Name: Mechanical Failure
ISBN: 9781481459266

Joe Zieja

The Two Hundred Years' (and counting) Peace is a time of tranquility that hasn't been seen since...well, never. Mankind in the galactice age have finally conquered war, so what is the military to do but drink and barbecue? That's the kind of military that Sergeant R. Wilson Rogers lived in before he left the fleet to become a smuggler. But times have changed....

Mechanical Failure

The Two Hundred Years (And Counting) Peace Treaty led to inept military bureaucracy, and no one is more perfectly suited to take advantage of it than R. Wilson Rogers (don’t ask what the ‘R’ stands for). After drinking, gambling, and swindling his way through the military, he’s ready for something bigger: professional space pirate. But pirating is risky, namely it’s illegal, even in space. And when Rogers is arrested attempting to pull off his biggest con yet, his sentence is re-enlistment. More drinking, grilling, and poker? Rogers couldn’t agree fast enough. However, the military he left is not the military he finds upon boarding the MPS FLAGSHIP. A conspiracy is afoot, with soldiers doing actual soldier things and AI-droids handling sensitive intelligence. Rogers is the only one who questions the droids' information, but the bureaucracy doesn’t care. Which means his worst nightmare: he might have to do actual work to prevent a war.

Cindy Lieberman

3.5. A beer- and leisure-loving ex-military rover finds himself in the middle of a political standoff teetering on the brink of war. He wants nothing more than to make a run for it, but they have his ship...and one of the officers has stolen his heart. It’s a goofball comedy of errors that has its moments, both funny and falling flat. A good first effort, however, which is why I rounded up.

Sheila

This was funny enough, but was way too try-hard in attempting to emulate a combination of Douglas Adams & Terry Pratchett with a dash of 'Red Dwarf' - legit, from the moment Deet the malfunctioning droid showed up, I kept having the most vivid 'Red Dwarf' flashbacks that only reminded me a) just how old I am, & b) how long it had been since I watched it. 

Knowing that Joe Zieja is the voice for those Spotify ads made me read this entire book with his (overly cheerful) voice as the narrative...which either contributed to the laughs it got from me, or took away from my reading experience; I haven't quite decided which yet. Bonus points for the nice cover!

Mechanical Failure

Reviews

Highlights