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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
I'm more familiar with Erikson's Malazan series, which I love. This is completely different in a way that I really love. Funny, ridiculous, and 'light' in a way that I found much easier to breeze through and enjoy while still seeing valid thought and commentary in the story.
I enjoyed it more on re-reading it. First time round I found it fairly repetitive, with a lot of the book blurring together in a mess of fast paced dialogue. This time, possibly with familiarity with the characters, it somehow seemed better paced. The jokes that had seemed previously throwaway still made me laugh.
It's not Malazan, but it's growing on me.
It's not Malazan, but it's growing on me.
If you’re a Star Trek fan who can laugh at a beloved show and likes absurdity in your humor, this book is for you!
Don’t pick this up expecting anything terribly serious, or even plot-driven. This is mind candy at its most sweet, and the few filling calories and vitamins you may get from this delicious spun sugar are entirely incidental. An excellent break, if you need one, from more “literary” and “serious” books.
That isn’t to say the book isn’t smart; Erikson manages to both make a cutting statement about materialism, expansionism and the marriage of arrogance and stupidity in the human race, while skillfully skewering Star Trek TOS (and other sci-fi archetypes and tropes) with some great tongue-in-cheek humor. [b:Willful Child|20518786|Willful Child|Steven Erikson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418694657s/20518786.jpg|26112570] walks the tightrope of homage and parody, staying on that razor’s edge with a precision that rarely falls flat.
The action is non-stop as the incredibly cocky, sex-crazed, bumbling sexist captain Hadrian Sawback of the Willful Child takes command of his first star ship and proceeds to stumble around the galaxy, miraculously saving the day (somehow) all while rushing into danger, ignoring orders from his superior officers, and attempting to seduce the hand-picked lot of females that make up his crew.
If [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327656754s/11.jpg|3078186] is your kind of thing, I strongly suggest you take a chance with this one.
(As a huge devotee of Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series, I knew I couldn’t pass by this book. After reading it, I’m doubly glad! Two of my favorite characters from the MBotF were Tehol and Bugg, for their quirky sense of humor and that certain feeling of “is he really that stupid or is he just acting, or is he really that stupid deep down but is just smart enough to make it seem like he’s just acting?” I rarely laugh out loud while reading, but some of the exchanges between those two characters did make me giggle and desperately try to explain the joke to others while failing miserably because context. So it was wonderful to read through this book, as that silly style of ludicrous humor is basically the entire novel.)
Some of my favorite parts:
1. The doctor who spoke out of his ass, literally.
2. Like, I was like "oh! The valley-girl helmsman" like, I was totally getting it.
3. The crewmember that sliced himself up terribly by taking a rapier down as his weapon while exploring a new planet (if you can’t laugh at yourself and your favorite series and acknowledge the absurdity, go home!)
4. The massive wall of cute furry kittens (I knew you were tribble the moment I walked in)
5. How even though the captain seemed intent on intimate relations with any female being with two legs, he seemed to be downright reluctant whenever an actual opportunity presented itself, despite his complaints whenever he was interrupted before he could actually do the deed.
6. The badass marines, especially their Lieutenant.
Don’t pick this up expecting anything terribly serious, or even plot-driven. This is mind candy at its most sweet, and the few filling calories and vitamins you may get from this delicious spun sugar are entirely incidental. An excellent break, if you need one, from more “literary” and “serious” books.
That isn’t to say the book isn’t smart; Erikson manages to both make a cutting statement about materialism, expansionism and the marriage of arrogance and stupidity in the human race, while skillfully skewering Star Trek TOS (and other sci-fi archetypes and tropes) with some great tongue-in-cheek humor. [b:Willful Child|20518786|Willful Child|Steven Erikson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1418694657s/20518786.jpg|26112570] walks the tightrope of homage and parody, staying on that razor’s edge with a precision that rarely falls flat.
The action is non-stop as the incredibly cocky, sex-crazed, bumbling sexist captain Hadrian Sawback of the Willful Child takes command of his first star ship and proceeds to stumble around the galaxy, miraculously saving the day (somehow) all while rushing into danger, ignoring orders from his superior officers, and attempting to seduce the hand-picked lot of females that make up his crew.
If [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327656754s/11.jpg|3078186] is your kind of thing, I strongly suggest you take a chance with this one.
(As a huge devotee of Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series, I knew I couldn’t pass by this book. After reading it, I’m doubly glad! Two of my favorite characters from the MBotF were Tehol and Bugg, for their quirky sense of humor and that certain feeling of “is he really that stupid or is he just acting, or is he really that stupid deep down but is just smart enough to make it seem like he’s just acting?” I rarely laugh out loud while reading, but some of the exchanges between those two characters did make me giggle and desperately try to explain the joke to others while failing miserably because context. So it was wonderful to read through this book, as that silly style of ludicrous humor is basically the entire novel.)
Some of my favorite parts:
Spoiler
1. The doctor who spoke out of his ass, literally.
2. Like, I was like "oh! The valley-girl helmsman" like, I was totally getting it.
3. The crewmember that sliced himself up terribly by taking a rapier down as his weapon while exploring a new planet (if you can’t laugh at yourself and your favorite series and acknowledge the absurdity, go home!)
4. The massive wall of cute furry kittens (I knew you were tribble the moment I walked in)
5. How even though the captain seemed intent on intimate relations with any female being with two legs, he seemed to be downright reluctant whenever an actual opportunity presented itself, despite his complaints whenever he was interrupted before he could actually do the deed.
6. The badass marines, especially their Lieutenant.
I wanted to really love this book. I love Star Trek, and I also love a good Star Trek spoof. This was..not it. The book definitely has its moments, but it just struck me as too over the top. I enjoyed it, but it was not amazing, and I don't think I'll bother with any more in the series.
The Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2014/11/willful-child-erikson-bok/.
“A fun, entertaining Star Trek parody that is consistently entertaining and accessible to all fans of Space Opera, whether they’ve seen Star Trek or not.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
These are the voyages of the starship, A.S.F. Willful Child. Its ongoing mission: to seek out strange new worlds on which to plant the Terran flag, to subjugate and if necessary obliterate new life life-forms, to boldly blow the…
And so we join the not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback – a kind of James T Kirk crossed with ‘American Dad’ – and his motley crew on board the Starship Willful Child for a series of devil-may-care, near-calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through ‘the infinite vastness of interstellar space’…
The bestselling author of the acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence has taken his life-long passion for ‘Star Trek’ and transformed it into a smart, inventive and hugely entertaining spoof on the whole mankind-exploring-space-for-the-good-of-all-species-but-trashing-stuff-with-a-lot-of-hi-tech-kit-along-the-way type over-blown adventure. The result is this smart. inventive, occasionally wildly OTT and often very funny novel that deftly parodies the genre while also paying fond homage to it.
Steven Erikson is an author who is commonly associated with epic fantasy and whilst I haven’t had the chance to get stuck into his Malazan series yet, it’s certainly high on my to-read list. When I saw this novel crop up on NetGalley as a standalone space opera there was no way I was going to pass this one by with all the hype that I had heard about Erikson’s work, and it would be interesting to get a sampler of what his fiction would be like. As it turns out, Willful Child was not quite what I was expecting from the author of the Malazan series, but despite this, it turned out o be an incredibly fun and entertaining read that pokes fun not just at Star Trek, but at the space opera genre entirely.
Willful-ChildCaptain Hadrian Sawback, our main character, is described in the blurb as being a blend of James T. Kirk and American Dad, which couldn’t be more accurate, as he steers the ASF Willful Child into strange new worlds yet to be discovered by the Terran population. He’s an interesting choice for a lead character that’s handled very well. Erikson constantly injects a high level of humour into the narrative and as a result the book feels incredibly fun. It’s an over-the-top space adventure that should not be ignored with several moments that had me chuckling out loud as I was reading this novel. It’s fast paced as well, and will have you turning the pages to get to the finish line.
With all the dark and serious stuff that I’ve been reading lately, Willful Child came as a welcome surprise. It’s light hearted, fun and is actually honestly funny, which makes a real change from the amount of comedies on TV that I’ve watched recently that have failed to amuse me (pretty much the only one that I watch on a regular basis and can make me laugh out loud more than once per episode is Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and as a result I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing what Erikson can come up with next. I know his Malazan novels are nothing like Willful Child, but the fact that this novel is as good as it was may have raised the Malazan novels up my To-Buy list.
The book itself examines several science fiction clichés and not just ones commonly associated with Star Trek. It’s a parody, yet still feels like it can hold its own weight as a space opera novel. The comedy is the revealing aspect of the novel however, so if you want a serious take on space opera I’d recommend searching for another book. However, if you want to be entertained, then you’ve most certainly come to the right place.
Even so, I’d offer a warning before starting Willful Child – not every comedy is for everyone and Steven Erikson’s novel is no different. So expect to see a few hit and miss reviews from this book if you were to look elsewhere.
It’s not quite going to fit into my top novels of the year category, but Steven Erikson’s latest novel is something that comes recommended. Fans of space opera and the original Star Trek series will probably get the most out of this one, but even if you’re not, you could do far worse than this book.
VERDICT: 8/10
“A fun, entertaining Star Trek parody that is consistently entertaining and accessible to all fans of Space Opera, whether they’ve seen Star Trek or not.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
These are the voyages of the starship, A.S.F. Willful Child. Its ongoing mission: to seek out strange new worlds on which to plant the Terran flag, to subjugate and if necessary obliterate new life life-forms, to boldly blow the…
And so we join the not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback – a kind of James T Kirk crossed with ‘American Dad’ – and his motley crew on board the Starship Willful Child for a series of devil-may-care, near-calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through ‘the infinite vastness of interstellar space’…
The bestselling author of the acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence has taken his life-long passion for ‘Star Trek’ and transformed it into a smart, inventive and hugely entertaining spoof on the whole mankind-exploring-space-for-the-good-of-all-species-but-trashing-stuff-with-a-lot-of-hi-tech-kit-along-the-way type over-blown adventure. The result is this smart. inventive, occasionally wildly OTT and often very funny novel that deftly parodies the genre while also paying fond homage to it.
Steven Erikson is an author who is commonly associated with epic fantasy and whilst I haven’t had the chance to get stuck into his Malazan series yet, it’s certainly high on my to-read list. When I saw this novel crop up on NetGalley as a standalone space opera there was no way I was going to pass this one by with all the hype that I had heard about Erikson’s work, and it would be interesting to get a sampler of what his fiction would be like. As it turns out, Willful Child was not quite what I was expecting from the author of the Malazan series, but despite this, it turned out o be an incredibly fun and entertaining read that pokes fun not just at Star Trek, but at the space opera genre entirely.
Willful-ChildCaptain Hadrian Sawback, our main character, is described in the blurb as being a blend of James T. Kirk and American Dad, which couldn’t be more accurate, as he steers the ASF Willful Child into strange new worlds yet to be discovered by the Terran population. He’s an interesting choice for a lead character that’s handled very well. Erikson constantly injects a high level of humour into the narrative and as a result the book feels incredibly fun. It’s an over-the-top space adventure that should not be ignored with several moments that had me chuckling out loud as I was reading this novel. It’s fast paced as well, and will have you turning the pages to get to the finish line.
With all the dark and serious stuff that I’ve been reading lately, Willful Child came as a welcome surprise. It’s light hearted, fun and is actually honestly funny, which makes a real change from the amount of comedies on TV that I’ve watched recently that have failed to amuse me (pretty much the only one that I watch on a regular basis and can make me laugh out loud more than once per episode is Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and as a result I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing what Erikson can come up with next. I know his Malazan novels are nothing like Willful Child, but the fact that this novel is as good as it was may have raised the Malazan novels up my To-Buy list.
The book itself examines several science fiction clichés and not just ones commonly associated with Star Trek. It’s a parody, yet still feels like it can hold its own weight as a space opera novel. The comedy is the revealing aspect of the novel however, so if you want a serious take on space opera I’d recommend searching for another book. However, if you want to be entertained, then you’ve most certainly come to the right place.
Even so, I’d offer a warning before starting Willful Child – not every comedy is for everyone and Steven Erikson’s novel is no different. So expect to see a few hit and miss reviews from this book if you were to look elsewhere.
It’s not quite going to fit into my top novels of the year category, but Steven Erikson’s latest novel is something that comes recommended. Fans of space opera and the original Star Trek series will probably get the most out of this one, but even if you’re not, you could do far worse than this book.
VERDICT: 8/10
Funny and yet utterly exhausting. In what is a not-so-subtle, open riff at Star Trek, Steven Erikson packs in a whole lot of punches and jabs and keeps on pummeling.
The action is mile a minute and each minute of that mile features non-stop jabs at humanity in general. The jokes, the satirical asides, the innuendo laden observations and wise-cracks just keep on coming as Erikson doesnt spare anything, ranging from the internet's love for cat gifs to a rapier trained officer on the Starship called Zulu (Sulu from the new Star Trek series anyone)
The general plot doesnt really matter and didnt make sense for most of it as the incredibly cocksure Captain Hadrain attempts to educate the rogue AI, Tammy(!!!) on the intricacies of human behaviour and how it goes against all notions of logic, even encompassing elements of betrayal, back-stabbing and double dealing.
You just got to roll with the punches at times as the humor does tend to get exhausting at times but overall, just dont worry and go with the flow and a rollicking time ensues. With the next book riffing on Wrath of Khan (titled Wrath of Betty), theres hardly anything to stop one from plunging onwards on to the next adventures of the Willful Child
The action is mile a minute and each minute of that mile features non-stop jabs at humanity in general. The jokes, the satirical asides, the innuendo laden observations and wise-cracks just keep on coming as Erikson doesnt spare anything, ranging from the internet's love for cat gifs to a rapier trained officer on the Starship called Zulu (Sulu from the new Star Trek series anyone)
The general plot doesnt really matter and didnt make sense for most of it as the incredibly cocksure Captain Hadrain attempts to educate the rogue AI, Tammy(!!!) on the intricacies of human behaviour and how it goes against all notions of logic, even encompassing elements of betrayal, back-stabbing and double dealing.
You just got to roll with the punches at times as the humor does tend to get exhausting at times but overall, just dont worry and go with the flow and a rollicking time ensues. With the next book riffing on Wrath of Khan (titled Wrath of Betty), theres hardly anything to stop one from plunging onwards on to the next adventures of the Willful Child
Exhilarating, exciting and exhausting, book 2 packs even more on Captain Hadrain Sawback's plate including a jealous captain (Captain Hans Olo), time travel and multiverses all of which are handled with panache, elan and a good deal of flying by the seat of the pants.
While book 1 was a simple beast, book 2 tries to outdo it at every turn, packing in a lot more concepts and ideas making it a less easy read. There are times when you just had to take a break and times where you had to go back to re-read sentences due to the plot mechanics. The whole adventure around the comiccon while being funny and to the points, has a fair amount of missteps, derailing the momentum of the book. But overall, funny as ever, with pointed jabs at a lot of things (including Trump) and a rollercoaster ride
While book 1 was a simple beast, book 2 tries to outdo it at every turn, packing in a lot more concepts and ideas making it a less easy read. There are times when you just had to take a break and times where you had to go back to re-read sentences due to the plot mechanics. The whole adventure around the comiccon while being funny and to the points, has a fair amount of missteps, derailing the momentum of the book. But overall, funny as ever, with pointed jabs at a lot of things (including Trump) and a rollercoaster ride
Estos son los viajes de la nave estelar , A.S.F. Willful Child (Niño terco). Su misión: Buscar extraños y nuevos mundos en los que plantar la bandera Terrestre, subyugar y, si fuese necesario, exterminar nuevas formas de vida, mandar valientemente a tomar por el c...
Qué puedo decir, unas risas a costa de Star Trek con un capitan arrogante, impulsivo y mujeriego, que insiste en ponerse coloridas camisas de poliester que se rasgan convenientemente cada vez que se teleporta sin ninguna necesidad a una nueva misión (invariablemente en complejos subterraneos o en exteriores que recuerdan sospechosamente a las colinas que rodean Los Angeles).Good for a Laugh.
REVISIÓN:
Si ya era divertida, el audiolibro gana mucho y refuerza la similitud con Pratchett.
Qué puedo decir, unas risas a costa de Star Trek con un capitan arrogante, impulsivo y mujeriego, que insiste en ponerse coloridas camisas de poliester que se rasgan convenientemente cada vez que se teleporta sin ninguna necesidad a una nueva misión (invariablemente en complejos subterraneos o en exteriores que recuerdan sospechosamente a las colinas que rodean Los Angeles).Good for a Laugh.
REVISIÓN:
Si ya era divertida, el audiolibro gana mucho y refuerza la similitud con Pratchett.
La parodia, siendo graciosa, al final termina por cansar. Este segundo libro se me ha hecho largo y se ma han quitado bastante las ganas de leer el tercero. Dejaré descansar la saga durante un tiempo.