Shaker is a first person, character driven, mid-burn novel that paces itself in a way that let’s you have a full story without having to spend every moment of every day with the protagonist. Mike Taylor, or the titicular character Shaker, leads us on a journey from the mundane, to the wildly insane, to the extraordinary. Kidnapped by aliens to fight in their petty, but long standing civil war, Shaker and his friends have to come to the understanding that not only are their lives in danger, they are no longer their own, and the only way to survive is to kill other humans from the opposing side. Somewhere along the way, he finds love. A story about resilience, resistance, and learning to live where you are, this is not a book about war even though it is its backdrop. Highly recommended. Oh, and Michael Taylor, you did it. I am reading this from Earth…
***Review is based on an Arc copy received for free via Netgalley ***
