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EUROPE'S MOST VISITED SF/F WEB SITE |
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Hal Spacejock by Simon Haynes - and Hal
Spacejock: Second Course by Simon Haynes check out website: www.spacejock.com and http://spacejock.iinet.net.au
Hal Spacejock is a bargain basement Han Solo, interstellar 'man with a van' - the van in question being the Black Gull, which is in even worse state than the Millennium Falcon. Hal will transport anything, anywhere, anytime - with the exception of drugs.
It's just a pity that's not the right place for him to make a success of his business... Then he acquires Clunk, the robot. Well, android, strictly speaking - he's human in shape, with a cheerful personality and is astoundingly intelligent and resourceful, which is just as well, given Hal's general incompetence.
Unfortunately, the second book follows pretty much the same plot - at least until about two-thirds of the way in, when it suddenly picks up and grabs the reader's interest again. I suppose, given the characters and setting, some repetition of plot is only to be expected ... Homages to SF films abound - 'Star Wars', 'Stargate', 'Star Trek' amongst others - some of the humour is literally scatological, and there are some strange, almost surreal gags: 'How much is that robot in the window? The one with the squeegee and pail? 'How much is that robot in the window? I'm not sure if that robot's for sale.' The farcical elements work very well and overall it's a fine and chuckleworthy read. Hardly great literature, but then, it never set out to be. I look forward to the third book. Joules Taylor
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OTHER REVIEWS - April 2004
Other reviews: April 2004 Lucifer's Dragon by Jon Courtenay Grimwood The Companions by Sherri S. Tepper Beyond Infinity by Gregory Benford Sunshine Patriots by Bill Campbell The Skies Of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Eight Keys to Eden by Mark Clifton The Adam Strange Archives Volume 1 Wit'ch Gate: Immortal Magic - Infinite Vengence by James Clemens Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong Deep Space Nine: Rising Son by SD Perry Absolution Gap (The Inhibitors series book 3) by Alastair Reynolds Alchymist (The Well Of Echoes book 3) by Ian Irvine Hal Spacejock: Second Course by Simon Haynes Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris The Dancers At The End Of Time by Michael Moorcock The Crow: The Story Behind The Film by Bridget Baiss British Summertime by Paul Cornell The Year Of Our War by Steph Swainson April 2004: Hardback to Paperbacks The Chesley Awards: A Retrospective by John Grant and Elizabeth Humphrey with Pamela D. Scoville
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I
like Australian humour. I find it bawdy, occasionally crude, but
generally refreshingly unpretentious - and the 'Spacejock' books
are all of that. 
He
doesn't do drugs. So what does he get, all unwittingly, for his
cargo in the first book? You got it.... You can't help but like
Hal. He thinks quite highly of himself as a pilot (actually he's
completely inept: the ship's Navcom does all the flying) and has
absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever, but he's not arrogant and
his heart's in the right place. 
What
follows is Sci-Fi slapstick as Hal tries very hard to deliver his
cargo of 'aromatic herbs' while being chased by loan sharks, assorted
other unpleasant people and a very large, very murderous robot.
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