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cameronkobesauthor's review
4.0
This novel starts out with strong comedic overtones, but as it develops the story becomes closer more like a thriller. The novel is set in the 23rd century, in which humans have abandoned the scoured and polluted ruins of Earth and spread throughout the universe. The sum area of human habitation is known as the Sphere of Influence, but most of Earth’s biodiversity perished with Earth, including all trees and most animals. Lightspeed travel, teleportation, vat-grown meat, and a sentient AI companion called an imentor (using the pronouns Jim or Kim, depending on the gender of the user) are regular parts of life in the 23rd century.
The protagonist, the Deep Space Accountant in question, is Elton D. Philpotts, an everyman nobody sort of character who works a mediocre job as an ordinary ground-bound accountant but aspires to the lofty and glorious position of a deep space accountant. Not being an expert in Relativistic Accountancy (that is, assessing costs involved with lightspeed travel, the wear and tear on spaceships, and so forth), he is utterly unqualified and can only dream. It’s notable that since genetic modification of embryos is a regular part of the future, a botched attempt at making him a superior human left him with the ability to memorize any number he sees. This is useful for his job, but no replacement for Relativistic Accounting experience.
Despite his lack of qualifications, Elton lands an interview with Space Corps for a deep space accountant position, and despite the comical awfulness of the interview, he gets the job, boards a shuttle which promptly explodes, and finds himself fleeing for his life from a sinister corporation which had meant to use him as a scapegoat and pawn in their wicked schemes for…well, if you want to know what the schemes are you’ll have to read the book, because I’d hate to give further spoilers.
The writing is smooth, without the nagging little errors I’ve come to expect from so many indie novels. The humor does fade as the story progresses, but it’s good where it is. Elton, a mediocre accountant who is forced to be a hero, is an entertaining character. With his ticks and quirks and so on, I can imagine him being a character in a Wes Anderson film, which was endearing for me. The secondary characters weren’t all quite as strong, some of them kind of blended together for me, but that’s not so bad. There is a romantic arc to the story which was a little improbable, but it’s a genre of improbable things, so that’s not so bad either. Elton really does have “plot armor”, consistently surviving shootings and crashes and explosions and so forth because the story needs him alive, but being a comedy, this sort of thing is expected. There was one weakness to the story, in my opinion. The main antagonist, a Space Corps bigwig named Martin Levinson, is a pretty clichéd character. He’s a bad guy in a business suit, driven by greed and sociopathy without any meaningful complexity behind him, and characters exactly like him have been oozing their way through the offices of sci-fi in various media for decades.
All in all, the story was a good one. I enjoyed it, and I’d recommend it for fans of comedy (specifically off-beat comedy) and sci-fi (including hard sci-fi, which we so rarely see). I’d especially recommend it for sci-fi fans who are looking for something fresh and different.
The protagonist, the Deep Space Accountant in question, is Elton D. Philpotts, an everyman nobody sort of character who works a mediocre job as an ordinary ground-bound accountant but aspires to the lofty and glorious position of a deep space accountant. Not being an expert in Relativistic Accountancy (that is, assessing costs involved with lightspeed travel, the wear and tear on spaceships, and so forth), he is utterly unqualified and can only dream. It’s notable that since genetic modification of embryos is a regular part of the future, a botched attempt at making him a superior human left him with the ability to memorize any number he sees. This is useful for his job, but no replacement for Relativistic Accounting experience.
Despite his lack of qualifications, Elton lands an interview with Space Corps for a deep space accountant position, and despite the comical awfulness of the interview, he gets the job, boards a shuttle which promptly explodes, and finds himself fleeing for his life from a sinister corporation which had meant to use him as a scapegoat and pawn in their wicked schemes for…well, if you want to know what the schemes are you’ll have to read the book, because I’d hate to give further spoilers.
The writing is smooth, without the nagging little errors I’ve come to expect from so many indie novels. The humor does fade as the story progresses, but it’s good where it is. Elton, a mediocre accountant who is forced to be a hero, is an entertaining character. With his ticks and quirks and so on, I can imagine him being a character in a Wes Anderson film, which was endearing for me. The secondary characters weren’t all quite as strong, some of them kind of blended together for me, but that’s not so bad. There is a romantic arc to the story which was a little improbable, but it’s a genre of improbable things, so that’s not so bad either. Elton really does have “plot armor”, consistently surviving shootings and crashes and explosions and so forth because the story needs him alive, but being a comedy, this sort of thing is expected. There was one weakness to the story, in my opinion. The main antagonist, a Space Corps bigwig named Martin Levinson, is a pretty clichéd character. He’s a bad guy in a business suit, driven by greed and sociopathy without any meaningful complexity behind him, and characters exactly like him have been oozing their way through the offices of sci-fi in various media for decades.
All in all, the story was a good one. I enjoyed it, and I’d recommend it for fans of comedy (specifically off-beat comedy) and sci-fi (including hard sci-fi, which we so rarely see). I’d especially recommend it for sci-fi fans who are looking for something fresh and different.
robinwalter's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A very rare treat, genuine SF humour, and built around an accountant! Well worth reading.
ejdawson's review
5.0
The only word I can use to describe the way I read this book would be *gobble*
I read it at lunch, during breaks, on the phone on hold, when nobody was looking, up until nearly 1am, whilst trying to make dinner, and even, (I admit) on the toilet.
The story features a rather ordinary person, most of us sum 30’s will recognise, as an accountant who wants to do more than what his lot in life offers him. A golden opportunity that turns in a bizarre twist of events to a water logged boot sinking to the bottom of the ocean still finds our hero in his dream job, or so he thinks. As little inconsistences that only the most meticulous of accountants would note start frothing up, Elton’s small world rapidly unravels into an adventure he didn’t know he wanted.
The humour in this story is excellent, it comes up behind you, and hits you with the frying pan of the giggles before running away cackling to itself. The sci-fi in it isn’t so much cyberpunk as it is a bleak outlook on what our consumeristic future probably holds. In light of all this, the story carries hope, luck, and fortitude like spare change in its pocket that presents itself at just the right moment.
Well written and thoroughly enjoyable, I will be looking for more from this author.
I read it at lunch, during breaks, on the phone on hold, when nobody was looking, up until nearly 1am, whilst trying to make dinner, and even, (I admit) on the toilet.
The story features a rather ordinary person, most of us sum 30’s will recognise, as an accountant who wants to do more than what his lot in life offers him. A golden opportunity that turns in a bizarre twist of events to a water logged boot sinking to the bottom of the ocean still finds our hero in his dream job, or so he thinks. As little inconsistences that only the most meticulous of accountants would note start frothing up, Elton’s small world rapidly unravels into an adventure he didn’t know he wanted.
The humour in this story is excellent, it comes up behind you, and hits you with the frying pan of the giggles before running away cackling to itself. The sci-fi in it isn’t so much cyberpunk as it is a bleak outlook on what our consumeristic future probably holds. In light of all this, the story carries hope, luck, and fortitude like spare change in its pocket that presents itself at just the right moment.
Well written and thoroughly enjoyable, I will be looking for more from this author.
smcleish's review
4.0
The title suggests that this is likely to be a funny romp, and it's not wrong!
ajlewis2's review
5.0
After reading Mjke Wood's book of short stories, I was not surprised by how good this book is. Most importantly it has a solid story loaded with very creative technology. I marvel at the things Wood comes up with. The well-developed characters are not what we usually see as space heroes, but they find their way into that category as they do their best with the talents they have. Wood throws in some great humor especially in the first part of the book. I highly recommend this book for a fun and engaging read.
anatoli's review
4.0
I liked this book. It was full of imagination, and was a nice, easy read. The characters are nicely rounded out, and although the story is somewhat predictable, it is well written. 4/5 stars on Goodreads.
brian's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I had hopes from the title that this would be more exciting.
The first half has some misfit characters being forced together as a secret conspiracy is unearthed.
Once it gets going, they're likeable characters and you find yourself rooting for them to succeed.
Elton D. Philpotts is the accountant of the title, and along with his friend Walther they seem to be going nowhere while dreaming of deep space.
The writing is similar to Douglas Adams, with fish-out-of-water main characters finding themselves in odd/perilous situations and working out solutions.
The supporting cast fill in the gaps and help to grow the main characters.
I had hopes from the title that this would be more exciting.
The first half has some misfit characters being forced together as a secret conspiracy is unearthed.
Once it gets going, they're likeable characters and you find yourself rooting for them to succeed.
Elton D. Philpotts is the accountant of the title, and along with his friend Walther they seem to be going nowhere while dreaming of deep space.
The writing is similar to Douglas Adams, with fish-out-of-water main characters finding themselves in odd/perilous situations and working out solutions.
The supporting cast fill in the gaps and help to grow the main characters.
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