Quarter Share

This is a decent enough read when you're in the mood for something that won't stretch your brain at all (and that's the mood I'm in right now, which is why I plan to start the sequel right away).

I did find it a bit disappointing that even though a lot of the narrative takes place in a galley or in restaurants, all of the food mentioned was really basic, uninteresting, and sparsely described.

I also thought it was a shame that almost all the characters used every moment of their spare time trying to make more money. There wasn't even any explanation of why they wanted to do this - there just seemed to be a blanket assumption that of course everyone always wants more money.

3 stars for the story with a frosting extra star for Lowell's engrossing reading. It is, frankly, a little amazing how interesting this story is considering it mostly about making coffee and planning economic missions. I think this is a testament to the author's considerable skills at characterization and dialog.

This podcast-only novel was something of a space opera, but not quite. It has a lot of space opera-like qualities - there's a lot of intergalactic travel without being too hard sci-fi-ish, some references to old naval traditions, and . What it's lacking, though, is anything particularly operatic. Instead of a grand destiny, or a quest, or anything noble like that, we instead get the story of a guy working on a ship, just kind of doing his thing. He's motivated to go to space mostly because if he doesn't, he'll get deported, and while he seems to enjoy what he does, and is good at it, and that seems to suit him fine enough.

What's great about this story, though, is that Lowell manages to strike at the heart of the fundamental nobility of that kind of a common, working-class lifestyle - that a simple life, well-lived, is something to be proud of. It's not a story that gets told often - a look in any bookstore or library will reveal a lot more stories about generals than soldiers - but it's a nice change to hear a story like this one.