Review: Fast-paced read with a good framework
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 8, 2012
I picked up this novel from an unknown indie author on a whim because the description sounded like it would be an interesting coming-of-age science fiction story.  As for the cover art for this book, I have no idea what that thing is and still remain baffled.  After finishing the story I'd say it's more of a short adventure story since it has elements of exploration and action.  The plot moves extremely fast, so fast I would say that Mr. Pipkin should slow down a bit and flesh out the settings and universe he has begun to create. Little things like describing Angus' home world, what his parents were like before they were killed, the appearance of his faithful robot friend, all these elements would help improve immersion.As for the science in the book, it's very soft and has holes, but if you read for the sake of the story they can be overlooked.  One thing that kept nagging me though was he called his ship a "fighter" throughout the book, yet it's big enough for himself, at least 2 humanoid robots, a dog-sized creature, as well as life support, supplies, power, and I'm assuming at least sleeping quarters for himself since he uses it as a base of operations during his travels.  I'd say that sounds more like a long-range scout ship of some kind. Another issue that kept bugging me was Angus would dimensional jump the ship and immediately be engaged in either a fight with another ship, or be easily in range of a habitable planet.  Space is amazingly vast, and if you randomly select places in the galaxy I don't think it would be likely you'd always select a significant plot device with every jump. A few other places where the science could be tightened up: a ship powered by a fusion reactor would not be a good choice for an improvised "dirty bomb." nuclear fusion, the process of binding hydrogen atoms together to create helium does not create radioactive waste as a byproduct like a nuclear fission process.  Also, ozone is not really a significant deterrent against cosmic radiation, in the case of our own planet, our magnetic field shields us from a large portion of harmful particles.Surprisingly, the grammar and editing of this short work show a lot of care and effort.  I only spotted a few errors in my read through: "peninsular" where "peninsula" would make more sense, calling the place a ship would be stored a "hanger" instead of "hangar", and having an event be "bitter sweat" instead of "bittersweet."  I've seen other indie authors make much worse grammar and diction mistakes.The bottom line is that this work impressed me enough that I will continue reading this series; I can easily imagine this author improving as he gains more experience.