WARNING! INEVITABLE SPOILERS BELOW!

In the 30th century, among the Angels’ Reach, spacers of varying degrees of significance, seediness, prestige, and loyalty survive as do we modern humans, whether that be through military service, smuggling, transporting cargo or passengers, farming, or selling curios out of a souvenir shop. That is to stay, despite incredible advances in technology and integration with alien species, the peoples of Angels’ Reach and their stories are like out own—very much human.

It is a strange way to describe a collection of science-fiction stories, but Michael A Hein’s debut market publication can’t be characterized better than as a set truly human stories in a beyond terrain setting. The theme across the tales is singular and strong—we are human, no matter where we are, and our concerns are human concerns—lest we fall prey to transhuman ideology like the Incarnation, for then we become less, having sacrificed what we are.

This theme is carried mostly by Hein’s characters. Even when they are aliens such as the Rattanai, they are likely and very sympathetic. Their motives are sometimes murky, but their means and ends surrounding those motives feel both relatable, making each protagonist of each story immediately interesting.

Most often, Hein’s characters are more than merely interesting. This is particularly true when they are paired off into male and female leads. For example, the titular story “The Spacer’s Companion,” features straight-shooter freight spacer Ramiro and con-artist Livia. The natural conflict between the two foils of one another facilitates a natural banter, and their opposing personalities allow each to compensate and compliment the other despite the constant tension. Every interaction is suspenseful, either because something is going wrong, or because something is going wrong with the promise of going right in the end. It is impossible to read without getting invested in the pair’s relationship.

But these are sci-fi stories, aren’t they? What about the setting elements—the world building? In short, it is great. Hein layers his setting-related-exposition with the plot events so that a thing is only explained when it is relevant. This is great, as his explanations are just thorough enough that the reader can feel as though he understands the technology and politics of these far flung planet and star systems, but he never feels like the story drags while the narrator stops to read a Wikipedia article. In fact, much of the time one won’t even realize he’s reading the crunchier bits of the science fiction. That’s how palatably it reads.

So what are you waiting for? I can’t recommend these stories enough. Your only complaint will be that their all aren’t novellas or full novels themselves. Truth be told, that is my one critique. I did come away from a few tales feeling as though they ended before the climax. However, that is a good problem to have that I want to read more, not less. Hopefully we’ll see another anthology with some sequels, spin-offs, and continuations of those contained within The Spacer’s Companion.

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