A (RE)BORN HIGH ROLLER!All other business aboard the Black Lotus gets put on the back burner when Hiro is enlisted to ward off an alien monster. This creature could pulverize a planet--it measures a full five hundred kilometers across! Can the Black Lotus hold its own against its gargantuan foe? Is a deep-space David and Goliath moment in the cards?! Speaking of cards... Hiro heads to a casino to gain an edge against a band of unfamiliar space pirates. Blending into their glitzy surroundings requires his loyal crewmates to dig up bunny-girl outfits! But one of Hiro's newly costumed companions turns out to have ties to the very space pirates pestering him. Can Hiro scrape by after being dealt such a bad hand?!
While the plot of the volume is fairly low-stakes, it was entertaining and fitted expectations. As always I like the characters even if the crew is slowly expanding and while the world building is fairly surface level it is still one that fits the story. So, a great pop corn read.
When a super-strong granny busts up the party, Captain Hiro's options involve either running, fighting, or both. The crew's scheduled downtime shifts into a quest to avoid being hunted by renegade mercenaries, and as a result, Hiro might have to negotiate his way out of trouble, for once.
REBORN AS A SPACE MERC v13 is a middling volume. The general story is quite predictable and very little occurs that cannot be foreseen without a quick glance to the cover artwork and a perusal of the first chapter. The book weaves in a little bit of hand-to-hand combat and one or two scenes of pirate-hunting, but very little of it is of consequence.
Fortunately, the novel series tacks toward building out the crew of the Black Lotus more effectively: Instead of each character with their own, singular specialty, Captain Hiro is starting to batch/group the ladies into teams or units to accomplish groups of tasks pursuant of larger goals. The integration of Dr. Shouko into the main crew offers the story levity and balance, and a reconnection with Mimi's past helps frame Hiro's fortunes when it comes to doing well by the people closest to him.
REBORN AS A SPACE MERC v13 notably attempts to expand its characters remit on ship. Tina, for example, is designated the person in charge of the ship's "technical division," overseeing ship engineering, upkeep, and new machine purchases. Meanwhile, Dr. Shouko and Wiska form an unlikely research partnership; Shouko's mind for science and intuitiveness blends well with Wiska's sense of innovation and invention. Mimi continues to level-up her skills and contemplates a role change while she trains Kugi on the role of a comms specialist.
At one point, while docked on Arein Tertius, located in the same system where Hiro and Mimi first met, the crew breaks off into three groups: taking care of Shouko's resignation from Inagawa Technologies (Hiro, Shouko, Kugi), acquiring food and drink for a party (Elma, Mimi, Tina), and conducting ship maintenance on the Black Lotus (Mei, Wiska). They're acting like a genuine crew.
The book doesn't have a lot of flare and mostly navigates meaningful domesticity. Recently, the novel series has alternated books with bold action with books containing stories of blunt nothingness. Not much action here. Readers have encountered a passing, back-handed mention of Captain Mary in the previous and current volumes, but otherwise, everything is fine.
Well, Hiro is up to seven "wives" onboard his ship at this point with the addition of the ship's doctor. The adventure this time is pretty low stakes as they investigate a probable threat directed at Hiro while on Dr. Shouko's home station. This series consistently delivers a fun story, and I always look forward to it.
Every time a new book comes out it’s just another excuse to reread this entire series from the start is definitely become my favorite series to read and I love all the characters and how they are introduced, can’t get enough!
I’m always curious about the names of the games the author is referencing at the end because they sound neat!