Review - Space Academy Rejects by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus (Space Academy Dropouts #2)
Preamble
After I finished the review for Space Academy Dropouts, author C.T. Phipps asked me if I was interested in reading and reviewing the upcoming second book in series. I enjoyed the first one so much that I had no problem saying yes, to hell with my TBR pile. First book reviewed here.
A note about my reviews: I consider myself an appreciator, not a critic. I know first-hand what goes into the creation of art – the blood, the sweat, the tears, the risk. I also know that art appreciation is subjective and lernt good what mama tell’t me – if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I’m not a school marm grading a spelling test – I’m a reader who enjoys reading. If a book is entertaining, well-written, and I get absorbed into it, five out of five. It’s either five stars or nothing these days – if I don’t like it, no review. Regardless, I wouldn’t even put a star rating system on my reviews but for the reality of storefronts like Amazon.
Take from that what you will.
Review – 5/5
“Daddy?” I asked. “Do you mean that in the creator sense or older lover?”
Vance Turbo and crew are back for more jinks that are hi and sci that is fi in this space comedy sequel. Like the first book the story is tight and the comedy plays a kind of a sidecar role, like the plot is on the main bike and the comedy is riding shotgun – I’m thinking of Mr. Burns and Smithers right now, with Burns wearing the goggles and scarf and steering the motorcycle with Smithers with his knees in his chin in the sidecar… anyhoo, it’s story first, comedy second.
Not that the book is unfunny – quite the opposite. But it seems to hold itself a little more seriously than the first – as seriously as a book that jumps between the sexual exploits of more likeable Kirk stand-in Vance Turbo with sexbots and subordinates and the universe-destroying plans of Nazi Ewoks can. This book is very much about the characters and their relationships with each other, though.
New to the roster are Vance’s cousin Danny, kind-of dead Ketra’s daughter and Vance’s love interest Shelly, and a couple of others. Back are reptilian Forty-Two, Trish the AI, and a few more as well. It’s also set seven years after the events of the first book, once Vance has settled into his role in Starfleet as a lieutenant or some such. It can’t last though – he’s made captain of yet another ship in the first few pages. Only it’s like a cruise ship or some kind of pleasure craft that has to be refitted into a military vessel.
As before, there is massive scale conflict between the Elder Races and the newbies in the galaxy. Vance and crew are at the forefront, trying to keep things from falling apart. I have to admit that I lost the plot a little bit near the middle of the book, but it was compelling enough that I did not lose interest. In fact, near the end I stayed up a little too long reading it.
It’s a lengthy read, but not so lengthy that it overstays its welcome. You can tell that C.T. Phipps really put his heart and soul into this, though. He described something in the Foreword – a feeling of emptiness after finishing the first book – that felt all to familiar to me as an author. And so, he wrote this one immediately, making a standalone into a series out of sheer love for it. You can feel that devotion here, an unremitting dedication to sci-fi comedy.
If you liked the first, I’m sure you’ll like this one too.
Check it out on the ‘zon here.