Pilot X

Executive Summary: A fun, quick read that fans of Doctor Who or classic Science Fiction will probably enjoy.

Audiobook: I was unfamiliar with Kevin T. Collins prior to listening to this book, but I'll be keeping an eye out for him in the future. He reads clearly at good volume and does a few voices as well. Tom lucked out with a good narrator who added a little something extra to the book.

Full Review
For what it's worth, I've been a member of Tom's online book club Sword & Laser for nearly 5 years, and helping to moderate the group for the last 2.5 years.

Tom might be better known for his work as a tech blogger and podcaster, but to me he's always been someone whose opinions on Science Fiction I've come to value. I picked this book up once I saw that I could get it in audio because I wanted to support Tom, but I seem to have very little time to read lately.

I know Tom has dabbled in writing on and off, especially during Nanowrimo, and that shows here. I haven't read any of his previous works, but this book is well written. Tom does a good job of showing and not telling, which is especially important to me in a book this short.

There are some big ideas about Time Travel, and he is consistent within his own rules for how it works, without spending too much time getting into the “science”. This is the kind of big idea, little detail story I tend to associate with older Science Fiction stories.

Oddly, I don't tend to enjoy much classic Science Fiction because I tend to prefer more detailed world building. However I felt this book does a good job in packing in world building as the story progresses. There is a lot of room for imagination, but you're provided enough detail for framing the story he's trying to tell.

The one place I felt was a bit lacking was the characters. There isn't a ton of character development with Pilot X, and apart from the ship Verity and maybe the Secretary, most of the characters feel thin/disposable. I would have liked to read more about the after math of Pilot X's decision than we got.

The book has a bit of a Doctor Who feel, which isn't surprising as Tom has discussed how his inspiration for this book stemmed from that show's own Time War. However Pilot X doesn't feel like the Doctor. Or at least not any of the Doctor's I'm familiar with.

This book does a good job at borrowing an idea from Doctor Who while being it's own thing. I'm glad that I picked it up, and figure that I'll be able to tell people I followed Tom Merritt before he became a successful writer.