On December 14, Candlemark & Gleam will launch Situation Normal, a poignant military space opera in the tradition of Heller’s Catch-22. Situation Normal is the sophomore effort of Leonard Richardson, whose debut Constellation Games—a novel of first contact, video games and computer programming, equal parts Big Ideas, clever whimsy and genuine pathos—won high praise across SF, from Boing Boing to Strange Horizons.

Situation Normal is a satirical yet deeply kind military space opera that fuses Serenity with Guardians of the Galaxy, the Coen brothers doing Star Trek. Set in a wildly original universe, with a large vivid multispecies cast, it contains (inter alia) sentient parasites, weaponized marketing, horny alien teens, and cosplaying monks. The cover, which distills both the humor and pathos of the work, is by accomplished graphic designer Brittany Hague.

Situation Normal garnered praise as enthusiastic as its older sibling, from Cory Doctorow (“A triumph: madcap and trenchant, dancing on the precise meridian between funny and weird, with a wild, imaginative boldness that reinvents space-opera from the gravity well up.”) to Booklist (“A fast-paced romp reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut channeled through the wild inventiveness of Charles Stross and the irreverent political attitude of Cory Doctorow.”—starred review). Here’s a brief synopsis to whet appetites:

The galaxy’s two multi-species superpowers stand on the brink of yet another pointless war. Soldiers, draft-dodgers, smugglers and spies from both sides are rushing towards Cedar Commons, an uninhabited forest planet near the border. Everyone has some plan for fighting, avoiding, or profiting from the conflict.

None of these plans are going to work out: war destroys plans as efficiently as it does lives. But as the visitors to this once-quiet planet discover each other, they’ll make new friends, new enemies, and new plans that have a chance to end the war before it causes the collapse of several civilizations.

Because GoodReads giveaways are no longer free and our coffers are of the usual size for indie micro-presses, we’re doing a direct giveaway for Situation Normal. You can enter it by leaving a comment to this post or by sending an email (with subject line “Situation Normal Giveaway”) to our website address. Please rest assured that your email will only be visible to the site admin.

The giveaway will run from November 16 to December 13, and random winners will be picked to receive copies of the work. For up to 100 requests, there will be one award copy. For up to 200 requests, two copies; and beyond that, three copies. Because the pandemic and the USPS slowdown have caused significant shipping problems, this giveaway will only award digital copies (it will include the PDF that contains all the print flourishes).

As a companion to the giveaway, Leonard has posted a special retconned version of Four Kinds of Cargo, a short story about some of the major players in Situation Normal that first appeared in Strange Horizons (2012).

We can hardly wait to share this trenchant work with the world! Keep an eye on your EVA suits and monitor spaceship frequencies!

Note added on December 14: the giveaway is now closed.  We’ll pick winners and contact them within a week.