Yesterday
was the day I finished Temporary Duty. It also happened to be the day I
found out that the author, Ric Locke recently died. It was weird to be
discovering a fascinating new author at the same time I found out that
the story of his life here had been completed. I suspect that in science
fiction Locke’s impact will be even greater after his death than
before.
When an alien trading shipp makes a stop at Earth the US manages to
wangle sending a detachment along on their trading loop. Temporary Duty
is the story of a Navy enlisted man who lucks into temporary duty with
aboard the spacecraft. It’s about competitions and cooperation, about
difference between cultures and about similarities, it’s about enforcing
rules and about breaking them.
The
book doesn't have a stereotypical plot, so the beginning can feel a
little slow, because you don’t see what is coming up. But it does pay
off in the second half of the book in surprising, if unexpected, ways.
If you already like sci-fi I would recommend this as something new and
fresh. If you don’t like sci-fi you might try it anyway as it is
different enough you might find it more to your tastes.
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