The Hangman's Daughter

The Bastard Legion, Book 1

By: Gavin Smith

Narrated by: Amy Finnegan

Four hundred years in the future, the most dangerous criminals are kept in suspended animation aboard prison ships and 'rehabilitated' in a shared virtual reality environment. But Miska Storrow, a thief and hacker with a background in black ops, has stolen one of these ships, The Hangman's Daughter, and made it her own. Controlled by explosive collars and trained in virtual reality by the electronic ghost of a dead marine sergeant, the thieves, gangsters, murderers, and worse are transformed into Miska's own private indentured army: the Bastard Legion. Are the mercenaries just for fun and profit, or does Miska have a hidden purpose connected to her covert past?

©2017 Gavin Smith (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Black ops and poor life decisions

If there are any old school game geeks out there, let me sell you on this book with one description: it’s like an insane Shadowrun Op in space without the magic.

One thing that puts me off on a lot of military sci-fi is flat, bland characters and ponderous dialogue. Fortunately, this book doesn’t have that. The characters are sarcastic assholes, occasionally sympathetic, and there are enough hints of the world and the back story that I’m definitely going to finish out the series.

Its not analogous to real life, of course, but the language and the training feel reasonably authentic to what I experienced in the military. At the same time, he manages to avoid a lot of cringe inducing tropes that sci-fi/fantasy authors often miss when writing women characters.

The author gets a little crunchy with some of the tech and weaponry, but I think he does a good job balancing that out for readers who aren’t heavy military/tech nerds.

The narrator is good too. She does a great job with back and forth dialogue, and you can tell she’s present for the whole story, so she helps build up tension and drama where needed.

It's ok, not great

In The Hangman's Daughter, a former marine takes over a prison space ship and uses the prisoners as mercenaries. The premise is intriguing, but there isn't much substance here. While there is a lot of action, and it is entertaining at times, most of the characters are pretty flat and have no development, and there is a lot lacking in the world building. The main character Miska is a tough character, but she never really shows any growth. We never figure out what any of Miska's true motivations are, other than avenging the death of her father. Overall, it misses a lot of its potential and ends up being just ok.

NOTE: I received this for free in exchange for an honest review.

Too much "F"oul language.

This was the first audible book we didn't finish.
Too much use of the F word in various forms.
I was in the Navy and have Marine friends. Nothing compares to this language.