Review of "USS OBAMA 2130: A Science Fiction Thriller" by John H. Sibley

  

 

In this space adventure, the American military faces off against some of the most gruesome creatures in the galaxy.

The year is 2130 and a division of the United States Marine Galactic Force, led by Captain Toussaint Barack Williams, is on its way to quell an uprising in the maximum security Terradome Galactic Prison.



The penitentiary, which houses the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy, is in the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, far from any civilizations.



Elijah Comen - described as 6’3”; 210 lbs; brown eyes; dreadlocks; dark brown complexion; knife cut on left cheek - is one of the most ruthless killers incarcerated in Terradome. Elijah has taken over the prison, seized the facility's weapons, and made the convicts into his personal army.



Elijah's goal is to escape from the penitentiary and make his way to BECCA-3, a planet in the Centauri Rim that's rich in sargorium - an essential fuel for intergalactic travel. Elijah plans to mine the sargorium using slave labor, especially Glavs, who are among the strongest slaves in the galaxy.



Glavs are especially suited to working on BECCA-3 because they can breathe carbon dioxide through gills in their necks; are protected from extreme heat by their scaly black/viridian skin; and can convert anaerobic soil bacteria into food.



Elijah wasn't always a ruthless criminal. At one time, Elijah believed in the vision of a peaceful world promulgated by people like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Elijah was even an activist for global rights who could stir up crowds.



Space travel, however, proved that Darwinian selection rules the universe, and strong planets use underdog planets for slave labor. So Elijah lost his idealism, and decided to pursue wealth by pushing drugs and excavating valuable minerals he can sell.

In this regard, Elijah couldn't be more different than Captain Toussaint Barack Williams, who condemns the love of profit and the exploitation of slaves.



Williams is of African-American, Irish, Chinese, and Cherokee ancestry, and because of the XAIDS Plague, was largely raised by his grandmother. Grandma Malone was a religious woman who took young Toussaint to church, taught him right from wrong, and talked about the legacy of slavery.



Williams thinks of the time, long ago, when Native Americans, Africans, Mestizos and Mulattoes, like him, were slaves, and it disturbs him to think that, in 2130, aliens are slaves. Williams is familiar with profiteers like Elijah Comen, who bring slaves to mining planets and work them to death.



As a schoolboy, Toussaint had to contend with racist classmates who called him names like mixolot.



However Williams was well-built, intelligent, and naturally gifted, and he showed up the name-callers by getting good grades and being accepted to the Space Academy of the United States right after high school.

Later, Williams was promoted to captain in the United States Marine Galactic Force when he stopped a pirate invasion of Jupiter's moon Callisto.



Now, Captain Williams is commander of the starship USS OBAMA, and he believes his brave crew can quash Elijah Comen's insurrection and quell the criminal's heinous plans.



When the USS OBAMA nears Proxima Centauri, and the female and male crew members come out of torpor-induced hibernation.....



.....Williams bonds with the soldiers, empathizes with their personal concerns, and readies them for battle.



Williams himself misses his wife Laura, and children, Jacqueline, Brittany, and Barack, who are left behind when he goes on space missions.

For general well-being, Williams arranges recreation time for the crew, to keep their spirits up. The crew could exercise with holo-videos, play war games, visit sexbots, and enjoy an alcoholic beverage called quaseng, provided by the kitchen.



The USS OBAMA has a space farm for meals, but an accidental mishap compels the cook to serve things like barbecued funkroids, made from ugly, slimy, octopus-like creatures that exude thick noxious green fluids.



When Captain Williams has free time, he sometimes talks about social issues and music with Mula, his beautiful, half-human, half-Glav celestial astrogator. Mula likes jazz musician John Coltrane, while Captain Williams enjoys the Parliament Funkadelic.



Interestingly enough, an alien musician called Watar Muddy is incarcerated at the Terradome Galactic Prison, for selling drugs. Muddy is known throughout the galaxy for his music, which he adapted from an old blues song. Muddy has gnarled, three-fingered hands, but when he plays his disacoudistar, the sound is almost magical. Muddy - who's a strong ally of Elijah's - is also a telepath, and he can get into the minds of Elijah's enemies, distract them, and kill them.



As the USS OBAMA nears the Terradome Galactic Prison, it encounters dangerous situations before finally arriving at the penitentiary.



Once the United States Marine Galactic Force enters the prison, vicious battles ensue between the soldiers - including the robot military dogs Ying and Yang - and Elijah's minions.



Elijah's army includes shape shifters; 500-pound carnivorous fanged bipeds; gelatinous creatures with poisonous spikes; five-foot-long tarantulas with snapping pincers; and many more.





Captain Williams describes his battle with a legion of Elijah's mind-controlled Glavs as follows: "I aimed for the neck and head, and the laser bullets burst their heads like pumpkins; green-yellow blood burst from their heads, splattering the ground like a Jackson Pollock painting. Suddenly, I felt behind me the hot rotten egg breath of a Glav as he put me in a choke hold. I grew faint until Ying [a robot dog] jumped on him from behind and bit into his neck."



There's plenty of fighting, bloodshed, and death before the book's finale, all of which makes for an exciting page-turner.

USS OBAMA 2130 is an interesting amalgam of science fiction mixed with social commentary. The adventure part of the story revolves around battles in space, which require training; cutting edge weaponry; camouflage suits; advanced communication devices; battle plans; tactics; state-of-the-art ramjets; and so on.



We follow Captain Williams as leads his marines into combat, and sympathize with the soldiers as they mourn lost comrades.

In addition to preparing for and engaging in battle, the characters reflect on cultural, historical, social, and environmental issues such as: the effects of global warming; Marx's views about property rights; the atrocities King Leopold perpetrated on slaves in the Congo; religion and spirituality; the use of CRISPR for genetic manipulation; gospel music and the blues; famous Black jazz musicians; and more. So the novel is kind of a twofer.



I enjoyed the book, my major critique being that many of the secondary characters, especially the females, are two-dimensional and not fleshed out. That said, I think the story would appeal to young adult and adult science fiction fans (though the novel does contain some language and sexual innuendoes). It would be fun to see more USS OBAMA adventures.

Thanks to Netgalley, John H. Sibley, and Merlinus Publishers for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars