01/01/2024
In a future universe where a company that makes really bad cereal has taken over the world, and corporate bureaucracy and rapacious merchandising rule everything, it's not a surprise that the crew of the GP Gallant are not exactly the best and the brightest, have little training, and are sent on the company's first intergalactic exploration and commerce mission in a ship built by prioritizing cost and merchandising over safety and functionality. All things considered, it's a bit surprising that they make it through the Space Hole (corporate speak for wormhole). This novel combines the over-the-top satire and sheer corporate bureaucratic farce of the movie Office Space and sets it in a universe reminiscent of John Scalzi's Redshirts with its parody/homage to Star Trek. Unfortunately, it lacks the dawning self-awareness that gave Redshirts its charm and adds really bad cereal and over-the-top merchandising opportunities that can wear thin rather quickly. VERDICT Louis (Pray for Evolution) gives readers a ship barely hanging together, a bumbling wannabe hero, and a capable-in-spite-of-themselves crew that readers will root for in spite of themselves, but whether it's an enjoyable read may depend on how well they can weather the over-the-topness of the novel.—Marlene Harris
