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Alice Luck Space Adventures #1
Lucky Stars
Everything's bigger in deep space. Especially trouble.
Earthling Alice Luck dreamed of bigger things than working at an office supply store. Fortunately, the gig is not what she thought it would be. Instead of pushing printer ink, she's now the unqualified space captain on an intergalactic mission to breed dwindling apex populations.
A weird twist of events, sure, but at least she's using her degree in animal husbandry for something.
With the help of a warrior woman from a parallel universe, an anxious expert in weapons and culture, a holographic therapist, and an operating system with a hard-on for double entendres, Alice leads the crew of DeepService Team One on their inaugural mission.
But when an unexpected attack on alien territory catches them with their pants down, Alice must ask why in the multiverse does someone want them dead?
Lucky Stars is the first book of the Alice Luck Space Adventures series. If you like a rag-tag crew, zany aliens, and unexpected laughs, you'll love this space comedy series from H. Claire Taylor.
Earthling Alice Luck dreamed of bigger things than working at an office supply store. Fortunately, the gig is not what she thought it would be. Instead of pushing printer ink, she's now the unqualified space captain on an intergalactic mission to breed dwindling apex populations.
A weird twist of events, sure, but at least she's using her degree in animal husbandry for something.
With the help of a warrior woman from a parallel universe, an anxious expert in weapons and culture, a holographic therapist, and an operating system with a hard-on for double entendres, Alice leads the crew of DeepService Team One on their inaugural mission.
But when an unexpected attack on alien territory catches them with their pants down, Alice must ask why in the multiverse does someone want them dead?
Lucky Stars is the first book of the Alice Luck Space Adventures series. If you like a rag-tag crew, zany aliens, and unexpected laughs, you'll love this space comedy series from H. Claire Taylor.
- GenresScience Fiction
262 pages, Paperback
Published May 2, 2023
62 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
H. Claire Taylor
29 books115 followersReader, PMS survivor, Texan, satirist, author of the Jessica Christ series and the Kilhaven Police series, podcaster, blogger and oversharer.
Send me book recommendations for humor, psychology/sociology (criminal is the most fun), indie publishing, artificial intelligence (not too technical; I'm an English major FFS), or marketing. Bonus points if you recommend something that's all of the above.
I read fantasy, sci-fi, and lit fic unless someone pushes it on me, at which point I rebel and make sure to never read that title. I don't understand it either.
Send me book recommendations for humor, psychology/sociology (criminal is the most fun), indie publishing, artificial intelligence (not too technical; I'm an English major FFS), or marketing. Bonus points if you recommend something that's all of the above.
I read fantasy, sci-fi, and lit fic unless someone pushes it on me, at which point I rebel and make sure to never read that title. I don't understand it either.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 3, 2023
This was a lot of fun and completely irreverent
June 25, 2023
I have a confession: I rarely read books twice. There have been a few exceptions, of course - books from my childhood that touched my young heart and imagination, and impacted the course of my life. But as an adult? Naw, not really. There are simply too many books to read, and too little years left to read them in.
But I've read "Lucky Stars" twice now, and it's quite possible that I'll read it again before the journey's over. I hadn't intended to do so, honestly. I'd read it once, loved it, and went to review it. Goodreads wasn't taking reviews at that time, so I left it for later. Much, much later (when they were taking reviews), I realized that I'd never gone back and reviewed it. As months had passed and many books had entered my cranial cavity, I figured I'd skim it to refresh my memory of it before writing the review. Nope, not what happened. As soon as I started the process, I became absorbed by the book all over again. Every page. Straight through. And I enjoyed it even more than I did the first time (which would have had a 5 star review, had I written it then). All of that is to say that it's a wonderful read, and so worth the time!
Alice Luck, the female protagonist, is a delight. Texan in all the good ways, she's down to earth, crude at times, coarse at times, sexual a lot of times, funny as hell, up for a good time with booze, drugs, sex, or pig-wrestling championships (or all of the above). She's the only daughter in a family of men and was raised to be tough, and she is. She's attractive enough (finding sexual partners has not been a problem in her life), but she's by no means petite (her thighs were once described as "tree trunks") and is fully capable of taking on a number of feral hogs with a bowie knife (and has). She's also commitment-phobic (especially relationships), and has mastered the fine art of storming away or forcing others to storm away. She's very, very human, and definitely someone you'd want to have a beer or four with in a near-dive bar. Once you make her acquaintance, you want to stay there.
The plot is also fun, and reflects many of the same qualities exhibited by the protagonist. It is funny, at times zany, and moves along nicely. You won't be bored. Alice picked up a 4 year degree (in 8 years) in Animal Husbandry. She is handpicked by alien entities to head up a crew that zips around the universe figuring out which alien race can mate with which alien race, in order to keep their populations from dying out. (Kind of like figuring out how to mate a tree sloth with an elephant, only in semi-humanoid form.) Throw in a crew member who looks like an armadillo and specializes in cultural sensitivity and weaponry, and a ship's AI that never misses a chance for a sexual innuendo (she's been re-purposed from her role on a ship where she...nevermind), along with a couple of other interesting and funny crew members, and you've got a crew you want to hang with from one side of the universe to the other.
"Lucky Stars" is the first in a series, but it is a completely stand-alone novel. (Spoiler alert: I've read the next two, and they are just as wonderful!)
But I've read "Lucky Stars" twice now, and it's quite possible that I'll read it again before the journey's over. I hadn't intended to do so, honestly. I'd read it once, loved it, and went to review it. Goodreads wasn't taking reviews at that time, so I left it for later. Much, much later (when they were taking reviews), I realized that I'd never gone back and reviewed it. As months had passed and many books had entered my cranial cavity, I figured I'd skim it to refresh my memory of it before writing the review. Nope, not what happened. As soon as I started the process, I became absorbed by the book all over again. Every page. Straight through. And I enjoyed it even more than I did the first time (which would have had a 5 star review, had I written it then). All of that is to say that it's a wonderful read, and so worth the time!
Alice Luck, the female protagonist, is a delight. Texan in all the good ways, she's down to earth, crude at times, coarse at times, sexual a lot of times, funny as hell, up for a good time with booze, drugs, sex, or pig-wrestling championships (or all of the above). She's the only daughter in a family of men and was raised to be tough, and she is. She's attractive enough (finding sexual partners has not been a problem in her life), but she's by no means petite (her thighs were once described as "tree trunks") and is fully capable of taking on a number of feral hogs with a bowie knife (and has). She's also commitment-phobic (especially relationships), and has mastered the fine art of storming away or forcing others to storm away. She's very, very human, and definitely someone you'd want to have a beer or four with in a near-dive bar. Once you make her acquaintance, you want to stay there.
The plot is also fun, and reflects many of the same qualities exhibited by the protagonist. It is funny, at times zany, and moves along nicely. You won't be bored. Alice picked up a 4 year degree (in 8 years) in Animal Husbandry. She is handpicked by alien entities to head up a crew that zips around the universe figuring out which alien race can mate with which alien race, in order to keep their populations from dying out. (Kind of like figuring out how to mate a tree sloth with an elephant, only in semi-humanoid form.) Throw in a crew member who looks like an armadillo and specializes in cultural sensitivity and weaponry, and a ship's AI that never misses a chance for a sexual innuendo (she's been re-purposed from her role on a ship where she...nevermind), along with a couple of other interesting and funny crew members, and you've got a crew you want to hang with from one side of the universe to the other.
"Lucky Stars" is the first in a series, but it is a completely stand-alone novel. (Spoiler alert: I've read the next two, and they are just as wonderful!)
June 23, 2023
Good sci fi adventure
The satire is strong, so much so I wasn't sure I would like the book, but Alice and her crew won me over. The story is fun, the characters are interesting, but why did Alice really get hired?
The satire is strong, so much so I wasn't sure I would like the book, but Alice and her crew won me over. The story is fun, the characters are interesting, but why did Alice really get hired?
June 8, 2023
A review
Loved the Book the characters are amazing the book has a feel of Douglas Adams and still being original book
Jessica Christ meets Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy
Loved the Book the characters are amazing the book has a feel of Douglas Adams and still being original book
Jessica Christ meets Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy
February 2, 2024
It was fun. I liked the direction, but could use more coherence. Quick enough read that I might give the next one a try.
May 2, 2024
I made it to the point where parents beating their children is played off as a joke. Ha ha. Child abuse. So funny.
The author is trying to write like the Hitchhiker's Guide, but just isn't as funny.
The author is trying to write like the Hitchhiker's Guide, but just isn't as funny.
June 6, 2024
great characters.
Fun from the very beginning, the characters all played a Strong part in this fast moving and entertaining story with exploits you could almost believe!
Fun from the very beginning, the characters all played a Strong part in this fast moving and entertaining story with exploits you could almost believe!
February 9, 2024
Interesting and different
June 29, 2023
I've been waiting for this author's next series and I wasn't disappointed! I loved this book, Alice is my kind of Captain with a crew that has to figure out if she actually has a clue what she's doing. The book was paced well and I found the story engaging. This is a great start to what be an amazing series, on to book 2!
May 8, 2023
LUCKY STARS by H. Claire Taylor
Lucky Stars is an intergalactic sci-fi romp around stars and was a lot of fun to read. We follow Alice Luck, an earthling whose luck falls mostly on the bad side. Although, as they say, we tend to make our own luck. After a bizarre job interview, Alice accepts a new position that takes her, shall we say, far from home. Alice’s new employer, “the Depot,” seems to see more in Alice than even she does herself, and she is made the Captain of a ship sent by the Depot to complete tasks for their clients. The crew’s first task, hook up some swinging aliens with a compatible, and consenting, species to keep the bloodlines moving. Oh, and they only have a couple days to get it done, or they’ll be marooned on some nasty planet for the rest of their lives.
Lucky Stars is a fun, easy read. Sensitive readers be ware, there is a fair amount of foul language and sexual inuendo involved. I picked up the first 3 books of this series on Kickstarter, and I’m glad I did, as I don’t have to wait to jump into the next book in the series, Cluster Luck.
Lucky Stars is an intergalactic sci-fi romp around stars and was a lot of fun to read. We follow Alice Luck, an earthling whose luck falls mostly on the bad side. Although, as they say, we tend to make our own luck. After a bizarre job interview, Alice accepts a new position that takes her, shall we say, far from home. Alice’s new employer, “the Depot,” seems to see more in Alice than even she does herself, and she is made the Captain of a ship sent by the Depot to complete tasks for their clients. The crew’s first task, hook up some swinging aliens with a compatible, and consenting, species to keep the bloodlines moving. Oh, and they only have a couple days to get it done, or they’ll be marooned on some nasty planet for the rest of their lives.
Lucky Stars is a fun, easy read. Sensitive readers be ware, there is a fair amount of foul language and sexual inuendo involved. I picked up the first 3 books of this series on Kickstarter, and I’m glad I did, as I don’t have to wait to jump into the next book in the series, Cluster Luck.
May 28, 2023
Prepare yourself for a laugh riot! This book is a comedic gem that had me rolling on the floor like a hyperactive octopus. It's like Douglas Adams on steroids, blending absurdity and relentless humor in a way that'll leave your sides splitting. I devoured it quicker than a pack of ravenous raccoons, unable to tear my eyes away from my trusty Kindle.
Now, let's talk about those snarky lines and sex jokes, shall we? They were sprinkled throughout the book like confetti at a wild party, keeping me hooked and giggling all the way to the grand finale. It was a thrilling and entertaining experience that left me gasping for breath between fits of laughter.
Sure, there's a teensy-weensy downside. Not much actually happens in the book, and we only see things from Alice Luck's team's perspective. It could've used a pinch of extra nuance to spice things up. But hey, who cares? I'm diving straight into book 2 faster than a caffeinated cheetah on roller skates! Bring on the giggles, baby! 😜
Now, let's talk about those snarky lines and sex jokes, shall we? They were sprinkled throughout the book like confetti at a wild party, keeping me hooked and giggling all the way to the grand finale. It was a thrilling and entertaining experience that left me gasping for breath between fits of laughter.
Sure, there's a teensy-weensy downside. Not much actually happens in the book, and we only see things from Alice Luck's team's perspective. It could've used a pinch of extra nuance to spice things up. But hey, who cares? I'm diving straight into book 2 faster than a caffeinated cheetah on roller skates! Bring on the giggles, baby! 😜
May 29, 2023
Utterly brilliant writing as expected.
I waited so long for this series after a teaser from the author.
Having devoured the Jessica Christ series, this was well worth the wait.
I would encourage readers to get involved on Kickstarter to help these kind of projects along, even if, as I did, only in a small way.
The humour suits me, and the characters and story move along at my kinda pace. The ship's AI operating system is hysterical.
I'm just about to finish book 3 and have a five month wait for book 4. It's gonna be a long summer.
I waited so long for this series after a teaser from the author.
Having devoured the Jessica Christ series, this was well worth the wait.
I would encourage readers to get involved on Kickstarter to help these kind of projects along, even if, as I did, only in a small way.
The humour suits me, and the characters and story move along at my kinda pace. The ship's AI operating system is hysterical.
I'm just about to finish book 3 and have a five month wait for book 4. It's gonna be a long summer.
June 14, 2023
What a kick! Claire has a knack for good storytelling, wit, sarcasm and satire! Her references to Alice and her Texas lifestyle are hilarious. Lots of salty language, so not for the prude or sensitive to a little swearing. This was a great escape from all the seriousness in the news. I'm now starting the second book in this series and already loving it too. I highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews