A solid sci-fi adventure.

Experienced science-fiction readers will recognize a lot of the elements present in "The Wrecking Squad," with its ragtag, ex-military, mining-asteroid salvage crew protagonists, gallivanting around the fringes of civilized space as they hide from their sordid past while attempting to rebuild their lives, and protect some precious cargo they acquired during their final mission in uniform. That familiarity isn't necessarily a bad thing as the concept is largely well executed, ensuring that fans of such tales will find a lot to enjoy in it.

I have a few nitpicks, such as some inconsistencies that most casual readers likely won't notice, a few somewhat awkward descriptions of items and actions, and enough instances of "plot armor" sparing characters from death or serious injury to be noteworthy, but overall, the story is fun, well-paced, and worked for me in all the ways it needed to to make up for those quibbles.

"The Wrecking Squad" is the first in a fairly long series of books, but does a good job of establishing the foundation for that series while still providing an ending I think most readers would find satisfying enough to not feel cheated if they decided to delay or not continue the adventure, which I always appreciate in a "book one."