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Bounty Inc.
A dream lives on while a will is strong, but a significant inheritance from a recently-deceased father sure helps too.
When Wyn throws away his easy life to open the galaxy's first bounty hunter organization and become a bounty hunter himself, he soon learns that a strong support system will be needed. A support system like an unwise mentor, her giant lizard ex-girlfriend, a woman trapped within her armor, a suspicious cyborg, a possible war criminal, several thousand beetles, and a ten-year-old insectoid with a pet.
Money is never endless, however, and Wyn will need to lead his new friends down a dangerous path to prove Bounty Inc's worth and keep his dream alive.
When Wyn throws away his easy life to open the galaxy's first bounty hunter organization and become a bounty hunter himself, he soon learns that a strong support system will be needed. A support system like an unwise mentor, her giant lizard ex-girlfriend, a woman trapped within her armor, a suspicious cyborg, a possible war criminal, several thousand beetles, and a ten-year-old insectoid with a pet.
Money is never endless, however, and Wyn will need to lead his new friends down a dangerous path to prove Bounty Inc's worth and keep his dream alive.
- GenresScience Fiction
ebook
Published October 15, 2025
4 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Adam Holcombe
5 books52 followersAdam Holcombe daylights as a programmer and moonlights as an author. After spending years toying with the idea of writing, he decided to fully commit and work toward releasing his first novel.
Then Gam Gam got in the way, and his first novel became his first novella. The novel will come later.
When he’s not locking himself in a cold basement to type away, he can be found squishing his dog (but not too hard), squawking at his tortoise (but not too loudly), goofing off with his wife (in perfectly ordinary, non-weird ways), DMing for his friends (I even got to play as a character a couple times!), or the usual chilling at home. He is a lover of books, board games, video games, and swords.
Adam is currently working on more Gam Gam stories, as well as the launch of a Sci-Fi series with the novel Bounty Inc.
TESTIMONIALS ABOUT ADAM AS A PERSON:
"THE BEST ADAM" - Krystle Matar.
"ALSO GAH" - Virginia McClain.
Then Gam Gam got in the way, and his first novel became his first novella. The novel will come later.
When he’s not locking himself in a cold basement to type away, he can be found squishing his dog (but not too hard), squawking at his tortoise (but not too loudly), goofing off with his wife (in perfectly ordinary, non-weird ways), DMing for his friends (I even got to play as a character a couple times!), or the usual chilling at home. He is a lover of books, board games, video games, and swords.
Adam is currently working on more Gam Gam stories, as well as the launch of a Sci-Fi series with the novel Bounty Inc.
TESTIMONIALS ABOUT ADAM AS A PERSON:
"THE BEST ADAM" - Krystle Matar.
"ALSO GAH" - Virginia McClain.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 15, 2025
ARC received for free in return for an honest review.
Having read both of the Gam Gam books, as well as the shorts, I was genuinely excited to see what Holcombe would do in a Sci-Fi setting.
It is fair to say that he does not disappoint,firstly though, I did not expect the book to be as much of a chonk, which is on me, which makes the fact that it kept me so engaged throughout more impressive.
But I digress, this is a has some clear nods to a number of different franchises in here, with Star Wars, Mass Effect being the most obvious but I am pretty sure I picked up shadows of of more than a few others in here.
The story starts with a funeral, as our main character Wynn is attending the funeral of his father, along with ALL THE EMPLOYEES as was stated in the will, unknown to everyone, he has sold the company with the deadline for people to object to the sale expiring during said event
Why you may ask, well he doesn't really want to follow the path his dad had set for him, he wants to set up the first ever Bounty Hunter 'guild' and learn to become one himself, because bounty hunters are COOL!
Of course, setting this up requires expertise, which he lacks, but he has the money and starts to assemble a team around him while beginning his training as he sets up Bounty Inc, and amazingly it almost seems to work, we are introduced to a very varied group of characters from all over the universal spectrum, who all get their moments to shine,the humour is often bawdy and not subtle, but then these are hired hunters who often believe that size matters, and for me it landed brilliantly, which is not to say that this lacks subtlety, because their are some smart moments of foreshadowing in both the humour and the plot that really pay off. It's also worth mentioning here that this is action packed and occasionally quite dark as well, which the humour does a good job of balancing, as well as an oddly sweet budding romance, so a little bit for everyone.
All this is displayed with punchy writing, really physically fluid action scenes with the appropriate level of both gore and gusto, and amazing chemistry between the characters, and you are left with a chunk of a book that maintains the 'just one more page' reading habit throughout, with an ending that alludes to more adventures in the future, and I for one cannot wait
Having read both of the Gam Gam books, as well as the shorts, I was genuinely excited to see what Holcombe would do in a Sci-Fi setting.
It is fair to say that he does not disappoint,firstly though, I did not expect the book to be as much of a chonk, which is on me, which makes the fact that it kept me so engaged throughout more impressive.
But I digress, this is a has some clear nods to a number of different franchises in here, with Star Wars, Mass Effect being the most obvious but I am pretty sure I picked up shadows of of more than a few others in here.
The story starts with a funeral, as our main character Wynn is attending the funeral of his father, along with ALL THE EMPLOYEES as was stated in the will, unknown to everyone, he has sold the company with the deadline for people to object to the sale expiring during said event
Why you may ask, well he doesn't really want to follow the path his dad had set for him, he wants to set up the first ever Bounty Hunter 'guild' and learn to become one himself, because bounty hunters are COOL!
Of course, setting this up requires expertise, which he lacks, but he has the money and starts to assemble a team around him while beginning his training as he sets up Bounty Inc, and amazingly it almost seems to work, we are introduced to a very varied group of characters from all over the universal spectrum, who all get their moments to shine,the humour is often bawdy and not subtle, but then these are hired hunters who often believe that size matters, and for me it landed brilliantly, which is not to say that this lacks subtlety, because their are some smart moments of foreshadowing in both the humour and the plot that really pay off. It's also worth mentioning here that this is action packed and occasionally quite dark as well, which the humour does a good job of balancing, as well as an oddly sweet budding romance, so a little bit for everyone.
All this is displayed with punchy writing, really physically fluid action scenes with the appropriate level of both gore and gusto, and amazing chemistry between the characters, and you are left with a chunk of a book that maintains the 'just one more page' reading habit throughout, with an ending that alludes to more adventures in the future, and I for one cannot wait
October 17, 2025
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S BOUNTY INC. ABOUT?
Wyn Kelda was raised in a privileged way, by a super-wealthy father to be part of his family's business. And then when his father died, he threw that all away. He sold the company and used the proceeds to start a new venture. The galaxy's first conglomerate of bounty hunters. He wants to take as many of the lone-wolves he can and turn them into a team—a team that can act independently as they desire, or can pool their abilities for other jobs.
There are some things standing in his way—beyond the idea, he doesn't really know how to pull this off. He's also so green at this kind of thing that Kermit would say, "As not-easy as it is for me being green, you're helpless."* He also wants to be in the field, not just the CEO. So he needs to be trained.
He recruits an experienced hunter to help him on both fronts—who takes the job for an easy check, believing this a doomed endeavor. But her presence helps recruit some great hunters, and his naiveté gets them some...interesting choices with promise.
* That was a much-zippier sentence in my head.
And well, the rest of the book traces the company over its first (only?) year of operation. His initial investment can only carry them for so long. Can they turn a profit? Can they form a team? Do they actually want to? Will they get an excuse to fire off the slag cannon they con Wyn into buying? These questions and more will be answered in Bounty Inc.
THE VARIOUS AND SUNDRY ALIEN SPECIES
One of the areas that comics and (especially) short stories/novels have been superior to TV/Film is that the latter are usually restricted to humanoid appearing aliens, and the former aren't. Holcombe takes advantage of this—while keeping plenty of humanoids around. He also plays with scale of beings, too. Yes, most of the group are humanoid-ish, but they all present in different ways.
Wyn is a human—and was raised in an almost total human environment, so other species are things he's aware of, but he only has the most surface-level understanding of them. This makes him the perfect POV character for most of the book—as he encounters species for the first time, we can react to and understand these representatives through him encountering them in a non-theoretical way. When he's freaked out—we know we should be (and probably would be in person), when he's agog, we get the signal to be, too.
This works so much better in this context than someone meeting "just another X" and then having to info dump for the reader about X. Not that can't be done well (and isn't all the time), but for this story, Wyn's reactions really enable us to understand him and the people we're going to encounter in the series.
This goes beyond appearances, I should stress. These species are really diverse, with individual cultures, governments, and traditions. Most of the assembled team understand each other (particularly those with shared histories), but there's still a bit of foreignness to everyone. A coming together understanding that everyone's a little strange. Even the two humans have different-enough experiences that they're foreign to each other (and not just because of the student-mentor relationship).
This isn't (as is often the case), Character A is a representative of Species B, and all of B are pretty much the same as Character A—that's true to a degree for some of these characters, but some of these are outliers—even outcasts. I love this particular kind of troupe—in SF, in Fantasy, even in Urban Fantasy.
THE TONE
This book has two tones at its core—two that some people would tackle in a way to make the book feel disjointed, but Holcombe's better than that. This book is a space opera/SF adventure. With intrigue, action, strangeness, betrayal, and more. It's what you expect from this kind of book—and it delivers that well.
However, this is Adam Holcombe, who is best known (at least today) for his Gam-Gam series, which is a wholesome, found family, cozy-ish, feel-good fantasy series. And that's what this book is at its core—Wyn is looking for a family, while also wanting be an action hero amongst action heroes. This business venture is simply the best way he knows to get it. You can tell that from the start (even if he doesn't know it)—and that earnest spirit reaches every corner of the book, for good or ill (I only include the "or ill" to be thorough, and because some won't want it in this story). Firefly springs to mind as a good example of this kind of vibe, but it's overused. So I won't. Maybe think Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, or later seasons of most ST series.
I do think you could successfully argue the other—that this is a wholesome feel-good SF book with an action novel at its core, but I don't want to.
And there's plenty of humor, too. Not Red Dwarf, Hitchhiker's Guide, or Epic Failure levels of humor. But, you'll smile enough.
THE ACTION SCENES
Speaking of the action/battle/combat scenes—whatever you want to call them. Boy howdy, these are about as far from cozy as you could want/ask for. "About" being an important word. Holcombe isn't Pierce Brown or Joe Abercrombie (sorry, I'm blanking on SF authors at the moment).
Obviously, there's some decent action in his Gam-Gam books, but those aren't the same kind of thing. But we do know that Holcombe is capable of them. What we get here is barely even the same species.
This is true throughout—but especially in the last two climactic battles. I'm trying to be vague here, you'll need to read the book to really get what I'm saying here. There's one battle that most of the Bounty Inc. team is in, and there's another. Both are vastly important and both are on different scales—seeing them back to back is a real treat and showcase for Holcombe. Both go on for far longer than I expected—an observation, not a complaint—and keep the tension going throughout. Almost every time you think you know how things are going to play out, you will find yourself wrong, and will be pleased.
These scenes are a great way to reveal character, to help us understand things that were hinted at (or more) in a very clear way. You can easily see why some of these hunters were successful on their own. You get a really good idea of how they can work together. At the same time, you get to enjoy some really kick-ass fight scenes filled with cool SF tech.
Holcombe shows off a whole new side of his skills here, and you'll be left waiting for more examples of it.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BOUNTY INC.?
This reads like someone who watched the bounty hunter scene in The Empire Strikes Back and never got over it. Wyn himself says at least once "Bounty Hunters are cool." Please note, that I have yet to fully get over that scene myself, so there's no shade there. I had most of the action figures, too.
And yes, Bounty Hunters are cool—particularly the fictional ones. It's hard not to have a fun time reading (or probably writing) this kind of thing.
While reading the book, I said something online about Holcombe fans becoming bigger fans by the 20% mark (if not earlier) of this book. The next 20% of this book was better yet. And the rest? Dude.
Is the big romantic arc entirely predictable? Yes. Is it effective, sweet, and wholly satisfying? Yup. Will you get gut-punched by what happens to some of these characters? Yup. (I didn't say it was cozy, I said it had that heart, bad things happen). Will you cheer at parts of the action? Yes. Will you be dismayed by some of the twists? Yup. Will you want this pretty long book to be longer? YUP. Will you think about camping out in Holcombe's backyard until the next book is ready? I sure think so (I gave him enough warning that there's likely a protection order in place, so I won't).
For all the good things I've said above, I don't think I've done a good job of articulating the strengths of this book. I think I've captured my enthusiasm, but not the particulars. Which rankles me—but without breaking down key scenes or something, I don't think I can. There are solid, solid reasons to be enthusiastic about this book on a micro-level as well as on a macro-level, or even just vibes.
I don't doubt that this is going to end up as one of my favorite reads of the year. Get your hands on this.
---
WHAT'S BOUNTY INC. ABOUT?
Wyn Kelda was raised in a privileged way, by a super-wealthy father to be part of his family's business. And then when his father died, he threw that all away. He sold the company and used the proceeds to start a new venture. The galaxy's first conglomerate of bounty hunters. He wants to take as many of the lone-wolves he can and turn them into a team—a team that can act independently as they desire, or can pool their abilities for other jobs.
There are some things standing in his way—beyond the idea, he doesn't really know how to pull this off. He's also so green at this kind of thing that Kermit would say, "As not-easy as it is for me being green, you're helpless."* He also wants to be in the field, not just the CEO. So he needs to be trained.
He recruits an experienced hunter to help him on both fronts—who takes the job for an easy check, believing this a doomed endeavor. But her presence helps recruit some great hunters, and his naiveté gets them some...interesting choices with promise.
* That was a much-zippier sentence in my head.
And well, the rest of the book traces the company over its first (only?) year of operation. His initial investment can only carry them for so long. Can they turn a profit? Can they form a team? Do they actually want to? Will they get an excuse to fire off the slag cannon they con Wyn into buying? These questions and more will be answered in Bounty Inc.
THE VARIOUS AND SUNDRY ALIEN SPECIES
One of the areas that comics and (especially) short stories/novels have been superior to TV/Film is that the latter are usually restricted to humanoid appearing aliens, and the former aren't. Holcombe takes advantage of this—while keeping plenty of humanoids around. He also plays with scale of beings, too. Yes, most of the group are humanoid-ish, but they all present in different ways.
Wyn is a human—and was raised in an almost total human environment, so other species are things he's aware of, but he only has the most surface-level understanding of them. This makes him the perfect POV character for most of the book—as he encounters species for the first time, we can react to and understand these representatives through him encountering them in a non-theoretical way. When he's freaked out—we know we should be (and probably would be in person), when he's agog, we get the signal to be, too.
This works so much better in this context than someone meeting "just another X" and then having to info dump for the reader about X. Not that can't be done well (and isn't all the time), but for this story, Wyn's reactions really enable us to understand him and the people we're going to encounter in the series.
This goes beyond appearances, I should stress. These species are really diverse, with individual cultures, governments, and traditions. Most of the assembled team understand each other (particularly those with shared histories), but there's still a bit of foreignness to everyone. A coming together understanding that everyone's a little strange. Even the two humans have different-enough experiences that they're foreign to each other (and not just because of the student-mentor relationship).
This isn't (as is often the case), Character A is a representative of Species B, and all of B are pretty much the same as Character A—that's true to a degree for some of these characters, but some of these are outliers—even outcasts. I love this particular kind of troupe—in SF, in Fantasy, even in Urban Fantasy.
THE TONE
This book has two tones at its core—two that some people would tackle in a way to make the book feel disjointed, but Holcombe's better than that. This book is a space opera/SF adventure. With intrigue, action, strangeness, betrayal, and more. It's what you expect from this kind of book—and it delivers that well.
However, this is Adam Holcombe, who is best known (at least today) for his Gam-Gam series, which is a wholesome, found family, cozy-ish, feel-good fantasy series. And that's what this book is at its core—Wyn is looking for a family, while also wanting be an action hero amongst action heroes. This business venture is simply the best way he knows to get it. You can tell that from the start (even if he doesn't know it)—and that earnest spirit reaches every corner of the book, for good or ill (I only include the "or ill" to be thorough, and because some won't want it in this story). Firefly springs to mind as a good example of this kind of vibe, but it's overused. So I won't. Maybe think Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, or later seasons of most ST series.
I do think you could successfully argue the other—that this is a wholesome feel-good SF book with an action novel at its core, but I don't want to.
And there's plenty of humor, too. Not Red Dwarf, Hitchhiker's Guide, or Epic Failure levels of humor. But, you'll smile enough.
THE ACTION SCENES
Speaking of the action/battle/combat scenes—whatever you want to call them. Boy howdy, these are about as far from cozy as you could want/ask for. "About" being an important word. Holcombe isn't Pierce Brown or Joe Abercrombie (sorry, I'm blanking on SF authors at the moment).
Obviously, there's some decent action in his Gam-Gam books, but those aren't the same kind of thing. But we do know that Holcombe is capable of them. What we get here is barely even the same species.
This is true throughout—but especially in the last two climactic battles. I'm trying to be vague here, you'll need to read the book to really get what I'm saying here. There's one battle that most of the Bounty Inc. team is in, and there's another. Both are vastly important and both are on different scales—seeing them back to back is a real treat and showcase for Holcombe. Both go on for far longer than I expected—an observation, not a complaint—and keep the tension going throughout. Almost every time you think you know how things are going to play out, you will find yourself wrong, and will be pleased.
These scenes are a great way to reveal character, to help us understand things that were hinted at (or more) in a very clear way. You can easily see why some of these hunters were successful on their own. You get a really good idea of how they can work together. At the same time, you get to enjoy some really kick-ass fight scenes filled with cool SF tech.
Holcombe shows off a whole new side of his skills here, and you'll be left waiting for more examples of it.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BOUNTY INC.?
This reads like someone who watched the bounty hunter scene in The Empire Strikes Back and never got over it. Wyn himself says at least once "Bounty Hunters are cool." Please note, that I have yet to fully get over that scene myself, so there's no shade there. I had most of the action figures, too.
And yes, Bounty Hunters are cool—particularly the fictional ones. It's hard not to have a fun time reading (or probably writing) this kind of thing.
While reading the book, I said something online about Holcombe fans becoming bigger fans by the 20% mark (if not earlier) of this book. The next 20% of this book was better yet. And the rest? Dude.
Is the big romantic arc entirely predictable? Yes. Is it effective, sweet, and wholly satisfying? Yup. Will you get gut-punched by what happens to some of these characters? Yup. (I didn't say it was cozy, I said it had that heart, bad things happen). Will you cheer at parts of the action? Yes. Will you be dismayed by some of the twists? Yup. Will you want this pretty long book to be longer? YUP. Will you think about camping out in Holcombe's backyard until the next book is ready? I sure think so (I gave him enough warning that there's likely a protection order in place, so I won't).
For all the good things I've said above, I don't think I've done a good job of articulating the strengths of this book. I think I've captured my enthusiasm, but not the particulars. Which rankles me—but without breaking down key scenes or something, I don't think I can. There are solid, solid reasons to be enthusiastic about this book on a micro-level as well as on a macro-level, or even just vibes.
I don't doubt that this is going to end up as one of my favorite reads of the year. Get your hands on this.
December 29, 2025
I have read other books by Adam and enjoyed them greatly. This was something new and he excelled at it.
Bounty Inc. Is just an enjoyable story of intergalactic bounty hunters. It is awesome. You should read it.
Bounty Inc. Is just an enjoyable story of intergalactic bounty hunters. It is awesome. You should read it.
August 5, 2025
A love letter to Boba Fett and the Star Wars universe whilst being its own distinct thing, this has a cozy charm to it that allows it to really shine. Boba Fett is one of the most iconic side characters of any franchise and it is obvious that Adam Holcombe grey up with a love of the character. The whole premise of the book is summed up in an early line about why to go in to business as a bounty hunter? - 'because they are cool'. And I can't help but imagine many youths if placed into a world like the one here and given unlimited wealth might come to the same conclusion, particularly with the earnest charm of Wyn, the MC.
Beyond the undeniably cool tech and weaponry, this story is mostly a found family type affair. The central story line is Wyn inherits a lot of money and uses it to found an agency for bounty hunters. These bounty hunters then need to build a reputation for the company and take on increasingly wild and dangerous bounties. It is the interactions and bonds of the bounty hunters that are recruited in to the agency that forms the beating heart of the story, and much like Mr Holcombe's earlier Gam Gam books there is a whole lot of heart to this.
The story is written with an energetic and breathless prose that reflects the love of the topic being presented. This gives the story an undeniable warmth that helps center it on the more familial aspects of the plot. The action sequences are suitably intense, and the plot builds to an impressive climax, even if the pacing is a bit uneven in places - there are definitely some slower sections and it takes a while for the story to truly get going. There is also an impressive creativity to the world building here, with unique and distinctive races with well defined characteristics. The character building is mostly exemplary - each character feels unique and their motives properly defined. I do wish the MC was a bit more rational though - he wants to run a bounty hunting organisation but is somewhat of a meek character, particularly when surrounded by some somewhat ruthless other characters. It seems a strange choice for him, but at the same time helps drive some of the pathos of the story. It does jar the feel of the plot at times for me though.
This was a fun and interesting first full length novel. The love of the topic shines through and there is a sweet charm to the writing that cannot help but be endearing to the reader.
Beyond the undeniably cool tech and weaponry, this story is mostly a found family type affair. The central story line is Wyn inherits a lot of money and uses it to found an agency for bounty hunters. These bounty hunters then need to build a reputation for the company and take on increasingly wild and dangerous bounties. It is the interactions and bonds of the bounty hunters that are recruited in to the agency that forms the beating heart of the story, and much like Mr Holcombe's earlier Gam Gam books there is a whole lot of heart to this.
The story is written with an energetic and breathless prose that reflects the love of the topic being presented. This gives the story an undeniable warmth that helps center it on the more familial aspects of the plot. The action sequences are suitably intense, and the plot builds to an impressive climax, even if the pacing is a bit uneven in places - there are definitely some slower sections and it takes a while for the story to truly get going. There is also an impressive creativity to the world building here, with unique and distinctive races with well defined characteristics. The character building is mostly exemplary - each character feels unique and their motives properly defined. I do wish the MC was a bit more rational though - he wants to run a bounty hunting organisation but is somewhat of a meek character, particularly when surrounded by some somewhat ruthless other characters. It seems a strange choice for him, but at the same time helps drive some of the pathos of the story. It does jar the feel of the plot at times for me though.
This was a fun and interesting first full length novel. The love of the topic shines through and there is a sweet charm to the writing that cannot help but be endearing to the reader.
July 20, 2025
Bounty Inc by Adam Holcombe is a cosy-dark sci-fi with humour, murder, found family, and plenty of adventure.
The setup pulled me in right away: a kid raised in a luxury cage finally gets access to his inheritance, and instead of following the expected path and becoming a ruthless business tycoon, he runs off to start a bounty hunting company. It's the kind of chaotic idea that shouldn’t work, but does, and it gives the book a strong “start from scratch and build your own thing” vibe that I really liked.
Of course, bounty hunters aren’t exactly team players, so finding people willing to join his dream is harder than expected. But eventually we end up with a ragtag crew of very different characters who somehow make it work. The friendships, group dynamics, and general chaos of learning to trust each other are definitely one of the book’s strongest points. The banter feels natural, and watching the team slowly become something more than just coworkers was really satisfying.
There is a bit of a romance subplot, but it never takes over the story. I actually didn't mind it, which says a lot, since I’m usually the first to roll my eyes when a romance pops up. It was sweet, it made sense for the characters, and most importantly, it stayed in the background while the story focused on everything else.
Tone-wise, this book balances light and dark really well. It’s fun and easy to read, with plenty of jokes, found family moments, and space adventure, but it also doesn’t shy away from darker or more emotional scenes. The life of a bounty hunter isn’t exactly peaceful, and there are a few traumatic backstories and heavier moments mixed in. So while I’d still call it a comfort read, it’s one with teeth. If you're very sensitive to certain topics, it might be worth checking for content warnings just in case.
I also really liked the variety of species and characters in this world. There’s a good mix of tech-enhanced cyborgs, hive-mind insect types, shapeshifters, and people with different kinds of magical "talents." It adds texture without overwhelming the story. You get the sense that the universe is big and diverse, but you’re not hit with endless pages of lore, just enough to keep things interesting.
Oh, and not to forget the illustrations, they add the little extra!
All in all, Bounty Inc was a fun, surprisingly heartfelt but sharp space adventure about building something of your own, finding your people, and figuring things out along the way.
Expect banter, bounty hunting, found family, and a touch of heartache, but in the best way.
The setup pulled me in right away: a kid raised in a luxury cage finally gets access to his inheritance, and instead of following the expected path and becoming a ruthless business tycoon, he runs off to start a bounty hunting company. It's the kind of chaotic idea that shouldn’t work, but does, and it gives the book a strong “start from scratch and build your own thing” vibe that I really liked.
Of course, bounty hunters aren’t exactly team players, so finding people willing to join his dream is harder than expected. But eventually we end up with a ragtag crew of very different characters who somehow make it work. The friendships, group dynamics, and general chaos of learning to trust each other are definitely one of the book’s strongest points. The banter feels natural, and watching the team slowly become something more than just coworkers was really satisfying.
There is a bit of a romance subplot, but it never takes over the story. I actually didn't mind it, which says a lot, since I’m usually the first to roll my eyes when a romance pops up. It was sweet, it made sense for the characters, and most importantly, it stayed in the background while the story focused on everything else.
Tone-wise, this book balances light and dark really well. It’s fun and easy to read, with plenty of jokes, found family moments, and space adventure, but it also doesn’t shy away from darker or more emotional scenes. The life of a bounty hunter isn’t exactly peaceful, and there are a few traumatic backstories and heavier moments mixed in. So while I’d still call it a comfort read, it’s one with teeth. If you're very sensitive to certain topics, it might be worth checking for content warnings just in case.
I also really liked the variety of species and characters in this world. There’s a good mix of tech-enhanced cyborgs, hive-mind insect types, shapeshifters, and people with different kinds of magical "talents." It adds texture without overwhelming the story. You get the sense that the universe is big and diverse, but you’re not hit with endless pages of lore, just enough to keep things interesting.
Oh, and not to forget the illustrations, they add the little extra!
All in all, Bounty Inc was a fun, surprisingly heartfelt but sharp space adventure about building something of your own, finding your people, and figuring things out along the way.
Expect banter, bounty hunting, found family, and a touch of heartache, but in the best way.
September 11, 2025
Why I picked this up: I read and enjoyed Adam’s previous series A Necromancer Called Gam Gam, so I preordered and picked up an ARC of Bounty Inc. The genre shift was intriguing, but I went in with all faith in the author—I’d seen snippets of his sense of humour in his social media posts so I knew he could do it.
Full disclosure: I approached Adam for some cross-promotion as our books were releasing within 2 days of each other. I tried to keep my review as unbiased as possible.
Genre: Space opera, humorous sci-fi, scifantasy.
Tone: Fun
Plot: Legends and Lattes x Guardians of the Galaxy. It has the cosy elements of starting a new business, but that business is bounty hunting. After the startup phase, the book is split into bounties, which feel episodic in nature, but the story elements all come together in the end.
Pacing: Mixed. There was a recruitment chapter that had repetitive elements that I felt dragged a little, and some of the action scenes had so much action that I started to become desensitised. That might just be a “me” problem as I have a preference for shorter books.
Prose: 3rd person multi-POV. Modern, easy to read, humorous, vulgar at times, and with believable dialogue. Awesome.
World: Science and magic with tons of alien species and unique locations. I can see the Star Wars influence, but Adam has created a universe of his own, and I love it.
Characters: Guardians of the Galaxy vibes. A rag-tag team of unhinged individuals which all have their unique quirks. A found family, a cute blossoming romance; their interactions with each other and how they operate are a large part of what makes this book awesome.
Conflict: I can’t really say much without spoilers, but the first 60-70% of the book has the low-stakes feel of a cosy fantasy, where most of the overarching stakes are that of a startup business. Then there’s the episodic stakes of succeeding and surviving a mission. Once the story gets going there’s tons of action.
Overall enjoyment: It’s great. Adam has tried something new and has succeeded. I’m looking forward to reading more—whether it’s Gam Gam or Bounty Inc.—Adam has become an auto-buy author for me.
Full disclosure: I approached Adam for some cross-promotion as our books were releasing within 2 days of each other. I tried to keep my review as unbiased as possible.
Genre: Space opera, humorous sci-fi, scifantasy.
Tone: Fun
Plot: Legends and Lattes x Guardians of the Galaxy. It has the cosy elements of starting a new business, but that business is bounty hunting. After the startup phase, the book is split into bounties, which feel episodic in nature, but the story elements all come together in the end.
Pacing: Mixed. There was a recruitment chapter that had repetitive elements that I felt dragged a little, and some of the action scenes had so much action that I started to become desensitised. That might just be a “me” problem as I have a preference for shorter books.
Prose: 3rd person multi-POV. Modern, easy to read, humorous, vulgar at times, and with believable dialogue. Awesome.
World: Science and magic with tons of alien species and unique locations. I can see the Star Wars influence, but Adam has created a universe of his own, and I love it.
Characters: Guardians of the Galaxy vibes. A rag-tag team of unhinged individuals which all have their unique quirks. A found family, a cute blossoming romance; their interactions with each other and how they operate are a large part of what makes this book awesome.
Conflict: I can’t really say much without spoilers, but the first 60-70% of the book has the low-stakes feel of a cosy fantasy, where most of the overarching stakes are that of a startup business. Then there’s the episodic stakes of succeeding and surviving a mission. Once the story gets going there’s tons of action.
Overall enjoyment: It’s great. Adam has tried something new and has succeeded. I’m looking forward to reading more—whether it’s Gam Gam or Bounty Inc.—Adam has become an auto-buy author for me.
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