WARNING! INEVITABLE SPOILERS BELOW! 

Far in the future, mankind fights a war whose borders stretch deep into the reaches of space. Earth has long since been conquered by the faction known as The Church Of The Whole, and the Sol Fleet now seem to be the only force capable of beating back the ever expansionist church.

Lieutenant Orson Grant is but a single soldier stuck in the thick of this war. He loyal, clever, and honest to fault, yet something dark lurks in his shadow:—the Berlin, the vessel on which he was formerly stationed and, by a twist of fate, made temporary captain, this leading to a mistake which saw him imprisoned and his reputation savaged.

Now, Grant is free from the penal colony and serving on a small ship, the Kodiak, as weapon’s officer. Given Grant’s history, many among the crew treat him with suspicion, especially the commander and her lieutenant (XO). In fact, Grant is about to be ousted from the Kodiak on Commander N’Koudou’s request when a distress signal calls the Kodiak for help. Disaster ensues in a battle with The Church Of The Whole, and Grant finds himself in an uncomfortably familiar position. This time, he has to make the right call.

If the above summary (not quite a synopsis) excites you, then you’re in for a fun time diving into the Kodiak series, at least for the first book. It’s an unadulterated military science-fiction setting classically paired with team-building, intrigue, and interpersonal conflicts. The latter half of the aforementioned formula seems to be in Waterhouse’s wheelhouse, because he delivers a likeable cast that, by the first story’s end, feel relatable enough to care for their survival. The former half isn’t bad either. While not revolutionary in the realms of military science-fiction, Waterhouse delivers just the right level of crunch (not much) for the quick pacing of his novella.

That being said, Kodiak might have been better as a short novella than as a novella. This may be splitting hairs, but more meat at the beginning and a little extra at the end would have resolved a couple hiccups with the otherwise excellent pacing, namely at the outset and toward the end. A bit more material would have also given readers the chance to invest in a few characters who, while outside the (presumably) recurring cast and crew of the Kodiak, are key to the first book’s interpersonal drama.

Quite a few characters (and a whole universe, naturally) are introduced within the first few chapters of the book. Each character is defined primarily through his or her dialogue, with his or her rank and station on the ship doing the remainder of the heavy lifting. The reader is spared most physical description, a stylistic choice on Waterhouse’s part, and one not unwarranted (though I still can’t imagine what the Volcan-esque alien race, the Acamar, look like—personal note: fight me on the volcan-esque description; they talk about logic enough to earn it). For the most part, the characters’ physiques, relative heights, hair and eye colors, are not relevant to what’s occurring on the page. And when such features are important, they are mentioned. However, because the book is as short as it is, and because the cast is somewhat sizable, it becomes easy to confuse characters, (at least until the herd gets thinned).

About that culling: it was a great idea, plot wise. The sudden devastation to the Kodiak and the resultant deaths of N’Koudou and Winters not only set the stage for Grant’s redemption, the raise the stakes out of the gate—but their deaths could and should have raised the stakes much further. Given the short time the reader gets with the CO and her XO, he only gets to see that both are unlikable and incompetent gossips. They strike the reader like a corporate HR department—compliant women hiring compliant women because they are compliant. At one point (albeit later in the story), Grant even divulges that N’Koudou surrounded herself with yes-men, and in so doing got her own crew killed during operations.

So when N’Koudou and Winters are killed, despite the genuinely horrific description, there deaths fall emotionally flat. The reader does not care (he might even celebrate), because good ridden of them. That is the exact opposite affective message meant to be sent, and it does spoil the otherwise dark and gritty tone (I want to note here: given my character confusion this early in the story, I thought at first that Diaz died instead of Winters—I mixed them up—and was, for a few short seconds, devastated; but then I flipped back a page to check, and the tension bleed out and evaporated).

Had the reader gotten the chance to see a side of N’Koudou and Winters that the other COs and admirals later speak of fondly, then their deaths would have be traumatic (in the best way). Likewise, the extra time might’ve made each character a little more distinct before the set-piece battle began, which would have further enhanced a feel of stakes (which was present, certainly by the middle of the novella).

A similar critique could be made about the ship and its technology as well. While Waterhouse did an excellent job not bogging down the narrative with paragraphs and pages of dry exposition about how every piece of tech works, there isn’t enough page time for the reader to get an understanding of the technology organically. Because of this, when the ship gets damaged, the reader has no frame of reference for the significance of the injury. Likewise, when the engineers make repairs while out in the void of space, the extent that repair is possible is just as ambiguous. For instance, the Kodiak gets severely damaged right out of the gate. Many people are killed, and multiple systems are made inoperable. Given the sophistication and low tolerances required to make something like a spacecraft, the reader is left to wonder how hyper-complex engines, power generators, and weapons can be fixed after having railgun fire pepper them full of holes before a torpedo explodes near them. Where does all the replacement material come from? And what about specialized replacement parts; can they be fabricated onboard a ship that can’t even afford to divert enough power to warm the water in their showers (an assumption on my part, made on the basis that the ships have to toggle power to different components even when undamaged)?

To be clear, this isn’t the worst problem a book could have. The issue is that the reader could’ve used more of what was given, which itself was enjoyable. Trial By Fire, once Grant takes the commander’s chair, carries that quick pacing precisely where it out to be—through the action. The battle flows through ups and downs, each skin-of-the-teeth victory by Grant and his team won through ingenuity and trust. It is fun and uplifting, largely because Grant is very successfully presented in-scene as an unambiguously moral and competent leader. The whole Kodiak series could be (and might very well be) carried on his shoulders, despite the incompetent HR department that seems to run the Sol Fleet (Admiral Valiente being the sole exception).

To close, don’t let the knit picks here give you the impression that Trial By Fire is anything other than good. It is (for the most part) paced such that it is easy to read in a single sitting, even for a reader who does not frequently partake in sci-fi settings. The character work is great, especially among the main cast. As a contained narrative, Trial by Fire flies by its own thrusters, and as part of a series, it leaves the reader wanting more, not less. In fact, it is probably advisable to start with Red Saints and The Eye of the Universe—two other stories published earlier within this same setting—just to get a firmer grasp on the setting, its institutions, and the limitations of its technologies.

If you’re looking for your next military sci-fi novel, or if you’re looking to dip your toes into indie science-fiction but don’t know where to start, the Kodiak series and its related stories are a great option. They are quick, easy, and most importantly, fun. Follow Lieutenant Orson Grant’s battle to redeem is reputation and become the starship commander he always dreamed of by clicking the book cover above and picking up your copy today!