Zero Gravity Outcasts

by Kay Keppler

Minka Shokat only needs two things in her fourth-generation Wayfarer spaceship, and two best friends and crewmates by her side. Anjali and Tex were the only people to stand by her after she was falsely branded a traitor and kicked out of Central Command five years ago.Since then, Minka has kept as far from Command as the galaxy will allow. Working with her friends on their own terms beats flying warships any day. But keeping her junker of a ship flying takes money--money that Minka and her crew don't have. As a last resort, she reluctantly accepts a job transporting cargo for Central Command.Then she finds out what her "cargo" the very general who ruined her reputation and currently needs Minka to deliver him safely to a peace conference. Now Minka and her biggest rival must work together to fight off space pirates, commandos and rebels who are determined to stop their mission--or be blown out of the skies for good.25,000 words

Genres: Science Fiction, Novella

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Kay Keppler likes happy endings, whether they’re in the fiction she writes, the fiction she edits, or the fiction she reads. After all, an unhappy outcome is what the newspaper is for! Her characters are resourceful to a fault, hard-working to the extreme, and loyal to the end—qualities she absorbed growing up in a small town in Wisconsin. Resisting the character-building aspects of deep snow and cold, she now lives in California and spends her time creating happy endings.

You can reach her at
kaykeppler.com, kaykeppler@yahoo.com, @KayKeppler, or facebook.com/kaykeppler.

Reviews

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Genre* Science Fiction
*Rating* 3.0

*Review*

Minka Shokat was once an up and coming officer in the Elite Air Corps of Central Command. She was one of the best female pilots in the Corps. After a mission against the rebels that left her crew as the only survivors, she was branded as a traitor, disgraced, and kicked out of Central Command.

Now, five years later, she flies a fourth generation Wayfarer ship carrying all sorts of cargo, even for Central Command, so that she can continue to fly and buy parts for her hodge podge ship which she has put together with amazing new and unknown technology. She carries a mini pine tree on the dash of her spaceship to remind her of a period once upon a time when people celebrated a holiday and gave each other presents.

Her crew consists of her best friends Anjali Tilak and Tex Arcana. Anjali stood by Minka when Minka was tossed out of Central Command, losing everything she ever wanted in the process including her reputation with cargo shippers and her parents. Tex was purchased by Minka from a workhouse where he was beaten and treated like pond scum just because he was different from others.

Anjali, as the scheduler and accountant, agrees to take on a mysterious cargo from Central Command that Minka isn’t all that thrilled about. Since the CC pays extremely well, and Minka and company need the money to continue to fly and purchase parts, it’s really a no brainer that they would accept the cargo.

When Minka’s former love interest Reyne Jallomy shows up, she’s not too thrilled to see him, or the fact that they are in a rush to get to some secret meeting.

The surprise is that the cargo is the person most responsible for ruining Minka’s career; General Icarus Toten. Toten is supposed to be at a super-secret hush-hush meeting with the rebel Sarid Calno and Minka’s ship is the only one readily available.

This story really could be considered an off shoot of the Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre. Minka is Jax since they were both disgraced after going up against the big bullies of the stories and losing everything. Reyne could be March even though he remained with CC and didn’t bother keeping in touch with Minka. Tex and Anjali are Dina and Hit respectfully. Tex, as the mechanic, gets the role of the necessary gay character in this story and the most outlandish as well.

This novel is extremely short at 25,000 words. It’s pretty much straight forward and ends just as you would imagine. I like Minka’s character since she is definitely the person you can relate to if you’ve ever been screwed over by your former employer. For a Carina Press supported novel, I was suprised that there was no romantic interludes involved between the characters. I guess you can only put so much into a short story like this.

Overall, I would consider this a worthwhile read if you are into science fiction with a little comedy thrown in for laughs.

Expected publication: April 30th 2012 by Carina Press

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC received from NetGalley

Review originally posted at www.Addicted2Heroines.com



This novella is a very short read at 25,000 words. It is a snippet in the life of disgraced military flight cadet Minka Shokat and her crew of misfits. Minka was dishonorably discharged from the military, and as a result, was not allowed to purchase spaceship fuel or access to a well-paying civilian job. She had to use whatever money she could come up with to purchase an older generation space ship, and then find a mechanic that could make her money-saving ideas a reality. Minka makes her living by hauling cargo.

She is joined on board by mechanic, Tex, and best friend Anjali. The three friends are partners in this venture and live from job-to-job. One day, a big job comes in from Central Command - the military that humiliated Minka five years prior. Against Minka's better judgment, they agree to take on this haul, and unbeknownst to Minka, her former lover, Rayne, is coming along to guard the cargo.

It turns out that the Central Command cargo is actually a person, and after the crew takes flight, pirates begin attacking them because of this person. There is a short mystery surrounding the "cargo" which is all wrapped up quite neatly at the end.

I had a few problems with this novella. First, this seemed like a prologue to a series. It was very short and it was really only one small story in the lives of these characters. Also, this story lacked character development. Unfortunately, I didn't really end up caring about any of these characters. I expected some sexual tension between Rayne and Minka, seeing as they were once lovers that parted on bad terms. There was very little tension, and I felt like the ending was too wrapped up in regards to these two. Minka went from having a very large issue with Rayne to being okay with him in a matter of 25,000 words. Rayne also had a very quick turn around in this book. He went very quickly from completely trusting Central Command to seeing the organization for what it really is without much prodding. Tex and Amjali were okay as characters, but they were very one-dimensional in my opinion. Tex was the gay mechanic who kept Shouting out, "girlfriend" and Amjali was the loyal best friend who stuck by Minka's side.

The world building was also sparse in this novella. The reader was given the history of Central Command, and we were introduced to an world where spaceships flew between different planets, but that was pretty much it. This world could have used more depth to it. Again, I felt like I was reading a prologue to an already established series.

This book has a good premise, but it needs work in character and world development. There are some interesting character backstories presented, but we didn't get the entire background on even one person. I'd like to see a full-length novel based upon this idea with a darker and grittier feel to it.

[SmartBitches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Zero Gravity Outcasts is short, fast paced, fun novella. It doesn’t have very much romance, but it does have a fun rag-tag space crew ensemble that skirts the edge of the law. Basically, if you liked Firefly, you’ll like Zero Gravity Outcasts, but you might be annoyed that you don’t get more of it.

The action of the story is thrilling and the mechanics are interesting if not entirely convincing (the spaceship runs on steam, so I guess it’s slightly steampunk, although the overall vibe is pure science fiction). Minka has a small ship with limited defensive and offensive capabilities, but her tools are quite clever and inventive.

As far as romance goes, there is a hint of a romance that happened in the past and that might be rekindled, but nothing overtly romantic actually happens in the book. Clearly, the stage is being set for romance (sequel, please, NOW) with Reyne gaining respect for Minka and questioning his allegiance to Central Command. And clearly Minka has some respect for Reyne’s abilities and isn’t totally over their break-up. By the end of this book, they’ve reached a grudging rapport, leaving the reader to assume that there are sexy times in the future.

Honestly, the conclusion to this book simply screamed “TV show pilot”. That’s not a bad thing except that I really want to see the TV show. This novella introduces a big, politically complex world and the core characters, and has the “found family” and “outsider joins the team” components that are so common to the beginnings of series in any medium. It also introduces two people with a past romantic history, plenty of conflict, and enough sexual tension to keep a “will they, won’t they” thing going for six seasons and a movie.

The only problem with this is that the story isn’t a TV pilot, and I can’t find a sequel to it. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger by any means, but it did leave me wanting more. If you want a quick adventure tale with derring-do and space battles, this will provide you with a very happy lunch hour or two, but you’ll probably be with me hunting through space for the sequel.

- Carrie S.

[Tahlia Newland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This highly entertaining novella is an excellent alternative to watching a movie, or for when the fare on TV is just too awful to contemplate. If this was a movie, the whole family would be watching it. Even though it’s from Carina Press, it has only the merest hint of romance and it quite suitable for teens as well as adults.

After Minka Shokat was falsely branded a traitor and kicked out of Central Command five years ago, she bought an old space ship, refitted it with some unique technology and now uses it to run a cargo carrying service as far from Central Command as she can. She likes being her own boss and flying across the galaxy with her crewmates Anjali and Tex who are also her best friends.

When this story begins Anjali, against Minka’s desires, has accepted a job transporting cargo for Central Command. When she finds out that the “cargo" is the very general who ruined her reputation and currently needs Minka to deliver him safely to a peace conference, she wants to dump him off at the nearest planet. However, his protégé (and Minka’s ex lover from the time of her banishment) offers her triple wages for the transport, so she takes it on.

Unfortunately, others don’t want them to deliver the general to the peace conference and Minka and her biggest rival end up working together to fight off space pirates, commandos and rebels.

I loved the characters in this story and the camaraderie between Minka and her crew. The major (Minka’s old lover and the general’s protégé) didn’t call her after her banishment all those years ago, so they have some unfinished business. During their trip, his side of the story comes out and his respect for Minka grows after hearing the testimony of her crew. However, the general proves to be the horrible man Minka always knew he was.

The story grabbed me from the beginning and kept me entertained throughout. I overlooked the ‘how did they’ question raised by the ending because I wouldn’t have wanted it to end any other way.
A great little read suitable for anyone who likes a bit of science fiction. I give it 4 out of 5.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five years ago, Minka Shokat was falsely accused of treason and kicked out of Central Command, so she's not their biggest fan. But she still needs their money, so she and her partners, Anjali and Tex, occasionally transport Central Command cargo in their modified junkheap of a Wayfarer Class spaceship. When Minka discovers that this time their cargo is accompanied by the gorgeous ex-boyfriend who didn't support or defend her, she is furious. When she finds out their "cargo" is the very general who brought the charges against her in the first place, she is livid. However angry she is, though, she first has to survive the journey, and that is no easy task when hostile ships are attacking from all directions.

While reading this novel (novella?), all I could think about was Firefly. The characters were different, of course, and the universe wasn't as fleshed out, but there were many similarities: futuristic setting of humans colonizing other planets, centralized galactic governmental agency bad guys, struggling independent spaceship crew, innovative defenses based on designs by the brilliant crew members, etc. Minka's little pine tree for some reason always made the phrase "Earth that was" run through my head.

It was an entertaining and quick read. Not very deep or complex, just fun. I think it would have benefited from being a little longer--more time to develop the story instead of rushing through the exposition via the gossipy Tex, and no need to skip entirely over the delivery of the rest of their cargo or gloss over the battles to get to the happy ending.

For readers' advisors: story doorway primary, setting secondary. No sex, but there is some swearing.

[Megs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd like to start off by saying that I don't read novellas very often, as I prefer longer, more in depth stories. When I requested this one from Netgalley a few months ago, I didn't realize it was a novella. I just happened to glance at the location on my Kindle a few pages in and realize that I was already 20% done.

Since Zero Gravity Outcasts is a novella, it felt short to me, like a TV episode, opposed to a full-length film like a novel would be. There is very little world-building, due to the short length and I definitely found myself wanting more in that regard.

I found the characters to be a bit flat as well. Each of our main characters have a bit of back-story added in, but not a lot of depth. Minka, the heroine, comes across as determined and loyal, but I still didn't feel like I got to know her by the end. Anjali was the least developed of the main characters and all I could really tell about her was that she was organized and loyal. Tex came across as a very stereotypical gay man, despite his tragic backstory. I was a bit disappointed and wish that his character could have moved beyond hitting on the major and calling everyone "girlfriend". Major Reyne Jallomy was probably the most dynamic of the characters, as he reconnected with Minka and reassessed his loyalties.

Zero Gravity Outcasts' biggest achievement is the high level of action. If you're looking for some sci-fi, space-travel action, with weird inventions and plenty of under-dog space battles and don't really care about a strong connection with the characters or world, then this is the novella would be a good pick. I definitely see it like a pilot episode of a TV show, full of action and intriguing enough to make you try episode 2.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book has potential more than anything else.

I read a review on SBTB and was curious to try it. I think my main issue with this is the length. It was too short. The heroine had a LOT of baggage with Central Command and you learn of it in a very round about style. It's not that I needed a major info' dump but there needed to be something more than by the way conversations.

I liked the originality of the weapons and evasive tactics employed.

I liked Tex but I didn't like how his sexuality was portrayed so flamboyantly. It didn't feel genuine. Later when we learn it's relevance, it felt more genuine but the scenes before felt like we were ticking cliche / stereotype boxes.

The bad guy himself was a cliche. There was history between him and our heroine but they had about three conversations total and she figures him out. It made our heroine a quirky Mary-Sue and originally she presented with the possibility of more depth.

The resolution was rushed. There was a massive info' dump about the behind the scenes of the bad guy's machinations. And it felt like the author was suddenly given a dead line and she went "and they got the bad guy, the good guy proved his worth / love interest potential - the end". Given we get a lot of detail about the ships propulsion and it's unusual weapons, surely the ending deserved more.

Overall, I liked the story but it needs to be expanded to be a good book.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flaming twink alert! One of the crew is a lot of irreverent fun, which is a relief after too many square jawed SF heros and heroines looking death in the eye and saving the desperate universe. On the other hand, he is portrayed as such a classic gay circa 1965 that it's offensive. So, I docked this book a point for being politically incorrect.

But then the starship drive was a thing of steampunk joy and beauty. Plus some of the weapons/defense systems were pretty cool too (although I'm not remotely enough of a science person to know if they actually made any sense in space.) So these gained back that point.

Sadly the believability of the plot was so thin that down went the score again.

I think this author, paired with a writer who is great at plot and characters, would absolutely rock and turn out some great stuff.

P.S. Kind of a let down about the tiny tree. I was thinking it was a call out to SF's beloved Sharan Lee and Steve Miller. No such luck. It was something far more banal.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. As far as grammar, sentence structure, etc...goes, the book was well written. But I couldn't give it more than 2 and a half stars because I just didn't care for the story that much. The length of the book was fairly short so there was not a lot of development of setting or character. The science felt weak and I just wasn't certain if that was the case or if the book was intended to be more of a science fiction with humour type story. For example, using paint to splash the windows of enemy vessels to debilitate them seems a little out there. If we have the technology to travel in space, surely we'd have the ability to use sensors to navigate...not just look out the front window. So, in short, if the book was intended as a light science fiction/comedic read, it wasn't too bad, although a couple of the characters are fairly cliché. If you are expecting a serious science fiction story, like me, it probably won't be your cup of tea.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science Fiction/ Space Opera

In Zero Gravity Outcasts Minka Shokat was falsely accused as a traitor and kicked out of Central Command. Five years later she has her own ship and two good friends as partners and crew. She wants nothing to do with Central Command but her partner agrees to transport cargo to a Peace Conference. The cargo is the General who accused her of being a traitor and the person who accompanies the General is her old flame. Things go bad in a big hurry.

Don't expect much in the way of world building or character development in the novella. Do expect lots of action. There is excitement, danger, and more betrayal. This is a short quick enjoyable read. Pick it up when you don't have time for a full length novel.

Carina Press published Zero Gravity Outcasts by Kay Keppler in 2012.

eARC from NetGalley

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zero Gravity Outcasts

This is a very quick very short very simple novella, there's not much by way of world building and you're just hurtled full speed in a world which seems pretty cool. There is a lot of action, lots of fighting and pretty cool tech. I was expecting more romance, but what can ya do. This book had a lot of quirks Mina is awesome on so is her gay tech guy. The entire crew have a long back story which I would’ve hope to see in a full length novel. The world itself showed a lot promise and I hope to see more forays in this world.

For lack of a better word it was quaint and I would suggest it as a read for when you don’t have time and you’re craving a fast paced dangerous novella.
2/5

[JTony · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stereotypical Space Punk. The story and characters are all things I've seen before, and I was disappointed to get to an end which just seemed to be a lead to the next chapter... short and no real ending at all. I haven't looked to see if there are further books in the series because I really didn't care to read more at this point. The author simply took the more trite plots and characters of Heinlein and others in the 50's and 60's, added a dash of Punk attitude, and served it up cold.

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the friendship between Minka and her crew, Anjali and Tex. The junker/low tech space hardware was interesting (if rather implausible IMO) I would've liked to see more sparks between Minka and Reyne.

[☀Rachael☀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! I hope this continues as a series, I'd defo read more!