Review of AUDIOBOOK Finder – Book 1 of the Finder Chronicles by Suzanne Palmer #Brainfluffaudiobookreview #Finderbookreview #SciFiMonth2020.

The Cap from Captain’s Quarters was fulsome in praising this one – and I’ve come to respect the Cap’s opinions such that I immediately went looking for Finder. I decided to treat myself to the audio version – and I’m delighted that I did, because Joe Hempel did a cracking job on the narration. I’m linking this article with #Sci Fi Month 2020.

BLURB: Fergus Ferguson has been called a lot of names: thief, con artist, repo man. He prefers the term finder. His latest job should be simple. Find the spacecraft Venetia’s Sword and steal it back from Arum Gilger, ex-nobleman turned power-hungry trade boss. He’ll slip in, decode the ship’s compromised AI security, and get out of town, Sword in hand. Fergus locates both Gilger and the ship in the farthest corner of human-inhabited space, a gas-giant-harvesting colony called Cernee. But Fergus’ arrival at the colony is anything but simple… That’s as much of the rather chatty blurb that I’m prepared to share.

REVIEW: Well this is a bucketful of fun! Fergus is a sympathetic protagonist, who I immediately bonded with over the way he handled himself during the first adventure that sucked him into Cernee’s power struggle. In common with most protagonists, Fergus has a troubled backstory that accounts for his footloose lifestyle. But although this comes into play and at times has a bearing on the decisions he makes, it doesn’t turn him into too much of a victim.

While this book is packed with action, it isn’t at the expense of the main characters or the setting. And I really enjoyed seeing Fergus pitchforked into the middle of a series of impossible situations and then watch how he tries to improvise his way out of them. A couple of his madcap ideas are plain hilarious – his use of sex toys comes to mind – which brings some welcome levity into a story that could have been all about the killing and bloodshed. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting – the space habs were vividly portrayed, as were the pests…

There is a McGuffin that Fergus acquires during his various adventures, but I was glad to see that in the eventual showdown, that didn’t allow him to prevail against the baddie. The supporting cast are also fun, especially the snarky teen who keeps popping up just as Fergus thinks he’s got her tucked away somewhere safe.

My only niggle is that we don’t really get a sense of the motivations of arch-villain, Arum Gilger – and given that he is the major antagonist throughout, I was a tad disappointed that it wasn’t until right at the very end of the adventure, we get any kind of insight as to what runs him. And even then, it wasn’t really fully explored, which given the reach he has, I found a little unsatisfactory. It isn’t a dealbreaker as such – and I’m certainly going to get hold of the second book – but it does account my score of eight, rather than a nine.

Highly recommended for fans who enjoy excellent space opera adventure with an interesting, likeable hero.
8/10