What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sufficient Loss Protocol
When an alien entity sneaks aboard a corporate spaceship, with no motive besides sabotaging the mission and murdering those aboard, commander Uzoma Ifiok launches an investigation—despite knowing that the real danger isn't the one picking off her crew.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
29 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2022
5 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Kemi Ashing-Giwa
21 books264 followersKemi Ashing-Giwa is an author and scientist-in-training based in Palo Alto. Her work includes the USA Today bestselling, Compton Crook Award-winning novel The Splinter in the Sky, the novella This World Is Not Yours, and the forthcoming novel The King Must Die. Her short fiction, which has been nominated for an Ignyte Award and featured on the Locus Recommended Reading List, has been reprinted in collections including Some of the Best from Tor.com: 15th Anniversary Edition and The Year’s Top Tales of Space and Time. She is now pursuing a PhD in the Earth & Planetary Sciences department at Stanford.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
August 24, 2023
I was told this was evil and bloody but in a fun way. So how could I resist?!
We're on board of The Preserver that had been sent to kill unruly colonists. Not that anybody cares, certainly not the ship's commander. In this universe, where Earth is uninhabitable after the "Envirofall", profits are everything and corporations - aka clanomies - rule (even more so than here and now).
One day soon after, The Preserver is sent to a newly discovered exo-planet that can sustain human life (a potential new homeworld for humanity). Along the way, however, the commander is rudely awakened when there is something aboard the ship and killing the crew off one by one.
Like my friend Cathy already said in her review: this was bloody and evil but in a fun way! The protocol mentioned in the title and the role it plays in the story was almost hilarious. Best of all: there was sufficient BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! I mean, who doesn't like exploding bodies?! In space! :D
I especially liked when . *evil cackle*
You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/02/the-su...
We're on board of The Preserver that had been sent to kill unruly colonists. Not that anybody cares, certainly not the ship's commander. In this universe, where Earth is uninhabitable after the "Envirofall", profits are everything and corporations - aka clanomies - rule (even more so than here and now).
One day soon after, The Preserver is sent to a newly discovered exo-planet that can sustain human life (a potential new homeworld for humanity). Along the way, however, the commander is rudely awakened when there is something aboard the ship and killing the crew off one by one.
Like my friend Cathy already said in her review: this was bloody and evil but in a fun way! The protocol mentioned in the title and the role it plays in the story was almost hilarious. Best of all: there was sufficient BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! I mean, who doesn't like exploding bodies?! In space! :D
I especially liked when . *evil cackle*
You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/02/the-su...
November 15, 2022
I didn’t like killing the labor. It felt dishonorably easy. Not that I liked challenges. But murdering a bunch of civilians—even ones stupid enough not to carefully read through their contracts—hardly gave me a sense of accomplishment. If I had to be far away from home, I’d much rather sneak into a rival clanomy’s territory and blow up a couple dreadnoughts. Or even fight one of those Independent Settler cooperatives over some raw planet.
The AI’s voice piped up from an array of concealed speakers. “Bioscanners now report that all biological assets on the asteroid have ceased to function,” it announced, with its gentle, genderless cadence.
“Finally.”
I was torn on the rating for this one - I really like the concept, and the main character had interesting depths despite her outwardly casual cut-throat loyalty to capitalism. But I had a couple of quibbles with the logic , and this almost felt like a beginning to a story rather than a story in itself. I'd absolutely read this expanded to long form.
Still an interesting story from an author who's been playing with some cool ideas recently. Find it on Tor here: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/02/the-su...
The AI’s voice piped up from an array of concealed speakers. “Bioscanners now report that all biological assets on the asteroid have ceased to function,” it announced, with its gentle, genderless cadence.
“Finally.”
I was torn on the rating for this one - I really like the concept, and the main character had interesting depths despite her outwardly casual cut-throat loyalty to capitalism. But I had a couple of quibbles with the logic , and this almost felt like a beginning to a story rather than a story in itself. I'd absolutely read this expanded to long form.
Still an interesting story from an author who's been playing with some cool ideas recently. Find it on Tor here: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/02/the-su...
August 23, 2023
Briefly into this story the first thing I though of: Mirror Trek. A ship‘s commander is sent to kill off some revolting colonist and doesn‘t really care. The best part of their day: returning to their apartment and to their synth-silk clad bed. I can relate, minus the synth-silk and the mass murder. And that‘s just the set-up of this 29-pages long story.
Wow, cold commander, very cynical… malfunctioning cryobeds, exploding bodies, my my… Something is on the ship… anybody else thinking Alien? Well, not really, but the imagery was there.
Here is the first paragraph…
“When an alien entity sneaks aboard a corporate spaceship, with no motive besides sabotaging the mission and murdering those aboard, commander Uzoma Ifiok launches an investigation—despite knowing that the real danger isn’t the one picking off her crew.“
Fun! Evil and bloody, but fun… and yes, corporations are evil, too…
For free here: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/02/the-su...
“The Sufficient Loss Protocol” copyright © 2022 by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Also read by the author, both with 5-star ratings:
The Puppetmaster | My GR review
Fruiting Bodies | My GR review | Loved this one! Zombie ant fungi!
I like how this author thinks!
Wow, cold commander, very cynical… malfunctioning cryobeds, exploding bodies, my my… Something is on the ship… anybody else thinking Alien? Well, not really, but the imagery was there.
Here is the first paragraph…
“When an alien entity sneaks aboard a corporate spaceship, with no motive besides sabotaging the mission and murdering those aboard, commander Uzoma Ifiok launches an investigation—despite knowing that the real danger isn’t the one picking off her crew.“
Fun! Evil and bloody, but fun… and yes, corporations are evil, too…
For free here: https://www.tor.com/2022/11/02/the-su...
“The Sufficient Loss Protocol” copyright © 2022 by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Also read by the author, both with 5-star ratings:
The Puppetmaster | My GR review
Fruiting Bodies | My GR review | Loved this one! Zombie ant fungi!
I like how this author thinks!
January 24, 2023
Mir gefällt vor allem der Aufbau der Geschichte und wie trotz der Kürze viele Informationen und Ideen transportiert wurden.
November 11, 2022
Ooh I really liked this disturbing short story. Don't read the description! It gives too much away.
"The Sufficient Loss Protocol" follows Ifiok, a captain in the employ of the Conglomerate, an affiliation which ostensibly unites a bunch of corporate bodies but within which they fight - violently - for the opportunity to exploit planets and asteroids. The reader is put in Ifiok's first person perspective, which is an uncomfortable one to occupy given the casual way Ifiok describes having murdered large groups of civilians. There's a lot packed into this short story - believable world-building, the makings of a compelling ... protagonist?, and a substantial plot. My only gripe would be that I think it might've needed a bit more room to breathe. If Kemi Ashing-Giwa ever decides to write a novella or novel set in this universe, I will 100% pick it up - I hope she does.
Content warnings: blood, gore, body horror, violence, murder, death, injury detail, colonization
"The Sufficient Loss Protocol" follows Ifiok, a captain in the employ of the Conglomerate, an affiliation which ostensibly unites a bunch of corporate bodies but within which they fight - violently - for the opportunity to exploit planets and asteroids. The reader is put in Ifiok's first person perspective, which is an uncomfortable one to occupy given the casual way Ifiok describes having murdered large groups of civilians. There's a lot packed into this short story - believable world-building, the makings of a compelling ... protagonist?, and a substantial plot. My only gripe would be that I think it might've needed a bit more room to breathe. If Kemi Ashing-Giwa ever decides to write a novella or novel set in this universe, I will 100% pick it up - I hope she does.
Content warnings: blood, gore, body horror, violence, murder, death, injury detail, colonization
January 23, 2023
Warning: this short review is very much a spoiler. Read the story first; it will be worth your time. https://www.tor.com/2022/11/02/the-su...
I was repulsed by the casual way the narrator described the killings of sentient beings. But the author is clever and there’s quite a bit of world-building for a short story.
You’ve read it now, right?
Okay. So, is Uzoma Ifiok the protagonist of the story—narrators usually are—or actually the antagonist? What does that make Huijari Sahtekaar?
In any case, an interesting read. I love a good plot twist. 3.5 stars.
I was repulsed by the casual way the narrator described the killings of sentient beings. But the author is clever and there’s quite a bit of world-building for a short story.
You’ve read it now, right?
Okay. So, is Uzoma Ifiok the protagonist of the story—narrators usually are—or actually the antagonist? What does that make Huijari Sahtekaar?
In any case, an interesting read. I love a good plot twist. 3.5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2022
Very well written story filled with really terrible people. I was rooting for the aliens.
April 13, 2025
A fable about the dynamics of fucking around and the consequential finding out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2025
An alien agent sneaks aboard a cruise liner, killing off the passengers and crew, but the Captain knows the real risk lies outside the ship.
An alien contact story.
An alien contact story.
December 9, 2022
Interesting story about going out and capturing more places / planets for the glory of the company. When things start going downhill during a trip, I had a few suspicions as to where it might be going, but it didn't quite pan out as I had been thinking.
January 5, 2023
4.5 stars
A little confusing, but good!
A little confusing, but good!
February 24, 2024
Read from here, a short story by a new author, published by Tor, who is writing space opera-ish sf. (I had expectations, maybe that was the problem)
On (non literal) paper this short story has ingredients which would be just my thing: concrete far future sf, ships and evil corporations, a psycho operative, aliens, mystery. But it fails (for my appreciation) at different levels.
The plot first, it is big ambitious, old style tv-show like, but also perfectly stupid - depends on a stupid misunderstanding and then a stupid unlikely decision .. This story only happens because characters are stupid, and really hard at that, and they are not actually supposed to be, not with their roles.
The characters were also totally flat, defined as they made appearances, the main character so intentionally "grey" it was eye-rolling.
And then there was the writing, first person past tense, full of adjectives which made no sense to me, and like nobody (not even our very edgy psycho operative) would think of themselves as doing:
"I waved a tired hand at the comms officer at my side" (what, do people actually think of their hands like that, unless it is *tired* because it did something specific?)
I sighed
My fingers drummed over my armrests, impatience pricking at my nerves. (people do not think of what they are doing like that...)
Then, like an insect wriggling out of its chrysalis, I peeled myself out of my black uniform jumpsuit.
I did take the white robe he proffered, wrapping it around my soaking black sleepsuit.
(Why do I need to know the jumpsuit or sleepsuit is black? How relevant is it? Why the insect? This does not make sense to be a character's PoV at all...)
I do not have the tools to express how much I did not like the writing.
In all, story really not to my taste - I might try another of her short stories (published later) in case this was a first work or something.
On (non literal) paper this short story has ingredients which would be just my thing: concrete far future sf, ships and evil corporations, a psycho operative, aliens, mystery. But it fails (for my appreciation) at different levels.
The plot first, it is big ambitious, old style tv-show like, but also perfectly stupid - depends on a stupid misunderstanding and then a stupid unlikely decision .. This story only happens because characters are stupid, and really hard at that, and they are not actually supposed to be, not with their roles.
The characters were also totally flat, defined as they made appearances, the main character so intentionally "grey" it was eye-rolling.
And then there was the writing, first person past tense, full of adjectives which made no sense to me, and like nobody (not even our very edgy psycho operative) would think of themselves as doing:
"I waved a tired hand at the comms officer at my side" (what, do people actually think of their hands like that, unless it is *tired* because it did something specific?)
I sighed
My fingers drummed over my armrests, impatience pricking at my nerves. (people do not think of what they are doing like that...)
Then, like an insect wriggling out of its chrysalis, I peeled myself out of my black uniform jumpsuit.
I did take the white robe he proffered, wrapping it around my soaking black sleepsuit.
(Why do I need to know the jumpsuit or sleepsuit is black? How relevant is it? Why the insect? This does not make sense to be a character's PoV at all...)
I do not have the tools to express how much I did not like the writing.
In all, story really not to my taste - I might try another of her short stories (published later) in case this was a first work or something.
November 18, 2022
Who cares what happens to those pesky civilians as long as there’s money to be made, right?
Uzoma wasn’t someone I’d ever want to cross paths with, but they sure were an interesting protagonist. I was intrigued by their willingness to do anything for money, up to and including being a contract killer as mentioned in one of the earliest scenes. Their reasons for doing this sort of grisly work are best left up to other readers to figure out for themselves, but I kept trying to figure out where this person’s limits were and what might happen if they were pushed past their comfort zone. This was an excellent example of how to write an arrogant and unlikeable but also incredibly memorable character.
I did find myself wishing for more world building. Yes, there are companies in our world who get away with killing people for profit through faulty products and other such things, but the amount of murders mentioned in this short story made me wonder what on Earth – or, rather, in space – the governmental system in this setting was doing while the corporation who hired Uzoma continued to give this character orders that would lead to the deaths of countless innocent people. It would have been helpful to know whether their government was unable or unwilling to step in and how all of those deaths were explained to the general public.
Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored the assumptions we all make about things we’ve done a hundred times before. It’s easy to fall into a pattern and not necessarily pay attention to little things that might be different this time around. I liked the fact that Uzoma stuck to what they knew just like anyone else probably would in their shoes. As terrible as some of their life choices were, it made this character feel more human and relatable.
The Sufficient Loss Protocol was a wild ride.
Uzoma wasn’t someone I’d ever want to cross paths with, but they sure were an interesting protagonist. I was intrigued by their willingness to do anything for money, up to and including being a contract killer as mentioned in one of the earliest scenes. Their reasons for doing this sort of grisly work are best left up to other readers to figure out for themselves, but I kept trying to figure out where this person’s limits were and what might happen if they were pushed past their comfort zone. This was an excellent example of how to write an arrogant and unlikeable but also incredibly memorable character.
I did find myself wishing for more world building. Yes, there are companies in our world who get away with killing people for profit through faulty products and other such things, but the amount of murders mentioned in this short story made me wonder what on Earth – or, rather, in space – the governmental system in this setting was doing while the corporation who hired Uzoma continued to give this character orders that would lead to the deaths of countless innocent people. It would have been helpful to know whether their government was unable or unwilling to step in and how all of those deaths were explained to the general public.
Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored the assumptions we all make about things we’ve done a hundred times before. It’s easy to fall into a pattern and not necessarily pay attention to little things that might be different this time around. I liked the fact that Uzoma stuck to what they knew just like anyone else probably would in their shoes. As terrible as some of their life choices were, it made this character feel more human and relatable.
The Sufficient Loss Protocol was a wild ride.
May 3, 2023
i really enjoyed this! i've never liked space so i've barely consumed any books related to it in any way, so i don't have many to compare this to, but i read one recently that i hated (*cough cough* even if such ways are bad by rich larson *cough cough*) which i compared this to and this one was much more up my alley. space traveling combined with some light horror, what's not to love?
let's start with the writing. it was pretty good, i can't really point out any real flaws. i liked reading about all the cool sci-fi stuff, like the biochemicals and the cryopods and the omnipads and such, it was just so interesting. what really appealed to me were the descriptions of the alien entity, i could picture it vividly in my mind and it was just very cool in all aspects.
also, little tid-bit, i love how much the main character adores her bed.
the story itself was solid enough and kept me interested and continuing to read without being bored.
i really like the moral of the story that this novella has about colonization and fighting it. i felt very happy and satisfied reading about it!
all things considered, this was a pretty good little novella.
let's start with the writing. it was pretty good, i can't really point out any real flaws. i liked reading about all the cool sci-fi stuff, like the biochemicals and the cryopods and the omnipads and such, it was just so interesting. what really appealed to me were the descriptions of the alien entity, i could picture it vividly in my mind and it was just very cool in all aspects.
also, little tid-bit, i love how much the main character adores her bed.
the story itself was solid enough and kept me interested and continuing to read without being bored.
i really like the moral of the story that this novella has about colonization and fighting it. i felt very happy and satisfied reading about it!
all things considered, this was a pretty good little novella.
July 12, 2025
Really a 2.5, between "It was ok" and "I liked it". For a very fast, thirty-page story, it was ok. The plot overall was not that complex, but the characterization of the main character was really well done and 30 pages was about as much of that very well-done unsympathetic character as I could stand. The story was "ok" rather than "I liked it" because I didn't quite believe the setup for the twist at the end. Maybe if there had been more time, more interaction, more meat to the story it would have felt more fleshed out, but as-is it was a good idea that felt like it needed more to support it.
Also for cripes' sakes, this is how old and NO ONE HAS NOTICED OR FIXED the huge-ass typo on the front cover? C'mon....
Also for cripes' sakes, this is how old and NO ONE HAS NOTICED OR FIXED the huge-ass typo on the front cover? C'mon....
February 13, 2026
From my place at the center of The Preserver’s spacious bridge, I watched a world end. The world was—had been—called New Horizons. It’d been a mining colony, meant to coax platinum and gold from the asteroid it squatted upon. But then it had turned out that the initial scans had been dead wrong. Better Suns sent in carriers to transport the colonists and all the tech to a frozen rock that was actually worth something. The colonists had demanded payment for the work they’d completed—digging out quarries, analyzing rock samples, whatever. Better Suns had refused; no profits, no pay. It was all in the contracts. The colonists threatened to revolt.
That might’ve been an acceptable outcome, since there weren’t any Corporation officials to string up. But there was a bunch of extremely expensive mining equipment, and the colonists started to wreck that first. So I had been sent to dispose of the colonists. At the moment, I watched through the colony’s video feed—displayed over the window screen of the bridge—as the inhabitants froze to death.
"The Sufficient Loss Protocol" is a short story involving the murder of all by the forces of capitalism.
February 12, 2026
Writing was bad—vague and redundant, and the sci-fi terms felt misused or poorly named. The character’s are incredibly flat, the mc’s voice is genuinely irritating, the plot only works on the stupidity of the characters, and the end is kind of absurd and requires that the very annoying but intentionally cold, hardened mc w no real regard for life somehow give a stranger the benefit of the doubt and honoring their word… just ridiculous.
Really hated this, but I will be trying one more thing from ashing-giwa before making any decisions. It just feels ridiculous to make a full judgement of a single short story.
Really hated this, but I will be trying one more thing from ashing-giwa before making any decisions. It just feels ridiculous to make a full judgement of a single short story.
November 17, 2022
A short story about an evil interplanetary commercial entity, similar to the company from the Murderbot series and whatever it was in Rosebud - so pick this up if you want more of this type of world. This one features a villany guy who enforces its policies (including mass murder, be prepared).
Pretty much what you would expect with this kind of premise plot-wise, and I liked the writing and the ending.
Pretty much what you would expect with this kind of premise plot-wise, and I liked the writing and the ending.
August 24, 2023
Yes, people are just numbers on a ledger, folks.
This is a nice and bloody tale with absolutely no redeemable characters, but that's fine. Hard-SF corpoclans, ruthless exploitation, and literal cutting of losses.
The trick of the story is to come in with emotionless staccato text, like bullet wounds, and get back out again, bleeding all the while.
It's definitely a mood piece. Get em hot and bloody, folks. Or cold as revenge. Your choice.
This is a nice and bloody tale with absolutely no redeemable characters, but that's fine. Hard-SF corpoclans, ruthless exploitation, and literal cutting of losses.
The trick of the story is to come in with emotionless staccato text, like bullet wounds, and get back out again, bleeding all the while.
It's definitely a mood piece. Get em hot and bloody, folks. Or cold as revenge. Your choice.
May 31, 2023
The Captain of a Corporation ship on its way to claim a new planet ripe for civilization finds her crew being killed in horrible ways. Without dwelling on more than a few killings, the final confrontation between Captain and alien would convince one of them of the futility of fighting to prevent a planet from being claimed.
November 12, 2022
This was a really weird short. It was like, the author had written a beginning and an ending, but the whole middle was just completely cut out. It was like a big skip through the whole mystery of the killer to the resolution. A shame, really - I was enjoying it until the sudden skip.
December 20, 2022
me seeing "corporate spaceship" and "alien" together: oh this is a thing im reading now. anyway this was a fun, quick read, although I felt the pacing was slightly off. shout out to that alien for killing everyone, kind of slay of her
November 3, 2022
A hard sci-fi with a hard edge as humans blithely continuing to perpetuate the worst of colonialism across space. Surprise! Someone objects to their planet being taken over!
November 6, 2022
The worst of humankind colonialism is turned on its head in this sci-fi/horror short story.
November 24, 2022
CWs:
I really enjoyed it. Would love to read more by this author.
I really enjoyed it. Would love to read more by this author.
December 8, 2022
Quick, brutal, lots of fun. I mean, I've read Tumblr posts longer than this, so I didn't expect a lot, but it whet my appetite - I'll be checking out Ashing-Giwa's other work!
January 9, 2023
3.5 Stars - a world I'd like to mull over and learn about!
January 18, 2023
Soooooo satisfying to read in the end
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews