Space Station Zion

by CJ Williams

“There’s a lot of things you didn’t tell me when I signed on with this outfit.”

No one told Sam Washington that on Space Station Zion everyone loved to hate the spaceport manager. Still, once he took the job, Sam considered it his duty to get the place back in shape. But angry admirals and profit-crazed tycoons kept crawling into his job description. Too bad no one’s on his side – even with the fate of the entire station on the line.
Can Sam fix this mess, or is it time to start updating his resume? Read Space Station Zion to find out if he saves the day or jumps ship before the whole thing comes apart.

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2024

About the author

CJ Williams is a husband and wife writing team. He was a military pilot, and she was an artist. Today, they live in Washington State, enjoy hiking in the Olympic Mountains, boating in the Salish Sea, and writing.

Librarian note: There are multiple authors by this name in the GR database.

Reviews

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome, different sci fi adventure

I love this kind of science fiction! The narrator is believable, likeable, happily married, and just a nice guy trying to do a good job. There's a little destruction and doom, but the every day running of the space station is fascinating. Boomer is fantastic. The worldbuilding is excellent, the story is great, and the book is well-written. Space Station Zion is a satisfying read.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd book. Space Station Zion (built by Hyundai) has issues. Our hero Mr. Washington takes over running the place after the previous corrupt and incompetent manager (must have been a Democrat) exits. The station is in disrepair due to her years of neglect and graft. But our hero has prior experience in running a space station, knows how to fill out all the proper forms to get the grants he needs to pay for everything, so he gets to work setting things straight. Firing other incompetent employees, cancelling corrupt contracts, cleaning things up. Then the aliens attack! No, just kidding, there is no alien attack. There's no fighting or combat, no violence of any kind, in this book. Which is what makes this book so odd. Any "action" in this story is of an administrative nature, and we get to observe a hero of a different sort. A competent and honest man of integrity takes charge and goes to work, competently and honestly fixing what needs fixing, and dealing with the many problems that arise in the operation of a giant space station containing 100,000 people. The climactic challenge occurs when a mining operation on a nearby moon, which was approved before Washington got there but which never should have been approved and which our hero was about to have put on hold, predictably goes awry, and the station is put in danger. Can our hero "competent" and "intelligent" his way out of this? Despite his virtues he is constantly blamed for everyone's problems. Ah, the thankless life of the dedicated civil servant. It might sound dull, and in a sense it is (no aliens, no killing, no lasers, no time-travel or wormholes), but I enjoyed watching a consistently intelligent and respectable hero doing his job well, even if he is basically a gov't employee. I actually read the whole thing. And it's well-written, to boot. The universe of this story is very well constructed precisely because it deals with mundane issues of administration and management. I'd say check it out, but I don't know, you might find the whole thing to be really uninteresting if you're looking for star-trekking adventure.

[Morris D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare positive storyline in a sci-fi book; what a treat!

Personally I had had enough dystopian, combat, etc. reading when I found this book. At first, I was unsure about it. It sounded like a director of project management IT job I had (There be fire breathing dragons and nuclear flame throwers here!!! PMs are the human equivalent of firewalls.).

While the management headaches are core to the story, the character development remained positive, uplifting and relatable. The story arc is not hard to figure out halfway through, but there were enough twists and turns to maintain engagement.

All in all, very enjoyable!

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Unusual, and Quite Satisfying

A well crafted storyline which supports the premise that no matter how advanced the technology becomes, society still is driven by administrative employees. Some bureaucratic fools, true, but most of the characters here are the solid day-to-day workers most of us would willing work with. Good character development, an interesting plot with a humorous denouement. Ends with all story threads resolved and a general sense of accomplishment.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful story.

A simple story about the life of a space station manager. Simple yet involved and very interesting. The authors just have a way of making something simple, interesting. As with all their stories. Satisfying to the end.

[Kevin Stafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Refreshing Change

This book is a refreshing change from military sci-fi and space empires. The characters remind me of people I know in real life and the storyline is engaging and well paced. If you are looking for something different in sci-fi I highly recommend this book.

[Chuck Woodbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Competency

Competent people doing their jobs hindered only by idiots and bureaucrats. Sam Washington takes a new job as port director for a space station that has been badly mismanaged. Sounds utterly boring, but surprisingly not. I could not put it down.

[Alistair Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

Hooked me in from the start and barely let go.
Good main character development, fast-paced story.
Only negative thing to report is that some expansion on minot characters would have been nice.
Would recommend.

[Ronald L. McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a nice change

I'm a major sci to fan and this was a nice change from violent aliens and space rangers. This covers real world situations that are easily relatable and entertaining at the same time

[Lynne Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really pleasant story

I like military space opera as much as anyone, but it's really nice once in a while to relax with a problem-solving romp where the good guys win.

[Richard Beal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This SF book was a joy to read. Excellent plot, good characters, and excellent ending.

[Andy L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great slice of life sci fi

Ever wonder what running a space station would be like? This is the book for you. Enough crises to keep the blood flowing. Decent characters.

[Emory Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific

Wow! No aliens, no blue language, no sex, and still a wonderful read! Great plot, good action...all in all very enjoyable.

[Rita Bingamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story

I really enjoyed this book, and I would like to read more stories about these characters. I highly recommend it.

[Ron Kastner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun low-angst read.