We’ve reached the final week of the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC4), and Team Tar Vol On is ready with our final three scores. After joining with Space Girls and Red Stars in the semifinals to advance Accidental Intelligence, Bisection, and On Impulse, we have now read the three books selected by the other semifinal group of Peripheral Prospectors and Ground Control to Major Tom. As always, remember that our tastes are idiosyncratic, and every book that has made it this far has gotten glowing reviews from several readers. Whether we like or dislike a book, we’ve tried to do our best to capture our thoughts in a way that helps readers figure out which books will hit for them.

Today, we’ll be looking at a feminist space opera, Whiskey and Warfare by E.M. Hamill.

Azrah’s Review and Rating

This was an entertaining and quick read that pretty much feels like your typical “getting the band back together” storyline where the group of friends find themselves stepping in to help the little guys against a bigger, more corrupt power. The difference here is that the wholesome found family at the heart of this story is made up of an all female-identifying crew who are much older than your usual space opera/sci-fi adventure cast which made the book all the more original.

Azrah has rated Whiskey and Warfare 6.5/10. For more, check out her full review.

Champ’s Review and Rating

This one was tough to judge because I was too busy enjoying it.

Whiskey and Warfare pulls you in fast and smooth. I breezed through it, got caught up in the story, and didn’t stop to take many notes, and honestly, that’s a badge of honor for the book. I bought in quickly. The voice, the pacing, the characters, the action everything clicked early, (except for the title, it doesn’t quite fit the feeling I got from the book) and I wanted to know what happened next.

At its core, this is a story about aging, loss, and figuring out who you are once the dust has settled. But it’s also about found family, loyalty, and the bonds that survive long after the mission is over. It follows a crew of middle-aged ex-mercs, pulled back together by a death and thrown into a new round of chaos. And they’re damn fun to ride with. Each one has a distinct voice, a defined sense of style or panache, even. You feel the years behind their banter. You arrive to a place that feels lived in, not created for the novel.

The world feels familiar in a good way; like this could’ve taken place in the universe of Star Trek, Firefly, The Expanse, or Cowboy Bebop. It’s gritty and sci-fi, but accessible. Big enough to spark the imagination, and like I mention before grounded enough to feel lived-in. There’s a clear story structure here, I can see it as a solid screenplay or tv series, with a strong opening that lays the groundwork, catches your attention, and rolls out the action with confidence.

But after the midpoint, I dunno, I like it but I feel like something shrinks… or the potential wasn’t met. The world that once felt expansive starts to narrow, and I found myself wanting the stakes to rise alongside the characters’ inner struggles. The emotional stakes were high, these people are going through it, but the external action didn’t always match. I kept waiting for things to go bigger, wilder. For the plot to swing just as hard as the emotions were. That slight mismatch held the book back from scoring higher.

Still, this is an author I want to hear more from. Hamill has a voice worth listening to, characters worth following, and a knack for making stories resonate. There’s real heart here, and it sticks with you. I eagerly look forward to the next adventures of Maryn and the crew

Champ has rated Whiskey and Warfare 7.5/10.

Dave’s Review and Rating

Whiskey and Warfare offers a smooth, accessible space opera with a veteran cast and a “Firefly” charm. The prose is excellent, confident and polished, and the focus on aging characters, camaraderie, and lingering grief gives the story a welcome emotional grounding. The banter between the former mercenaries adds color and warmth, though the sheer volume of it, often doubling as exposition, occasionally slows the momentum.

The book’s greatest strength lies in its portrayal of older protagonists grappling with trauma, loyalty, and mortality. The tone is breezy, the action well-paced, and the characters authentic, making this an enjoyable, if not particularly surprising, read.

Dave has rated Whiskey and Warfare 6.5/10.

Erin’s Review and Rating

The characters were very strong in this one. Their struggles felt authentic, the dialogue was great, and you could feel their shared history. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding was often scant on detail in ways that led to reader misconceptions, and the plot pacing felt uneven.

Erin has rated Whiskey and Warfare 7.5/10.

Jay’s Review and Rating

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.

Jay has rated Whiskey and Warfare 6.5/10. For more, check out his full review.

Josh’s Review and Rating

[The] character work is excellent. This is not a book that features the group of mercenaries doing constant back and forth banter, but the dialogue and inside references of Team Huntress makes each major character feel entirely believable and real and easy to care for. And they each struggle with their own things, not just Maryn, such as Scylla and Jac struggling with Scylla coming down with a degenerative disease that affects her piloting (and Jac worrying about her wife) or even the AI of Golden Girl worrying about becoming more and more obsolete with age. I don’t really have much to say about this or in explaining it, but it really works to make the characters and their problems here stand out from the many other books with similar setups and the representation from middle age to older protagonists (as well as disabled protagonists) is excellently done. And I should not forget again that the themes of grief and how we deal with that and how Maryn pushes through it are also excellently done here – I worried that the book might’ve dropped it at a certain point, but it never let it go that easily, just like grief really clings in real life. Just generally excellently done.

Josh has rated Whiskey and Warfare 7.5/10. For more, check out his full review.

Official Scores