One crew, one loyalty and a single shot at redemption.

Captain Rebekah Khan and her ragtag crew of the repair ship Sunstar finally have a chance to pay off their crushing debts when an automining vessel goes rogue. After preventing the high value cargo from disappearing into the outer system, they uncover sabotage only a crew with their military experience would recognise.

Instead of returning as heroes, they are blackmailed into taking on a new crew member and the hunt for a mysterious, uncertified spacecraft. Deep into the black, they desperately try to hide their murky past, while their loyalties are tested to their limits when they finally come across the marooned ship and its deadly cargo.

Featuring the action of Earth, the camaraderie of the Firefly tv series and the infighting of James S. A. Corey's The Expanse books, The Wrecking Squad is the new science fiction novel from Nick Snape, author of the highly rated Weapons of Choice series.

Contract confirmed. Rebekah Khan, captain of the Sunstar under Karal ID Code RCKN5QD

Another great sci-fi series by Nick Snape, featuring exhilarating military action, some dark, dystopic world-building and well-thought-out, nuanced and complex characters.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Nick’s Warriors of Spirit and Bone fantasy series, and his The Scorching series standalones before, so was excited to dive into this book too. And it absolutely lives up to the expectations.

We follow the journey of a ragtag salvage crew who, suddenly and unexpectedly, receive a contract that may potentially enable them to pay off their debts and embark upon a better life. They stumble upon this opportunity by just being at the right place at the right time, unaware of the dangerous threat that awaits them.

However, the crew of Sunstar is not an ordinary salvage crew, and as the story progresses, we get to know more of their infamous past. The group of ex-marines headed by highly competent Captain Rebekah Khan, rises up to increasingly treacherous challenges.

If you enjoy military action, that is reason enough for you to dive into this series. The presentation is realistic, fast-paced, and thrilling. There are a few esoteric, imaginative elements that we mostly see in the later part, but the book feels primarily geared towards military sci-fi enthusiasts. While we don’t get an in-depth coverage of the creepy aliens or the creepier monarchy in this book, they do serve as a very intriguing backdrop, and I am curious to explore more of this world and remain hopeful that future books will feature a greater depth of world-building. I am especially interested in the history of mankind’s interactions with the dream traders.

I have seen this book compared with Firefly, Aliens and Expanse, and I think they are all quite apt. The expedition into the research lab inside the asteroid also reminded me of Resident Evil.

The Wrecking Squad is a very closely knit group, and they are harboring a dangerous secret that Captain Khan would go to enormous lengths to protect. I loved their interactions and found each member of the crew to be uniquely interesting - including the robot.

Wise? No. Gave that up years ago. With age comes recklessness. Go get the breaker kit.

The empaths were an unexpected surprise, and they bring some really fun complications to the plot. I also liked Divina, who remains a bit of a wildcard until the end, and it was very interesting to see how her choices brought her close to the knife’s edge.

We are here because we were blackmailed, threatened. But that was in your environment, now you are in mine.

My only qualm is with the core plot, which I felt did not live up to its full potential. But it is the first book of a long saga, and I am very excited to discover how this series evolves further.

Flesh and blood were such insignificant barriers to the madness of space.