Predictable and convenient but enjoyable.

I read several reviews prior to writing this one and most of them refer to some problems with grammar and proof-reading. Obviously, that isn’t a problem with the audiobook version. The narrator is great.

The plot is fairly formulaic. The main character is a retired military type who often acts without thinking. The author even refers to this at one point. He enters a space ship that had landed near his remote cabin in the woods and the ship then abruptly leaves. The only crew member is a synthetic intelligence (robot) who offers the MC a chance to help him. The robot has to deliver some cargo to some place that doesn’t accept his kind and since the crew are “missing” could the MC help in their place? I immediately thought of the 419 scams where they have $1million that needs to be cleared into a bank and could they just use your to facilitate the transaction….. It turns out that my feeling was right. The robot is unreliable (to understate the situation) and things becoming interesting.

The plot is also quite predictable and “convenient” in many places. Besides the obvious 419 scam, the MC is given control of the space craft and he eventually needs it. The cargo includes a war robot and some super army ranger kind of creature, who also come in handy. When the MC needs a pilot it turns out that the nanobots that were injected into him can facilitate accelerated learning of such useful skills. All very convenient.

Despite what it sounds like, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it. It isn’t a demanding story line and there is a lot of action. The MC is also quite a wholesome, all-American, apple-pie, hero type with some issues from the military action he saw. Predictable and convenient but enjoyable.