Shattermoon

There's a lot to like in this debut novel. It captures some of the caper style of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat books, as well as the deep space gothic of Alastair Reynolds' Revenger, which are all Good Things round here. It starts with a simple con job, and soon escalates to inter species space conflict and the threat of planetary annihilation. It's a fun space romp to begin with, with gradually increasing amounts of grimdark fantasy style violence before ending with a genuinely exciting atmospheric climax. The characterisation is serviceable, and I did find myself rooting for the super-resourceful Orry, while the worldbuilding is interesting, with plenty of tantalising background details dropped in.
Somehow though, it just didn't quite click for me. Ultimately, it's the fast pace which is the book's undoing. It's a big book, and it is so relentlessly slam-bang that it just left me feeling exhausted. Orry spins from one crisis to the next with barely a moment to draw breath. At half the length I would have loved it, or maybe even longer if the author had taken advantage of the extra space to build in some downtime, but as it stands it's a bit too wearing. I'll read the next one, but I'll probably have to have a nice sit down afterwards.