Ishmael Wong and his crew of cadets are flying the SC Marva Collins into the Gretna system when they are boarded by TIC agents who arrest Ishmael. This is a book by Nathan Lowell, so no ray guns are pulled. Instead, Ish invites the arresting officer to sit down for a cup of good coffee.
If you are a longtime fan of Lowell’s Solar Clipper novels, you won’t be surprised at this opening. Lowell argues that there is a market for well-written books that would be unlikely to find a traditional publisher. His long-running series of space operas about working stiffs involved in interstellar trade have proved him right.
Hard Knocks is the third volume of the SS Marva Collins trilogy. It wraps things up but leaves you hoping another trilogy will be in the works soon.
If you are a fan of independently published space opera, you can’t do better than read Lowell. ( )

Oh no! Hard Knocks is the end of the latest Ishmael Wang trilogy, and now I have to wait and hope that Lowell isn't tired of him. I'm not.

In this one the Marva Collins, a solar clipper given to the merchant marine academy by a major ship-building firm, begins to show problems and Ish and crew have to get her from Toe-Hold space back to the High Line. We also see romantic relationships develop between characters we care about and learn what that means for their future. I was happy to have less of the curriculum developer and more day-to-day and crisis minute-to-minute life.

I want more! ( )