Overdraft: The Orion Offensive – “Underwater Holdings”

Overdraft: The Orion Offensive

Episode 3 – “Underwater Holdings”

In “Underwater Holdings”, Bridget’s surge team deals with being overwhelmed by the Baghu. The previous episode showed us that the strange looking Baghu is a species that shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s up to Bridget and Jamie Sturm to come up with a solution, hopefully one that will not result in the slaughter of an alien species over teddy bears. Fun and action ensue as an answer comes to light.

But trading with crazed, tentacle covered stomachs is just the first stop on their exotic trade route. Next up is Leel and the Leelites. Leel turns out to be an ice planet inhabited by insubstantial, jelly fish type aliens who are running a once a decade auction. Business as usual turns into chaos as things go wrong once again. Leaving things on another cliffhanger, the action just gets started where the episode ends.

So far the Overdraft serial has been pretty entertaining, and episode three is no exception. The episodes continue to develop the characters, expand the setting, and create new adventures. There’s fun, laughs and action. The format definitely has a comic book feel but with images provided by John Jackson Miller’s excellent descriptions and prose. While the format is nothing new, John shows it still works and can be a very entertaining way to enjoy a story. I wouldn’t have thought a biweekly digital eBook serial would be a great delivery method for a story, but it is. It keeps readers from just plowing through a story in a couple evenings. Furthermore, even though I do enjoy comics, I’m more of a book lover. When pitted against each other, I have to say I enjoy reading a serial a lot more than a comic. There’s just more there to dig into and enjoy.

With the literature markets dominated by books, anthologies and comics, it’s nice to see something new for a change. I hope we get to see more serialized e-fiction in the future. If Overdraft is any inclination on how well the format can be handled, then I think there is quite a market out there waiting to be tapped.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.