Talk:The Merchanter novels

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[edit] Who's on first?

Does anybody know if Heinlein's Free Traders in Citizen of the Galaxy are the first example of a merchanter-like culture in sci fi? Because I don't know. (apologies to Abbott and Costello) Clarityfiend 18:46, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Frederick Pohl's The Space Merchants possibly? 1952-53. Static Universe 18:32, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor quibble

Rimrunners' Loki is not a merchanter ship; she's a 'spook'. Clarityfiend 20:27, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

I think that's right. A spook pretending to be a merchanter, if I recall correctly. Therefore, they do some "trading" as part of their cover? Not sure about the last point -- it's been a while since I read that one. Fairsing 00:27, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Hadn't noticed that the definition says it deals with "merchanter subculture" rather than just merchanters, so I guess Rimrunners does belong here. Clarityfiend 05:50, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Isn't it fairly clear the Loki's a spook, from the get-go? Having just read it, I never got the feel that they "traded" much. Bo-Lingua 19:05, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Neither did I, though economically you have to wonder how they could survive by just selling information. Even Finity's End depended on a military subsidy. I also doubt it could get away with pretending to be a merchanter; the traders were (will be?) a pretty tightknit bunch and knew who was who. Heck, even Bet Yeager knew what kind of ship it was. Clarityfiend 05:51, 8 July 2006 (UTC)