Centuries in the future, the fantastic artificial intelligence known as Moses led mankind to the planets and promised them the stars. He created fantastic technologies that human scientists could only dream of. He made wastelands habitable, bridged the gaps between planets, and created wonderful machines to help mankind. Then he disappeared. The Earth went dark, and the colonies were on their own. A new dark age descended and mankind is picking up the pieces.
Welcome to the world of After Moses.
Written by Michael F. Kane, this is a thrilling piece of post-apocalyptic space western! It has everything fans of either genre could want. Shootouts, space battles, fights against those who only wish harm on others, powered armor, and fantastic pieces of lost technology that can’t be replicated.
Enter Matthew Cole and his gunship the Sparrow. He’s a freelancer, flying around the Solar System on missions that veer between milk runs and extremely dangerous. A man who will do the right thing even when he doesn’t want to, Cole is someone who works hard to try and bring a little light to the Solar System which is shrouded in crime, lawlessness, and decay. Matthew is a solitary actor on the freelancer scene, much to the dismay of his broker Benny. That all begins to slowly change as Matthew’s adventures across the Solar System begin to attract a large group of misfits to him.
The first is the Shield Maiden of Mars, Abigail Sharon, who stands at over two meters tall in a suit of old Earthtech armor that lets her slap opponents around with ease. With her own mysterious past she’s an enigma just as much as Matthew likes to be, making for some prickly interactions. A strong woman at heart, she might just be what Matthew needs to come out of his shell. The remainder of the crew, who I won’t spoil, are yet more misfits picked up from the wider system who bring their own unique skills to the Sparrow and slowly begin to pry this lonely wanderer out from his own head and into the world.
What I do appreciate is that, despite some flaws, all the characters in this story are at heart good people. They may mess up, but they honestly want to do better. They have some teething problems interacting a lot, and some of it is genuinely funny to see the contrary attitudes rub up against one another, usually at Matthew’s expense!
The story is told through a series of, at first, only semi-related adventures around the Solar System. From guarding a prison transport on Mars, a jaunt to Ceres to do some deliveries, guarding a fuel depot in Saturn’s orbit, to exploring the floating cities of Venus! It is, at first, episodic with an overarching plot (honestly made to be a TV series) with a developing mystery that isn’t fully explained until an action packed ending. We have a mysterious man in a black cowboy hat guiding events as well, a player behind the scenes with a plot of his own for good or ill. It culminates in an action packed finale arguably where it all began in a well told battle that has a chapter called “Guns of the Vatican” so you really ought to read it just for that fantastic piece!
I liked how well Kane was able to weave all these plot elements into a single climax at the end here. He takes characters who have nothing in common at first and slowly binds them into a crew of hard charging, hard fighting and hard loving people who want to bring some light to the Solar System. The way he then uses all this to establish the plot going into the sequels is very well done and left me looking for more.
In the spirit of the western he captures a gunslinger fighting against the rough frontier well. In the spirit of a good space opera we get advanced technology, interplanetary travel, and an intriguing mystery to explore! After Moses is an excellent addition to a genre with some fresh ideas and fresh blood for writing. I can heartily recommend it to people who like a good hero, a cast of colorful characters, and fast paced action built around a grand character study. Definitely don’t sleep on this piece!
Matthew Stienberg 