I was first introduced to Jason Gurley through "The Man Who Ended the World" and have since fallen in love with his writing style. Settlers is yet another good book from a good writer, keeping that same wonderful style that takes the reader on a journey through wonderful worlds, following well rounded characters, laughing and crying all the way. If you have never read Jason Gurley before, you must, however, I would not suggest this to be your starting place. If you have previously fallen in love with Gurley's writing, this is a fine addition to his marvelousness, but is a far cry from some of his other works. Settlers is full of great ideas, wonderful characters, and that classic sci-fi humour that any familiar readers (and new ones) will enjoy. His writing is fresh and delightful, but the pacing in this particular volume is a bit out there. Is feels like a bunch of short stories squished together that, although connected, do not have enough substance in and of themselves to make the mouth water. The over-arching plot is good, but the way it is developed makes discerning what this book is really about a bit confusing. Even while reading the final chapter I was thinking, "how exactly is this book going to resolve anything?" It felt like a bunch of loose threads that take a lot of imagination to tie together.

The conclusion does redeem this volume to some extent, but it plays out more like a teaser for books 2 than a true wrap to the volume. It also must be said (about the paperback version) that the formatting is very poorly done, making reading it in that format feel very amateur. Interestingly enough, the ebook version is formatted quite well, and I found myself putting down the paperback about halfway through and switching to the ebook version because the formatting in the paperback was annoying me so much. This, however, should not count as a mark against the writing, but is simply this reader's opinion about stylistic preferences.

If you like science fiction, or Jason Gurley, and tales with great characters, witty humour, and a sprinkling of political satire (as al science fiction should) this book is for you. Sadly, I wish the volume came together better than it did with the pacing. POV switching was not a problem, but some amount consistency in the over-all story progression would have been nice. This, however, does not turn me off of Jason Gurley, because it is still a magnificent work of art that kept me engaged until the very end, and the writing is still a delight.