Jessica Steiner (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jessicasteiner) wrote2014-07-12 11:12 am
jessicasteiner) wrote2014-07-12 11:12 am
Review: Starship Grifters by Robert Kroese
Today I bring you a much-delayed review I was asked to give of Starship Grifters: A Rex Nihilo Adventure. The author provided me with a pre-release e-book copy of the book, which is published by 47North.
Starship Grifters is the story of a half-insane space-faring con artist named Rex Nihilo, who travels the stars looking for ways to pad his pocket book. He's always in debt, pursued by the authorities, getting into unbelievable adventures, and nearly getting himself killed. The story is told from the POV of his robot, who has a program fault such that any time she has an original thought, she shuts down and forgets what she was talking about. This creates some delightfully odd moments in the narrative.
I honestly didn't know what to think of the story for the first chapter or two, but it sucked me in despite myself. I found myself laughing out loud at quite a few points. It's written in the quirky and satirical vein of the Hitchhiker's Guide, and as a long-standing Douglas Adams fan, I was originally skeptical of anyone who was trying to follow along in those footsteps.
However, Kroese won me over, and I eagerly look forward to the sequel.
I want to thank Kroese for approaching me to do this review. It's a book that I likely wouldn't have found on my own, but I hope this review prompts more people to check it out.
Starship Grifters is the story of a half-insane space-faring con artist named Rex Nihilo, who travels the stars looking for ways to pad his pocket book. He's always in debt, pursued by the authorities, getting into unbelievable adventures, and nearly getting himself killed. The story is told from the POV of his robot, who has a program fault such that any time she has an original thought, she shuts down and forgets what she was talking about. This creates some delightfully odd moments in the narrative.
I honestly didn't know what to think of the story for the first chapter or two, but it sucked me in despite myself. I found myself laughing out loud at quite a few points. It's written in the quirky and satirical vein of the Hitchhiker's Guide, and as a long-standing Douglas Adams fan, I was originally skeptical of anyone who was trying to follow along in those footsteps.
However, Kroese won me over, and I eagerly look forward to the sequel.
I want to thank Kroese for approaching me to do this review. It's a book that I likely wouldn't have found on my own, but I hope this review prompts more people to check it out.