Book #35 - Temporary Duty

I grabbed this book on a whim, thinking that it might be OK for my trip to the UK at $2.9. The description on Amazon of Temporary Duty made it seem like a stretch for me, but semi interesting. Paving the way for a military detachment on an alien ship, two enlisted men are sent first.

After the first few chapters, which moved a little slow, I found my self fascinated by the book, despite some formatting issues that rendered most of it in italics.

The book really follows one of the enlisted men, a poor man from West Virginia who displays surprising common sense and ends up moving in a successful path, similar to that I found in Quarter Share. He learns the alien language, and ends up noticing many small things that the other officers and enlisted men don’t. He works hard, and takes advantage of opportunities. I found myself unable to put this one down a few times.

The book is long, longer than I expected, and follows the trip of this trading ship across the galaxy to many places. It’s got some sex in it, and thrilling adventure, but mostly it’s a good view from the bottom, the enlisted man that must deal with officers and his own status on a trading ship, which isn’t military at all. As mentioned, the formatting was a little broken, which was annoying, but easily overcome by a great read.