Awakened – Michael Anderle (Ell Leigh Clarke & Michael Anderle)

Centuries in the future, in a galaxy far away, our heroes discover a sinister plot to trick the legislature into imposing Obamacare. Yes, really. No, they don’t call it that. Yes, it’s a cunning plan to force everyone to buy healthcare and then jack up the price.

The milieu is basically modern-American. The intervening centuries have left a patina of science-fictional tropes (there are space ships, weapons can be set to stun, there are aliens - though of course they are humanoid and sexually compatible), but for all the effect this has had on the way people live their lives, this book could have been placed in Chicago.

The protagonists are Molly Bates - a genius nerd, Oz - a newborn AI, and Joel - an ex-special-forces freelancer. They don’t fight the sinister plot, so much as stumble on it and hustle to stay alive. It was hard to care about them, which was a pity, because the right characters could have made this book work.

postscript: The book lists the authors as Ell Leigh Clarke and Michael Anderle, but it’s Anderle’s franchise, with numerous authors.