Review by Booklist Review
In a future not so far out as to be unrecognizable, the charismatic Ichabod Drift, captain of the interstellar ship, Keiko, ekes out a living by hunting bounties, delivering legal cargo, and smuggling goods across the colonized systems of the galaxy. His crew consists of ex-military, ex-criminals, and exiles who all have secrets. But they are effective and, when necessary, lethal. Government conglomerates on Earth control the inhabited planets, moons, and asteroids, but policing is scarce on the fringes and in less hospitable areas. When a lucrative payoff for a simple delivery goes sideways, Ichabod must reveal secrets from his past that put him at odds with his friends. Brooks' first space opera bristles with gunfights and fast-paced, tech-heavy action. While the pacing is occasionally bogged down by long expositions and backstory, the crisp and varied world-building, from subterranean New York City to far-flung star systems, creates an entertaining backdrop. With elements of cyberpunk and character interactions reminiscent of the popular television series, Firefly, this title will appeal to sci-fi readers.--Clark, Craig Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Brooks's terrific debut demonstrates that a good caper tale can take place anywhere, even in interstellar space. Capt. Ichabod Drift and the crew of the Keiko have an unusual approach to galactic law and order, one that ranks "convenience over obedience." All of them have secrets that they'd rather not reveal, but Drift's is the biggest of all: he was once known as Gabriel Drake, a notorious privateer. He thought he'd escaped his past, but now it has come calling in the form of Nicolas Kelsier, ex-minister of Extra-terrestrial Resource Acquisition for the Europan Commonwealth, and Drift's former boss. Kelsier offers him both the carrot and the stick: Drift can take Kelsier's smuggling commission and earn a handsome sum for himself and his crew-or have his past revealed to the Federation of African States and the rest of the galaxy. Even with elaborate planning, capers never run easily, and this one is no different. It will take all the skills of each of the Keiko's crew members and some "outrageously ballsy chicanery" on Drift's part if they are to escape with their lives, let alone make a profit. Fans of rip-roaring space adventures will greatly enjoy this one. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Capt. Ichabod Drift's rule has always been that his crew's personal histories are their own business. But when he is blackmailed with events from his own past to take a job that goes horribly wrong, nobody's information is safe. He and the staff of the Keiko will need to work together and share their secrets if they are going to move past Drift's betrayal and survive. A cagey captain who skirts the law, his loyal female second-in-command, a brother and sister whose allegiance is first to each other-these elements will remind many of the short-lived but still mourned TV show Firefly. While this story line is not particularly new in space opera, Brooks turns in an enjoyable adventure that has all of the fast action and clever dialog fans of the genre look for, with well-drawn secondary characters who also have moments to shine. VERDICT Suggest this debut to enthusiasts of caper plots and stories such as Chris Wooding's Ketty Jay novels, and, of course, Firefly.-MM © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Capt. Ichabod Drift and his ragtag crew on the starship Keiko are hired by the ruthless Nicolas Kelsier, politician-turned-terrorist, to smuggle sensitive contraband onto Old Earth, but they get two-timed in a nuclear double-bluff that leaves them with only one option: deliver vengeance to Kelsier or be killed. Brooks' debut novel is an unabashedly derivative, clich-driven space Western, complete with down-and-out dive bars, interstellar intrigue, high-stake gambles, and a crew with secret and checkered pasts"seven no hopers in a rust bucket." They're a familiar bunch of rebels straight out of the Marvel universe, Firefly, or Star Wars: fast-talking, Han Solo-like Mexican Capt. Drift, a "thief-cum-smuggler-cum-merchant-cum-bounty-hunter-cum-goodness-knows-what-else"; his crack-shot African-American sidekick, Tamara Rourke; Maori Apirana "Big A" Wahawaha; Dutchman and mostly muscle Micah van Schaken; the Chinese Chang siblings, pilot and mechanic Jia and Kuai; and one white-girl hacker, Jenna McIlroy. In a future resembling Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep but with far less nuance, Drift and his crew are wry, endearing survivors. Brooks' work eschews subtlety; threadbare lines like "his secret had been buried in his heart like a worm in an apple" or "his eyes felt like they were made of dust" litter the narrative. While there are some inventive flourishes like the "electat, a neurally activated subdermal tattoo," or the Circuit Cult, "an organization that championed cybernetic replacements over the flesh and blood they viewed as inherently flawed," overall Brooks has concocted a conventional, undemanding space opera full of fast talk, action, and gratuitous violence. Brooks delivers a predictable, formulaic, old-fashioned space Western peopled with likable, flawed characters who gallop across an entertaining page-turner, pausing infrequently for either emotion or depth. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
