland for brunch and spits out the exhausted remains. I hope I’m not spoiling the show for anyone by saying I’m glad he won’t be making an appearance in future volumes. If this gal is to have a love interest, she should have a man who can hold his own. Strong women shouldn’t be afraid of strong men.

I admit I love the way the gals hang together in this story, in spite of the fact that there’s a sneaking suspicion in my mind that all this jealousy-free feminine togetherness is more of a fantasy than any alternate Earth could be. Does gender ever truly disappear as a factor in social relationships? Women have complained that men have only one thing on their minds for longer than bustiers have been around. However true (or untrue) that old canard is, the flip side of the stereotype must be that women, too, relate to each other in terms of gender. Any female who’s ever been shafted by another woman — and I think all of us would own up to experiencing this at least once, if we’re honest — understands that only another female really knows how to sink the knife in the most vulnerable spot.

But let’s hope that Stross is right, and I’m wrong. You go, gals!

Copyright © 2006 by Danielle L. Parker