Written by Kate Russell under official license from the creators of, and based in the vast universe of, the seminal space trading computer game Dangerous. Commander Angel Rose, forced into a life of crime due to circumstances beyond her control, is determined to survive in the unforgiving void as a professional assassin. Will she be forced into the ignominy of moving back in with her parents when her efforts fail to leave her with credit-earning blood on her hands? After years of galactic travel, could Angel’s destiny be to end up drinking cheap liquor in a bar in Slough… 10% of the proceeds of this book will be donated to Special Effect who have made it their mission to beat physical disability and allow everyone to enjoy playing video games.
This is an absolutely incredible story. Hilariously, side-splittingly witty, which isn't always easy in a book. Yet Kate masterfully chooses her words, weaving an incredible story with plot twists where you least expect them. (I'm looking at you, Chapter 28!)
Thank you Kate Russell, for a truly outstanding novel!
Years ago I used to devour science fiction like there was no tomorrow. Then I was stung by a few bad books and went off it for years. The short story anthology, Fusion, brought me back on board, and wow am I glad about that or I might have missed this one. Elite: Most Harmless is a gem. It’s fast moving and funny. It’s one of those who-needs-legal-highs-with-books-like-this-about sort of books. And a pearler of a twist at the end. Quite a few twists along the way. It had me gripped from page 1. The thing is that I could so easily have passed this one by. I don’t play computer games and this is authorised Elite fiction, and I did wonder if I would need to be an Elite aficionado to get it. Not at all. Once it had hooked me (which was well before the end of page 1) I never gave computer gaming a thought. A great read.
I remember the original Elite, which I played endlessly on my ZX Spectrum, my imagination roaming alongside the vector graphics into far away galaxies. So not only was I delighted to hear of the games latest incarnation, I was intrigued to see there was a whole series of novels set in the Elite universe.
Elite: Mostly Harmless was something of a lighthearted read for me but what an enjoyable novel it was. It reminded me of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel rat series. There was action and adventure enough to appeal to younger readers and adult humour for older readers. Kate did a great job bringing the setting to life, the characters were well drawn and the plot was pacy, exciting and always interesting. A five star read that will appeal to gamers and sci-fi fans alike. The space opera is reborn.
I had to stop reading and wait until the belly laughter subsided several times. Wickedly funny and serious in a completely irreverent way it was an enjoyable read.
The plot meanders thru the Elite universe and features bad people trying to be good and good people trying to be bad, along with a decent dose of failure.
Yet another Elite dangerous novel that was over to quickly.
Just awful from start to finish. Failed at the first hurdle by naming a station after Slough. Too many references to our time, references to things that are to minor that people aren't going to know about them in 1300 years. Sloppy, dull writing which never gets you into the book. Would of stopped reading after the first few chapters if it wasn't an Elite: Dangerous novel. Best thing about the book was the humourous robot who's story line ended poorly.
Really good. At least the end isn't the end, but I hope Kate gets another go at this universe again. I'd love to see more of Angel Rose. Hopefully she makes it up to Dread Kat, Admin and Sue. Maybe a Hullstripper or 30?
Enjoyable quick read for fans of the Elite: Dangerous video game. Some humour and a surprising amount of harsh violent content, but all perfectly 'in-universe'.
Written under licence, Kate Russell’s ‘Mostly Harmless’ is a great romp through the space-trader/pirate locales of the ‘Elite: Dangerous’ computer game – but if, like me, you’ve never been sucked into the game, there’s no need to fret. The novel reads as any novel should – this one with laughs and added ironies.
Distanced from her wealthy parents, Angel is trying to make it on her own as an inter-planetary trader, except she’s doing badly in commerce and has far more success obliterating herself by necking mind-numbing draughts among questionable acquaintances. Which is how she finds herself too late to join an armed convoy with her cargo of gold and is electronically tagged to a supervisory computer, DORIS, to ensure she and her single escort don’t consider changing from the designated flight plan. She would have been in less trouble if she had.
I loved Mental Eddie, and Dreads’ “jewellery” is just up my street. The description of life in the pirate enclave was an interesting dark reflection of that on the space station Slough, the name a neat irony in itself. The story runs at a cracking pace, for the reader and for Rose, so that it is a mite late that we both began to look at DORIS and wonder who it is reporting to. A neat ending. If this is a taste of the computer game, I can understand why it has so many fans.
It appears I'm alone in not worshipping this book, but here goes. Kate Russell has done a great job of fulfilling her Kickstarter promise. I definitely got my money's worth. But reviewing this as a work of fiction and not a pledge award, I am giving it a friendly 3 stars.
The story is definitely fun, but a bit rambling. Even reading it as a comedy tale, the events at her parents' space station when she goes to fulfill her first mission are not exactly coherent, nor credible. Not that it matters, but tighter storytelling and choreography would have made this book so much better. I don't mind the adult themes at all, but it is unbalanced and appears to be merely a trick in her book. Angel's substance abuse seems at odds with her personality.
But hey, this is fan fiction and I recommend it to everyone interested in the Elite universe.
My copy is sadly riddled with grammar problems, mostly missing commas, making some of the text hard to read. This is supposedly the version that was fixed after people reported typos, so this book really needs stronger proof reading.
Would I read a sequel? Definitely. I look forward to Kate's next book. She has a lot of potential and a very vivid mind.
A pacey, light sci-fi novel set in the forthcoming Elite: Dangerous PC game universe.
It centres around the life and (mis)fortunes of Angel Rose, a "black sheep of the family" space trader, set against the backdrop of a 34th century human dominated galaxy.
Overall, I found the novel enjoyable, it's considerably shorter than the usual epics I read and doesn't attempt to be particularly deep and meaningful. Much of the prose revolves around imaginative and descriptive depictions of life in the Elite: Dangerous universe - and this is executed concisely and effectively. There are a plethora of minor characters dotted throughout the tale, a legacy of Kate's commitments during the Kickstarter for the novel. While most of these work, some feel a trifle forced, more a shoe-in to fulfil the commitment than adding to the story. Nevertheless, the saga progresses at a rapid, if slightly uneven pace and there is a fair amount of comedy - both subtle and blatant, action, and towards the end, genuine tension.
A respectable first sci-fiction from Kate Russell, enough to make me want to read any subsequent tales of Elite: Dangerous. Nice work Kate!
I have been playing the beta of Elite: Dangerous and heard Ms. Russell interviewed on an Elite-themed podcast, so I thought I'd give her book a read. Happily, it turned out to be quite entertaining, thrilling, and laugh-out-loud funny in many places. It also has one of the most curious endings I've ever encountered (don't worry, no spoilers!).
"Mostly Harmless" is one of the lower pilot ranks in the Elite game, but it's also the title of a well-known Douglas Adams novel. I'm pretty sure Russell is an Adams fan because there's a touch of his dry humor in her writing style, but it's of a gentler, sneakier sort which (frankly) I prefer.
Commander Angel Rose is an interesting protagonist, possessing an equal measure of plucky determination and a Goldie-Hawnesque talent for getting in trouble. The motley gang of pirates and thieves among whom she finds herself are engaging; their chemistry reminded me of the ensemble cast in Guardians of the Galaxy, with a dose of Britishness.
Even if you're not into the Elite game, and have only a glancing interest in science fiction, I can still recommend this book highly for its breezy, funny style and delightful plot twists.
I read this book some weeks ago, but was finding it difficult to come up with a review to truly do justice to this book. After tweeting about how good the book was, the author responded and urged me to try to write a review and stated that even just one word would be sufficient.
Well take your pick, ALL of those above are entirely appropriate.
This is undoubtedly the finest sci-fi book that I've read in many years. Based around one of the greatest space games of all time, Kate crafts a truly stupendous tale that will rapidly draw you in and leave you unable to put it down until you've completed the very last page.
At times it's sidesplittingly funny, yet with plenty of action, adventure and occasionally brutally horrific and gruesome.
There really is something for everyone from people who just love a good laugh to sci-fi fans and die hard elite gamers.
YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST BUY THIS......YOU'LL LOVE IT.......GUARANTEED!!!!
Set in the Universe of the Elite computer games, 'Mostly Harmless' is a wonderfully compelling story featuring a blend of humour that nods to Douglas Adams, gritty life tales that nod to Stieg Larsson and a story worthy of Agatha Christie.
Kate Russell has a gift for creating characters that are flawed and believable, yet somehow larger than life and sympathetic. The world feels substantive and requires no prior knowledge of Elite to feel real. The story, characters and setting are gripping from the get go and the tale is packed with action, twists and suspense. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Although the book assumes no prior knowledge of the Elite games, there are many nods and references for those who have played them. Equally, this book would serve as a great primer for anyone wanting to become familiar with that Universe.
A thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish. Absolute 'must read' stuff!
Elite gripped me way back in 1984. At that time a 14 year old should be way more obsessed with many things other than intergalactic space exploration.
Reading 'Mostly Harmless' has been a comforting sojourn back to my youth where my imagination ran wild but was no where near as vivid and well told as this gripping story! It is also good science fiction and at times thought provoking.
Angel Rose is a loveable witty character that quickly grows on you as she bounces from one predicament to another. It reminded me of Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy crossed with Alice in Wonderland.
It has been very enjoyable to be immersed back into the Elite universe and am so looking forward to the launch of Elite:Dangerous the computer game.
Thank you Kate Russell, and I hope a sequel is in the pipeline soon! :-)
Fast moving, funny and with a pearler of a twist Years ago I used to devour science fiction like there was no tomorrow. Then I was stung by a few bad books and went off it for years. The short story anthology, Fusion, brought me back on board, and wow am I glad about that or I might have missed this one. Elite: Most Harmless is a gem. It’s fast moving and funny. It’s one of those who-needs-legal-highs-with-books-like-this-about sort of books. And a pearler of a twist at the end. Quite a few twists along the way. It had me gripped from page 1. The thing is that I could so easily have passed this one by. I don’t play computer games and this is authorised Elite fiction, and I did wonder if I would need to be an Elite aficionado to get it. Not at all. Once it had hooked me (which was well before the end of page 1) I never gave computer gaming a thought. A great read.
I don't quite know where to start this review as Mostly Harmless manages to pack so much in. Its got comedy, gore, surrealism, action, adventure, technology, plot twists, genuine warmth, a tight crew of great characters and more.
Our hapless hero races about from disaster to calamity all the while trying really hard to do the right thing whilst trying to decide what is the right thing? And what does she want to do with her.life anyway?
Meanwhile she gets shot at, tied up, drinks too much, humiliated, conned, tricked, rescued and not surprisingly after all that told off by her parents!
I think the best compliment I can pay is it's what would happen if the (sadly) late Rik Mayall had been cast by Douglas Adams and told to go and get into trouble in space.
I soooo much wanted to enjoy this story for all the right reasons, but i ended up forcing myself to read it just to find out how it ends.
Without spoiling anything, the ending is most definitely worth wading through the "okay... can we just get to the point" of the middle eight.
It's a bit like listening to a 12 inch "producers" remix of your favourite 7 inch single... The good bits from the band are there, but you can spot the filling that's been added afterwards.
I've given it 5 stars simply because it's a damn fine story that has been well told by the author. I will add the caveat that it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but those people that enjoy a good brew-up in the Elite universe will definitely enjoy this one.
I bought this for a bit of nostalgia (to remind me of the many happy hours lost in space) and out of respect for Kate Russell. I wasn't disappointed but I feel I should apologise to Kate - the story-telling stands up on it's own (the nostalgia and curiousity were simply bonuses). Kate's love of Sci-Fi (and gore) are self-evident throughout the book as is her sense of humour. The homages to great Sci-Fi classics are cleverly and subtley scattered throughout the story allowing it to flow from one unavoidable crisis to another. Her technical knowledge comes across in the way she uses the physics of space travel in the telling of the tale and spectacularly so in the death scenes.
Kate Russell has managed to bring to life a dark and gory comedy set in the Elite Universe. The Slough Space Station sounds like somewhere you'd love to avoid but will probably visit it in the game out of morbid curiosity (or to dump large quantities or radioactive waste).
Commander Angel Rose is an Inept Pilot, a hopeless Assassin and, in some ways, a horrible human being but you find yourself rooting for her against (in reverse order of vileness) ;-
3. Pirates. 2. Corrupt Officials 1. Her Mother!
Oh and congratulations are in order for the creation of DORIS. A droid I found more irritating than C-3PO ! (On purpose I suspect!)
Elite Dangerous: Mostly Harmless has a great mix of interesting characters and a fair few sticky situations. It's more humorous than I was expecting, yet at the same time the action is full on from start to finish!
And Kate has managed to capture the Elite feel wonderfully. The locations, space craft and details just fit with the Elite universe.
Recommended for everyone, whether you're into Elite or not!
A witty and exciting novel about a dead-end trader who ends up bumbling her way through a series of assassination contracts.
The story starts out kind of dull, reinforcing the protagonist's boring existence. It takes a sudden sharp turn though, and actually ends up being rather explicit in places.
The novel is based on the Elite: Dangerous video game, but I don't think you need to play the game to enjoy this. It may just help a little with understanding some of the background.
The book hives a good account of what you can expect playing the game Elite Dangerous is like with mentions of rating and reputation etc, it is a must read for those wondering what do I do in the game. For those that just want an excellent SciFi read, it has everything sex, drugs, music, violence, friendship, exploration, poetry and still manages to cram in a good humorous plot.
A really good read! A fun, exciting storyline and really well written so a real page turner. Plenty of Elite references for the Elite player, but you don't even need to have heard of Elite to enjoy this book.
At 212 pages, it's not the longest novel, but plenty packed in and if there is a sequel I would certainly buy it.
Kate has really come through here with this book. I'm a lifelong fan of 'Elite' and have read the associated fiction ever since the mid 80's and this was certainly not a disappointment!
I am hoping that Kate has more planned - its something that I'd be happy to pre-order!
A thoroughly enjoyable book, wittily written and engaging. I quite happily ripped through it in no time. I didn't give it 5 stars because it could have given me more but I would happily read more fiction by Kate and would love to read another story about the hapless Commander Angel Rose.
After the genius of the foreword I had great expectations, maybe something akin to the wit of the Thursday Next series but I was disappointed. The word I'm left with is cheesy gags. Did not finish.