'Runner' by William Dietz

Runner, William Dietz (2)

While I found nothing wrong with this book, it really does not stand out to me as a notable Sci-Fi story. All the words I associate with it are milquetoast: e.g. fine, ok, all right. There was one interesting concept – the idea that the technology in space ships had devolved and degenerated to such a point that the advanced machines could no longer be fixed and that travel between planets was oddly risky. The ‘runner’ of the title is the main character. He is part of a group that is like a future postman, though the runners take messages or packages between planets. He gets an unusual request to take a package – in this case a person – and the perilous journey has begun. Add the obligatory side-kicks to join him and you have a group of five who must get to their destination(s) while being chased by bad guys and dealing with each new planet’s challenges. I really can’t point to anything bad about this- but it was formulaic and not particularly refreshing.