Paperback, 300 pages
English language
Published March 5, 2011 by Ridan Publishing.
IF EVER THERE WAS A TIME TO "TRUST LOIS" THIS WOULD BE IT. When the home office adds a new crew member to the environmental section of the Lois McKendrick, Ishmael Wang faces being put ashore at the next port. Not even his multiple division ratings can save him as he refuses to bump one of his shipmates, which is the only way he can stay with his friends on his new found home in the Deep Dark.
Ishmael's predicament goes from bad to worse when an EMP damages the ship and threatens the lives of everyone on board. Gone are the days when his biggest challenge was making a good cup of coffee. Now he must use his wits, and rely on the ingenuity of his shipmates just to survive. Return with the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, in what may prove to be their final voyage. All …
IF EVER THERE WAS A TIME TO "TRUST LOIS" THIS WOULD BE IT. When the home office adds a new crew member to the environmental section of the Lois McKendrick, Ishmael Wang faces being put ashore at the next port. Not even his multiple division ratings can save him as he refuses to bump one of his shipmates, which is the only way he can stay with his friends on his new found home in the Deep Dark.
Ishmael's predicament goes from bad to worse when an EMP damages the ship and threatens the lives of everyone on board. Gone are the days when his biggest challenge was making a good cup of coffee. Now he must use his wits, and rely on the ingenuity of his shipmates just to survive. Return with the crew of the SC Lois McKendrick, in what may prove to be their final voyage. All your favorites will be aboard including: Ish, Pip, Cookie, Brill, Diane, and Big Bad Bev.
I always find this one kind of heart wrenching, having to leave the family that has been built up in 3 books just doesn't feel great.
The pace picks up a bit as the main character cycles through a couple of postings and the focus is off of the trading activity for the most part. It's all a cozy low-key kind of drama in the confines of the Lois, with the underlying theme squarely on the upbringing of Ishmael through it all, and the puzzles mainly serve to highlight the relationships between characters.
By the end of the story, one might wonder how the Lois Mckendrick is ever going to be able to make up the loss of so many hands at one time. Also it seems like there's quite a bit more in the way of fraternization among the secondary characters than would have felt appropriate in earlier installments.
