Alexander Outland: Space Pirate [Kindle Edition]

The very first in a new sci fi series by GJ Koch is a knock down, action packed romp through space that will have your heart pounding and your libido stuttering just a bit!

Meet Alexander Outland, a space pirate, and his rag tag group of employees that include a super smart techie, a humanoid robot, a sex kitten and a old man. Alex is a space pirate that has a heart of gold even though you would never get him to admit to it. He likes to think of himself as a ladies man instead. He seems to be able to get in pretty much every womans pants..and he has. Slinkie is the exception to his rule. He wants her, he tries to get her constantly, and yet she resists. She'd rather lob snarky retorts to his advances then pursue anything with the quirky captain. She is a virtual mystery to him.

Alexander Outland is a quirky fun scifi that doesn't have one dull moment. I'm not joking its literally one thing after another while they try to figure out who is behind the attacks against the crew and the planet they land on. No one is who they seem and everyone has secrets to hide . There is constant conversations in this one so be prepared for the one liners, the snark and the jibber jabber. No one can sit still and be quiet for even a minute. It's hilarious. It's fun. It can be overwhelming trying to keep up with a story line that never stops. You may want to take notes or if you have the paperback version, invest in post it notes to mark revelations clearly so you can go back and refresh yourself.

Now I know G.J. has tried to distance herself from her Gini Koch name but honestly...if you've read Gini's stuff there is virtually no way you can mistake G.J's writing from Gini's . It's just got the same feel. The biggest difference I saw is the lack of bountiful sex going on. Don't worry, its so filled with story that you won't miss the sex...much. The story is so complex and you will be constantly guessing where the book is going. Slinkie and Alexander work well together as a couple once they get past all the continuous innuendo and playful games. The family feel with the rest of the crew can clearly be felt. These people are not co workers....but family. They care about each other and that includes the humanoid/computer that a very lonely crew member manages to build for himself.

Sci fi genre lovers should enjoy this one and crossover Gini Koch lovers should like this too. Its a solidly good book with amazing potential for future storylines!

On a side note....is anyone else amused by the position of Slinkie and Alexander (aka Nap) on the front cover? I snickered...repeatedly.

I give Alexander Outland: Space Pirate by G.J. Koch 3.75 stars!

Nikki @ Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind

This isn't an ALIEN book, and Alexander Outland isn't Kitty Kat. Koch's sense of humor is there, but the heavy romance of the Alien books is absent.

The Good: Funny, fast-paced, good character interaction. The Governor (my favorite character).

The Bad: The world-building was fuzzy, there was no depth or seriousness, the main characters weren't ones you could love right away.

Verdict: This is a good read for fans of the campy dime store fiction of yesteryear. Skip it if you want literary, Hard SF, or serious romance/erotica. Read it if you need a good laugh or liked Firefly.

Alexander Outland: Space Pirate, by G.J. Koch hits all the right notes. It's science fiction, which I so desperately crave these days. It has space battles, humor, gun battles, robots, pirates... yeah, it's good.

Alexander Outland is the captain of a small group of close-knit pirates. Think Firefly without the horses (oh wait, there were donkeys, never mind). Outland is a womanizer but has his heart set on one specific woman, and he can't keep her assets out of his thoughts. The book is told in first-person, from Outland's point-of-view, and his internal dialogue with himself is just as fun as his actual conversations with other characters.

Outland's crew consists of a super-talented but somewhat dimwitted engineer and his robot fiance that he built from a rare instruction manual, an elderly planetary governor that Outland's crew accidentally help depose, and the object of Outland's affections: his attractive weapons chief that wants nothing to do with Outland.

The book opens with Outland deciding not to land on a planet where his exploits with some prominent local women are a little too well-known. Instead, he heads to what should be a safe haven but ends up in a battle with an invisible pirate armada that tries to capture him. Outland lives up to his reputation as the best pilot in the galaxy as he escapes and lands on the nearby planet the armada is blockading.

From there, Outland and his crew spend time trying to relax between bouts of being arrested, chased through the sewers, avoiding a stampede, meeting a spy, learning secrets about each other, picking up new crew members, and trying to defeat that pirate armada all by themselves.

It's quite a ride. And it's a blast! My summary doesn't do the story justice - it's just. that. good.