Mechanical Failure (#1)
A smooth-talking ex-sergeant, accustomed to an easygoing peacetime military, unexpectedly rejoins the fleet and finds soldiers preparing for the strangest thing—war.
The two hundred years’ (and counting) peace is a time of tranquility that hasn’t been seen since…well, never. Mankind in the Galactic Age had finally conquered war, so what was left for the military to do but drink and barbecue? That’s the kind of military that Sergeant R. Wilson Rogers lived in before he left the fleet to become a smuggler.
But it turns out that smuggling is hard. Like getting-arrested-for-dealing-with-pirates-and-forced-back-into-service kind of hard. It doesn’t seem so bad—the military was a perpetual tiki party anyway—but when Rogers returns after only a year away, something has changed. These are soldiers—actual soldiers doing actual soldier things like preparing for a war that Rogers is sure doesn’t exist. Rogers vows to put a stop to all this nonsense—even if it means doing actual work.
With an experienced ear for military double-speak, Zieja has created a remarkable and sarcastic adventure.
Reviews
“MECHANICAL FAILURE by Joe Zieja is a funny story about a funny man in a funny universe. What makes this book work so well is the author’s innate ability to paint a sarcastic hero in a ridiculously irrational setting, and allow the reader to laugh along at the absurdity that could become our future.”
“If you like science fiction or laughing (so everyone) then this is a book worth your time and Zieja is an author worth watching, as I expect him to continue making great things.”
“MECHANICAL FAILURE is the perfect tonic for those missing the writing of the comedy sci-fi greats. It is as good as Harrison, Grant and even Adams - highly amusing, clever fiction.”
“Zieja comes to fiction writing with over a decade of experience in military life, and clearly knows his stuff when it comes to the absurdities of profligate bureaucracy. His targets include a frequently unproductive obsession with rules and regulations, bad food, and a system of promotion that rarely leaves the best and brightest running the show. MECHANICAL FAILURE often plays like a sci-fi riff on the 1961 satire Catch-22.”B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog