Finder

February 18, 2019
Fergus Ferguson, a professional repo man in a spacefaring future, chases a stolen spaceship to a backwater colony, incidentally becomes the catalyst for a civil war, and draws the attention of dangerous alien neighbors in Palmer’s riotous sci-fi debut. A chance meeting with an old woman in a cable car puts Fergus at odds with Gilger, the man whose ship he’s pursuing, but also allows him the opportunity to make helpful contacts in a family of lichen farmers and the arms dealer they share a habitat with. Humor deployed in the service of the plot, good dialogue, and evocative descriptions make up for a slight lack of depth in the characters as Fergus’s newfound allies evolve into friends and he gets an unexpected opportunity to save the colony and complete his mission. Palmer makes short-distance space travel feel as comfortable as riding a bicycle, and concludes this entertaining caper with a clever resolution and a hint of intrigue. Fans of space adventure will find this a fine example of the form. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary.

April 1, 2019

DEBUT Fergus Ferguson likes his job finding things that have gone missing in space. Called a glorified repo man, he's located and returned some unusual and dangerous cargo in his day, but this assignment is particularly tricky. He must find a stolen, armed spaceship, and wrest it away from a local gangster on the brink of warfare with a well-known arms dealer. Those caught in the middle include the families of miners and merchants, and an all-female community of lichen farmers. Cracking esoteric codes, improvising transportation and weapons, and being involved in knife fights in zero gravity is all part of a day's work. Palmer, a Hugo Award winner for her short fiction, has created a pulp-style space opera debut complete with aliens, stinging space roaches, and lethal spores that ramp up the dread and increase the hurdles for the heroes. VERDICT Salted with a bit of humor here and there, a clear cadence, and conventional ending, this will please anyone who embraces outer-space yarns.--Russell Miller, formerly with Prescott P.L., AZ

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