Pax Titanus

New Bizarro Author Series

by Tom Lucas

FORCED TO FIGHT!

Intergalactic kidnappers have taken the son of a simple construction worker, demanding that he enter the greatest fighting tournament in the universe, the SkullCrushFest, and murder every one of his opponents.

They picked the wrong guy to mess with.

Titanus might not be a natural fighter, but he's got the greatest gladiator coach in the games and a not-so-secret weapon--his alien ability to increase any body part in size or length.

Also, it doesn't hurt that he's ten feet tall, has four arms, and two massive war hammers.

Are you ready to crush some skulls? Are you ready to bash and crash? Well then...

It's time to GET BIG!

Genres: Bizarro Fiction, Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction

124 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2014

About the author

Tom Lucas was born and raised in Detroit, and although currently enjoying the lack of snow and ice in Florida, remains a son of the post-industrial apocalypse.

He is a college professor, author, blogger, poet, book reviewer, and spoken word performer.

Tom has been published in Writer's Digest, The Writer's Monthly Review, The Orlando Weekly, The South End, The Oakland Press, The Macomb Daily, Orbit, Anthropomorphic, and U. Magazine. He has also been featured in literary journals such as The Write Place at the Write Time, Graffiti Rag, F*cked Up Fairy Tales, and Dark Fire Fiction.
When not writing, Tom likes to drive fast and take chances.

For more information visit: https://room1331.home.blog/

Reviews

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A BIG! four/half stars.

Tom Lucas takes the gladiator battles to a whole new universe. Very strong characters (literally) and a likeable storyline. My guesses were not corrected....(Titanus's final battle guess and the outcome of the final battle) So that gives my thoughts on a awesome twist.

Titanus is a hero on his planet with a very, very BIG member. Asked to join in on some arena battles of many different monsters from around the universe. On top of that his son has been kidnapped and being held hostage until he competes in the deadly battles. This is not WWE wrestling, leave your opponent dead in puddles of blood.

I'm calling for a BIG! sequal. More blood, more monster creativity and the future (Titanus Jr.) to take more of a beating like Rocky did in his blockbuster battle against Apollo Creed.

Massive war hammers, a coach full of cuss words, sexual seepage ooze, crushed skulls. All crammed together in this BIG epic arena style battles. Tom Lucas knocks a memorable sci-fi out of this world... GET SOME!

and always think BIG!

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read much bizarro fiction, so I suspect my sensibilities might be a bit fussier and more delicate than many long-time fans of the genre. There was too much scatological humor for me to say I truly loved the book. However, I had a very good time reading it.

It made me laugh out loud more than once. I loved the main character, the sports commentator duo (especially the brain in a jar), and the lovely giant cephalopod. Really, there are awesome aliens, worlds, and battles throughout the book. It blasts by.

There's wicked wit and satire to be found in this story. There's also real heart too. I admire a tale that can combine ridiculously fun action with some emotional depth. It's all over the top...gigantic fun.

I'll be checking out more from this author and from the genre.

[Emma Alice Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Bizarro Space Brawl After Another

With a big, tough, four-armed space guy battling other weird space things chapter after chapter, you can't really go wrong. That the author manages to imbue the main space guy, Titanus, with some depth of character and a reason for fighting makes it all the more worthwhile. Lots of fun side characters/weirdos. My only gripe with this book is that two of the recurring side characters, an annoying couple of fight commentators, where not dramatically and bloodily smashed in the last chapter.

[Leo Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get into this one—but I missed the Douglas Adams window too. It's just not for me!

[Michael Allen Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing you need to know about Pax Titanus is that Veritassian shlongs are huge. Veritassians also have four arms, can only speak the truth, and tend to be pretty tough. The second thing you need to know is that the universe is vast and uncaring, and kind of filled with jerks, like intergalactic kidnappers, slutty swords, betrayers and of course the biggest jerk of all, the emperor of space. When you read Pax Titanus, you’ll see these forces come head to head, following lovable protagonist Titanus (a Veritassian) as he battles through an alien gladiatorial gauntlet to save his son from dream the machinations of the aforementioned jerks and some dream leeches. That’s that first thing indicating author Tom Lucas knows his way around storytelling. Lucas tells a warm, grounded and hilarious story of love and revenge. Even with all the insanity described above firmly in place, he somehow manages to cling to a fastidious sense of internal logic that makes reading Pax Titanus an absolute joy.

Often times in a novella, the story feels squeezed into a smaller package than it deserves due to length restrictions. This is not the case with Pax Titanus. Lucas has wisely steered clear of a lot of extraneous complexities of plot and stuck with a clear and concise story arc. We see Titanus with his family, get forced into the tournament, grow as a fighter, get a coach, accolades from the crowd, and training, all of which leads from battle to battle until the climactic fight to win it all. The simplicity of story serves the book well, and allows moments of humor and character to gleam. One moment I particularly loved was when our hero is in trouble in one of the final matches and a message comes from his wife that gives him hope. The twist? His wife is a squid, who oozes various emotional secretions. I won’t spoil the moment here, but it’s bits like these that show the range of Lucas’s sense of humor and allow the style to come through the simple story, simply told.

This book comes recommended for any sci-fi fan, video game junkie or bizarro book lover. The sheer variety of the alien races, the bizarre and captivating descriptions of their quirks, and the imaginative fights are well worth the price of admission. Are you ready to crush some skulls? Tom Lucas is, and he’s been kind enough to share a knockout sledgehammer blow with his readers.

[KATHERINE PARKER · Rating 5 out of 5]

DING DONG: THIS ***** IS DEAD!

Crude, crass, and unimaginably delicious, Pax Titanus will be the fodder that causes intergalactic wars for generations as entrepreneuring space-gladiators seek the brain-blood of author Tom Lucas to feed their endless appetite for decadent mayhem of the inappropriately humorous sort.

Taking a step out of my general “safety zone” of traditional fantasy and historical novels of varying degrees, I picked up Pax Titanus out of curiosity and, perhaps, a bit of insanity. In the first paragraph I was captured, by the end of the first chapter I was in chains. Chapter Two attached a steel ball, chapter three bludgeoned me into immobility and by chapter four I knew I wouldn’t be putting the book down until there wasn’t a word left to read.

Tom Lucas lays every culture on the paper with color and a draw on familiarity that gives the imagination free reign to draw from the world around it to build something new and vibrant that still evokes emotional undertones drawn from every segment of life.

Running beneath all of the humor and mockery flows the lifeblood of a story at its best. Prideful, honorable, and dedicated, Titanus sacrifices as only a father can to save his son. Supported by a cast of interesting characters, and with a little luck, Tits accomplishes the unimaginable again and again.

All in all, I give this book an A+ and only wish I could have lived inside the book a little longer, enjoying the vibrant and interesting mind of the author and the vast playground he has created.

[Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars...Honestly, when first looking at the 3 current NBAS titles, this was the one that looked the least interesting to me, mostly due to the fact that I am generally not a huge fan of books with multiple battle scenes, and assumed this would be just be another one of those. I am so glad that I did not trust my instincts. The battle scenes were great, never overdone. Not only was this humorous and fun to read, with bonus points for puns that might not be noticed right away, there was something here that also had me feeling genuine empathy for many of the characters. In particular, Pax and his wife Heidiiee had an amazing dynamic to their relationship. The way that she communicated was fascinating to me. There was so much packed into this novella that I felt like I had read a novel, without the often unnecessary, boring descriptions and development of insignificant characters. The pacing was just right and never seem to dally too long in one setting.
Each battle takes place on a different planet, each inhabited by its own variety of lifeforms. There is a depth within the characters that is not common for a novella length release. This story could be expanded in so many directions. I really enjoyed reading this and will read anything that the author publishes in the future. A great addition to the NBAS catalog.

[Ryan O'connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and enjoyed Tom Lucas' first novel, Leather to the Corinthians, I was stoked to see he'd been picked up for the New bizarro author series at Eraserhead.

Pax is is a thoroughly fun read from start to finish, light and really well paced I smashed through it in two evenings.It has a real pulp sci-fi feel to it as well as some thoroughly off the wall ideas. There's some great word play which is just the right kind of juvenile to elicit full out loud chuckling from me :) If you have an inner geek that grew up reading lots of fantasy and sci-fi you're gonna love it. If you are looking for something cartoonly violent and funny you'll enjoy it too.

It's the story of a four-armed, size shifting, alien who has to compete in an interplanetary gladiatorial contest to save the life of his son... and it has phrases such as 'Monstrous and veiny bang-stick'. What's not to enjoy? The advertisements scattered throughout the book are genius little satirical snippets and again made me laugh out loud.

[Neil Sanzari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Lucas has packed so much into the world of Pax Titanus that you can’t help but be immersed within its reality. At first glance, Pax is built like a videogame with each new chapter achieving the next level until the game is finally over. And then within this tight framework of the space operatic in motion, the breadth and scope of Tom’s unique vision one part true grit, two parts funnier than a mofo takes ahold of you by the you know what’s. So much so that the story wields a visceral quality, where the seven-limbed Titanus truly becomes your avatar until his motivations become your motivations. And his blood, sweat and tears become your blood, sweat and tears, because at the very heart of this Bizarro tale is the undying love and devotion that only a dedicated parent can have for his or her own child.

[Victor Espinosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang, this book was awesome. Hilarious, bizarre, badass. It's the science fiction satire that I didn't know my life was missing. Some strangeness that didn't add to the plot at all and grammatical errors every once and a while subtracted from its overall value, as well as some easy-way-ouy scenarios that could have ended a little better with effort. But this book was a fantastic experience to read. Anything that was negative was so slightly so that it didn't matter in the long run. So glad I got a sticker from Tom when I did, now I just need to find a place to put it. The IntergalacticSkullCrushFest is not something to be taken lightly.

[Melanie Catchpole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pax is very likeable! His family are at risk and so he has to fight and kill to keep them from harm. There is a sad but happy ending, of sorts... It's so difficult to review something without giving anything away!
Really nice and easy to read story. I liked the relationship he has with his wife and child. I liked that the wife was different and their way of communicating. I liked the 'scene' at the end with Gleedrial.
What didn't I like?... No giant cock on the front cover.
Will definitely be reading more from this author.

[Devin M. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly enjoyed this book. It was disgustingly fun to read. Some of the ideas and descriptions were downright genius. (Titanus' wife, for example. I openly applaud Tom Lucas for coming up with her)
If you ever have played D&D, ShadowRun, and Mutants & Masterminds; you should thoroughly enjoy this book. Take the film Gladiator and splice it with Ren & Stimpy, then crank up the volume and gore until it's rated X.
I absolutely recommend this book to readers of weird fiction.

[Katherine J Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond fun to ready. Bloody. Violent. Hilarious. Adults Only! Underneath all of the trappings of a fun read is a strong story. Well worth the read.

[Nicholaus Patnaude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains Spoilers

This action-packed, surreal, and humorous science fiction novella will challenge your science fiction genre expectations and confound your worldview.

Meet Pax: a four-armed intergalactic beefcake. Join him as he battles an array of imaginative beasts and contenders for the title at the demand of an egotistical Emperor.

Often, Pax Titanus reads like a dark adult cartoon. I wish there were bizarro novellas like this one when I was growing up. I would have devoured them with the gusto I spent lapping up every last b horror and drive-in classic from those long-forgotten video rental shelves.

The opening had a great hook (eventually, the two best friends would put their hands on each other’s cocks, ha, ha). Their conversations are refreshingly crass for a sci fi novel. Most sci fi I’ve read lacks the sense of humor of this one (except for PKD, who is the best IMO). Craxx’s sensual obsession with his sister is also funny and irreverent.

Here’s a memorable scene: Pax enlarging himself while saving Craxx with his monstrous member as they landed on the planet’s wailing diva and splattered the crowd with his love juices. Crude yet imaginative as the best of bizarro always seems to manage.

I read in the intro that this book was originally a short story. I asked Tom Lucas about the story’s genesis; he told me it was produced in a Litreactor writing class with Rose O’Keefe.

A vivid and mysterious call to adventure commences, along with a well-argued refusal of the call; however, the adventure must be undertaken: it means saving Pax’s family. The destruction of the journalists is funny scene. Pax’s relations with his squid wife and her secretions a bit eerie as she must’ve smelled his musk through her beak.

I would say Tom’s strength is definitely in writing imaginative action sequences with a sense of spectacle. His talents really shined in the first fight sequence with the…Mugworth (sp?). It was a nail-biting scene, which must have been difficult to accomplish given the odd nature of both the opponents’ bodies, but since we learned of Tits’ growth abilities earlier, it was a sound fight that did not tax the plausibility detector in this reader, even as his overweight fly trainer hovered in the corner.

The beaver with the hair caught in his throat was pretty hilarious–I got the sense of an ominous presence, but then when he coughed up the hair he became rather goofy. The second fight left me wanting for a bit more obstacles and passed too rapidly. The mana-pot and the fireballs made for RPG-esque imagery.

The scene with the dead Craxx and his “ninja handler” provided another PKD-esque horror moment. I love when horror blends with sci-fi and honestly wish their more of this sort of stuff out there.

The fight with the brain squealer was memorable. The mixture of cuddliness and terror reminded me of one of my favorite bizarro novels: The Cannibals of Candyland.

The final fight sequence did not disappoint. The inter-dimensional time-shifting device created quite the final adversary. The ending balanced humor with pathos ingeniously. Overall, a wild and fun ride. Sort of a bizarro Rocky mixed with Farscape.

Prepare to be disgusted, shocked, surprised, and awed at the magnificently grotesque set pieces this novel conjures up with a slightly satirical tone; that being said, this novella is not strictly a satire. It plays by the rules of the pulpy bizarro playbook: it delivers in equal doses of fun, entertaining storytelling, crisp and direct prose, unexpected plot twists, and bizarre and original imagery that somehow mocks and reshapes science fiction tropes while celebrating them.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pax Titanus is anything but a singular story of warring aliens and conflict: it's replete with impossibilities, humor, and risqué description. Yes, the latter is there - so be prepared for shockingly graphic sexual descriptions and unexpected encounters wrapped in the guise of a rescue operation and a series of alien confrontations.

Space opera has largely waned in the face of the integration of science fiction with mystery and horror genres - and that's a shame. The giddy romps through intergalactic nether regions have largely succumbed to serious writings and predictable formulas and it's safe to say that for the most part, the genre as a whole has become overly unsurprising.

Perhaps that's the great strength of Pax Titanus: prepare to be surprised, shocked, and challenged; because there's little predictable here and much of its description and action is designed to 'shock and awe' beyond the usual approach of linear plots and ordinary heroes.

It's physical and emotional comedy at its best, with a huge dose of risqué and ribald humor thrown in (prudes, look elsewhere: dialogue and interaction can be easily deemed blatant and crude, depending on your mindset.)

It's nonstop action at its least predictable, tossing in scenes and changes with the staccato blaze of guns firing and nightmares evolving.

The Roman flavor, complete with gladiators, codpieces, and strange names, is juxtaposed with unlikely futuristic scenarios involving ninja corpses, reanimated dangers, schmucks with laser swords, and doubts that arise between father and son.

And, yes, some of the humor can be said to be downright juvenile in feel; as with jokes about body parts and sex.

But, that's good space opera for you: the best works inject nonstop humor into the action and revolve around overly dramatic (yet engaging) characters who can face the choice of being dead or becoming the greatest warrior in the universe.

It's a hilarious romp, all right: not recommended for the serious hard science fiction reader used to predictability, but especially applauded for its ability to weave together a bizarre plot and disparate elements to ultimately create a heady mixture of an insane parody blended with interstellar supernova action.

Prepare to be boarded, because Pax Titanus grabs you by the neck, hauls you in, and in a mere 104 pages, creates an unforgettably hilarious universe replete with high-octane action and a satisfying juxtaposition of insane characters and purposes.

[Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titanus is a Veritassian, an alien that is ten feet tall, has four arms, can only speak the truth, and can grow and shrink any part of his body at will. ANY part (being that this is a bizarro book, I'll leave that bit up to your imagination). When his son is “kidnapped,” the kidnappers force him to enter a galactic gladiatorial contest featuring lots of weird aliens that could only spring from the mind of a deranged lunatic.

Tom Lucas' Pax Titanus tells this story and tells it well. Then again, this book isn't for those looking for a terribly in-depth story. The real feature of this book is the increasing amounts of alien carnage and detailed fight scenes to sate the reader's inner blood lust. The story is more there to move the action along.

The characters are quirky, from Titanus' inability to tell a lie to his wife (who's a squid) communicating by secreting emotional ooze based on what she's feeling. Right? Right. The book is the usual short length for an entry in the New Bizarro Authors Series. In this case, that works well. Lucas is forced to economize and doesn't waste any time on extraneous details. He focuses on what's important and gets to the point, which prevents the reader from screaming, “Get to the point!”

Graphic, violent, and simple, Pax Titanus still holds charm and does have a surprise ending. While this type of book isn't always my cup of tea, it was still a fun read that kept my attention and does make the inner child squeal with joy at the copious amounts of mindless violence. Or is that just me? My inner child might be a little disturbed.

If I have a main complaint, it's that this book could have used another pass the editor. Basic mechanical mistakes bug me enormously and are a pet peeve, and I have to knock the book down a little for that.

An enjoyable and short read that reminds one of a summer action flick, Pax Titanus definitely scratches a certain itch, although admittedly it may not be an itch that everyone has. If you like excessive amounts of literary violence not counting those brutal writers' conferences, then Pax Titanusis definitely worth your time.

Pax Titanus by Tom Lucas earns 4 out of 5 bludgeoned skulls.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was kindly provided with a copy of Pax Titanus to read and review by the author.

After many a gentle nudge from a very good friend of mine to give a bizarro book a go and when I saw that Tom Lucas was looking for reviewers of Pax Titanus I jumped at the chance and literally threw myself into it head first. This book had some majorly high expectations to fulfill and I actually went in quite apprehensive that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I was told I would. Wow was I wrong, this book was absolutely amazing. So much so that when I sat down with the intention of reading a handful of pages to get a taster, I did the whole thing front to back in one sitting.

It is a thoroughly well written book with such detailed imagery that it was impossible not to cringe and literally hold my nose at times. It's also full of many a laugh out loud moment but with a wonderful underlying current of family, love and sacrifice. Each and every character was fantastic and even if they only held up for a couple of pages they were still utterly memorable either for their amazing wit or their hilarity. Although it's a short book every page packs such a punch that it felt like I had read a full length novel. The world that Tom has created it vast but easy to become enthralled with.

With two shattered bots and Titanus busy hugging and kissing
his new hammers, the monkey was forced to push the holomonitor out by himself. Indignant, he didn't bother to mention that there was a ninja with a ventriloquist dummy standing at the door.

From the hilarious one liners to the emotional back bone this book has completely sold me and hooked me in to the bizarro genre. I will definitely be on the look out for more by Tom Lucas in the future, this is without a doubt a man with an amazing talent. Thank you to him for introducing me to this world and for providing me with a copy of the book. I highly recommend this book to everyone, whether you're in to this genre already or are looking for a foot in the door this book is sure to answers your prayers.

[Matthew Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This year's crop of The New Bizarro Author Series is quite a bit smaller than year's past. With only three books this time around it should be easier for most fans to read them all. So far, I've had the pleasure of reading Pax Titanus by Tom Lucas, and let me just say this book was great! I didn’t really have any expectations for this book, I figured it would be good, but this book took me by surprise.

We are introduced in the beginning to Titanus and his friend Craxx, two construction workers who take jobs even if they put their lives at risk to get them done. One particular job puts Titanus on the emperor's radar, and this starts a chain of events that leads to his son being kidnapped. The kidnappers force Titanus to fight in the SkullCrushFest, and so his only chance to save his family is to kill every one of his opponents.

Straight from the get go Tom Lucas' characters are awesome. He does an excellent job of making them real, giving them depth for the short amount of time some are even seen for. From Titanus' squid like wife that oozes emotions to the various combatants in the arenas, these characters are strong, funny, and likable. Speaking of funny, Tom spreads the humor around in this book and it works great.

Tom displays an insane amount of skill at the writing craft in this novella. I've seen it mentioned by other reviewers, he has created an enormous universe here and it would be awesome to see more stories utilizing what he has started here. I've got to hand it to Tom Lucas, he has surprised me, and won me over as a fan that will eagerly await his next writing endeavor.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Pax Titanus, Tom Lucas gives us what we don’t see very often anymore: a working-class male character who is noble, competent, and morally beyond reproach. Ostensibly, Pax Titanus concerns the adventures of a many-armed alien construction worker caught up in political intrigue in a strange universe (which, of course, is a defamiliarized novum that resembles our own fractured postmodern world). What we’re really seeing here is the plight of a working-class man in a place like Detroit or Belfast. This man, who resembles Eugene O’Neill’s hairy ape, loves his family, protects his friends, and finds himself, through no obvious fault of his own, the savior of the universe. This gift of a delightful protagonist from Lucas to his readers makes Pax a worthwhile read. But beyond the ability to create a compelling main character (alas, this character is also fairly static), one of the strengths that Lucas possesses is the ability to read and understand the sleaziness of contemporary US popular culture, from the music to the game shows to the various versions of martial arts turned into spectator sports. A third strength of this fun little book, which reminds me of the postmodern pastiches rendered by Charlie Anders, is the way in which Lucas joyfully depicts the embodiedness of his characters, from Pax, whose dong literally saves worlds, to the chemical secretions of Pax’s wonderfully rendered wife. Although I didn’t like the way in which Lucas handled the conclusion of the plot (which involves a jarring POV shift), I liked everything else about this delightful little book; make sure to check it out.

[David Piwinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not very familiar with the "bizarro" genre, so it is difficult for me to compare this to other similar works. I can say for sure that is is weird and funny and very entertaining, which is just about all one can ask from a novella where the main character's giant penis is a major plot point.

Titanus is a giant, four-armed alien who has the ability to increase the size of his body or limbs (or dong) at will. When his family is kidnapped, he is forced to fight in an intergalactic tournament called SkullCrushFest. The majority of the story is pretty much a fighting game - Titanus fights a series of increasingly tougher enemies, and gains new weapons and fighting moves along the way.

The highlight, for me, was all of the different and bizarre alien creatures that Lucas has created. While he does sometimes make references to other sci-fi worlds (poor Duke), most of the book feels very original and interesting. I would definitely like to see more, and I hope he continues writing stories in this setting.

Recommended if you like absurd humor, crazy sci-fi, and don't mind a very large amount of swearing and toilet humor. While that kind of thing doesn't bother or offend me, I actually think the book would've been better if the swearing was toned down a bit. Lucas is a clever and funny writer, and dropping extra f-bombs all the time doesn't add anything to that, and even seems out of place sometimes.

[Sidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s quite possible you’ve never read a story with a hero like Titanus, the 10-foot tall, four-armed hero of this weird and wild gem from Tom Lucas. He has a set of arms like Tars Tarkas and a, well let’s stop there. Other details of his anatomy are best confined to the pages of this novella and not the polite company of an open forum. Just know he can make any body part “get big.” Titanus is a Veritassian, you see, and that’s just something they can do. When he’s forced to save the day as things go uproariously awry on his latest construction gig, the repair of an atomic elevator, Titanus captures the attention of the Emperor of the Universe as well as a band of galactic rebels. The rebels soon hold Titanus’s son hostage and force him to become a gladiator. Forced to fight and kill, Titanus must face a series of strange worlds and bizarre and deadly opponents with a range of talents that challenge even his massive size and abilities.

Lucas has conceived a full-blown universe peopled with kooky, twisted characters, dark stumbling blocks, magic swords and zany and exciting situations. If you appreciate off beat and far out science fiction, you’ll want to get on board for this jaunt with a profane streak but a warm heart.

[Bryan K · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does an excellent job of letting us know what we're in for right from the first paragraph, and didn't let me down on a single page. Titanus at first sounds like a dumb brute, but the heart and love he shows for his wife and son is charming and makes him an incredibly loveable character to follow as things go more and more tits up. I even got a little choked up about his fight with Gleedriel, which was no surprise when it came but it gave me something to look forward to, because those two were friends.

I couldn't put this down once I picked it up, and read through the whole thing in a few hours. It's not a long book, of course, but it captured my attention. I wanted to see where this bizarre journey would take me, and I was not disappointed by it at all. I found it fitting when I got up to answer my phone, to come back to find I had bookmarked page 69. Lucas has a great way with words, that brought across what he needed to say and consistently made me laugh from beginning to end. If you liked Hitchhiker's Guide, then you'll certainly love this!

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some things about this novella I really liked. The fact that it is more or less the equivalent of the epic of Gilgamesh meets Godzilla in space is kind of a feat in itself and Tom Lucas' chaotic vision of the cosmos is quite entertaining if a little bit boyish at times. It this book would've been more than two hundred pages I would've most likely ended up hating it, but it stayed just long enough not to overstay its welcome and keep me in a state of absolute bewilderment.

This book has a lot of toilet humor though and I thought none of it was funny. I'm not going to laugh because a space monster ripped a huge fart because I'm not eight years old. So it lead me to lose patience with the book a couple times. Some of the characters also speak in oddly familiar vulgar terms which I thought broke the beautifully alien atmosphere Tom Lucas built.

You have to read PAX TITANUS to believe something like that actually exists and that warrants the book's existence and subsequent sales alone, but I thought it could've been something much better that what it ended up being.

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this work. Tom Lucas has composed a knowing send-up of the many conventions of space opera, and as such his book delivers a good deal of jokes at the expense of everything from Star Wars to Dune, but there's more to it than that: there's an actual story. Many parodies forget that audiences have to care about the narrative - otherwise there's no empathy. That's why Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Young Frankenstein retain at the heart of the fun a story involving characters we genuinely care about. Tom Lucas does the same here: Titanus, his wife Hiediiee, and his son Tinyanus (haha) are actual people with actual feelings, and all the deconstruction that comes with parody stays carefully away from that core of honest story, so that we get to care.
So check it out. It's a fast read, and a fun one. It's REALLY foul-mouthed, God bless Tom Lucas, and the sex is pretty good too. Wouldn't have it differently.

[Matt Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, raunchy read with a side of sarcasm.

I was worried this "Bizzaro" book would be random weirdness for the sake of weirdness, but Tom Lucas weaves a coherent universe and delivers an understandable plot. Sure, the world, or universe, of Pax Titanus is absurd, but it remains believable on it's own terms. The scarey thing is it also tends to reflect our own world a little too well.

I just wish it had been longer. The pace was fast, which is good, but it seemed to rush through the plot a little too quickly. Another 10k or 20k words would have fleshed the characters and plot out nicely without straining the story.

But I will definitely check out Lucas's other books now.

[Victor O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entertaining follow up to Lucas' highly original and intensely absurd Leather to the Corinthians is still firmly on the bizarre side of science fiction, but at its core is a quick paced action-adventure with memorable and appealing characters. Most endearing of all is the astonishingly tender relationship between the titular four-armed hero and his cephalopod wife who communicates only through secretions. The book moves swiftly through the story, every page bursting with clever ideas and characterizations that I would love to see developed in future novels. Highly recommended!

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Bizarro Debut

I absolutely enjoyed this debut bizarro book by Lucas. He packs in lots of characterizations and wordplay into the short format. I laughed the entire way through at all jokes, even the subtle ones that I didn't get at first. Titanus was a great protagonist but all the supporting characters from Craxx to the sportscasters were great. The story was very engaging, I think I read it in just three sittings. I will definitely look for more from Mr. Lucas.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a writer, it is hard to come up with something new. Something that hasn't been done. That is exactly what Tom Lucas has done. He has taken a plot that otherwise would have been a run of the mill action story, and made it something fresh and exciting. His characters are fun and, although sometimes unreal, you can still sense the emotion and feel what they feel.