Kelly's Heroes in Space

The Misfit Soldier by Michael Mammay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The tagline for this novel is "Ocean’s Eleven meets John Scalzi." That's non inaccurate, but a better tagline would be "Kelly's Heroes in Space." Either way, it's a darn good book.

For those not remembering, the 1970 movie Kelly's Heros involves several misfit units going on a private mission to steal Nazi gold. That basic plot, set in a future space war on a distant human-colonized planet, is the first half of The Misfit Soldier. The second half of the plot is something Mammay does well, namely interservice intrigue turned up to 11.

Both parts of the story work very well and are highly engaging. Our lead character and narrator, Sergeant Gastovsky—Gas - is likeable and has a surprisingly-strong moral code. He's only a misfit because he's stuck in an army that has some significant but undiagnosed problems. I don't think this book was intended as a series, but I'd certainly like to see more of Gas.



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