You Sexy Thing

June 21, 2021
Rambo (the Tabat Quartet series) mixes far-future space opera with the trials and tribulations of running a restaurant in this clever mishmash of aliens, pirates, and humans with near-impossible dreams. Nicolette “Niko” Larson, military genius and former Admiral of the Holy Hive Mind, has retired with her motley, mixed-species unit to operate the Last Chance gourmet restaurant on TwiceFar Station at the very edge of the universe. Just as they are set to win the coveted Nikkelin Orb food award, an explosion hurls Niko, her faithful crew, and a mysterious crate they’re transporting into a chaotic scramble for survival aboard the sentient bioship You Sexy Thing. The ship takes them into the clutches of a pirate king who’s been planning his revenge on Niko ever since an encounter decades earlier and has a series of grisly tortures in mind. Running parallel to this plot is a coming-of-age tale starring Atlanta, an heir to the Paxian galactic empire, who was shipped to Niko to learn how to govern herself and others. Rambo crafts her characters with relish, creating credibly motivated alien beings, a plucky heroine, and a ship learning to experience emotion for the first time. The result is a thoroughly entertaining sci-fi romp.

Starred review from August 1, 2021

At the edge of the universe lies TwiceFar Station, the home of the upscale restaurant Last Chance. It's staffed by retired Admiral of the Holy Mind Nicolette "Niko" Larson and a disparate crew of fellow veterans of different species. On the verge of earning the illustrious Nikkelin Orb award, the restaurant crew finds themselves in the midst of a station explosion, with Niko holding a mysterious crate. They are then forced to flee on the sentient bioship You Sexy Thing, but the ship takes the group by force to the domain of an old enemy, a pirate king who has a torturous and deadly plan for Niko, in revenge for past encounters. As Niko and her crew figure out how to escape, the mysterious crate reveals a young heir to the Praxian Empire, Atlanta, who was sent to Niko for protection and guidance. The parallels in Atlanta and Niko's storylines are key to this tale of military reach, memories, and the will to survive. VERDICT Rambo (Tabat Quartet) launches a delightful, action-filled space jaunt, packed with engaging alien species, a bioship that learns emotions, and witty references.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2021
There are very few ways to escape the Holy Hive Mind. One of them is the pursuit of true artistry, which is why Niko Larson and her crew are running a restaurant on TwiceFar station. Niko receives a mysterious package the same day a critic with the power to give their restaurant a Nikkelin Orb has a reservation, so everyone is a bit distracted organizing the menu. Before the critic can so much as taste the first dish, an explosion tears through the station. By chance, another guest in the restaurant has a ship--but he dies on the way to it, and the password he gives them convinces the ship they're trying to steal it. Niko and her crew make the best of a bad situation--which only keeps getting worse, as they learn who was in the mysterious package, and the critic's ulterior motives--and even manage to work toward the ultimate goal that prompted their departure from the Holy Hive Mind. A delightful space-opera adventure, with an excellent found-family character dynamic and plenty of open ends for potential sequels.

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