The Brown Yelp Gang

by Gareth Howells

This is a full novel that follows the adventures of The Brown Yelp Gang, the multi-species rock band that originally appeared in the short story anthology, "Ten Tales of Transformation". In this book, they face the consequences of an enormous debt that the band manager owes to a ruthless gangster. This debt results in a shady deal with another gangster, a dramatic rescue attempt of a completely oblivious band member and a series of annoying interruptions to their latest interplanetary tour for their album "Warm and Tasty". All they wanted to do was play their infectious brand of hybrid rock music...but life on the road is never that easy.

Genres: Science Fiction, Comedy

399 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2019

Reviews

[Gareth Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems odd to write a review for something I have written, but it seems equally odd to not use this opportunity to advertise it.
I am very proud of this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes humorous science fiction, and especially anyone with a love of music.
There is a lot of music parody in these pages.
Hope you like it guys.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brown Yelp Gang aren’t just any band—they’re a wildly famous, multi-species rock phenomenon blasting their way across the cosmos, trailed by legions of adoring fans. But fame has its pitfalls: their hapless manager owes a mountain of credits to the very shady Carlo DeMarco, who decides the best way to collect is by kidnapping Plak, one of the band’s star members. Cue chaos. What follows is a gleefully ridiculous sci-fi romp full of galactic gigs and dodgy backroom deals. At the helm is Trent, a three-headed Calpian who has the rare gift of harmonizing with himself. Along the way, the book lampoons the highs and lows of life on tour—complete with a hilarious subplot involving a robot tribute band that might actually be better than the original.

[Cobaltdragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read with many laugh out loud moments. An interesting band who have a variety of adventures and experiences as they travel the galaxy doing what they love and hit various bumps and troubles along the way.

[Kat (Ginger Bibliophile on YouTube) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Hitchhikers Guide vibes but with musical plot. It was a fun time with some lines that had me cracking up.

[Jim Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

On its surface, "The Brown Yelp Gang" is a science fiction story, but at its heart, it is a love song to the live music industry and the people who populate that industry. I've never read anything quite like this before. The story was humorous, the characters unique, each with their own personalities; the camaraderie between the main characters was palpable and endearing.
I found myself immersed wholeheartedly in their plight and celebrating their victories throughout. I laughed along with them when joshing with fellow bandmates, and I shared their frustration at the meteoric rise of a replica band of robots who threatened their livelihood (shades of the looming A.I. takeover of everything creative in our real life).
The story deals with the band manager, Jenken Janes, and the Brown Yelp Gang band members being coerced into taking down a nasty intergalactic gangster (the band being hired by a gangster equally as nasty) and meeting new friends and enemies along the way.
The references to "gigs" and the subsequent shenanigans involved are obviously drawn from real-life experience on the part of Gareth Howells, the author, who is a musician in real life. The song titles peppered throughout are a joy and a constant source of amusement, causing more than one spewed mouthful of coffee on my part. That'll teach me to drink a hot beverage while reading these. I'll know better when I read Gareth's next installment in the series ... there will be one, I hope!
I greatly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it!