Space Opera With a Sense of Humor

The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the most fun I've had reading in a while.

This is the first thing I've read by this author, and I'm psyched, because I enjoyed every page of this and there are more books out there for me to grab.

Set in a future where humanity has spread out among the stars, split into a handful of polities, the story follows several interesting POV characters. These include a royal young woman, a starship commander, an old hero, a group of pirates, and others. They introduce us to the setting at different levels of society and, fortunately, start to connect pretty early in the book, pretty much right when the enemy is set among them.

Most of the humans are genetically enhanced or aided by brain implants or both. People download and install software on a moment's notice to give them skills and knowledge in a much easier way than most of us acquire it. The enemy is made up of purists who despise these changes, and they exploit the vulnerabilities of the system to start a war with a devastating first blow.

I found the characters well-drawn and sympathetic, with no POV I didn't enjoy, and they're written in a hugely entertaining way, with big personalities and excellent dialogue. Not to compare, but it made me think of John Scalzi all the way through, like his Old Man's War series or maybe Redshirts, because this has a fantastic, exciting plot with fun characters and hilarious dialogue, set in a star-traveling future with a galaxy-spanning war. There are no jokes here--just really snappy dialogue and excellent SF action.

I've read some really good books this year in several different genres, but this really hit the sweet spot in the genre that first made me a reader. I haven't read near as much SF in the last couple decades as I used to, but this kind of book will definitely bring me back.

Highly recommended.

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