When I entered into the galaxy of Hull Scrappers, I was unsure of what to expect. Andrew Seiple, an unknown author to me, and the concept of tagging along with people whose job could be condensed down to a chop shop made me feel a little anxious. But boy was I pleasantly surprised. “Shattered Diaspora” the first installment in the Hull Scrappers series is phenomenal! A fun space cowboy romp through a myriad of human systems and cultures that manages to keep the thrills ‘spun-up.’
I say ‘spun-up’ because it was just one of the fun little phrases that Andrew Seiple integrated into this novel to give the breadth of the galaxy and the characters that inhabit it life. Our main protagonist, Kril Grainger, is your fairly standard knight in shining armor protagonist, but that doesn’t mean he is boring. No, far from it! A marriage between a rough-and-tumble cowboy and a bleeding-heart mercenary, Kril became a pretty steady rock from which I could observe the story, and frankly, I would love for him—if humanity ever reaches the stars—to be the captain of whatever vessel I may, if ever, happen to be on.
His sister Trin, the pilot, and my personal favorite, Lysanda, are just two of the crew members you will meet along the way, and Seiple manages to make them into individuals I craved to know more about. Lysanda, a sexually androgenous doctor who may or may not use rodents to do the heavy medical work, is an absolute delight. Of course, the crew of a hyperlight vessel requires more than just a doctor and a pilot and Seiple manages to scrap together a varied but pleasant mixture of characters to round out the story and the crew of No Man’s Land. Together these individuals will have to employ their skills—and flaws—to overcome everything from frantic space combat to sewer bound raptors. Yes, that’s right raptors, as in the dinosaurs with the big nasty claws.
So, if you enjoy science fiction, fantasy, or just a fun adventure that manages to gently introduce some pretty heavy world-building then look no further than “Shattered Diaspora”. My only gripe, which is very minor, is the heavy use of a particular word that you will probably understand once you get into it and also some very heavy giveaways of future events that were already foreshadowed quite well. With that and the fact that I prefer for a few more breaks in the action than was given, I am going to give it a 4.5/5.0 stars. A must read and thank you Andrew Seiple for the fun adventure!
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