Review: Resurrection by Owen G. Richards
I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
‘Thomas Andrew McNulty is an orphan, and a thief. He’s a streetwise, cocksure tech wizard who is 16 years old, leaving him open to the Draft – a fate he is working to avoid. He wants to be a successful robotics developer, wealthy and independent, not a military man like his father.
‘At the point of acquiring the piece that he needs to finish his prototype, he gets caught thieving by the MPs on the military base. Then he’s shanghaied by a techno-blob and gets sent aboard the Resurrection, a salvage vessel contracted to the military. Once on board he stows away, trapped and uncertain of his destination and his future with the techno-blob his only friend.
‘When he is discovered he faces the possibility of being ejected into space, or joining the crew. Can Tommy adapt to being a team member, and survive space pirates and berserkers as he begins to discover the truth about his parents’ deaths?’
In Resurrection, by Owen G. Richards, we meet Thomas (Tommy) McNulty, a 16-year-old orphan and tech genius living in a time and place far from here. When he’s caught stealing parts by military police (MPs), he thinks his number’s up – but then an unassuming blob of material forms an ID card and quite literally latches on to him, granting him entry to the titular salvage vessel.
On board, Tommy stows away for a few days, but when he’s eventually discovered, the crew decides to make use of him as an apprentice to Chief Engineer Francis (Franky) Warren. Tommy (and the blob, whom they decide to call George) proves to be a useful addition to the team, but can he control his smart mouth, and survive a series of increasingly dangerous salvage missions?
I found Resurrection an exciting read, with continual, expertly-deployed action and suspense. Right from the start I was on the edge of my seat, wanting to see how Tommy would manage to get out of the situation with the MPs, then how he would fare when his presence on the spacecraft came to light (even though I guessed it would turn out okay, or there wouldn’t be a series!).
Tommy is a likeable character, even if I did cringe whenever he fell into the impulsive-teenage-boy trap of opening his mouth before engaging his brain. Behind the smartarsery is a vulnerability though: there are emotional depths he’s not ready to give voice to just yet, and I anticipate we have more to learn about his lost family. Most of the rest of the crew are friendly to him, with Franky, Brick, Doc (literally the ship’s doctor), and Bart (a woman – nicknames all round!) particularly winning me over.
For a faceless piece of nanotech, George has a lot of personality! He mainly communicates information and opinions by displaying different coloured lights or changing his shape, though he’s also able to put words on screens if he’s plugged into them. One thing he reveals is that he was developed by the military, but escaped because he didn’t want to work for them, and we find out that his capabilities are impressive to say the least.
In fact, without giving too much away, the military (whom the crew work on contract for) don’t come out of this story well at all, and it looks like they’ll continue to make trouble going forwards. The situations Tommy and his new colleagues end up in as they board seemingly abandoned ships and stations increase in danger and volatility as they go along, and the consequences are real, raising the emotional stakes even higher.
Resurrection is an entertaining, action-packed sci-fi thriller packed with surprisingly endearing characters.