Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the SPSFC2 finals. We have whittled our entrants down to a mere seven, all clamouring for the title of SPSFC Champion. So without further ado, here is my take on Hammer & Crucible, by Cameron Cooper.

The SPSFC has been full of surprises. There’s been comedy, horror, drama, and more erotica than I ever want to see in my life. So it’s somewhat refreshing to reach the finals of the second year and be presented with a book that is exactly what I expected a self published science fiction book to look like. The problem is that that’s not necessarily a good thing.

I love space opera. Even when it’s far from original, and arguably when it’s not actually very good, it’s usually quite entertaining. It’s the popcorn-munching, CGI-churning genre of adventure and action. I’ll put up with more bad space opera than I will average examples of other genres. Put simply, being space opera is a good shortcut to getting into my good graces. But just because I can put up with something, doesn’t mean I’m blind to its flaws.

Hammer & Crucible starts off fairly promising. Yes it ticks the boxes of being on the shorter side and part of a larger universe (as is often the case with self-published science fiction, it would seem) but it is a relatively standalone tale. It also introduces us to an older-than-usual protagonist in the form of Danny. To uncover a conspiracy, Danny undergoes a procedure to regain her youth. Frankly, this is where things started to go wrong.

Right off the bat, we’ve lost that unique trait of old age. Danny is quickly reduced to yet another action hero. Given how longevity is tied into space travel in this universe, it’s a massive missed opportunity. There’s also a weird comment post-operation in which Danny is sexualised by a younger member of her own family. Which was odd, to say the least. The whole book is told from Danny’s perspective, but despite having a lot of history, she never gains much depth. In fact, all the characters are rather shallow. Worst of all is Dalton, who seems to exist purely to have arguments with people, which is annoying the first time, and insufferable the tenth.

This is a book that seems to have been written with the goal of including as many cool things as possible. Empires, wars, spaceships, sentient nanites. You name it, it’s in here. A real kitchen sink space opera. However, the short page count means that we race through each of these ideas without taking time to dwell on anything. It’s a blitzkrieg of adventure with not all that much holding it together. Scene by scene, the writing is strong, and there are some very fun moments in here too, but there’s also too much forward momentum without any introspection to back it up.

There’s something endearing about the enthusiasm with which everything occurs, and the brevity means you’re never exactly bored, but ultimately Hammer & Crucible fails to build on its potential in any meaningful way. There are worse ways to spend a few hours, but there are definitely better ones too.

At Boundary’s Edge won’t be revealing our scores until all judges have read all books. Stay tuned for more reviews.