I have read the first adventure of Hal Spacejock and believe that this is one of, if not the very best, the best and freshest new entry to the comedic sci-fi genre for many years. The characters are great, and their adventures are hilarious. Long live Hal & Clunk!

Hal Spacejock is a story of a genius. That genius, is Simon Haynes. Hal’s optimistic clumsiness and laissez-faire attitude put him into a fair amount of bad spots, but his belief that everything will work out in the end (and his sidekick Clunk’s tireless and enduring loyalty) somehow get him through. If you can breathe at the same time as you can laugh, congratulations, because you’re one of the few lucky readers to be able to survive a read-through of this novel! Otherwise, breaks are recommended.

I’ve posted this contest on Win a Book. No need to enter the contest.

To be completely honest, I’m totally put off by the name. It’s cheesy. Douglas Adams didn’t need to call Arthur Dent, “Arthur Everyman” and Doug Grant and Rob Naylor didn’t need to call Dave Lister “Dave Spacebum”, so sorry to say I totally baulk at something as obvious as “Hal Spacejock”. You should have just written funny stories and not needed to beat people over the head with such an obvious name. Total turn off, sorry. That’s just an honest opinion.

REVIEW:
I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the series. It is a fast-moving, fun and funny book that keeps the plot and characters active all the way through. Occasionally there’s a little too much work pulling the plot together and the setup seems rather formulaic and/or derived; though that may be intentional as Haynes is writing sci-fi satire with a capital ‘S’, and leaves you to figure out which noun gets the respect.

One thing that sets it apart from some of the other trifles out there is that you really do feel that Hal and Clunk have actually changed and grown by the end … so many of these types of novels wind up with the characters being essentially static, and this is really a nice surprise. Something like ‘character development’ and story arc actually making it’s way into a book like this? Crazy! We’ll see if this growth is maintained throughout the books.

Outside of some ups and downs typical of a first effort I would certainly recommend this to anyone whose a fan of the odd bit of fantasy or sci-fi satire.

Well, I liked it. I’ve been stuck here at the Juno docks for 50 orbits and there’s nothing to do…so I’ll even read something once in awhile. The porn here sucks,

The finest characters are those with flaws. Welcome to Hal Spacejock, the finest of them all. Enter a world where humor seems to be the needle that works the thread of one epic adventure. A fantastic read, laden with a first-rate supporting cast, including the impeccable “Clunk”. Fast paced, moving, and an original in the field of fiction favorites, Simon Hayes refuses to disappoint his readers, new fans and old. I recommend this to anyone who has ever wanted to connect with a memorable character, or laugh so hard they cried.

It’s not every day that a book comes along that stands out from the crowd, but Hal Spacejock is such a book.
In an age where it seems that a science fiction book has to have both one thousand pages and one thousand difficult to pronounce characters, Simon Haynes has pulled off a coup.

Hal Spacejock is a comedy, based around Characters with personality types so plausable I’m sure every reader knows
a “Hal” and a “Clunk” in their own lives. It is the story of a spaceship captain who is an expert at aiming for a goal and missing with gusto. It’s also the story of a run down robot trying to pick up the pieces, where hopefully all the pieces aren’t his.

Aided by his sidekick Clunk, Hal is trying to get rich running a spaceship freighter, but instead all he manages to do is to reel from one mishap to the next, barely keeping his head above water along the way. If there’s a corner to be cut you can be sure Hal will cut it, and where there isn’t a corner there will be one when Hal’s
done (though admittedly somewhat battered and only able to be called a right angle in the loosest meaning of the term).

It’s a book of laughs, action, shady deals and even shadier bad guys. Light hearted and suitable for people of all ages, a Hal Spacejock book is so good you won’t put it down until you’ve read every page, or had to for medical reasons.

It’s the Science Fiction book version of the prime time sitcom.

Hal is the best thing since Hitchhiker’s Guide! There is far too little humor in Science Fiction lately. Hal fills that lack handily. Highly recommended.