Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

It was the amazing old-fashioned looking cover that initially drew me eye.

Obviously sci-fi. Retro look. Had to check it out. This is the story of a human guy named Curtis who lives on Earth’s moon and was raised by an unlikely trio – a robot, an android, and a disembodied brain in a drone. Once he is grown, he finally learns the secret of who murdered his parents and sets out to get revenge.

Now the author hearkens back to the day of sci-fi pulp with modern sensibilities. I have to admit that me knowledge of what constituted pulp was very small and practically non-existent. What I did know was blatantly stereotypical and not worth mentioning here. Oh and I didn’t even really understand what this novel was based on. But the concept was fascinating and I was excited to give it a whirl.

This was fun. The main draw for me was of course the characters. Curt, a.k.a. Captain Future, was intelligent, loyal, honorable and a little bumbling. Ye can’t help but like him. His guardians were super awesome as well. The drone holds the brain of a scientist who was friends with Curt’s parents. He is the father-figure and defacto leader. The smart-talking android, Otho, and the higher-than-average intelligent robot, Gage, are his friends and some-time teachers. And then there is the smart cute girl-cop who they meet along the way. All of them quirky in their own rights and all of them lovely to get to know. Add in space pets and what more could ye ask for?

The plot was a little predictable but not overly so. It wasn’t super fast paced but proceeded well. The first part was seemingly geared to set up the world and characters and the second part to really advance the story. The ending whizzed by. I enjoyed the world building and the use of technology. It was silly and dare I say slightly cheesy but so entertaining.

If this is what pulp is now . . . give me some more please.

Also I loved the author’s afterword where he explained how he was influenced to write the story. In 1969 he read a work featuring Captain Future that was originally written in 1942. This led me down the rabbit’s hole into the history of science fiction pulp magazines and the list of the most popular pulp writers of the various decades. That was also enjoyable. I didn’t even know there were that many sci-fi magazines around.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Check out me ship's log at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/