Jitterbug by Gareth L. Powell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'll tell you what this book feels like.

It's a highly accessible and easygoing space romp with the Firefly feel with some very streamlined Expanse tidbits. Some very streamlined bits--but many of the GREAT bits.

At first, I just felt like I was starting up a great novel-nod to Cowboy Bebop, only to realize it had a lot more in common with Firefly right up to the point that we went all Expanse-y with the politics and the BDOs. But unlike Expanse, it gets RIGHT to the point with the huge space opera stuff and just comes across and a fast-paced romp that never takes itself too seriously.

Now, the end and all the events leading right up to the end may be a bit divisive among the readers, but I'm of the mind that sometimes we all need to go big or get the f out. Hit all those cool SF points and nod at many of the more recent greats while we're at it. Dark Forest stuff. Big tech. Even some Interstellar stuff.

I mean, why the hell not? If we're just aiming for some big, sometimes downright goofy fun, this has it all. And I admit it. I'm a sucker for the kind of loopy stuff we do get. It was almost late Heinlein in impact.

Fun stuff. Don't take it too seriously. But definitely fun.

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