Space Captain Smith (Toby Frost)

I picked up Space Captain Smith in a charity shop the other day and read it in a single evening. it's not heavy going, but it is fun in a sort of Hitch-Hiker's Guide/steam-punk fashion.

Space Captain Smith of the Second British Empire is all stiff upper lip and Victorian sensibilities. He is tasked to pick up Rhianna, from a San Francisco style hippy planet, and to make sure the insectoid Ghasts don't get hold of her. His ship is ageing and his pilot is a fugitive sex android, Polly. His other crew member is Suruk, an alien whose idea of a good time is slaughter.

Having picked up Rhianna and fought off Ghasts (Polly's innuendo-laden account of the battle is well worth a second read), Smith finds himself tongue-tied in the presence of the woman. Never mind, because he'll soon be doing battle in space and on a redneck planet.

This book shameless parodies the genre and references many sci-fi favourites, most obviously (for me) Blade Runner and Total Recall.

The next in the series appears to be a Dune parody, but for a book that's read in a day I will probably keep an eye out in the charity shops - not because it's a bad book, but because it's such a quick read for me. Great fun, but geek humour at times.