Finished a SECOND book this year!



Fun, quick read. Basically a must-read for any Star Trek nerd. It's a riff on some of the more absurd elements of Trek, but it's not trashing on Trek and has its own story to tell .

It's consistently interesting and entertaining, but I think it's a bit oversold as a comedy. Writing comedy is hard and I think maybe most sci-fi nerd authors are just kinda mid when it comes to their sense of humor.

I'm also not convinced that Scalzi is a great writer. He's certainly crafted a fun concept, but the word-by-word execution is just... fine... but not exceptional. He has about two main characters too many and never manages the load of all their weight; pretty much right up to the end I was still struggling to remember who was who. Ensembles work way better on TV.

However, the final coda is lovely and lovingly written. It actually is pretty exceptional (reminded me of Ann Patchett which is an absurd, unexpected compliment to Scalzi).

Overall well worth the short time commitment. It's not a masterpiece, but that's okay.