I Read Books: A Just Determination
Ensign Paul Sinclair joins the US Space Navy, reporting aboard the USS Michaelson. As well as his main role as assistant combat information centre officer, (to stand by in case something happens to the officer in charge of turning raw data from the sensors into information the bridge crew can use), he’s the ship’s legal officer (also the postal officer and assistant security manager though neither of those impinge on the plot, it’s just flavour for the over-worked junior officers theme).
The crew is something of a mix, some out there doing their job, some with a full bag of duty and honour, some marking time before something else. (Ensign Jen Shen has an alternative division of the officers; meanwhile the enlisted include the stoically competent and the comically inept). Unfortunately the Captain is a time marker, hoping to get on to an admiral’s staff, and is then sent out to patrol a space lane with somewhat unclear orders. This leads to an incident in which they fire on an unarmed ship, and hence to a court martial.
The author, a former US Naval Officer, uses his experience well; much of the detail feels very real, the texture of life in the space navy is very complete. The rituals and traditions awkwardly transported from sailing ships to modern nuclear powered vessels make just as much sense in space, which also leads to the occasional weird translation from sea-borne ideas into space pretty comprehensible. It’s the way the navy does it, don’t ask why.
Read This: For a science fictional take on what is basically a US Navy procedural, one where everything goes wrong and then they have to pick up the pieces.
Don’t Read This: If this model for an SF novel sounds bad and dull
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