The Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams

 

This was a fun SF novel. It's probably some sort of space-opera, maybe with some post-apocalyptic grace-notes--it takes too many liberties to really qualify as hard SF, I think--and the characters are neatly drawn, the arcs and behaviors plausible. The prose is deft and witty and smooth, and there's a sense of humor lurking around practically every corner. Maybe--maybe--the main character is implausibly badass; it's wasn't a problem for me.