We’ve reached the finals of the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4), and the three finalists chosen on my team’s side of the bracket have been joined by three more from the other side. Over the course of the summer, we’ll be reading and scoring these three books that came with such glowing recommendations from Peripheral Prospectors and Ground Control to Major Tom, and I decided to start my own reading with the trim, fast-paced space opera Whiskey and Warfare by E. M. Hamill.
Whiskey and Warfare stars an academic and former mercenary who has remained planet-bound since a freak accident left her near death and absolutely terrified of space travel. But the death of her partner has left her personally and professionally adrift, and interplanetary conflict has left her with few options to return her partner’s remains to zer aristocratic family in time for their people’s traditional funerary rites. Enter her old crew, who has a ship and the willingness to fly more hazardous routes to reach her destination. But with so much of the route touched by war, their hopes for uneventful travel never stand a chance.
Whiskey and Warfare is an eminently smooth and easy read, with four aging friends exchanging plenty of banter and never getting far from dangers that could threaten their missions or their lives. It’s not a book that’s meant to be especially complicated morally—there is one instance of genuine moral challenge when a pair of crew members hide key information from their friends, but the warring factions have a clear right and wrong—instead relying on a breezy style and frequent enemy encounters to keep the pages turning.
But while the execution is professional enough, I often found myself, as someone who doesn’t generally prefer action-heavy sci-fi, wanting something further to grab my attention. There were one or two confrontations that genuinely had me feeling the tension, but the clear demarcation between good and evil and the overall tone of the book made it pretty clear who would win in the end—even if they had to flout intergalactic law to do so. And that led to an experience that was pleasant enough but just wasn’t quite as gripping as this style of book needs to be.
That said, the aging cast is one area in which Whiskey and Warfare managed to stand out from the crowd. While it’s not exactly virgin territory in action-heavy sci-fi, the lead’s PTSD is well-established from the get-go, and she isn’t the only member of the main cast beginning to feel the debilitating effects of age. And those psychological or physical shortcomings aren’t pushed aside when the plot requires; on the contrary, some of the most compelling scenes involve key characters’ frailties being exposed at the worst possible moment. It’s always nice to see an action-heavy story that takes the characters’ ailments seriously, and on that score, Whiskey and Warfare delivers.
On the whole, Whiskey and Warfare provides an uncomplicated, easy reading space opera featuring an aging band of former mercenaries getting back together and finding themselves in the middle of a deadly conflict. There are times when the straightforwardness prevents it from building much tension, with the crew’s struggles against their own minds often proving the most compelling of subplots.
Recommended if you like: fast-paced, easy reading space opera.
Can I use it for Bingo? It’s hard mode for Self-Published and also fits Hidden Gem.
Overall rating: 13 of Tar Vol’s 20. Three stars on Goodreads.
SPSFC score: 6.5/10 for my personal score. The official team score will be determined in concert with my teammates.