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Reassembly #1

Rocket Repo

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Years ago, ace pilot Geddy Starheart inhaled an alien spore named Eli who's been living rent-free in his head ever since. Together, they built the only ship capable of bringing Eli home. But on the eve of their departure, it disappears. Their quest to find it exposes a conspiracy to destroy all life in the universe — a plan they can't stop without their one-of-a-kind ship.

For years, Geddy didn't need anything or anyone but a custom-made blaster and a couple fingers of Old Earth whisky. But since triggering the industrial accident that forced the evacuation of Earth 2, he's only had Eli for company. A daring escape off-planet lands him aboard a creaky salvage trawler with a plucky crew and the galaxy's worst business model.

But stalwart friends are better than any weapon. With the help of Eli, his oddball crew, and their trusty trawler, Geddy must traverse the cosmos in order to track down his ship and save the universe. Each thrilling, hilarious new adventure brings them closer to the truth but ever farther from a decent steak.

If you like solid sci-fi with a generous dose of wit, the scale of Guardians of the Galaxy, and the offbeat alien characters of Men In Black and The Orville, you'll devour Rocket Repo: Book 1 of Reassembly.

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2021

608 people are currently reading
259 people want to read

About the author

C.P. James

15 books38 followers


I write cinematic sci-fi of substance. What does that mean? Well, my love of writing came from reading, but my love of story really came from movies. Expect smart characters and short chapters that move along at a cinematic pace. I like intricate, plausible stories that reward careful readers without alienating those who just want to kick back and escape this messed-up world for a while.

I recently released Ship Show, the third book of Reassembly, a humorous space opera series. My dystopian trilogy, The Cytocorp Saga, is available now.

I currently live in Ecuador.

When I'm not writing page-devouring science fiction, you can find me thinking about it.

For more about me and my fiction, visit cpjames.com or email directly at cp@cpjames.com.

Like the C.P. James Facebook page at facebook.com/authorcpjames.

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5 stars
395 (47%)
4 stars
279 (33%)
3 stars
99 (12%)
2 stars
31 (3%)
1 star
21 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
Profile Image for Keith.
2,144 reviews6 followers
July 8, 2021
Mostly Failed

The preview was rough but I was willing to take a chance the narrative might improve as the characters grew. That, unfortunately, did not happen and I quit the story after the “fight” scene at Hau. Not sure where the humorous part started but at 40% nothing had been remotely funny so I had no expectations for the rest of the narrative.

My recommendation is to leave the book on the shelf.
16 reviews
January 11, 2022
I Want A Geddy and Company T-Shirt!

I really enjoyed this comedic science fiction. A lot of sci-fi takes itself so seriously. Most excellent literature isn’t very amusing. However, I am 62 and have made it through cancer and other illnesses, so I say that’s enough seriousness for my life. I only watch and read media with some humor in it. There can be some sad parts, and certainly suspense, but if no one is ridiculous, it’s not for me. Geddy’s life has it all. Thanks, C.P.
37 reviews
November 27, 2021
Not worth reading

Rocket Repo sounded like a good concept, but the story was so bad. The main character had no good qualities. The world building was awful. There was no humor.

This book was free to read and I want my money back.
Profile Image for Marcus.
Author 21 books62 followers
November 23, 2021
"Rocket Repo" is a cheeky, funny, non-stop space adventure.

The pacing of this book is relentless, whisking you from one thing to another so quickly you never get bored, but you may just want it to stop and let you catch up. After the first few chapters I was like, "Dang, dude. That could have been a whole book in itself if you let it breathe."

The main character is a former evil henchman who is still a little rough around the edges, but you can tell he has a heart of gold, and that his new-found companions are going to spend the next few books making him the good-guy he was meant to be.

Fair warning, it ends on a cliffhanger. So be ready to leap into book two when you get done!
5 reviews
October 17, 2021
A SURPRISINGLY GOOD BOOK

I've read a pretty good number of sci-fi books, but must say, I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I really enjoyed reading this one. The pace, the unusual characters, the humour, the various, ever evolving action situations and the unlikely developed camaraderie between the newly formed crew. I actually found the book a bit hard to put down. I'm gladly on to the second book.
Profile Image for Rocky.
12 reviews
August 15, 2023
Hilarious start to a series I want to finish!!

Truly inventive premise with lots of fun and funny characters. The protagonist is an anti hero of immense entertainment and self deprecation even with the alien sport in his head. Greatly anticipating more of this tale!
Profile Image for Steven.
649 reviews55 followers
September 21, 2025
This book was Awesome-sauce!!! I frigging loved it! All the characters were entertaining as hell! Even the "loogie" mechanic named Morpho had depth and personality with just his movements. Now, I just have to decide whether I want to purchase the other 5 books in Kindle version or buy all 6 in 2 box sets because, yes...I have to read them all!
16 reviews1 follower
November 12, 2021
Fantastic Trip

This is a great book I really enjoyed it humorous quite the adventure love rooting for the underdog and other characters exactly what I look for in space opera really looking forward to book two
Profile Image for Ziggy Nixon.
1,149 reviews36 followers
June 9, 2023
A legitimate business is no way to make a living.

C.P.James' "Rocket Repo" (the 1st in the "Reassembly Series") is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination and I actually enjoyed myself a great deal for most of it. The story reminded me of more than a few of the Heinlein-inspired novels I consumed as a teenager in great quantities (hey, back in those days kids you could get 4 rock tablets, I mean, used books for a quarter!). I found it to be a really good scifi opera-y story that made full use of the chance to create some cool new species and develop a few interesting locations as well without getting bogged down in too much high-tech mumbo jumbo or political blah blah. Plus, how could you not love Geddy Starheart - no really, that's his chosen nom de plume even though there's no actual writing involved - who winds up being a very interesting character for just a plethora of reasons. The rest of his pals and de facto crew are also fairly interesting if not sometimes a bit wet behind the ears when it comes to knowing how the big bad Universe really works!

Stupid space. Why’d everything have to be so damn far apart?

And while we're on the topic of interesting names, we find ourselves for a large portion of the book aboard the junk trawler "For Sale Make Offer" also called "Fizmo". Oh and let's not forget about the "Penetrator" which is not just a teenage boy's hormone-inspired joke (or at least I don't think so) but instead the focus of a great deal of the whole questing part of our, um, quest! Heck, I even remembered this time to keep notes handy about appearances, names and species so if you want to know more about Osmiya aka Oz, our first officer; Denk Junt, pilot if not extraordinaire then certainly passable; Morph(o) the mechanic, who is an intriquing, quote, "black, gummy wad that looked like something you’d try to scrape off your shoe with a stick" who can change shape and do all kinds of neat stuff (he was also supposedly created by an evil group of - aliens? - known as the Nads); and even Captain Bykite, who, well, doesn't really require too much of an introduction (surely not a long one), then let me know! Oh and don't forget Eli, the spore living rent-free in Geddy's head. Been there, done that, am I right kids?

Earth 2 : The fart heard ‘round the galaxy.

So I really liked the characters including a few that showed up at other stages and wound up being either super nice (in the case of Tatiana even super SUPER nice, wink wink nudge nudge)… or unfortunately super back-stabbing a-holes. Unfortunately, despite all this and what I would consider a worthy writing style and fairly good editing, there were more than a few bits about this introductory chapter that didn't push my engines up to warp if you catch my drift. First, once we got past the initial set-up for Geddy's predicament, the book unfortunately fell into a pattern of the team looking up an old contact, have that go a "bit" excrementally wrong and then heading off to the next potential location or rendezvous for a repeat of the pattern. Which wouldn't have necessarily been so bad if they had just done the obvious - they even stated it that way - and gone to their last-picked destination first! Now I don't know if James needed to do all this to set up the needed exposition for coming chapters, but when it becomes noticeably and even painfully redundant, well, that's not a good sign.

Come for the shit-smelling atmosphere but stay for the piss-yellow sky.

Another thing that just kept screaming in my brain (no, I don't think it was either one of Eli's kin nor Morpho), was that despite the fact that this takes place purportedly around the year 2427 (April 10th if you want to narrow it down even further), we have a lot of modern cultural references from, well, now! I mean, all these examples are truly "timeless" including Spider-Man, Batman, Star Wars, Alien, Waterworld (meh), and even curveballs. But even I'm a little skeptical wondering if once humanity is down to its last million survivors or so that these will still be part of the current vernacular! Call me cynical - I'll wait until the shouts die down - but we all know only Marvel characters and baseball will survive the pending apocalypse and near end of our species. Let's be real about it, ok?

Was that a kiss or did she just deposit an embryo in your chest cavity?

But hey, if that didn't make you twitch like Chief Inspector Dreyfus in the original Pink Panther movies (no mention of same in the book btw), then how about the scene how James describes Tatiana. At one point, she is pictured as having
"ice-blue eyes peering out between long black lashes, platinum-blond bangs slicing across her forehead like a razor" (p. 3). But then some pages later, she is now exhibiting "Ice-blue eyes peering out through rings of long black lashes, platinum-blond bangs slicing across her forehead like a razor" (pp. 141-142). Um… I'm sensing a trend here? No?

The ball shot out of the nose of the ship like a booger and burst, opening a swirling, purple-tinged slit in spacetime.

Oh and my favorite? The Fiz (that's hep talk for For Sale Make Offer) is forced to fire torpedoes at a mountain peak to keep our heroes from crashing into same while they were obviously crashing. Yet, earlier Captain Bykite made it very abundantly clear that they had no torpedoes (or phasers or even pointed sticks) on board. So I ask you friends, at what point did I apparently miss these details? I suspect around 10:15 p.m. last night because that invariably is when I convince myself that I can indeed make it one more chapter before turning off my lights. Either that or it's this cheap Earth gin I keep drinking. That'll ruin your spores, I'm sure!

I’ve inhaled a lot of shit. Nothing ever talked to me.

Look kids, the book isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. And unlike the last book I gave three stars to (this one would have been 3 1/2 if we could get that and the other 2 1/2), I do indeed intend to keep going with the series. So let's just hope a lot of this was me just being my usual OCD-centric, anal retentive self and go enjoy Book 2! Deal? Um, hang on, making deals has not gone well for this group, has it? Hm…
Profile Image for Thomas.
2,692 reviews
November 4, 2022
James, C. P. Rocket Repo. Kindle, 2021. Reassembly 1.
C. P. James calls Rocket Repo a “palate cleanser,” written to dispel the dystopian gloom of the world around him and his recent writing projects. He was aiming, he says, for pulpy humor with just a few serious and romantic touches. Whether this is a worthy project and whether James achieves its goals are both matters of opinion. A snippet of conversation between our protagonist, Geddy Starheart and Captain Bykite will suffice to reveal whether Repo is the book for you.

“Hey, it’s not my place to ask, but haven’t you guys ever seen a space movie?” Geddy asked.
“Bykite spun around in his chair, irritated. “As it happens, I’m something of a cinephile.”
“Then you know that disabled vessels floating alone in deep space with a gaping hole in the side should be left the fuck alone.”

‘Nuff said? 3.5 stars.

124 reviews2 followers
August 17, 2021
DID I ENJOY THIS BOOK?

I most certainly did. I liked it so much that I will pay money for book two. Seriously! Geddy is sort of a reluctant hero but he gets the job done. The main characters are interesting rather than the usual suspects. I do have one quibble, however...I truly despise cliff hanger endings. Authors should have enough trust in their writing to produce stand alone stories instead of using this cheesy ploy to sell their next book. That said, I still enjoyed this one.
Profile Image for Robert.
267 reviews
February 9, 2022
What humor?

This is supposed to be humorous. The only thing I could recognize as attempted humor was the repeated use of the "Fart heard around the Galaxy" line. It wasn't humorous the first time, and it wasn't humorous the 5th time.

Maybe the author thought a person alone for 7 years pleasuring themself to a hologram of a woman was humorous. I didn't think it was funny. I didn't find anything at all in this book funny.

If you are over the age of 13, I recommend staying away from this book.
56 reviews1 follower
September 15, 2021
Trash for Reason

For a first book, it surely kept the action going. No complaints. It read quite along from the front to the end. It seems people don't change in our future. They still have their problems.
Profile Image for Jim.
749 reviews
September 13, 2021
Not Serius

Really funny if you are old enough or smart enough to get the jokes. Even if you aren’t, it’s still humorous. A fun read
20 reviews
May 29, 2023
A rollicking good yarn, I think this could be safely categorized as...

Not so heavy that you feel like you're reading "Ulysses"(it of James Joyce "fame")... backwards...

Quite humorous, but not overdone.

A few spots are a little slow, but if you hang in for a bit, the author finds 2nd gear and you're away.

The chief characters are well portrayed, each of the alien species that make up the team are... quite odd to begin with, but before you realize it, you've formed a liking to them, dare I say, an attachment? High praise, indeed.

This series is certainly worth the effort, which seems heavier going in a just a few "slog" spots in the early part of the series, but later you realize there was a reason for most of it.

The story continues with gradual reveals, most you probably won't be able to guess at...

The male main character, Geddy, is the usual flawed type of character, who has a decent streak in him, the female leads are clearer headed, while the contents of his head... yeah, the fifth wheel, an alien spore with very, very ancient origins pitches tent in Geddy's brain... can be chatty at times when Geddy least wants it to be... but whose sagacious advice will have a large bearing in saving the universe... Yup the stakes are that big... to be a bit more precise without giving too much away, the end of sentient life rather than the physical universe...The whys and wherefores are worth staying up for...Some great one-liner repartee.. I haven't finished the series yet, but well into book 5 Fleet Feat.

This a pleasant read, it is worth reading.

Not a book you'll regret picking up, and deary me, have I had a few of them lately... With this series (Reassembly) you actually want to know how things work out, though you have the feel that things are gonna be OK in the end... It's the journey that's made enjoyable. Go get it...

Profile Image for Jennifer.
857 reviews26 followers
September 10, 2022
Former ace pilot Geddy Starheart has been living alone - well, as alone as one can be with an alien spore he'd inhaled living rent free in his head - for several years, ever since an explosion caused the evacuation of the planet and the subsequent leaving of Geddy because they thought he was dead.

During those years, they had built a ship that would be capable of taking Eli, the alien spore, to his home planet. But, on the night before they plan to leave, the spaceship disappears. What follows is a crazy search for the ship and plans to get Eli home.

This book had a great premise, and I had been looking forward to reading/listening. The start was okay, and I kept waiting for it to get better. It didn't. Listening to the audiobook, I found my attention wandering to the point of having to relisten to various parts. While there was comedy, several parts that were intended to be funny (I assume) just fell flat.

While there were plenty of characters, the character development was minimal at best. To make things even worse, the major storyline - getting the spaceship back - want even accomplished by the end of the book! I can only assume it will be recovered in book 2, but I won't be finding out. I don't mind author's using cliffhangers to encourage readers to continue on in the series, but I do expect author's to resolve the majority plot of the book WITHIN that book.

As for the audiobook, the narrator was J.S. Arquin. He did a good job, and i could tell he thought the story was funny. But his enjoyment of it just wasn't enough to carry the book.
20 reviews
December 19, 2021
What a fun romp through space! This book will certainly appeal to you if you like the series "Firefly" or the early Star Wars movies. The characters are clear and distinctive, the language well versed with nary a typo, and the plot unfolds in ways that delight and intrigue the reader. The main character is salty, sarcastic and fun. A wonderful combination of sci-fi adventure and comic relief, I recommend this recreational reading. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Since I personally also look for for serious character development and growth I gave this book 4 stars. Maybe the sequel will include more of that. It is alluded to and talked about but not really witnessed by the reader in this first short book. Well worth the fun on its own even so!
Profile Image for Joshua.
197 reviews
June 3, 2022
For a book tha5 claims to be as witty as GotG or MIB, I laughed twice throughout the entire book, and the second didn't come until the last page.

The characters are mostly uninteresting and one-dimensional. For a story set in the 24th century, there are a number of references by the characters themselves to 20th and 21st century pop culture, and although it is never said explicitly, there are hints that for some reason, everyone in the galaxy, regardless of species, speaks English.

There is an interesting character in Eli, but when you relegate him to observer status for most of the book, he loses everything that makes him interesting.
13 reviews
May 18, 2022
Good book, good series!

I avoided this one because of the description. When an author describes their own book as funny, it rarely is. This is the exception to the rule.

The comedy isn’t forced, it is just, like, reading the adventures of a lighthearted guy who likes to crack immature jokes in the face of serious situations. It has never once felt unnatural or shoehorned in.

That said, if you aren’t the type of person who finds “That’s what she said!” type humor funny, then this book probably isn’t for you.

I loved it.
Profile Image for Si Clarke.
Author 16 books107 followers
Read
November 2, 2024
Big, immature, cis-het White man finds himself in outer space. Somehow, he ends up on a ship. One member of the crew is a ridiculously Hot Woman, who also happens to be incredibly smart and capable of doing anything. Another member of the crew is a plucky genius. There may or may not be assorted other crew members; all are highly competent and extremely capable.
Naturally, Hot Woman falls hopelessly in love with Mediocre Man. The whole crew (and everyone else they encounter) immediately start treating him like he’s in charge.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Oh, you have? Weird.
4 reviews1 follower
January 30, 2023
The writer states, "I write engaging, unique, and fast-paced sci-fi. Expect smart characters and short chapters that move along at a cinematic pace. .... I write books that tempt you to read the next chapter because you know it'll be short, punchy, and consequential.

C.P. delivers exactly what he claims.

Highly entertaining and fun to read but he still is able to build a universe and develop human and alien characters in a relatable fashion.

Profile Image for Jill Jones.
54 reviews4 followers
January 24, 2022
Loved it!!

Very cool story. Very different premise from most "space operas". The action was nonstop and the characters were instantly likable and well written. They are characters i could hang out with and be great friends. The villains were even better and all the different aliens were intriguing making me want to visit their home planet. Truly dug this book.
Profile Image for Tuskers.
117 reviews
February 16, 2022
Maybe it was just me, but I failed to follow all the different creatures and references in this book.
I felt like the author must have pulled creatures and names from somewhere, and expected me to know who and what everything was.
I enjoyed following the main plot, but the distractions made me not enjoy.
1 review
June 3, 2022
This is a fun and funny book. If you like Monty Python or Doug Adams, it is probably for you. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because the bathroom humor was a little too third-grade, but that's just my own preference. If you don't mind a few pee and poop jokes, you'll like it. Try it.
Profile Image for David Griffin.
95 reviews5 followers
July 6, 2022
A little dull at the start, but it gets much better

Rocket Repo is not what I expected. But it turned out to be better than I thought. The beginning was a little rough, but as I stuck with it, it gets better. It took a while to get into the main character. But as the story progresses, so does your appreciation of the protagonist and the rest of the characters.
Profile Image for Bonhomous.
312 reviews4 followers
November 3, 2022
Better quality than the normal books of this genre that I come across. Gritty drama with nuggets of humor that made me laugh out loud and send me looking for someone to share them with. Varied characters with lots of depth.
I'm looking forward to reading book two and hoping there will be plenty of future stories involving these characters.
Profile Image for Travis.
2,888 reviews48 followers
November 7, 2022
Interesting story. I know it's supposed to be funny as well, but to be honest, I think my sense of humor took a vacation. I found it a decent tail, but for the most part, funny isn't the description I'd use. Perhaps the humor was too juvinile for me to grasp it
Anyway, it was a decent enough story that I'll read the next one in the series.
Profile Image for Nate.
302 reviews
May 15, 2023
2.5 rounding up. Go into it expecting low-brow humor and contrived situations. How the Fismo seems to evolve over time is frustrating as it loses and gains abilities, personnel, wealth. Actually that just applies to everything in the book- Geddy, Oz, Tatiana, Eli, the foils.

Maybe rounding up was generous. At least it was entertaining (after Earth 2)
858 reviews5 followers
May 29, 2023
Wow what a fun book

I liked the description, and enjoyed the book even more. The characters were great, there was a ton of action, some very mild science mixed in, and lots of interesting places and aliens added as well. I am glad this is part of a series as anyone who reads this will also want more. I definitely recommend this book.
Profile Image for Lorna.
281 reviews1 follower
June 23, 2023
It's okay

The main character is a louse with no real redeemable traits. The story just sort of follows him from problem to problem, without resolving anything. It's unclear why anyone really likes the guy, especially his ex who doesn't want to let him go again.

Enjoyable enough that I finished it, but not enough that I'll buy the sequel.
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