Spoiler Free Summary: Emancipation by Mark Wandrey is the seventh story in the Four Horsemen anthology, For a Few Credits More. Jim Cartwright leads a team of CASPers tasked with taking down a group of slavers set on using or even killing 400 Aku, an alien race Jim means to keep alive. Can Jim take down the slavers without harming the slaves? What happens if those who paid his team aren’t interested in the collateral damage?
Character: I like Jim. He’s a classic white-hat with strong morals much like Captain America. I think characters with depth and flaws are great, but it’s nice to see a good ol’ fashioned good guy once in a while. The other characters in this story contribute to the feeling as well. Most of these characters are charming. The villains might be a tad 1980s (bad slavers who just do bad), but I don’t mind so much, especially considering Jim.
Exposition: The exposition of this story was solid. Sure, Wandrey gets into the world a bit more, but that’s to be expected since he’s been playing in the universe for a while. But he never dragged me down with details I didn’t need or information that could have been presented in a better way.
World building: It’s obvious Wandrey knows his world. He was able to toss me the details I need without going to far into depth. Where it feels like most authors just sort of stayed in the context of the story, Wandrey uses his knowledge of the universe to add scope to his story without dragging the pace down.
Dialogue: This was solid. I don’t really remember any particularly piffy lines, but I do remember the dialogue helped move the plot and got me to smile once or twice. The dialogue between Splunk, a Fae, and Jim was particularly charming.
Description: I actually think this was the strongest aspect of this story. Wandrey’s story felt like I was there, and that doesn’t happen much with me. Great little details to add a visceral feel combined with subtle adjectives when the pace was fast. Scifi tends to drag the reader down with details and description. Wandrey has that part figured out.
Overall: This is a great, motivating (in a military sense) story with just the right mix of action, adventure, and humor. Jim is a great character to hang out with, and the visuals in this story really do draw a reader in.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
M.L.S. Weech 