They Said it would be Easy

April #7

by Mackey Chandler

The nation of Home seems to be safe beyond the moon, but life is hardly certain. Earth still is a huge influence and far too big for Home to affect to any degree. The Earthies have their own problems and Home can't be of much help. Sometimes when your neighbors are crazy and bent on ruin all you can do is watch in horror and protect yourself. Life goes on and things do get easier as adjustments are made. Of course when things return to normal not all those adjustments will just go away. April and her partners Jeff and Heather support Home, but not with a blank check. A lot of Earthies want to join them, but growth in business and actual places to put them can only happen so fast. Even in interesting times life goes on. People still get married, go to work, and want to have a good time.
It is suggested if you haven't read the earlier April series books the characters and events in the seventh book of the series will be much richer and meaningful if you read the others as a base first.

Genres: Science Fiction, Amazon, Space Opera

383 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 2016

About the author

Mackey (Mac') Chandler is retired to Rochester Michigan from a working life that spanned a large number of occupations. Mold maker, aerospace machinist, plumber, mechanic and dozen more as well as owning several businesses. This life experience and travel show in the depth and variety of his writing.
A life long time reader of Science Fiction, the authors at Baen's Bar and their evening chat room motivated him to try his own hand at writing. His first effort was a short story titled "Common Ground" which sold to the short-lived Jim Baen's Universe.
His personal favorite book is "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Other favorite authors include Michael Z. Williamson and C.J.Cherryh.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really enjoyable read.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too much differencce from the previous entries. They still have spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes scattered throughout the book and the pacing and style are very much in line with Mackey Chandler's earlier books.

Story-wise we have the residents of Home dealing with the aftermath of the influenza pandemic which has affected not just their ability to acquire foodstuffs and good, but now is having the unanticipated effect of driving many to seek residency within Home's orbital. I think the author could have played up the Life Support element here much more than he did, though the usage of bed spaces was an interesting approach to looking at their burgeoning population problem. The device they utilise to scan for infected individuals does smack of "Magical Medical McGuffin", but mcguffin status could just as easily be attached to any of Jeff Singh's inventions to be honest.

The USNA's story arc also rears its head again like a punch-drunk fighter with the nation falling even further into chaos as the nation slowly tears itself apart bewteen different factions. I imagine this would have more impact to a US native reader than a European such as myself and would most likely provide a stronger gut-punch sensation of the major nations falling apart.

The difficulties of the crew on the ice ball retrieval mission are probably one of my favourite parts in this installment but this does leave me with the feeling that in many ways it could have been a good stand-alone book going into further depth on how Barak, Alice and Deloris coped during their stressful return voyage.

All told, it's much the same as previous entries. If you've enjoyed the April series up until now then you will undoubtedly enjoy this one too.

[Patiscynical · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was fine, the formatting, not so much

I like to read in bed, but I set my kindle for white text on a black background, and turn the light down very low to avoid disturbing my husband. In this book, at those settings, a lot of the text appears gray. It's distracting.
The story itself is fine. I think it's maybe the seventh book in the series. I've never read a series longer than four books before, so you can tell I'm enjoying it. If you've gotten this far, you already know that this series is set on a habitat in space, and the inhabitants just want their independence from Earth. April, a young, gene modified female, is the main character.
Results: while I have enjoyed reading these books, I don't think they would win a hugo. That's why I only have it three stars. It's still a good read. No explicit sex or violence.

[Donal Kempton]

Oh Dear!!

This series is great fun and very enjoyable, despite the heavy U.S. libertarian bias.
But this one Oh dear!I
Firstly whiskey is distilled beer, you just can't make it from raw ethanol and charcoal.
Secondly, Australian banknotes are polymer not paper, they just don't wear the way the author, in their ignorance, decrees. Also there isnt a $1 or $2 banknote any more, they are coins. The idea of making up 'bits' using tamper seals and business cards is just a bad, very ignorant, joke.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. Normally, I'm not one for the whole political intrigue thing, but this series incorporates it so smoothly, it's just part of the story, and not something used specifically for creating tension, though there's plenty of that created from the political machinations. Still, the story is so well designed, it's almost as if you're reading a history instead of a story. I like it, and am on my way to pick up the next book right now. Great stuff here folks.

[Aalabamadill · Rating 5 out of 5]

But it never is!

Entertaining and light, enjoy the world and the characters. Really better to start at the beginning of this series. This one and the previous book surprised me because they were both written several years ago. And the focus on pandemic and flu seemed ....hmmm...timely!?
Actually I was reading for the distraction, and even with the topic of the day included this managed to distract me. Love the series, and this was a good episode.

[Wilbur G. Lloyd, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Formatting sucks

The new formatting sucks. Changing colors of huge chunks of text makes reading the story harder. Why in he'll it was done is impossible to make sense of. I just skipped that whole section and don't think I missed anything important. Maybe that is why the first chapter is like that and parts of the rest of the story but I hope he doesn't do it again. That is why I gave it only 3 stars instead of 4-5.

[Jasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is just to correct another review that said you can't make whiskey using straight alcohol and oak chips. That's the way it's been done in Saudi Arabia for years. It may not be great but it is cheap and it works just fine (and the book didn't say it was great either!)

OK, rant over. I'm really enjoying this series - I've been close to mainlining them since I read the first one.

Jasper

[Jerry D Skelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

April series is a ride well woven

I really like Mackey Chandler, I've read all his books after first reading this series. I like growing with his characters. His chronology brings you along with an eye to allow development in step with their age, at that time, to show who they are. Its definitely over the shoulder observation, with some telepathic leakage to keep you informed as a reader.

[M.A.SPRIGGS · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read

Another excellent book in this imaginative series. This one focuses on the main characters of April, Heather and Jeff as well as other characters and how their relationships are progressing. Lots of focus on economic developments and how Home and Central change to survive. Highly recommend.

[Linda Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mackey Chandler is a gem!!

His writing style is so unique. Storyline and characterization is brilliant! No, I'm not a relative. Heh. I've just read one after another of his books. I can't seem to get enough. Mackey, write faster!!!

[Thomas Merrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series.

This story continues with the earth governments failure to understand the resolve of Home. Some of the subplots are resolved and the editing is better.

[joseph w clouser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Onward

To book 8. This is a truly well written (if you ignore the few grammatical errors ) series. I choose to because the story is that good.

[Patrick Cronan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, editing could have been more competent

Like all books by this author it is enjoyable, although poorly edited. This is the third time I’ve read this book.

[Jimmy Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one!

Good characters, good action. The rest of it is about the same as the others. A continuous thing is how disfunctional our government is.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

See the revenue by Alex. He sums it up nicely

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

You've got to wonder which of USNA factions is going to "Make America Great Again" give it another 50 years and Mac will be seen as nostradamus.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Terry Gero · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, most of my notes left are ? marks where editing needs done and I am tired of wasting time doing it in these Chandler books. Second, he's getting off the main characters too much for me. But it was okay. I like alot of the witty comments he comes up with for the main characters. April and Jeff remind me of Jon Hunter in the Hunters Legacy books. On to the next book.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earthies Are Nuts

This is the seventh book in a continuing series, and you need to read the preceding books to understand this one. The narrative comes to a natural break at the end, but the story definitely continues in future books. There is also another series that is set in the future, Family Law, that shares some of the characters. The reading order across these two series is given in this post.

Life is getting a bit more comfortable on Home, time has allowed them to work with Heather on Central to get some fresh foods grown in their hydroponics corridors. Poor Heather is still stuck out at Central governing her people and is even forced to rule over Court once a week. She never gets a break.

Though Home is slightly more comfortable there are still a lot of shortages and coffee is practically worth its weight in gold. Beef is very very scarce, but some things like fish are coming up from Papa-San’s old yacht, which is being used to smuggle things up and down from Earth because of Jeff’s lander being able to land and launch from the water.

There’s a lot about economics in this book because Jeff and April are focused on getting their bank properly viable. They sit and watch USNA fall apart at the seams and try to work out what is going to happen next. April gets angry at the damage the North Americans inflict on each other, but Jeff has a calmer head. They are a good influence on each other. April teaches Jeff compassion and emotional intelligence and Jeff helps April think logically through problems that make her emotionally react. They continue to grow wiser together.

There are finite resources on Home, however, Earth is so awful everyone wants to move there. Overcrowding isn’t much fun for anyone and the Home inhabitants have to think creatively.

Once more I was swept along with an enjoyable and entertaining book, with just the right amount of intellect-prodding to keep me thinking too. I’m so sad I’m getting closer to the end of things!

[Jeff Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book that almost doesn't read like SF but more like a primer for establishing a society that actually works. Chandler has a way of laying out alternative strategies for living and making them interesting enough that you don't really care if somebody's getting shot or stabbed or whatever... the ideas are laid out in easily understood prose that makes you stop and go, "Huh... ya know, it would actually be pretty nice if it worked that way!" or "Holy crap, how can they function without grinding to a halt!?" If you want a basic primer on how economic societies rise and fall, pick up a copy of The Middle of Nowhere (April Series Book 3) and prepare to be entertained as well as educated. In fact, pick them all up. I'll buy anything this guy writes and I hope he goes on forever.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like these stories and have been tempted to give 4 stars on several occasions but never have. There have always been several minor reasons that have frustrated me, such as the number of story lines that have just come and gone and have never really been resolved. The number of characters that are introduced and then just forgotten. But the thing that has irritated me most is that the series started as a Space Opera, but now it is really a Soap Opera. I could live with this except, like most soap operas there are too many characters and we only skim their individual stories.

It was Alice that first got me interested me in the series but to be honest we haven’t seen anything new since the first couple of books, maybe the author has regretted starting the series with her as his main character.

[Aleea J. Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What?, it stopped there!

Yes, only four stars. This book just stopped. We are left with way too many storylines (no spoilers) with too many people up in the air (pardon the pun). I'm fairly sure we have eight or nine for the next book to pick up. I don't have a problem with continuation, but with so much just hanging, I can't imagine book 8 will come very soon. Hopefully it will be out before Christmas.

[John Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

If you liked the previous books you will like this one too. I wish I hadn't read the snippets as I felt like I had already read this book. Not a whole lot actually happens in my opinion but it is still entertaining.

[Lynne Drummond-Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good work

I have enjoyed this entire series. I find the dialogue refreshing and well paced. I also appreciate not being distracted from a good story by poor or nonexistent editing. Good job.

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series, but this is a book in which nothing happens. I reads like a travelogue from the living room. There is no character development, no real conflict, no drama. I have a hard time seeing why Mac bothered to write it let alone me bothering to read it.