I wanted an enjoyable, entertaining read to while away a long train journey, so opened this up. Would it sufficiently draw me in and take me away from the over-enthusiastic air conditioning?
Nineteen-year-old Steve Maxwell just wants to get his feet on the star road to find a better homeworld. By facing down Lotus Tong thugs, he earns an opportunity to become a spacer apprentice on a merchant spaceship, leaving the corruption and crime of Earth behind. Sure, he needs to prove himself to an older, tight-knit crew, but how bad can it be if he keeps his head down and the decks clean? He never counted on the interstellar trade routes having their own problems, from local wars to plagues of pirates. Steve's left a world of troubles behind, only to find a galaxy of them ahead...
This coming of age book takes young Steve from his job as a busboy to managing to get a berth on a merchanter off Earth. I enjoyed the world and Steve's gritted determination to succeed no matter what. Grant clearly has spent a great deal of time fine-tuning his world, which mostly works well. While the writing style isn't particularly smooth and at times the dialogue clunks, there is nevertheless an engaging charm about this book that meant the obvious flaws in the writing was more than compensated by the conviction and energy Grant displays.
Read more at Take the Star Road, by Peter Grant | Science Fiction | SFReader.com Book Review
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