Review: The Auctioneer by J. S. Frankel
Matthew Carter followed in his father's footsteps to become an auctioneer on Earth. Not that he really wanted to, but because he didn't have any other options. When his father died, he became an auctioneer to support himself, and is offered a job by an alien looking to hire an auctioneer.
The author, plain and simple, needed more research and a better understanding of finance, as his set-up might work for the story but fails for any resemblance to reality.
A little bit of a Golden Age-y tale. Enjoyable, but not satisfying
The tale is told from a politically correct modern sensibility, and that's enjoyable enough in that I don't think anyone really wants sentient beings or inhabited planets being offered for sale. However, the author falls well short on his understanding of what auctions can accomplish and how auction bidders make money off resale of items after curing them of certain features that are often unattractive to other buyers - making the item or property more valuable. Nothing unethical there - yet he treats it as a cardinal sin. He also falls well short in his understanding of borrowed money and leverage - something galactic super-traders would be extremely conversant of.
He ultimately does get one thing right - which I won't spoil, because naming it leads inevitably to a unique solution in who the real baddie is in the story. Unfortunately, the ending feels contrived and forced because he doesn't understand how money and finance work.
I'll give this a rating of six out of ten stars. By Amazon's standards, a four star rating (I did like it).
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