Review: Not Quite Phule's Company
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 16, 2012
At least for three quarters of the book, I felt was reading a more serious approach to what Asprin's crew of misfits who the CO makes a top notch team. I found the approach of looking at events through other than the heroes eyes interesting. It kept pulling me in to want to meet the crew and find out more about what was already sounding like a legendary skipper.Switching the POV to a civilian traveling with the crew let the reader get to know not only the crew, but the military culture of this setting as well as the larger issues. In fact, I thought at one point we'd get to see some of those larger issues, but it was not to be. While disappointed with the tease, I can see the foundation for future books laid out. It did seem to make the 'big victory' the crew had at the climax seem so ordinary, when it really was not. And it sets them up to go out anywhere and encounter some of those bigger issues. Which I hope the author will pursue.My one dislike, and I don't consider it the same as the disappointment, was how dark the book went too suddenly when it ventured into the skipper's background. I'm glad that despite the background, the author didn't waste time with any wallowing and hatred, and it was all there ready to visit, and justifiably so. It was quite the tragedy. I still felt it was out of place and changed the mood of the story too abruptly. It felt out of place in comparison to the rest of the book.So initially I'd call it yes, a somber, serious approach to Phule's Company/McHale's Navy and the rest of the misfits-in-the-military theme, with a great setting, such as the approach to FTL tech or the subject of aliens that felt fresh and it would have been nice to meet them, but the abrupt mood shift did leave a somewhat sour taste in the mouth. Still afterwards, the victory won did wash it out. It leaves with a promise of great adventures (as long as they stay out of the skipper's backstory).