The Hidden Family
- 327
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The Hidden Family” is a lively second instalment of Charles Stross’s “Merchant Princes”, set on parallel Earths that only one bloodline can cross. Miriam Beckstein, who writes about technology and grew up in our world, is pulled deeper into the scheming of the family she has only just discovered. Some readers enjoy watching her carry new inventions into another world; others see the book chiefly as setup for later volumes.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Merchant Princes is a science fantasy and alternate history series of nine novels by British writer Charles Stross. In the series, there exist a number of parallel worlds, all of which are on the same geographical Earth but with different societies at different points of development. Members of a certain bloodline can travel between these worlds along with their immediate possessions. The series largely follows Miriam Beckstein, a technology journalist raised in a familiar "normal" Earth, who discovers she was born in a parallel world and is a member of this bloodline. She quickly becomes entangled in political maneuvering and assassination plots with her estranged family. Miriam uses modern technology and investigative journalism to attempt to stay a step ahead.
Reading order · The Merchant Princes
Full order & progress →- The Family TradeStart here
7.67.6 / 10 - The Hidden FamilyThis book
7.87.8 / 10 - The Clan Corporate
7.67.6 / 10 - The Merchants' War
–Not ranked yet - The Revolution Business
–Not ranked yet - The Trade of Queens
–Not ranked yet - Empire Games
8.08.0 / 10 - Dark State
–Not ranked yet - Invisible Sun
–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.3 across 54 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 27% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 7.3 | 54 | 100% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Hidden Family?
It has 327 pages — shorter than 90% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 7.8, the closest to this book.
