Yes.
Now that we got that over with, yes, it’s the end of the Shares. It’s probably not the end of Ishmael Wang. I’ve had a couple of emails about not ending the series and I want to assure you that this series *must* end. It’s the last of the share levels. I can’t write another Share book.
What I can do is start another series. I can fill in the places where there are gaps. I have a whole universe of other stories to tell, some of which will have Ishmael Wang in them, I’m pretty sure.
I’d like to ask you to wait until you see what the ending of this series actually is before getting too upset.
After it’s over, you’ll have plenty of time to be peeved with me. :)
Now, fresh comment thread available. 26 should be up in the morning. Some of you will be cheering when it’s over.
Sean, you’re right. I’m too caught up in this. No more reading posts until the story is done. Then I can decide what to say. We’ll see if I was premature.
Two new episodes up today. You are hereby forgiven sar for the article 37 by article 37 & article 37, propagated (most likely) by article 37 upon article 37, article 37, article 37, and article 37 at article 37 on article 37.
Why can’t Ish be a tragic figure? He’s a sailor.
Gone now to listen to 29 and 30 since they downloaded while I wrote this.
This might be a stupid question but does the golden age of the solar clipper have a facebook or does the website
Mr. Lowell, I am now at 89% loading for the last of OS and I just wanted to say Thank You. I have already donated to both you and Podiobook, you for being owsome and podiobooks for the server. I figure that I gave about $0.10 for everytime I check the feed. Thank you again…however it ends.
Nate, I want to congratulate you on a well done series. Even with the suprising artucle 37 event, I have loved each and every one of the books. I look forward to the next series in which Ish may be featured. Good luck in your future writing endeavours and thank you.
@joshua – I have a fan page as well as my personal one. yeah.
Brilliant.
I just finished the last episode. I think this is some of the finest writing that I’ve ever encountered. I’ll admit to being worried after episode 28 but those fears proved groundless. I found the ending to be surprising, satisfying and consistent with Ishmael’s entire journey through these books. Mr. Lowell, I salute you.
Sorry, but the ending is just disappointing. The first 5 books left me wanting more. After this book, I just don’t feel a desire to follow any more.
Well, Sar, your books – which I discovered only last spring on the eve of my precious Dad’s death – have taken me through some very tough times. I am truly greatful that you didn’t shy away from the most difficult of outcomes. Article 37 resonates with truth, and I trust that the story will demonstrate the same compassion as all of the others. In his final, all too fleeting months with us my Dad lived with a philosophy that closely echoed that of the “trust Lois” variety. While healing may take time, we need only to trust in healing for it to occur. What a story! And, Sar, what a gift. Lead on, Sar.
I just finished. While ARtilce 37 was pleasing. But Article 37 seemed a bit lacking. I am hoping scissors are liberally applied in the next stage of Ish’s journey.
I just finished episode 30 and Nate you out did yourself. I was surprised!!! I loved the series and the ending. I can’t wait to see where Ish takes us in the future. Nate you need to get to work on the sequel to South Coast I loved the book.
Nate,
Many thanks. Even with the Article 37 plot twist, you managed to tie the major threads neatly and end the series in keeping with each individual novel – with Ish transitioning to a hopeful future. I’ll most probably comment further after I’ve digested OS more fully but definitely wanted to express my appreciation, that I most certainly look forward to further Golden Age voyages, and that I hope to read (or hear) more of a cast of characters I’ve grown quite attached to.
There are certainly further stories you can tell, but (que native drums) I’ll kick the next round of badgering off,,,
Port Lowell! Port Lowell!! Port LOWELL!
(thanks, again.)
Nate,
I must say that I was also enraged and frustrated by article 37. As a truck driver rolling down the road at the time I was listening, I was probably a public menace. After coming back to my senses, I realized just how invested I. And my wife had become in your characters and your story. They seem so real and so like us that we laugh and cry with them. Your technique is amazing. I have only read one other book/series in which so “little” extra-ordinary events happens and the story is purely about “simple” everyday happens of ordinary people AND it’s interesting and engaging.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us. You have life long fans in my wife and I. We recommend your works to all our friends and will certainly continue to do so.
I just finished listening to the Share Series and enjoyed each and everyone of them. Thank you so much. I can hardly wait for your next series.
Well, I’ve listened to the conclusion. My feelings have only strengthened. The sense of wrongness at the normal moments made me grit my teeth and his grief at Article 37 made me curse. And that’s the polite version of how I feel. It all felt very pointless and wasted. I’m sure you, and many of your listeners, don’t see it that way.
I’m sorry to come to this crossroads, Nate. I wish you the very best of success in your doings.
@Nate Thank You Sar
and also a pre order on lim hard bound books please I only add HB books to my collection and you have to an excellent author and You are So Please a pre Order I gladly pay up front for your books your on my shelf next To Tolkien
You have left plenty of room for ish to venture any where and even back to South Coast
Thanks for the ride
Look forward to the future works and audio Nar MJS
Safe Voyage
Patrick Phillips
Nate, I just finished listening to episode 30 – wonderful and thank you!
An ending? More of a new beginning it seems to me. I look forward to more books in this universe. Especially those with Ishmael in them. Fine work Nathan.
You naysayers out there…nevermind.
I have seen what most should never see
and
Life still goes on and so shall your stories
God Bless
your the Light in the deep dark
Over the course of time I have enjoyed the entire series up to episode 28 of OS, and it was a slow downhill progression after that. I have listened to the books many times over and I must say this last, final turn of events has basically ruined the entire lot. At least for me anyway. I had looked forward to this book for some time, and had assumed I would be purchasing the text version of the entire set when it was released. Due to the Article 37 portions of the final 3 episodes I do not believe I will be doing that. I wish you success in the future.
And a series that began with the bang of a flitter crash ends in a whimper and a shrug with one’s hands in their pockets.
Yep, sounds like life to me.
Thank you for sharing your tale with us….and now I think it’s time I take a break from Ishmael myself. Good luck Nate, and happy writing.
Nate.so your ending this like it begin. Ish. Is …..article 37 …..again ….this is not acceptable to me …..I expected and or required too much from you…. sigh…. at least I will able to sleep tonight .thanks for taking me along for the ride … I don’t know where we was gonna end up,,,,but I knew you and me and the good time gang were always there to have a good time….THANK YOU….!!!!!
Oh come the [Article 37] on. I didn’t agree with all the people whining from yesterday’s episode, but for me that ending undercut the whole of the series so far. The nature of the ending just plain didn’t fit, especially since I’d always assumed Ish’s middle name was in reference to a certain Mr. Alger, and his style of stories … so now I feel a bit betrayed.
disappointed!
and confused
Not my favorite end but it was fitting after article 37. Just left few more gapsin it than I like to see a few unanswered question that would like to know after Article 37 has been lifted. Still think you are great author and will keep following you into the dark. Thank you sar.
I didnt understanded why Jeff was in the wrong place at the wrong time :(
THANKS Nate, has been a wonderful journey and thinking it started because of amazon.com recommended quarter share to read. Life it’s epic, no mather how it start a journey or how it end it. And I hope to keep listening/reading your works for more of your amazing stories. Good luck and bless!
I must admit I was rather surprised to find out it was [Article 37] behind the [Article 37] and not [Article 37]. Also Ish actually [Article 37] his [Article 37] was also a surprise. Enjoyed the series, Safe Journey Sar
Have loved the series since QS and have anxiously awaited each new audiofile with baited breath. A great series that I have recommended to many a soul. Safe Journeys Captain.
Wow, thanks Nate, I loved it. So many places to go next, Is Tanyth going to make it to the end of her last pilgrimage. What kind of man does Otto grow into. Does Sarah ever see her father again. Does Pip settle in to the family biz okay. What does Ish do after life in space? What kind of life does Kurt lead now? How is life progressing on St Cloud. what is day to day life like at Port Newmar? Thanks for Your stories!!! Please don’t ever stop.
Dear Nate,
Congratulations on completing the Share Series!!! What an amazing accomplishment. Your narration is always fabulous and the way you revealed this story was truly elegant. Thank you so much for taking us on this wonderful voyage. Your stories have been very meaningful to me over the past few years. I know I’m far from alone in that feeling. As invested as I am in Ishmael, part of me wanted episode 30 to conclude with the equivalent of “and he lived happily ever afterâ€. I suspect if we ever hear that though, the story really will be at its end. So I’m glad to leave Ishmael at this point of hope and transformation, and look forward to the next stage of his journey. I can’t wait to see where you take us next. With great appreciation I wish you all the best.
Owners share was by far the best of the series and a great ending even though its a hard one to take.
Just barely a hint at a happy ending…
Frustrating and brilliant in equal measure.
Thank you – more please
I don’t know. The whole ending just felt… Empty.
And, not because the story ended….But because Ish felt empty.
I can’t even imagine what he will choose to do next. The concept that he’d even go on in his life seems like an alien concept.
Loved the series, then end just left me empty. I think you could have wrapped up the tale a lot better without actually changing anything that happened. There’s not even a question or epilogue of “What will you do next?” Maybe it’s just me, but Ish felt hollow, and as such the ending wasn’t closure, or even a change of tale. It was just… Void. What was, was, and now isn’t and there really isn’t anything more in spirit if not in actual written substance.
I dunno Sar. You might want to consider re-writing the ending with Ish being a bit more human. Hell, the storyline of him finding his father went nowhere. Red’s story went nowhere. Kurt’s story went nowhere. Stacy is in complete limbo emotionally as she has no real attachment to another human other than Ish who is a father-figure to her.
I realize that writing a story in first person view eliminates certain storytelling possibilities without its own arc/series… But really? That’s it? You drop an anvil into the middle of a parade, dust your hands off and walk away from a story that has yielded you the opportunity to make a living as a writer?
I don’t know, was this last book some sort of anchor around your neck? You needed to kill it off so that you could build a different narrative? I mean, I know we’ve all been kind of fidgeting to see it arrive. Hell, I was looking forward to reading it on my vacation back in October. :)
Maybe it’s just me, but if you have the time and inclination you should probably re-write the last 15 chapters or so with a checklist of what is key to resolve, and what isn’t while maintaining the original results.
Or is that it? Ish was always alone, so he’ll stay that way, and everything else is just solar clippers passing in the night?
Thank You Nate.
Space has no ending, why should the Capt,s…..fair sailing.
After galloping through Owner’s Share as fast as I could, I’ve just downloaded the last episode and now … I’m going to take it slowly but I shall have a warm feeling inside while I finish filling in my tax return, do the housework and other chores and then finally curl up with with my mp3 player and a nice cup of tea to bid farewell to Ish and a host of other memorable characters.
Thank you, Nate, and good luck with whatever you decide to write next – just go and get on with it now :-)
@ Nate, I feel the same way as JasonR does. In fact worse. I had my own “37” about 20 years ago when my son did not come home that night. One bullet shot by another, has almost killed me. I have used books and the Internet to help keep me from going crazy. That case was never closed. —
While I have enjoyed the other 7 books that you have written and read, this last one killed the joy. My husband could not even listen to South Coast last night. — Ish was about the same age as my son on QS. I am old enough to be his mother. — I have listened to Ish going from a scared young man to become a caring and strong Captain. — I lost a husband about 30 years ago, but a least I had sons to take care of. Ish has no one. —
I truly wish you had ended this series in a better way. You have a great talent for story writing and reading. You make your stories come to life. —
As I said earlier, the audio books in this house are silent and will be for a long time. The hurt is too deep.
Safe Voyage, and may you find what you need.
Not sure if you need to rewrite anything – but, an eppilogue might be nice before you go to print. Too many unresolved dynamics. It sort of thudded for me instead of ending. As if you ran up against a bindery limit or somesuch. And, what ever happened to the salvage prize?
Thanks, through.
thank you so much for the hours & hours of pleasure these story’s have given me
@JasonR – Couldn’t agree more. “…and all that was left to him was his money.” *fade to black*
Too much happened in the last few chapters with no sense of peace or resolution. All that effort to create a life, and he gives it up…at a loss. As people have said…confused as hell.
thanks for sharing your story.
“…and all that was left to him was his money…”
Ok. Now I’m gonna have to go back and read the book again, because that’s not what I see him walking away with.
i coulda missed something.
Can’t believe the series is over??? How about 1 more book? Civilian Share? :-). Have to admit after [… Article 37… ] happened, and to find out [… Article 37 …] was the reason that [… Article 37… ] happened… well… we need more Sar!!!!!!
Thanks, loved the series. We all have expectations in literature about the books we read and while some did not like the ending, I was happy that the story flowed to Ismail’s continued path through life.
Ish went through the five Kubler-Ross stages after article 37. But, it still doesn’t make for a complete ending.
For all those who feel they can not go on with an ending like that, I feel I must indicate that this means Nathan closed his series properly. Last book, you’re not supposed to want more. And yes, Ish has a tragic life filled with good luck and hard work. It’s called being a sailor (am I right, Nova Scotians?) and at least Nathan left him whole instead of paralysed or missing major body parts as many sailors find themselves after times of great crisis. Remember Pip’s aunt from the Neris Union Hall and her prosthetic arm? Ish got off light all things considered.
Loved the series and the characters. At times it hurt and we finish on a bit of a down-note in many ways, personally I think much less of CM after Ep30 for Article 37, but this is the flow of life. Not every story out there has a happy ending or we’d all be living with a giant mouse and a flock of rescued princesses.
Donate, Share, Buy. Make Nate rich so that he can write more for us. That would make me happier than a ‘everyone lives happily ever after’ conclusion ever could.
I agree with JasonR, Nate… This isn’t King Lear here, …he dies… isn’t good enough for us. By the Gods I hope you find some way to let us know what happens next.
p.s. “he dies” is just a reference not suggesting this is actually what happend to our beloved captain.
I see there are many disappointed listeners here. At first, I was as disappointed as many of you here, if not more so. But I’ve been thinking about this, and now I see things a little differently. Even though I already posted my conclusion over on the fan forums, I will post it here again for the benefit of those who don’t read there.
I’ve been stewing on the question of whether these last three episodes fit into the rest of the series or not. I think my answer would have to be yes regardless of my personal feelings, simply because this is Nate’s story to tell, and he chose to tell it this way. But after some contemplation, I’ve now concluded that it’s not simply a matter of creative license. Could the story have ended in a different way? Of course it could have. This conclusion was in no way inevitable. But it certainly is fitting.
Terrible things have happened throughout this series. Ishmael’s mother died at the very beginning of it. We may not have cared very much at that point, because we didn’t know Ish then the way we do now, and I think many of us dismissed that event simply as a plot point to get the rest of the story going. Still, in hindsight, it was the first manifestation of a pattern that cropped up again and again throughout this series. There were several instances of people close to Ish being put in physical and/or emotional jeopardy, and somehow, Ish was always able to do something positive with them. His mother died, which prompted him not only to pull himself up by his bootstraps, but to become an asset to everyone he met along the way. His best friend was mugged while trading privately, and Ish helped set up the co-op in response to that, probably pre-empting much potential future violence against his shipmates. Burnside terrorized the Tinker’s crew, and Ish was the catalyst that made flushing him out possible. Even when the danger was caused by a non-human factor — as was the case when the Lois got stranded — Ish was the one who ultimately solved the mystery, thereby helping to prevent future similar occurrences.
Through it all, we the readers learned to trust in Ish the same way Ish learned to trust in the ‘pooka’ of the various ships he sailed on. It wasn’t something tangible that we could point at. It was just a general feeling that somehow, as long as Ish was around, things were going to be all right in the end. Some of us even said he had ‘magical powers’ that made it so. Ultimately, our world was turned upside-down when we discovered that some of our trust was misplaced. Ishmael Wang does not have magical powers that make everything all right in the end. But Ish has known that about himself all along, and has succeeded in life despite it. This is exactly the message I think these stories are trying to convey. He’s just an ordinary guy, doing the best he can with what he’s been given.
We are extremely affected by the events that took place in these last six months of his life because *he* is extremely affected by them, but that tells us nothing other than what we already know: Nathan Lowell is a very skilled writer. If enough time passes, the wound will eventually heal — the last episode of Owner’s Share has already put Ish on the road to recovery — and the writer can take us on a new journey, which I think will be another iteration of the same basic pattern: a guy gets thrown a lemon, and eventually manages to make lemonade out of it. For now, we are too close to the pain to see this. But so is Ish. If nothing else, it proves the potency of first person narrative when used as masterfully as it was here.
To me, the core of the story and its main character are still intact. It’s just that after all this time of living in Ishmael’s head, we are too close to the agony to realize that he still has the strength to do once again what he has been doing all these years: take the crap life throws him, and make the best of it. Maybe there needn’t have been so much crap, maybe this was one tragedy that was too great, but Ish could not have come full circle without it. It is as he says: maybe now he will finally be able to do whatever it is he *wants* to do, instead of being manipulated into doing what he *has* to do.
I have no idea where Ishmael’s journey might take him next. At this point, I suspect nobody does, not even Nate. But if and when Ish is ready for the next chapter in his life, you can bet I will be there to hear about it. I hope most of you will be there, too.