Spindle

by Ian Taylor

Spindle is the hilarious tale of Peter Turner's first week in the Space Force, facing unknown dangers as he tries to protect the solar system from crime, corruption, and a vast planet-eating space beast.

Genres: Humor, Science Fiction

274 pages, Paperback

First published July 18, 2005

Reviews

[Karen Hatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spindle is the hilarious and suspenseful tale of Space Force rookie Peter Turner. Anxious for adventure, he feels ready to enforce justice across the galaxy. But he’s not prepared for the ineptness of Space Force bureaucracy; the random abuse of his hard-drinking partner, Trooper Oblun; or the dilapidated condition of his new ship, the Spindle. Still, he does meet some interesting “people:” an alien scientist who calls himself Funky Science God; a human-looking being, Nono, who has no idea who or what he is; and a soccer-ball-sized alien that manages to best Peter in a fight while resisting arrest. Space, Peter learns quickly, is a dangerous place. When he’s not being threatened by tiny aliens or his own partner, his crummy ship is either electrocuting him or heading for a crash landing. With only thuggish Trooper Oblun to mentor him, Peter isn’t counting on surviving past his first week. But when a planet-eating space beast heads for Earth, Peter is determined to be the Space Force Trooper he'd imagined himself to be. First thing Peter wants to know: is the creature's presence in Earthspace is a coincidence...or an act of genocide?

This is easily the funniest book I've ever read in any genre, and it's a rollicking good scifi story as well. I find myself quoting the book often, which is easy since I've read the book over 60 times. Ian Taylor's unique and unusual comedic style remains hilarious, read after read. I've recommended this book to everyone I know and given lots of copies as gifts. My eight-year-old is reading it now and loves it (it's suitable for all ages). I'd recommend Spindle to anyone who enjoys comedy, scifi, or both.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terribly funny! I have and will continue to recommend it to sci-fi/comedy fans.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

On third reading. This is a one off, he never wrote the anticipated sequel. He's now in the U.S. working on video games, but working on potential story for an anthology. sigh. I looked for years, do you know how many Ian Taylor authors there are? Sigh.

[Bec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um, no. I initially pulled this off the library shelves because I couldn't believe someone would use Comic Sans on an actual, professionally published book. It's true that the cover looks like something a bunch of teenagers would print for a zine, but I got a laugh out of the first couple of pages so thought I'd give it a chance.

Sadly, you can really feel the effort the author put into making it funny, but it just isn't. He's going for Douglas Adams/Terry Pratchett type quirky humour but just can't pull it off. Because of that it can feel quite clunky, even though it's fast-paced and a quick read.