The Clan Corporate

The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross is the third instalment of The Merchant Princes series - an energetic saga of multiple worlds. In The Family Trade and The Hidden Family, Miriam got in touch with her roots. Now those roots have begun to strangle her. A young business journalist from Boston, Miriam discovered that her family comes from a parallel timeline, that she is very well-connected, and that her family is way too much like the Mafia for her comfort. Shes tried hard to remain her own woman, even going so far to start a profitable (and legitimate) business in a third timeline she has discovered, outside the family reach. There have been murders and betrayals. Now, however, she may be overreaching if she gets caught, death or worse is around the bend. For instance, theres the brain-damaged son of the local king who needs a wife . . . But theyd never make her do that, would they?