Space Team

Space Team #1

by Barry J. Hutchison

Alternate Cover Edition of ASIN B01LT76J7K


Cal Carver is having a bad day. Imprisoned and forced to share a cell with a cannibalistic serial killer, Cal thinks things can't possibly get any worse.

He is wrong.

It’s not until two-thirds of the human race is wiped out and Cal is abducted by aliens that his day really starts to go downhill.

Whisked across the galaxy, Cal is thrown into a team of some of the sector's most notorious villains and scumbags. Their mission should be simple enough, but as one screw-up leads to another, they find themselves in a frantic battle to save an entire alien civilization - and its god - from total annihilation.

A hilarious, fast-paced space adventure from the author the Independent calls "the new Terry Pratchett."

Genres: Science Fiction, Humor, Audiobook, Fiction, Comedy, Space Opera, Fantasy

284 pages, ebook

First published September 26, 2016

About the author

Barry J. Hutchison is an award-winning author, screenwriter and writer of comics. Having written over 70 books for children and teenagers, Barry is now writing books for adults. Space Team is his first grown-up novel.

Barry lives in the Highlands of Scotland with his wife, two children, and irritatingly upbeat dog.

Reviews

[Jilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of this:



Have I got the book for you!! Oh, and it's free on Amazon right now!

This book is absolutely hilarious.
A guy, who is the most sarcastic smart-ass on Earth, gets abducted by aliens because they think he is someone else and need him for a mission. A dangerous mission.



He's teamed up with a bunch of space-criminals who are not in any way qualified for the job at hand.



Of course, many things go wrong. Many space-battles are fought. It's a lot of fun.



I would highly recommend this book to people who need a laugh, like sci-fi, and enjoy lots of action. Also, this book is totally clean. The space-censors made sure of that.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cal Carver has been abducted by aliens . . . aliens who were supposed to abduct his cellmate, The Butcher, a notorious cannibal. Through a convoluted set of circumstances, Cal ends up as the captain of the starship Shatner, on a mishap-filled mission to save the universe. There's a motley crew of misfits along to help out on the journey, and they share some thrills and laughs along the way.

This was . . . okay. The writing is fine, and I chuckled a few times. But, it felt more like a parody than an original space adventure - sort of like Seth McFarland's The Orville meets Galaxy Quest.

I liked it enough that I'll probably continue with the series, but not enough to recommend it.

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the heck out of this humorous and nostalgic science fiction, in which a team of misfits are tasked with a space mission for which they are completely unprepared and unqualified for... There are a ton of references to pop-culture from the last 30 years and absurd situations made acceptable because the book is for pure entertainment and has no pretense of being anything more than a fun way to spend several hours with a book away from reality... I am sure it would not be to everyone 's taste, but to those who love a somewhat blatened humor in their Space adventure, than this is perfect for you! I personally am very excited to continue with the series! ♡

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful! I would strongly recommend this audiobook for the series! The narrator is amazing and embodies the spirit of the characters perfectly! It is an easy listen and is perfect for the time you want to get away from all the serious stuff in your life and want something over the top and ridiculous, but charming and enjoyable. Strongly recommend it 😃❤️

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggled how to rate this book. I fear my tougher rating scale will turn people away from reading this very enjoyable space yarn. But, I have to be loyal to my scale, so three stars it is.

As you can see from my scale below, three stars is not bad, it is worth your time. And Space Team is definitely worth your time. The book is a quick read, moves at a swift pace, and is often quite funny.

So why three stars instead of four? Well, it is true that the book is often quite funny. But it is also true that many of the intended jokes are not that funny, or are televised from a mile away.

The second reason is that the book is intended to be a light read. It is a comedy that doesn't take itself seriously. Dostoyevsky, this is not. But it's not supposed to be. I like cereal. Quite a bit, actually. But I would never give my Lucky Charms a 4/5 or 5/5 on a food rating scale. That doesn't make sense. But it doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend Lucky Charms to a friend for breakfast. Same here.

-----------
I think people tend to rate books higher than they should, so I try to rate books on a harder scale, while being consistent over time. Jerry Foster's book rating scale:

5 - Fantastic. Life-altering. Only 10-20 books in a lifetime.
4 - Very good.
3 - Worth your time.
2 - Not very good.
1 - Atrocious

[Maraya21 (The Reading Dragon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

💯 Read for the 2019 MacHalo Splendiferous Book Bingo Thingie (MSBBT™) challenge over at the MacHalo Asylum 💯 •• 15. Takes place in space ••


#2. So Much Space ★★★★★
#3. Spaaaaaaaace! ★★★★★




THIS WAS FUCKING AMAZING!

It knocked me all the way to outer space! *hehe couldn't resist*

“What you talking about? I already told you, we ain’t no team,” he said. He met Cal’s gaze, then held out a hand, fist clenched. “We’re a motherfonking space team.”
Page 236 [86%]

You know how you usually start with the main series and then move on to the spin off? Well, I did the exact opposite with this.


I was searching for something and in true Goodreads fashion the search engine gave me all the random it could master, and it can master a lot of random. Among the random was Dial D for Deadman which is Book #1 of Space Teams spin off series Dan Deadman Space Detective. Through that discovery I found this series as well, being the parent series and all that jazz.


Even though I knew which was supposed to go first I went the other way and read Dial D for Deadman first last year. I really, really liked it, so I vowed to read the first book of its parent series as soon as possible. Didn't manage it last year unfortunately. But when the Bingo Thingy themes were announced and I saw there was a space one I went SPACE TEAM! And the rest is space history. *hehe*


After reading Dial D for Deadman I had an idea of what to expect with this give or take. I was hopeful it would be great and I was wrong. It went above and beyond. What writing, characters, plot! Such space, much funny, wow!


The writing was easy going and so fluid. There is no purple prose or OTP complexity anywhere. The characters are so endearing it is ridiculous. From the heroes to the adversaries to the villains, all of them are distinct and their own entities. The plot is one shenanigan after another after another, from beginning to end. Don't be fooled though, cause there is a plot. Like the writing, the plot isn't overly complex but it sets the tone for greater things down the line.


I will be uncharacteristically good and give you a bit more detail:

•• We have slightly black & dry British humour and sarcasm.

•• We have Cal Carver - an endearing human criminal that runs his mouth pretty much for everything and in any situation, Mizette - a sulky yet tough wolf-woman, Mech (a.k.a Gluk Disselpoof) - an eight foot tall cyborg that has a thing for the word space, Splurt - a green blob that can shapeshift into anything or anyone and can Moonwalk like a fucking boss and Loren - an alien pilot that hasn't piloted anything ever and is slightly neurotic but lazer focused when it comes to ass kicking.

•• We have a case of mistaken identity gone so wrong that killed ⅔ of the populace of planet Earth.

•• We have action, things going wrong, things blowing up, a lot of people dying (like a lot! Around 42 billion and change. Although it is kind of off screen).

•• We have a controlled villain whose psycho side lurks just under a thousand gigawatt smile. He might not seem much here but trust me, the dude is a dangerous psycho. Too controlled but still dangerous.

•• We have a sentient malevolent mass-murdering zombie virus that affects both the living and technology as well.


Among other things which I won't mention cause spoilers. If those don't spell F U N then I don't know what does. I mean I am such a goner that I started reading Book #2 already. Way before I marked this book as finished and wrote this. I am already 20% on Book #2 as I am writing this!


"Maraya, since you read both of the first books in both series what can you tells us as far as continuation, style & chronology goes?"


Firstly let me tell you that you do not need to read the Space Team series to enjoy the Deadman series. As far as I know Dan Deadman became part of the Space Team books from Book #5 onwards but his separate stories can be read without delving into this series.


As far as style and character of the book goes the two are quite different. Deadman is a tad heavier and drier in his thinking and humour than Cal as a character, hence their respective books are styled to reflect as such. Not sure if this is attributed solely to that fact alone or if the fact that they were written with a time and several books apart difference mattered any. Not even sure if the later books of both series change or not. I am sure that both are awesome though.


To conclude: I haven't read much Sci-Fi so I don't have a basis to compare this to. That doesn't mean I won't tell you that this is fucking amazing once more and that it is perfect for anyone that loves humour. Especially good for people who don't want o start out on their Sci-Fi journey with them classics which usually are a bit heavy if you're not used to it. Or for people who want something on the fluffy side of the genre.

*Just read the fucking space book, it's fucking awesome!*

Quotes to be had here:

Cal Carver’s last day on Earth started badly, improved momentarily, then rapidly went downhill. It began with him being sentenced to two years in prison, and ended with the annihilation of two thirds of the human race. Somewhere in between, there was a somewhat enjoyable moment when he ate a lemon drop, but otherwise it was a pretty grim twenty-four hours all round.

Page 1 [2%]


“But, you see, the thing is… there was a slightest miscalculation, and we may have sent a few too many.”
“How many too many?”
Sinclair studied his basketball. “You know… Three or four trillion.”
“Jesus. And how many were you supposed to send?”
“Six.”
Cal’s jaw dropped. “I’m not sure I’d call that a ‘slight miscalculation.’”
“Our aim was to keep the authorities occupied while we took you away, and leave enough chaos behind that they’d assume you escaped.”
“But…?”
“We may have accidentally killed everyone.”
Cal’s jaw dropped. “The whole prison?”
“Yes,” said Sinclair. He waved the basketball vaguely in the air. “And, you know… the rest.”
“The rest?”
“Yes.”
“The rest of what?”
“Just the rest in general,” said the president. “Of the planet.”
“You killed everyone?” Cal managed to gasp.
“More or less. It’s impossible to say for sure,” said Sinclair, offering a sympathetic smile. “Two-thirds, minimum, we project. More as the next few days go on.”

Page 61-62 [24%]


Cal’s introduction to fighting had come earlier than most. One of the first things he’d learned had been the advantage afforded by the element of surprise. A lot of people assumed the element of surprise was lost right after the first attack, but an experienced fighter knew the element of surprise was a weapon to be used any time. You just had to do something surprising.

Page 72 [27%]


“Wait. That drink. What the fonk was in that?”
“Nothing designed for human consumption,” said Loren. “Knocked you flat out, so I brought you back here. Miz was good enough to keep an eye on you.”
“I sat here just watching you all night,” said the wolf-woman. “Didn’t take my eyes off you once. Not even to blink!”
“Great,” Cal croaked. “Because that’s not creepy at all.”

Page 78 [30%]


Mech glared at him. “It’s lunchtime, man. Lunchtime.”
“For you, maybe,” said Cal. “But for me, it’s breakfast. Or, should I say, it’s my first ever sp--”
“Don’t,” Mech growled. A mechanical finger unfolded and jabbed towards Cal’s open mouth. “Don’t say it, man. I’m warning you. Don’t you say ‘space breakfast.’ That will not end well for you.”
“‘It’s my first ever special breakfast with my new friends,’ is what I was going to say,” said Cal. The elevator door swished open. “My new space friends,” he quickly added, then he darted out before Mech could make a grab for him.

Page 84 [31%]


“We’re being hailed,” said Loren. “They’re hailing us.”
“That’s like phoning us, right?” said Cal. “They want to talk? Well that’s great! Maybe we can reason with them.”
He flopped into his seat. “Let’s hear what they have to say.”
“Are you insane?” Loren hissed. “The Symmorium don’t negotiate with pirates.”
“And yet, they want to talk. So maybe they’re not going to blow us up. That’s got to be a positive, right? Let’s answer the phone.”
Reluctantly, Loren flicked a switch on the panel beside Cal. What Cal had thought was an enormous window revealed itself to be an enormous screen instead. The live feed of outer space was replaced by the snarling head of a heavily scarred shark-like alien.
“Pirate vessel, prepare to be destroyed!” the shark-thing barked.
Cal flipped the switch and the view of space returned. “No, you’re right, they’re totally going to kill us,” he said.

Page 123 [45%]


“Oh, hey, Miz. There you are,” he said. “Come out here, a sec, will you? This guy doesn’t believe you’re here.”
The shapeshifted Splurt skipped across the deck in a very un-Miz-like way, planted a kiss on top of Cal’s head, then skillfully Moonwalked off screen. Cal and the commander both watched the wolf-woman in stunned silence.
“There, told you they were both here,” said Cal, trying not to gawp as Miz’s body quivered into a gloopy green blob.

Page 132 [48%]


Mech pointed to the screen. “There! That’s where we’re landing.”
Cal squinted. Down on the surface, between what looked like a number of lumps of ugly metal, was a white square roughly the size of a postage stamp.
“On that? I can’t hit that!”
“I don’t want you to ‘hit’ it,” said Mech. “I want you to land on it.”
“I highly doubt that’s going to happen,” said Cal.

Page 155 [57%]


[Loren] “Relax. Just be yourself.”
“But four hundred percent less annoying,” Mech added.
“Thanks for the advice,” said Cal. “Or should I say…”
“Don’t,” Mech warned. “Don’t do it, man.”
“The space advice,” said Cal.
Mech’s jaw ground noisily. “That don’t even make sense!”
“It makes perfect sense,” Cal insisted. “Perfect space sense.”
“That’s it. You’re dead,” Mech growled, his fingers curling into sledgehammer fists. “You’re a dead man.”

Page 167 [61%]


“Hey.”
Loren entered, holding a plastic cup. “Thirsty?”
Cal took the cup and studied the contents. “What is it?”
“Water,” said Loren, sitting on the bench beside him.
“Space water?” asked Cal, raising his voice.
“I heard that!” called Mech from the bridge.
“He was supposed to,” said Cal, lowering his voice again.

Page 193 [70%]


“What you talking about? I already told you, we ain’t no team,” he said. He met Cal’s gaze, then held out a hand, fist clenched. “We’re a motherfonking space team.”

Page 236 [86%]

[Glen Larned · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I just couldn't get enough of the sparky sarcasm!
Up next? book 2!

BUY THIS BOOK! You won't regret it!

[Narilka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

If Guardians of the Galaxy and Galaxy Quest had a love child, Space Team by Barry J. Hutchinson might be the result. In a horrible case of mistaken identity, Cal Carver is abducted by space aliens and cajoled into a space mission to retrieve a package for a massive space corporation. Things start to go downhill immediately. It's not long before Cal and his misfit crew find themselves in a frantic battle to save an alien civilization, and it's god, from total annihilation.

It took me a good portion of the story to warm up to Cal as he is highly annoying and his humor was hit or miss for me. His annoying tendencies is confronted and has a pretty good explanation for it, which helped make him more sympathetic and likable by the end. Good thing the rest of the cast is pretty great from the start. Mech, Miz, Loren and Splurt are all highly enjoyable as they put up with both Cal and the ridiculous situation they've all ended up in. Splurt is definitely my favorite.

Humor is such a personal thing. I suspect enjoyment of this book will depend on if the humor works for you or not. For me it was half giggles and half eye rolls. Nothing too terrible. I've seen it compared to Hitchhikers Guide and Monty Python though I had a different comparison at the beginning of this review. The potential is there. The character banter got better as the book progressed and the crew was working together almost as a cohesive team by the end.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Phil Tron. Tron does a great job giving each character it's own voice, especially for the multiple personalities of Mech.

Space Team is a highly irreverent, silly space adventure that was a great way to take me away from the seriousness of the world for a while. I could see myself continuing the series when I need another light, fun space story to listen to.

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hilarious space book that I really enjoyed space reading. Very silly, but also very fun. I laughed out loud several times.

[David Firmage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light hearted tongue in cheek Sci-fi, some real laugh out loud moments and some dead pan. Draws on lots of other series and films. The author made a little advert video regarding one of the reviews that stated “Barry J. Hutchison is almost as good as Douglas Adams, but not quite.”. I think there are elements from Red Dwarf, Star Trek Ship Name Shatner, Guardians of the Galaxy etc.

[Will Madden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reviewers here have compared this book to a number of things. I'm inclined to call it the sit-com version of Star Trek. A crew of four (or four-and-a-half) travel across the galaxy, squabbling with each other while most of the evil in the universe tries to blow them to pieces. But the danger to life and limb is secondary to whether the captain can get his security chief to forgive him for telling her some Jack Tripper-style lie.

The whole thing feels like a nostalgia tour of, say, early 1980s tv. However much that sentence appeals to you will probably correspond to how much you like this book. It's fast-paced, written in limpid prose, and no longer than it needs to be, which makes it a solid choice for outdoors summer reading.

I encountered this book in a sci-fi reading group. When we started dissecting the plot, it didn't really hold up to scrutiny, but it was one of the few meetings where everyone in the group had read the book to completion, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it.

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

02/25/2020 Mini-Review:

4.5 Stars for Narration by Phil Thron
4 Stars for Great Setup of Characters & Plot

Rating Raise to 4 Stars from 3.5 Stars

It's been a while since I've listened to the first book of the series. Friends have decided to dive into the series & I'm joining them for the ride. I've been recommending this to them for a while and it's cool to see them enjoy it too!

- Intro: I love how well BJH established Cal, the setting and primary situation from the get go. Humor, quick outlines of the characters and details that clearly dictate story vibe. I forgot how creepy the Butcher was and the casual way BJH defined him by the way Cal & the Butcher (Eugene) interacted.
- Let's just state that Cal is a big dork and annoying as heck. However, he's got an equally annoying optimism & cheerful camaraderie that totally pull the misfit crew together. He's a good guy with a lot of skeptical habits. Definitely not a hero but one that ends up fighting/cheering for his buddies.
- It's really cool to see how there's no real downtime or pause in the book. Each part is there for a reason, and it's nice to come back & appreciate all of that.

01/19/2018 Mini-Review:

4 Stars for Narration by Phil Thron
3.5 Stars for Story

If you're looking for a snarky space adventure, this is it. You'll get it in spades with this book. The series was recommended to me by a friend and I'm giving him two thumbs up. We tend to enjoy similar stories for almost the same reasons.

I'm a little hazy on what Cal and Lorn(sp?) look like but the rest of the crew of Shatner is easy to picture. It took me a while but Mech TOTALLY sounds like Mr. T. If you are listening to the audiobook and know about the A-Team, you'll see what I mean.

While not that complicated, the author does a great job of mixing up enough different elements in a new fashion to keep you interested. The story is definitely character driven and I like the fact that they are not superheroes. Well. Mostly not. You'll see.

Good times! I already got the next audiobook. I'm sure I'll be listening to it soon.

[Karen ⚜Mess⚜ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Space Stars

Listen up Peeps! You need this book! You need to laugh! If this book doesn't leave you feeling good and smiling I'll ... do something drastic and unpleasant.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 2 out of 5]

Space Team is a fast-paced scifi parody in the vein of Harry Harrison. Cal Carver is a low-level crook and con artist who's life takes a turn for the awesome, as he's abducted by a galactic government, assigned to a team of malcontents, and given a very important mission to retrieve a super-weapon and stop a civil war. The first and biggest problem is that they've mistaken Cal for his cellmate The Butcher, an infamous serial killer/cannibal. After that, well its a dizzying array of stock scifi tropes , gross-out humor, and casual misogyny in pursuit of action.

Overall, this story is aggressively average. The humor relies on body functions (especially snot) and references to nerd pop culture. Cal is a relentless optimist, which does a lot of good for making the plot feel exciting, even as it consists of meetings and arguments and chase scenes which are circular at best. But there are irritating tics in the writing (do people have expressions beyond various levels of false smiles?), and you know, I'd never expect to say this about a comedic scifi novel, but there's an irritating amount of white male privilege on display. Cal is the captain, despite a complete absence of leadership qualities, because he's too arrogant to shut up and let people who don't preface everything they see with "space-" do their jobs. The other characters exist purely in reaction to Cal, without much characterization of their own.

Not bad if you can pick this up for a dollar and want to kill a few hours, but you're better off reading Bill The Galactic Hero instead.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well what bundle of pure joy this book is! No.....really for once I'm not being sarcastic, I really did love every page of this funny space adventure. I've always enjoyed Barry Hutchison's sense of humour (if you haven't read The 13th Horseman or The Book of Doom you need to!) but in this book he gives his sense of fun and ridiculousness full reign to laugh out loud effect. I had the Red Dwarf theme tune playing in my head all the time whilst reading which is never a bad thing, and main character Cal is certainly reminiscent of Lister, with the same slightly irritating at times, wisecracking character. So many pastiches and nods to sci fi tropes that at times I felt I was reading too fast and needed to slow down to fully appreciate the cleverness of the words. Looking forward to further adventures with this band of misfits!

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a word... Silly. 

But in the best way. If you've seen the movie Galaxy Quest, you get the gist, because it's a similar concept. Loser Earthman, kidnapped by aliens (in a case of mistaken identity), saves the galaxy. 

A hoot from start to finish (and it only took an evening to read).

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a satire of the first order, as advertised. As such, some of the jokes are clever, and others fall flat. This isn't quite Stainless Steel Rat or Red Shirts, but amusing nonetheless. The best joke is the name of their spaceship.

Keep your expectations low and you'll enjoy this a lot.

[Roderick Vonhogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put this book on my 'to read' list a long time ago at the recommendation of a fellow podcaster, and I've only now read it. I wish I would have done so earlier. The book is hilarious, fast-paced, full of pop-culture references and jokes and it reads like a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. If you can find the GraphicAudio dramatized adaptation, go for that version. The full cast, music and sound effects make the already engaging story even more compelling. Highly recommended!

[Helen the Bassist · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this free through my UK free Kindle Books Group on Facebook (Kindle Books for Free (UK) if you'd like to join...make sure you answer the questions!) and it was an absolute bargain.

It's hilarious. Who cares if it's a bit derivative? The space good guys are great. The space bad guys are great. The plot is just as borderline implausible as any self respecting sci-fi should be. It was fonking brilliant. A joy.
Here's hoping the sequels are half as good.

I need a film of this in my life!

[Jane Wynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I'd delve into the world of Space Team being a fan of Barry's alter ego, JD Kirk. I am so glad I did. Fast paced, great characters, quirky and very funny. I had a couple of proper laugh out loud moments and managed to snort a cup of tea 😄. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Ciarrah, MHA · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Space Team is not as funny as Jeremy Robinson's Space Force (I doubt anything can top that!), it is a decent substitute for my Space Force withdrawals.

[Becki Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forking brilliant - fans of Toby Frost’s Space Captain Smith will enjoy this ridiculous Galactic romp.

[J.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, this was a very enjoyable book. Top notch, great writing, only a few POV errors but altogether the prose was on point, there were no glaring plot holes, the characters were consistant and fleshed out, the world interesting. It was halarious, a really fun, light hearted read. The twist was great. Not entirely unexpected but the WAY in which it happened was very inventive. As a writer, I cant find much to fault it with, so this rating is more of a taste thing.
While overall the story was great and fun I had two issues that are relatively minor. The first is, I dont like sexual or lewd content in my books and right off the bat I got a pretty detailed description of a man's naked privates. It wasn't sexual, it was just gross. That is a matter of taste entirely.
The other is that there was so much played for laughs in the book, including some really hugely emotional stuff, that it was hard to take anything seriously. Which is fine, but I like a bit of emotional investment. So while it was an entertaining read and I'll probably eventually pick up more, it's just not one of those stories that stick with you. And it was easy for me to put down because I wasn't particularly invested in the characters because of the way everything was just laughed off without any variation.
Overall, it's a great diversion, fun and well written.

[Panda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a guardians of the galaxy like line-up and throw them into space. lets see what happens!!!

Well this book happens and it's entertaining and endearing as funk! Each character is as distinct as you can get and the interactions between them is what makes this little space adventure...

Star lord (or his MC proxy) is a bit of a smooth talker but it's his lame jokes (he keeps adding the word space to everything just because it irritates one of his team mates) that win you over.

Ends with on a high note that leaves you wanting more this one is worth a read if you ever need a good chuckle!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy this book because it sounded silly. Luckily, it was silly but not dumb, and it was actually amusing for the most part. This book didn't take itself seriously and neither did I, so it was a quite enjoyable read.

[Jessica Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

A quick, light read! Humor is so hit or miss but this worked for me. The quickest way to get me to pick up a book is to have some iteration of "ragtag group of misfits." The book does not take itself seriously which adds to the humor. The narrator is 10/10 so I definitely recommend the audiobook

[Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging humourous sci-fi novel free with Amazon Prime Reading.

[Jason McCracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's like an episode of Faracape but the human hero, instead of being a golden boy like Crichton, is a bad boy con artist with a heart of gold. It was okay but I'll be giving the rest of the series a miss.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goofy and lots of fun. I listened to the full cast audio, which was well done. I sensed the actors were enjoying themselves a lot.

[Noah · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Facebook feed was full of stellar reviews for this book, and after finishing a deeply philosophical and heavy novel, I was in the mood for something light.

I was entertained, but in the barest sense. It was funny, but in that corny fashion. The jokes and the plot were predictable, and the characters found a way to be mildly irritating and relatively flat.

That all seems unduly harsh. I see Hutchison is an accomplished author, especially in the kid and teen genres, but he’s also done some sitcom writing. Maybe I need to look at Space Team as a sitcom, where, indeed, jokes are predictable and that’s why we laugh at them: because they’re comfortable. And character growth happens slowly, over episodes and years, because the writers have the luxury of time. I see Space Team is just 1 of...several, so maybe I need to give it its due.

But as a first book, I was more annoyed by Cal Carver and his inability to evolve or even stop wise-cracking. It not only got old, but in the way.

The Bobiverse books, by comparison, are both funny and relevant, light, but with a real depth to the themes they explore. Those books are my measuring stick for space series.

Maybe I’m grumpy and needed more. Maybe I’ll try Space Team 2 at some point. I really don’t mean to insult a guy who clearly has solid writing chops, and who the hell am I anyway but some anonymous reader. But man...I just can’t get there with this book right now.