Revolte auf Higgins' Moon

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the idea of a *German* space-western at first. But *Revolte auf Higgins’ Moon* won me over by refusing to play it safe. The story drops you into the middle of a mining colony’s uprising with the same brutal efficiency as a heist gone wrong—no lengthy expository monologues, just tension and the acrid smell of betrayal. Andrews’ worldbuilding is impressively economical: you grasp the corporate dystopia not through info-dumps, but through the way characters spit out terms like ‘Kernwelten-Union’ as curses. The action sequences, especially a zero-gravity shootout in a derelict freighter, are visceral enough to make you forget you’re listening, not watching. Now, the narration: Lontzek’s performance is *almost* flawless. His pacing is masterful during dialogue, giving even minor characters distinct weight, but I’ll dock half a point for the occasional over-enunciation of tech terms—‘plasma-carbine’ doesn’t need three syllables of dramatic pause. The production quality is crisp, though a few abrupt chapter transitions jolted me out of the immersion. Still, the trade-off is worth it for how Lontzek sells the emotional beats, particularly in a standout scene where a dying rebel’s last words are delivered with haunting quiet. If you’ve ever wished *Firefly* had more teeth or *The Expanse* moved faster, this is your fix—just don’t expect a happy trail ride.