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Hal Spacejock #6
Safe Art
A wealthy patron is sponsoring a series of art exhibitions, and Hal Spacejock has been employed to transport valuable pieces from one venue to the next.
The only question is which of them will last longest ... Hal or the artworks?
The only question is which of them will last longest ... Hal or the artworks?
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2013
29 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Simon Haynes
85 books172 followersSimon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock, Harriet Walsh and Hal Junior (MG) series. He divides his time between writing fiction and computer software, with the occasional bike ride thrown in for a laugh.
Simon lives in Perth, Western Australia.
Simon lives in Perth, Western Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 25, 2018
Great easy read. Have continued reading this after a long long break. Funny, great characters and well flowing plot.
January 10, 2021
From start to finish this book held me in its grip. And I loved it.
Comedy; transporting goods; art that sucked; oh, and there was a humungous rock too, just to add some weight to the whole thing!
Hal Spacejock and his trusty sidekick and best friend, a robot called Clunk (best name for a rickety old robot!)
are given the job of transporting what Hal ceaselessly refers to as 'that pile of Junk,' but which Clunk (who is a more sophisticated Robot) refers to as 'pieces of modern art.'
There is a badly stuffed dead cow, or as the artist called it, 'Cow In A Field;' A large dead fish jammed head first into a small glass bottle, or
'Fish In A Glass;' as the artist named it. A piece of tube in a glass case, or as the artist refers to it, 'Semi Colon.' And finally the Pièce De Résistance, a huge rock, with two human hairs resting on top of it,
or 'Hair Piece;'
as the artist in his genius named it.
Now despite Hal's utter contempt with which he held it and it's blatant lack of any redeeming quality, Hal agreed to carry the cargo from one planet to another.
Meanwhile, not too far away, an old flame of Hal's; Harriett Walsh; has resurfaced as a Trainee Peace Force Officer, who has been informed that she is to travel with Hal and Clunk on a mission but been told that it is an undercover mission and that the rest of the Peace Force won't be told about it unless she fails or succeeds.
As a part of my favourite comedy story series, this one started with a simple job; but nothing, NOTHING is SIMPLE for Hal Spacejock. But Hal wanted the job done with and was driving himself mad with intolerance and making things worse by being badly behaved most of the time at least.
I absolutely love this series. It's funny, geeky, with great ideas provided by Clunk, and questionable ideas, and behaviour provided by Hal most of the time.
This book will make you smile and/or laugh from start to finish.
Comedy; transporting goods; art that sucked; oh, and there was a humungous rock too, just to add some weight to the whole thing!
Hal Spacejock and his trusty sidekick and best friend, a robot called Clunk (best name for a rickety old robot!)
are given the job of transporting what Hal ceaselessly refers to as 'that pile of Junk,' but which Clunk (who is a more sophisticated Robot) refers to as 'pieces of modern art.'
There is a badly stuffed dead cow, or as the artist called it, 'Cow In A Field;' A large dead fish jammed head first into a small glass bottle, or
'Fish In A Glass;' as the artist named it. A piece of tube in a glass case, or as the artist refers to it, 'Semi Colon.' And finally the Pièce De Résistance, a huge rock, with two human hairs resting on top of it,
or 'Hair Piece;'
as the artist in his genius named it.
Now despite Hal's utter contempt with which he held it and it's blatant lack of any redeeming quality, Hal agreed to carry the cargo from one planet to another.
Meanwhile, not too far away, an old flame of Hal's; Harriett Walsh; has resurfaced as a Trainee Peace Force Officer, who has been informed that she is to travel with Hal and Clunk on a mission but been told that it is an undercover mission and that the rest of the Peace Force won't be told about it unless she fails or succeeds.
As a part of my favourite comedy story series, this one started with a simple job; but nothing, NOTHING is SIMPLE for Hal Spacejock. But Hal wanted the job done with and was driving himself mad with intolerance and making things worse by being badly behaved most of the time at least.
I absolutely love this series. It's funny, geeky, with great ideas provided by Clunk, and questionable ideas, and behaviour provided by Hal most of the time.
This book will make you smile and/or laugh from start to finish.
April 23, 2018
kindle unlimited
A wealthy patron is sponsoring a series of art exhibitions, and Hal Spacejock has been employed to transport the valuable pieces from one venue to the next.
The only question is which of them will last longest ... Hal or the artworks?
There's also a new spin-off series, Harriet Walsh, featuring the popular Peace Force character from Hal Spacejock 4: No Free Lunch.
Hal Junior 1: The Secret Signal: science fiction for ages 8-12
Hal Junior 2: The Missing Case: science fiction for ages 8-12
Hal Junior 3: The Gyris Mission: science fiction for ages 8-12
Hal Spacejock 1: A robot named Clunk
Hal Spacejock 2: Second Course
Hal Spacejock 3: Just Desserts
Hal Spacejock Omnibus One {Hal Spacejock Omnibus One Hal Spacejock #1-3, PLUS a bonus short story: Hal Spacejock Visit/4.2}
Hal Spacejock 4: No Free Lunch
Hal Spacejock 4.1: Framed
Hal Spacejock 4.2: Visit
Hal Spacejock 5: Baker's Dough
Hal Spacejock 6: Safe Art
Hal Spacejock 7.1: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.2: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.3: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.4: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.5: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.6: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.7: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.8: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.9: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.10: Big Ban
Hal Spacejock 8: Double Trouble
A wealthy patron is sponsoring a series of art exhibitions, and Hal Spacejock has been employed to transport the valuable pieces from one venue to the next.
The only question is which of them will last longest ... Hal or the artworks?
There's also a new spin-off series, Harriet Walsh, featuring the popular Peace Force character from Hal Spacejock 4: No Free Lunch.
Hal Junior 1: The Secret Signal: science fiction for ages 8-12
Hal Junior 2: The Missing Case: science fiction for ages 8-12
Hal Junior 3: The Gyris Mission: science fiction for ages 8-12
Hal Spacejock 1: A robot named Clunk
Hal Spacejock 2: Second Course
Hal Spacejock 3: Just Desserts
Hal Spacejock Omnibus One {Hal Spacejock Omnibus One Hal Spacejock #1-3, PLUS a bonus short story: Hal Spacejock Visit/4.2}
Hal Spacejock 4: No Free Lunch
Hal Spacejock 4.1: Framed
Hal Spacejock 4.2: Visit
Hal Spacejock 5: Baker's Dough
Hal Spacejock 6: Safe Art
Hal Spacejock 7.1: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.2: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.3: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.4: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.5: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.6: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.7: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.8: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.9: Big Bang
Hal Spacejock 7.10: Big Ban
Hal Spacejock 8: Double Trouble
June 28, 2021
Another Hilarious romp
Great story full of the usual antics and sarcasm, great interplay between robot and human character. Hal and Clunk certainly at their best in this one.
Great story full of the usual antics and sarcasm, great interplay between robot and human character. Hal and Clunk certainly at their best in this one.
July 15, 2023
Excellent!
Even the worst space delivery man of the entire galaxy could give the right time twice a day! Pure candy!
Even the worst space delivery man of the entire galaxy could give the right time twice a day! Pure candy!
August 31, 2013
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.
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
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
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
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
September 19, 2013
Harriet!! I am super glad that Harriet is a character that is going to be around for later Hal Spacejock books. This book was just as good as all the other books although this one came off as more serious and less funny, which is not a bad thing. The writing is good, the characters are funny and the story is always interesting and action-y. I really like the interactions between Hal and Harriet. The story was also very interesting with the Peace Force aspect. I am looking forward to Harriet's Peace Force series!!! I also can't wait for the next Hal Spacejock adventure!!
July 31, 2013
Another great instalment in the Hal Spacejock series! Safe Art sees Hal & Clunk entrusted with a freight of valuable artworks (aka pretentious crap according to Hal) for delivery to an art exhibition.
A fantastic & really funny read. I laughed out loud more than once. Can't wait for the next
A fantastic & really funny read. I laughed out loud more than once. Can't wait for the next
November 3, 2014
I love reading the misadventures of the one and only Hal Spacejock, and this one was particularly enjoyable because we got to see Harriet Walsh in action again.
April 12, 2017
Good to see a sci-fi comedy series doing well
And an Australian one at that! It seems that decent books in this genre are in short supply. The Hal Spacejock books are an easy read and gloriously B-grade in parts.
And an Australian one at that! It seems that decent books in this genre are in short supply. The Hal Spacejock books are an easy read and gloriously B-grade in parts.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews