jmy's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jwilker's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A really fun read that I kinda wish was a series.
slferg's review
5.0
A fun read. Firstname Lastname (a clerical error in data entry that will be fixed any day now) has entered Junktion. She is one of the first humans to enter that space station and the only one who has stayed. She's nearly 18. When she tries to steal a luxury air car to sell to a guy who handles stolen vehicles, she is hijacked by the car and it's owner to his penthouse where he puts a proposition to her. His gang repos star ships for banks and companies that have not been paid back for their loans or their property. He needs her expertise in hacking because lately a competitor has been getting to the ships before his group can and he needs to improve his recovery rate. All of his crew are different species, but that's not a problem - her roommate is a Grenic (kind of like a sentient rock that moves very slowly). First - as she prefers to be called - is rather competitive and with a quick temper which gets her into trouble from time to time, but she has no animosity to any species and is curious about all and everybody. The others are rather amazed at her adaptability and the way she makes friends.
The real crisis comes when they have a contract to repossess a casino starship that is very hard to get into (invitation only). Things get really crazy then. Although the sling racer she repos and then races because somebody ticked her off about not being able to ride it (she has never ridden a sling racer), does get her into hot water.
Nevertheless, a fun read with plenty of excitement.
The real crisis comes when they have a contract to repossess a casino starship that is very hard to get into (invitation only). Things get really crazy then. Although the sling racer she repos and then races because somebody ticked her off about not being able to ride it (she has never ridden a sling racer), does get her into hot water.
Nevertheless, a fun read with plenty of excitement.
itnotmackenzie's review
5.0
Have I talked about how much I love heist stories? Because I do. Both in books (think Six of Crows) and movies (Ocean’s Eleven, The Italian Job, etc). Earlier this year I read Patrick S. Tomlinson’s novel Gate Crashers and loved it, so when I saw he had a new novel coming out that was more heists in space, how could I resist?
Starship Repo actually takes places in the same universe as Gate Crashers, but rest assured you don’t need to read that one first at all. There are some small callbacks for those who did, but you could read them completely separately. It follows a human teenager named, hilariously, Firstname Lastname (she goes by First). Ridiculous, right? But also amazing. There was a clerical error somewhere along the line, and since she’s a runaway she just stuck with it. At first she makes her living as a small time pickpocket, aircar thief, and con lady. She eventually gets kinda forcibly recruited into a crew of “repo men”, who repossess ships from rich beings who haven’t kept up their payments, and return them to the banks/owners for a fee. Basically, legal space pirates. What’s not to like??
If that didn’t convince you to read it, here is the cast of characters (aside from First) in the author’s own words: “There’s a transgender crab alien, a brain in a jar, a communal organism, and a hentai tentacle monster living in the sewers with strong opinions about music piracy.” Seriously though, the characters make the book. Each one is so unique, and has an amazing personality. I’m majorly impressed with Tomlinson’s creativity, since all of the characters is a different species of being, and all the different species are so COOL. I’m also a sucker for found family stories, and this is definitely one. First is like their semi-rebellious child that they adopt along the way and I loved seeing the bonds develop between her and the rest of the characters.
There’s plenty of action and lots of heists in the novel, which keeps it going at a great pace. The only thing that brings it down to 4.5 from 5 stars is that I wanted a tad more of a larger plot. There is a background overarching plot through the whole novel, but it was pretty light. The plot focuses on a handful of different heists, which was awesome! I just wanted a bit more cohesiveness. But on the plus side one of the heists involves a high speed space race, so that’s pretty awesome.
The writing is also really fun to read, and the science part of the science fiction is never overwhelming. I noted this in Gate Crashers and I’m pleased to see it here as well – Tomlinson has clearly done his homework with space/physics/science/etc. The reference to Lagrange points killed me!! My astrodynamics loving heart.
There is also so much humor! Not the laugh out loud kind, but the kind that keeps you smiling and brings out the occasional snort. More so than Gate Crashers in my opinion, or maybe it just flows better in this one. There are also funny little pop culture references that are amazing and well done. For example:
“Yippee ki-yay, motherfu—”
“Language, young lady,” Hashin said from his own seat as he applied some sort of medicated patch to his upper arm.
“But how did you even know . . .”
“We’ve all seen Die Hard. We have Christmas out here, too, you know. It’s mostly a retail-driven holiday, but then, what holiday isn’t?”
-Patrick S. Tomlinson, Starship Repo (quote taken from eARC, subject to change)
Anyway, I truly enjoyed this and highly recommend it to everyone!! Especially if you’re a scifi fan, or a found families fan, or a heist fan.
Thank you SO MUCH to Tor Books for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley for review!
Starship Repo actually takes places in the same universe as Gate Crashers, but rest assured you don’t need to read that one first at all. There are some small callbacks for those who did, but you could read them completely separately. It follows a human teenager named, hilariously, Firstname Lastname (she goes by First). Ridiculous, right? But also amazing. There was a clerical error somewhere along the line, and since she’s a runaway she just stuck with it. At first she makes her living as a small time pickpocket, aircar thief, and con lady. She eventually gets kinda forcibly recruited into a crew of “repo men”, who repossess ships from rich beings who haven’t kept up their payments, and return them to the banks/owners for a fee. Basically, legal space pirates. What’s not to like??
If that didn’t convince you to read it, here is the cast of characters (aside from First) in the author’s own words: “There’s a transgender crab alien, a brain in a jar, a communal organism, and a hentai tentacle monster living in the sewers with strong opinions about music piracy.” Seriously though, the characters make the book. Each one is so unique, and has an amazing personality. I’m majorly impressed with Tomlinson’s creativity, since all of the characters is a different species of being, and all the different species are so COOL. I’m also a sucker for found family stories, and this is definitely one. First is like their semi-rebellious child that they adopt along the way and I loved seeing the bonds develop between her and the rest of the characters.
There’s plenty of action and lots of heists in the novel, which keeps it going at a great pace. The only thing that brings it down to 4.5 from 5 stars is that I wanted a tad more of a larger plot. There is a background overarching plot through the whole novel, but it was pretty light. The plot focuses on a handful of different heists, which was awesome! I just wanted a bit more cohesiveness. But on the plus side one of the heists involves a high speed space race, so that’s pretty awesome.
The writing is also really fun to read, and the science part of the science fiction is never overwhelming. I noted this in Gate Crashers and I’m pleased to see it here as well – Tomlinson has clearly done his homework with space/physics/science/etc. The reference to Lagrange points killed me!! My astrodynamics loving heart.
There is also so much humor! Not the laugh out loud kind, but the kind that keeps you smiling and brings out the occasional snort. More so than Gate Crashers in my opinion, or maybe it just flows better in this one. There are also funny little pop culture references that are amazing and well done. For example:
“Yippee ki-yay, motherfu—”
“Language, young lady,” Hashin said from his own seat as he applied some sort of medicated patch to his upper arm.
“But how did you even know . . .”
“We’ve all seen Die Hard. We have Christmas out here, too, you know. It’s mostly a retail-driven holiday, but then, what holiday isn’t?”
-Patrick S. Tomlinson, Starship Repo (quote taken from eARC, subject to change)
Anyway, I truly enjoyed this and highly recommend it to everyone!! Especially if you’re a scifi fan, or a found families fan, or a heist fan.
Thank you SO MUCH to Tor Books for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley for review!
rpmiller's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe only 3- stars, the story was reasonably paced and the crises escalated, yet there was too much fantasy. The characters as people would have been developed through the plot, but they were not people, rather fantasy aliens. In the end, this seemed more like a YA story that full adults can't identify with.
quirkycatsfatstacks's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy of Starship Repo through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Starship Repo is the newest novel from the mind of Patrick S. Tomlinson. And honestly, I couldn’t be happier about picking this novel up. I’ve been really craving something like this lately, but I hadn’t been able to put it into words until now. I wanted a space opera with a healthy sense of comedic relief and character building. I got all of that here.
Starship Repo is honestly exactly what it sounds like. And then some. Yes, it follows a team of Repo Agents as they do what they do best – repossess some of the finest spaceships in the galaxy. The job isn’t as easy as it sounds, and it’s surprisingly competitive. But honestly, upping the stakes merely made this novel that much more interesting.
Starship Repo was a fun and clever read, one I really enjoyed. It was witty and full of interesting characters, tense moments, intricate plans, and of course, spaceship repossessions. It wasn’t quite like anything I’ve read, but at the same time, it felt so familiar while reading it.
I’m so happy that I read I when I did, as I hadn’t realized just how badly I was craving something exactly like this. It combined elements I hadn’t expected to see, such as space opera, humor, reference humor, and some crime drama. It was brilliant.
The slightly inane humor combined with all of the references made this a lighter read than it would have otherwise been, and that’s a good thing in my book. That coupled with the more serious core of the plot – the repossession business – made for a truly unique read.
There were a lot of little things that made me fall in love with Starship Repo. For example, I loved the main character’s name. Or rather, the mix-up that resulted in her new name: Firstname Lastname. And yes, you read that right.
I also enjoyed First’s ability to be so human, on a world where she was one of the only of her kind. It made for a refreshing change. Plus, her willingness to grow fond of things she really shouldn’t have…it was just so human and endearing.
The alien races described in this novel were so unbelievable varied. It was fun seeing what Tomlinson would come up with next, to put it mildly. Alongside that, I loved the excuse for all of the older references. It made sense, and gave Tomlinson an excuse to slip in jokes and references that our generation would appreciate.
This was the first novel I had ever read by Tomlinson, but clearly I need to look through the rest of his works, because I absolutely adore his writing style. I hope this quirky style makes an appearance in his other novels.
Starship Repo was a unique and seriously fun read. There are plenty of positive things I could say about it, but then I’d run the risk of spoiling the best parts. So I’ll just settle for saying that this book is one worth reading – especially if you’ve been craving something new and different.
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Starship Repo is the newest novel from the mind of Patrick S. Tomlinson. And honestly, I couldn’t be happier about picking this novel up. I’ve been really craving something like this lately, but I hadn’t been able to put it into words until now. I wanted a space opera with a healthy sense of comedic relief and character building. I got all of that here.
Starship Repo is honestly exactly what it sounds like. And then some. Yes, it follows a team of Repo Agents as they do what they do best – repossess some of the finest spaceships in the galaxy. The job isn’t as easy as it sounds, and it’s surprisingly competitive. But honestly, upping the stakes merely made this novel that much more interesting.
Spoiler
Starship Repo was a fun and clever read, one I really enjoyed. It was witty and full of interesting characters, tense moments, intricate plans, and of course, spaceship repossessions. It wasn’t quite like anything I’ve read, but at the same time, it felt so familiar while reading it.
I’m so happy that I read I when I did, as I hadn’t realized just how badly I was craving something exactly like this. It combined elements I hadn’t expected to see, such as space opera, humor, reference humor, and some crime drama. It was brilliant.
The slightly inane humor combined with all of the references made this a lighter read than it would have otherwise been, and that’s a good thing in my book. That coupled with the more serious core of the plot – the repossession business – made for a truly unique read.
There were a lot of little things that made me fall in love with Starship Repo. For example, I loved the main character’s name. Or rather, the mix-up that resulted in her new name: Firstname Lastname. And yes, you read that right.
I also enjoyed First’s ability to be so human, on a world where she was one of the only of her kind. It made for a refreshing change. Plus, her willingness to grow fond of things she really shouldn’t have…it was just so human and endearing.
The alien races described in this novel were so unbelievable varied. It was fun seeing what Tomlinson would come up with next, to put it mildly. Alongside that, I loved the excuse for all of the older references. It made sense, and gave Tomlinson an excuse to slip in jokes and references that our generation would appreciate.
This was the first novel I had ever read by Tomlinson, but clearly I need to look through the rest of his works, because I absolutely adore his writing style. I hope this quirky style makes an appearance in his other novels.
Starship Repo was a unique and seriously fun read. There are plenty of positive things I could say about it, but then I’d run the risk of spoiling the best parts. So I’ll just settle for saying that this book is one worth reading – especially if you’ve been craving something new and different.
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
homicidal_potato's review against another edition
4.0
This felt like a 10 episode series of a Firefly-like crew.
tome15's review against another edition
3.0
Tomlinson, Patrick S. Starship Repo. The Breach No. 2. Tor, 2019.
Now let us praise average books. That is to say, I am tempted to rate this comic space opera higher than it deserves because it got so many negative reviews it did not deserve. But I will restrain myself. Starship Repos could be the poster child for three-star novels. Many of the negative reviews seem to have been given by readers who did not know what to expect. But really, if you pick up a book called Starship Repo, should you expect complex plotting and deep character analysis? At one point, our heroine, a refugee thief and con artist trying to survive in a multispecies habitat, tells an alien who doesn’t get it to keep track of his bath towel. It would be fair to say that Repo is not as much fun as Hitchhiker’s Guide, But then, few novels are. It does have an engaging heroine who seems to adjust well to repossessing starships for a gang of bug-eyed monsters. Some jokes are duds, but some give me a chuckle. I even enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek acknowledgements where the author says that his editors and typesetters are responsible for all the faults in the novel which would otherwise have won a Nobel prize. Some of Tomlinson’s harshest critics seem to think he was really gunning for the Nobel.
Now let us praise average books. That is to say, I am tempted to rate this comic space opera higher than it deserves because it got so many negative reviews it did not deserve. But I will restrain myself. Starship Repos could be the poster child for three-star novels. Many of the negative reviews seem to have been given by readers who did not know what to expect. But really, if you pick up a book called Starship Repo, should you expect complex plotting and deep character analysis? At one point, our heroine, a refugee thief and con artist trying to survive in a multispecies habitat, tells an alien who doesn’t get it to keep track of his bath towel. It would be fair to say that Repo is not as much fun as Hitchhiker’s Guide, But then, few novels are. It does have an engaging heroine who seems to adjust well to repossessing starships for a gang of bug-eyed monsters. Some jokes are duds, but some give me a chuckle. I even enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek acknowledgements where the author says that his editors and typesetters are responsible for all the faults in the novel which would otherwise have won a Nobel prize. Some of Tomlinson’s harshest critics seem to think he was really gunning for the Nobel.
ladydaffney's review against another edition
5.0
I tried to keep myself from binge-reading this book in one day, so it took me a bit longer. I also don't tend to write reviews, but I make exceptions based on the books and writers.
I am not normally a reader of science fiction, I am more of an avid reader of fantasy and urban fantasy. After reading the Children of a Dead Earth trilogy by this author/comedian, I got sucked into his writing of science fiction. Pretty sure if I hadn't of read the other trilogy, I might not have enjoyed or appreciated The Expanse as much as I did.
This book is well-written. I enjoy the humor as well as the research that the author put in to make everything work. Personally, I would love a Grenic plushie (with the "tattoo"). I do want to state that I did not see any grammatical errors and it is a very enjoyable book. Please. Write. More.
I am not normally a reader of science fiction, I am more of an avid reader of fantasy and urban fantasy. After reading the Children of a Dead Earth trilogy by this author/comedian, I got sucked into his writing of science fiction. Pretty sure if I hadn't of read the other trilogy, I might not have enjoyed or appreciated The Expanse as much as I did.
This book is well-written. I enjoy the humor as well as the research that the author put in to make everything work. Personally, I would love a Grenic plushie (with the "tattoo"). I do want to state that I did not see any grammatical errors and it is a very enjoyable book. Please. Write. More.