Simon Haynes (1)

Hal Spacejock: Baker's Dough by Simon Haynes is the fifth book in his Hal Spacejock series. I've read all the others, but it's definitely not necessary to have done so to enjoy this book. It's the kind of series that can be enjoyed just as much out of order.

Robots have a tough life in Hal Spacejock's universe: as second-class citizens they have no rights, and most are overworked, mistreated, and recycled at the drop of a hat. When Kim Baker, a wealthy industrialist, leaves his vast fortune show more to an elderly robot, it's front page news. Unfortunately, the robot hasn't been seen for decades ...

Hal Spacejock is the captain of a cargo ship, haphazardly delivering cargo across the galaxy. His trusty sidekick is Clunk the robot — eminently more competent at just about everything than Hal is — and the ship itself is personified via the Navcom. In this adventure Hal and Clunk stumble into the middle of a mad rush to claim an inheritance left to a robot. The catch? Because robots are reprogrammed and have their memories wiped when they're sold to a new owner, no one is entirely sure exactly which robot is supposed to be inheriting. To make matters worse, the prospective inheritors and their owners have to go on a somewhat convoluted quest to dig up the robots' histories, all with a twenty-four hour time limit. High jinks ensue.

The Hal Spacejock books are light, fun and entertaining reads. Baker's Dough had me laughing and sniggering out loud several times. It was an easy book to pick up and during a stressful and busy week, it was the book I kept coming back to most consistently, despite being part way through two others.

Haynes doesn't skimp on the scientific plausibility (well... within reason) but he doesn't dwell on any of the science either. It was nice to read a book where the physics of weightlessness, for example, was actually mentioned as something relevant to the characters despite not being of high importance to the story. This sort of attention to detail is part of what kept me engaged at the story (as opposed to ranting at my husband/twitter/the reading device about a lazy slip of sciencefail) and contributed to making it a relaxing read. Also it had a strong ending which as I've typed this I realise I can't say much about without spoilers.

I highly recommend Baker's Dough (and all the other Hal Spacejock books) to fans of light-hearted science fiction. As I've said, the Hal Spacejock books don't need to be read in order to make sense; each is quite self-contained. I think each new book in the series has improved upon the ones before, however, so that might be an argument for starting at the beginning and working forwards.

4.5 / 5 stars

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Hal Spacejock: Safe Art by Simon Haynes is the sixth book in the ongoing Hal Spacejock series. Although there is a very small amount of chronology, the books all stand alone nicely, Safe Art being no exception. I have previously reviewed Hal Spacejock: Baker's Dough and Hal Junior: The Missing Case, the latter being part of a spin-off series for younger readers.

A wealthy patron is sponsoring a series of art exhibitions, and Hal Spacejock has been employed to transport valuable pieces from show more one venue to the next.

The only question is which of them will last longest ... Hal or the artworks?

For readers new to to the Spacejock universe, Safe Art is not a terrible place to start. A few characters from earlier books show up, but you don't have to have read any earlier books for the story to make sense. Even better, Safe Art doesn't contain any significant spoilers for earlier books (unless you count the status quo as a spoiler). I think the most compelling argument for reading these books in order is that they get funnier as they go along and reading in reverse order might be slightly anticlimactic for that reason.

This book made me laugh a lot, news that I'm sure won't come as much of a surprise to people familiar with the Hal Spacejock books. There were a few serious bits, but there were no long gaps between laughs. If puns and written slapstick are your thing (I have to say visual slapstick doesn't really do it for me, but the way Haynes writes definitely does), or if you enjoy a good comedy of errors, then this is a book for you.

And if that hasn't convinced you, it also has pretty good physics, especially considering the lack of seriousness in most of the story. It's like if The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy made more than a passing nod at the laws of physics. And also if Ford Prefect was a cargo pilot. (Yes, as I mentioned in my review of Baker's Dough, the ship travels faster than light and has artificial gravity, but everything else has accurate physics. There were a few instances I particularly appreciated since I can imagine another writer may not have bothered to be so careful.)

As well as enjoying Hal's and Clunk's antics as they attempt to deliver their cargo — and make snide remarks about the quality of the art they're transporting — I was also pleased to see the characters from "Framed" show up (a Hal Spacejock short story that's a fun read but not compulsory to enjoy Safe Art). And Harriet Walsh who appeared in an earlier book, although I have to admit it was a book I'd read long enough ago to not remember much about her except her name. Another reason I'm confident readers new to the series will have no trouble picking up Safe Art.

What more can I say? It's hilarious. Read it.

5 / 5 stars

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Hal Spacejock: Big Bang by Simon Haynes is the seventh Hal Spacejock book (not counting the spin-off Hal Junior series). Like its predecessors, it stands alone well and the series does not need to be read in order to be enjoyed. I picked it up now after buying it a few years ago (when it came out) because I needed a relaxing and cheerful read during a very stressful time of packing and moving.

The most hilarious thing is that the book I chose to distract me from the horrors of moving opened show more with Hal and Clunk taking on a job that involved... moving the contents of a house. Oops. But at least Hal's and Clunk's moving tribulations were funny, which is the important thing.

Having read the earlier Hal Spacejock books, I went in with certain humour expectations, which were absolutely met. Hal remains accident-prone, self-interested and lacking in foresight. Clunk remains the long-suffering brains of the operation and the main reason Hal is alive. The Navcom computer aboard their spaceship... seemed more vindictive than I remembered, but then it's been a while since I read the other books.

The story focuses mainly on Hal and Clunk and the trouble they manage to get in doing what should be a fairly straightforward job. A new character is also introduced: Amy, who inadvertently finds herself in a similar mess to the others. The three of them have to work together to survive. Big Bang makes for an entertaining read and had me laughing out loud several times. I particularly appreciate that the jokes are not rooted in disregarding/mocking the laws of physics but rather are more of the comedy of errors school. The physics is reasonably well grounded (with the allowed exception of fancy alien technology).

I enjoyed Big Bang and I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series, when/if it comes into existence. I recommend this book — or indeed any Hal Spacejock book — to fans of comedic SF, or indeed any SF fans in need of a laugh.

4 / 5 stars

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Description:

How is life aboard a space station? Just ask Hal Junior, who lives on one! Hal's mom is a head researcher, his dad is a maintenance worker, and Hal - well, he's a bit of a trouble-maker - to the annoyance of his fellow space-neighbors. But, the "trouble" part isn't always his fault, most-times "trouble" seems to find him! Whether he accidentally reverses the ships gravity field, or loses his homework in a space trashcan, Hal always seems to be surrounded by mischief. So when a show more teacher is replaced by the mysterious Mr. Thimp, Hal must find a way to save his classmates, himself, and ultimately his space-station - without getting grounded.

Review:

I never expected to enjoy Hal Junior - The Secret Signal as much as I did. I love children's books, but many of them are written strictly for kids, with no aim towards older readers. This particular book could be enjoyed by kids 5 and older - much older. I am in my twenties and I thought that this 175 page book was a quirky, smart, and fun little riot for boys and girls of all ages. Simon Haynes' characters are great! I loved Hal's personality and his knack for getting into all things mischievous, but I also liked the bad guys - even Mr. Thimp. The writing style was very enjoyable, the plot had me laughing-out-loud one second and shaking my head the next, and the dialogue, although easy for kids to read and understand, was just as fun for me. Being a scientist, I really appreciated the amount of technical jargon about ship computers, robots, and space cannons, and I know that younger kids will love it too. This fast-paced read will have kids excited about science, especially space, and will leave them begging for more Hal Junior adventures! The cartoons and diagrams were fun too, a great way to get kids involved! I will definitely be reading Simon Haynes' Hal Spacejock series, (ages 15+), after seeing how fun the kid-version was! Hal Junior - The Secret Signal is highly recommended to children of all ages and the people that read to them!

Rating:On the Run (4.5/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. show less