I’d never heard of Tobias Buckell before reading this, but I had heard of one of his books: the Cole Protocol. Other than Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars books, I’ve never read a genre novel I’ve liked, so I don’t read them any more. I’m starting to soften that position, however, as I realize a lot of aspiring sci-fi authors take the jobs to built their portfolios. Nothing worse than a snob, and I’d rather not become one.

In any case, when John Scalzi mentioned the story, I had to check it out, and I’m glad I did.  Continue reading →