The four stories in this book are all quite different, yet they are all based in the same fictional universe - one where Einstein, Tesla, and Goddard invented an interplanetary rocket in 1931, and humans have expanded to the planets and moons around them. Of course, being in the pulp planetary romance genre, the Solar System is teeming with intelligent life. And, being set in 1938, there are Nazis to use as the villains (as well as non-humans on occasion).

None of the four short stories was terrible, but only one really grabbed me - Emancipation Knights by Ken Spencer, which is a strong homage to The Maltese Falcon - the rest were good, but not exceptional. And I think perhaps Nazis were overused as villains - in the setting they have created, there are plenty of areas for conflict without having to have Nazis involved in all the skulduggery.

If you're a fan of the role-playing game that it's based on, this is worth a read, and it's not going to damage your hip pocket nerve either.

Rocket Age smashes triumphantly off of the gaming table and onto the page. The team provide a well currated little collection of stories that perfectly capture the fun and over the top nature of the setting. Ken Spencer's Emancipation Knights was a particular stand-out, providing adventure and laughs in equal measure. For those worried about format, I found that the pdf was quite readable on my ereader, so I wouldn't worry too much about that, the content of the book far outshines any formating issues.

Reviewing it as a work of fiction, not on the basis of its format, this is a great book, providing exactly what I was looking for: inspiration, world building and some fun stories to kill some time.

No epub, no mobi, no printing, wasted purchase :(