MISPLACED THREATS

Zimm’s debut SF novel sees two well-meaning men and an organic computer struggling to survive in a future dystopia predicated on corrupt dynastic and corporate oligarchies.

Though nominally controlled by the Federated Government, the galaxy is effectively in the hands of 35 powerful Families and 50 Great Corporations. The planet Misplaced-4, owned by the Tevil Corporation, is a hotbed of unemployment and corruption. Mike, an experienced Vakker, or spaceflight crewmember, has bought a crashed cargo shuttle there and is trying to run it as a bar and grill. Union and bureaucratic interference make this all but impossible until Mike partners up with the shuttle’s sentient organic computer, LaMancha, whose personality has been heavily influenced by OldEarth motion pictures from the 20th century. In the meantime, their 17-year-old friend Ghost, a technology whiz and possibly the product of a covert genetic splicing project, has been arrested for evading the oxygen tax and forced to join the Federated Space Forces. Like the militaries of several 19th-century OldEarth countries, the Space Force is hamstrung by an officer class largely promoted due to family privilege, rather than merit. After Ghost takes charge during an emergency, will he survive the repercussions of defying an entitled captain? Zimm structures the novel around multiple third-person viewpoints in polished prose, and he immerses readers in a well-realized SF setting that draws on real-life sociopolitical trends. However, not everyone will appreciate the repetitive communications protocol that has LaMancha and other characters continually identifying themselves and the people to whom they’re speaking. There are also sub-narratives (such as cargo-ship captain Tarak’s ordeal at the hands of aliens) that seem extraneous but are presumably included to sow seeds for future volumes. Still, Mike, LaMancha, and Ghost are enormously appealing main characters, as are some secondary players, such as Citizen Professor Ella Braun. The story takes some time to build up speed but will pull readers in with its fast-talking humor, satirical worldbuilding, and rebellious David-versus-Goliath tone.

A tragicomic space opera with real heart.