We’ve made it to the semifinals of the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4). Team Tar Vol On advanced two semifinalists, which were joined in our half of the bracket by semifinalists from Space Girls and Red Stars. In this round, the three teams are reading each other’s selections and combining scores to identify the top half of our allocation to advance to the finals. At this stage, every book we read has gotten a glowing review from at least one other team. As always, tastes are idiosyncratic, so there will be times where we disagree with other teams, but we’ve done our best to explain our thoughts; we hope that they will help other readers find books that will appeal to them.
Today, we’ll be looking at a fast-paced space thriller: On Impulse by Heather Texle.
Azrah’s Review and Rating
With a fast moving pace and a protagonist that you can’t help but get behind regardless of how unreasonable her choices are, this is a book that draws you in from the first chapter.
Reliance is as reckless as she is quick-witted which is such a chaotic combination. I really liked her resourcefulness when it came to disguises , how she adapted her outfits so quickly to get out of tricky situations was a fun part of the story. However, you could see it from a mile away that at some point her luck was going to run out and following her on her journey was equally amusing and face-palm worthy.
Azrah has rated On Impulse 6.5/10. For more, check out her full review.
Champ’s Review and Rating
On Impulse by Heather Textle, is a quick, polished, and engaging read. It’s clear from the start that the author has built a rich universe, one that blends classic sci-fi influences with original touches that keep things feeling fresh. The feels smooth, there’s obvious talent behind this book.
The worldbuilding is one of the book’s strongest aspects; dense, visual, and fast-moving. But that fast pace cuts both ways. While the universe is detailed and vivid, the emotional depth often feels sidelined. The story is constantly moving, sometimes at the expense of character development. Reliance, as a protagonist, is immediately established as smart, skilled, attractive, and capable. And the story doesn’t let us forget it, those qualities are emphasized again and again. What we don’t get, though, is a deeper sense of who she is. The story often pulls back right as things are about to get personal. Emotional moments arrive, but they pass too quickly. The protagonist herself seems eager to avoid introspection. We get the facts that justify her next decision, but not the feelings behind them.
Supporting characters are better in this regard. They come off as more grounded, with hints of backstory and emotional stakes beyond just being plot devices. Unfortunately, the structure of the story, perhaps unintentionally, limits our time with them. The narrative tends to leap forward just as connections begin to form. It mirrors the title in a way: impulsive, restless, always onto the next beat.
That structure also introduces a sense of repetition. The pattern goes something like this: Reliance lands in trouble, uses her elite skills to escape, questions someone, and then moves on to the next situation. It’s consistent, but eventually starts to feel formulaic. Each situation is different in its surface details, but the rhythm stays the same. As a result, tension never fully builds. We come to expect that Reliance will always find a way out, so the stakes never quite land.
And that’s where the missed opportunity lies. Everything else is working: the writing is clean, the world is textured, and the pacing never drags. You want to care more about the characters. You want to be pulled deeper into their internal worlds. But the book keeps its distance… always moving, always doing, never quite feeling.
This is a fast-paced sci-fi mystery through a visually rich galaxy, starring a highly competent lead on the run. But if the goal was to go deeper, to make us connect emotionally, it doesn’t quite get there. If you’re looking for a fast, stylish ride with a cinematic edge, it delivers. But if you’re hoping to slow down and connect with the people inside that universe, you may come away wanting more.
Champ has rated On Impulse 7/10.
Dave’s Review and Rating
A fine mystery-thriller set in fully realized sci-fi universe. It started off great, with a cool character on a distant moon with a mysterious blue orb. Then the pace lagged, with chase scenes and other activities that didn’t move the plot along fast enough. Lots of detail about the world and characters. The book is fun, but also shallow, without much character development (particularly the MC). It was at the 75% mark where I became more engaged. The plot started moving and the mysteries started unraveling. I found the ending satisfying, which bumped up my score.
Dave has rated On Impulse 6.5/10.
Erin’s Review and Rating
The main character panics in a bad situation, making it look like she committed a horrible crime. She compounds this error at every possible opportunity, actually committing major crimes and destroying her own future as she goes on the run across the galaxy. It got to the point where I was cheering for her to get arrested for her own good.
To be fair, the book is not titled “By Carefully Weighed Plan.”
Still, I enjoyed the whole ride, and the subterfuge/heist parts were well-written and surprisingly plausible. While the antagonists did make some conveniently stupid mistakes, and I didn’t quite buy the protagonist’s rationale for her string of terrible decisions, I still enjoyed the ride.
Erin has rated On Impulse 6.5/10.
Jay’s Review and Rating
On Impulse is a fun and well-paced sci-fi thriller. The villains can be a hair over-the-top, but that makes it all the easier to cheer their demise. This isn’t a book that brings a ton of character depth, and there are moments that strain credulity, but it’s noteworthy for the bingeable writing style and engaging plot that keeps the reader invested for the duration.
Jay has rated On Impulse 7/10. For more, check out his full review.
Josh’s Review and Rating
Reliance unfortunately is kind of generic as a character. We learn about how she left DECA due to the incident in which her partner tried to kill her and she killed him in self defense, but we learn nothing about her childhood, her likes and wants outside of DECA, or really what she’s doing as some kind of insurance investigator for the past two years since her leaving the force. All we really get to know is that she’s lonely and desperate for answers and that the only person she really has as company is her ship’s AI, who for no reason whatsoever takes the form on the ship of a robot cat. And she’s insanely impulsive – as the title suggests – taking very little time to plan her next move as she investigates the conspiracy she’s uncovering, which keeps getting her into trouble and leading the cops right to her (which again, fits the title but is a little infuriating).
The side characters – mostly the DECA cops since the villains largely turn out to be pretty generic evil mad scientist types and their security forces – are a bit better, with the crew of cops Reliance eventually winds up working with having some pretty nice chemistry that makes them enjoyable to read (honestly, I feel like I knew more about their personalities than Reliance’s in barely as much time). And the plot itself moves rather quickly such that it never drags and is easy to read, so this is still a fun book despite how shallow it is. At the same time, without an interesting character or setting, it’s also kind of forgettable, and some of the plot turns requiring some really brain dumb decisions by the good guys and the villains (one twist midway through when Reliance gets captured by the bad guys is just….so dumb), it’s hard to really recommend On Impulse, even if I don’t think you’ll have a bad time reading it.
Josh has rated On Impulse 6/10. For more, check out his full review.
Official Scores
| Azrah | 6.5 |
| Champ | 7 |
| Dave | 6.5 |
| Erin | 6.5 |
| Jay | 7 |
| Josh | 6 |
| Team | 6.58 |