Synopsis
Life ain’t easy for a pilot in the Void. An easy score turns into a whole lot of trouble, and the race is on to unload some very problematic cargo.
Captured by pirates in his beat up chimera, Maurice “Moss” Foote is having a bad day, until he gets a lead on the gig of a lifetime. Easy pickings, if his crew doesn’t mind doing a bit of pirating themselves, which they probably will. But one tiny lie might get them on board.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Roy Herzog is having a worse day. He’s crossed paths with the Silver Legion, the organization he deserted to become a pirate. Unfortunately, the Legion does not forget, and does not easily forgive. But there might be a way out, perhaps even a shot at revenge against the pilot who nearly killed him.
A pilot who flies a chimera.
“Lost Cargo cements Chinn as one of my all-time favourite writers.” – Robert Runte, The Ottawa Review of Book.
Review
LOST CARGO by Noah Chinn is the second installment of the Get Lost series, a zany space opera series set in the world where all natural born humans are kept under the thumb of genetically engineered super humans. Moss Foote is a tramp freighter captain and washed-up corporate mascot that has a snarky uploaded intelligence as his ship as well as a quirky mechanic. Oh, and a member of a secret order of technology-worshiping monks as his love interest. It has strong Firefly and Traveller vibes that made me eager to return to the series after the events of Get Lost.
The premise is that Moss has taken a quote-unquote ‘easy’ job where he’s going to engage in some light piracy. Unfortunately, Moss’ crew aren’t down with that and his own conscience hits him hard when he discovers his victimless crime has a lot of victims: the cargo turns out to be smuggled Freeborn. Those humans who are desperate to escape control over the Protectorate and its oppressive military caste. Oh and Moss accidentally gave their pilot a heart attack.
The co-protagonist to the novel is Roy Herzog, who is the opposite of Moss in every possible way. Roy is a pirate with a heart of lead and extremely talented at social engineering versus Moss’ constant blundering. Accidentally ending up back in the Silver Legion, the Protectorate’s military arm, Roy is always one wrong word away from being spaced. However, a clever man can exploit his situation, and Roy is nothing if not clever.
As mentioned, this is a zany series with a lot of comedy, but it makes the correct decision that the best humor comes from a story that works on a serious level as well as a humorous one. Sort of like Young Frankenstein is a perfectly serviceable horror movie plot about reanimation even as the characters make it deranged. Moss’ sarcasm bounces off the rest of the crew in always entertaining ways even as things like Trouble the talking mongoose constantly annoys him.
Lost Cargo works as a science fiction story as well as adventure tale too. Addressed in the book is the ethics and merits of brain uploading. Violet is a former person that has managed to find herself transformed into an AI. That leaves her with questions of cloning, individuality, immortality, and other issues that might someday be relevant. She just happens to also be a huge fan of 21st century Earth media.
Do I have any complaints? A small one in that I really was shipping Moss with Hel, his spunky ship’s mechanic, and sadly that ship is killed thoroughly. I just didn’t gel with the existing love interest and their romance brought down my enthusiasm a bit. However, I do love the main characters’ friendship, and some readers will appreciate the platonic bond they share.
In conclusion, Lost Cargo is a fun and entertaining installment for those who like Han Solo more than Luke Skywalker. Given that is most of us, I must give this book big props. I am eagerly going to check out the third installment of the book. The Get Lost universe is rich but understandable in its world-building with plenty of room to grow and hopefully many sequels.
Leave a Reply