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The Audacity
Rocket racing can be deadly, but working in food service is worse. May’s humdrum life is flung into hyperdrive when she’s abducted, but not all aliens are out to probe her. She’s inadvertently rescued by Xan, an “I Love Lucy” obsessed alien with the orangest rocket ship in the universe. But you still have to eat in space, and rocket racing is a quick, if life-threatening, way to make a living. Finally, May has a career she loves and a friend to share her winnings with. Until a Chaos goddess possessing Xan’s ex decides to start a cult on Earth and threatens to turn the planet into her den of destruction. The Audacity is the only ship fast enough to stop her, but May’s no hero. She doesn’t even particularly like Earth. Are we screwed? Witty, hilarious, and current, The Audacity is Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the next generation. What the people are saying... "Laura Loup's The Audacity is the book I've been looking for for a long time." "Laughed my ass off from page one!! Great story great jokes great characters! One of the best indie books I’ve ever read and I’ve read a lot of great indie books over the years." "Fantastic characters, intriguing conundrums, space racing, time travel, smile-inducing friendships and so much orange.” For fans of... Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Good Omens, Futurama, or Red Dwarf.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2019
10 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
August 12, 2019
I have to be honest that this read was a struggle for me. The only reason I am even giving this book 3 stars is because the writing quality is there (except for the use of ‘irregardless’) what wasn’t there was my personal enjoyment. The other ratings/reviews are all high so I do want to point out that I’m an outlier here.
Anyone who follows my reviews knows I love books with imagination and that are different, I crave variety. I love sci-fi and thought this oddball book would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me at all. This book is supposed to be filled with humor and in the same vein as A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I read Hitchhiker’s at least 15 years ago so the little I do remember I can see this having a similar flavor, the problem was I didn’t find this funny at all. Not only did I not laugh out loud, I never even really smiled. I do need to be clear that I seemed to have broken my book funny bone so again you mileage may vary.
Since I read/review mostly lesfic, I want to make clear I would not call this lesfic but instead call it a book with LGBTQ characters. There were four main characters and a couple strong secondary characters. The main characters where split into two groups most of the book. One included a human woman who I believed was asexual and her alien friend who was pansexual. The other two main characters were a bisexual human male and a lesbian alien. These are educated guesses since sexuality doesn’t play much of a roll in outer space. There are no sex scenes, and only one wlw kissing scene that happens in the background.
I think this is a book for you plot lovers out there as the characters were not all that likeable. It’s not necessarily that they were unlikable it was that I just didn’t care about any of them. The only one I was remotely interested was IX (that’s her name, I’m guessing pronounce Nine) but she was around the least of the main characters and I know almost nothing about her. It looks like the author is creating more stories with these characters so maybe she will get a chance to shine but I won’t be continuing.
I do think this is a book that you have to be a sci-fi fan to enjoy. I also recommend that you like oddball comedies so maybe you will find funny what I was missing. This author can write there is no doubt, so if you like oddball sci-fi books don’t let my review dissuade you. This just wasn’t for me personally.
A copy was given to me from https://lezreviewbooks.com for a honest review.
Anyone who follows my reviews knows I love books with imagination and that are different, I crave variety. I love sci-fi and thought this oddball book would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me at all. This book is supposed to be filled with humor and in the same vein as A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I read Hitchhiker’s at least 15 years ago so the little I do remember I can see this having a similar flavor, the problem was I didn’t find this funny at all. Not only did I not laugh out loud, I never even really smiled. I do need to be clear that I seemed to have broken my book funny bone so again you mileage may vary.
Since I read/review mostly lesfic, I want to make clear I would not call this lesfic but instead call it a book with LGBTQ characters. There were four main characters and a couple strong secondary characters. The main characters where split into two groups most of the book. One included a human woman who I believed was asexual and her alien friend who was pansexual. The other two main characters were a bisexual human male and a lesbian alien. These are educated guesses since sexuality doesn’t play much of a roll in outer space. There are no sex scenes, and only one wlw kissing scene that happens in the background.
I think this is a book for you plot lovers out there as the characters were not all that likeable. It’s not necessarily that they were unlikable it was that I just didn’t care about any of them. The only one I was remotely interested was IX (that’s her name, I’m guessing pronounce Nine) but she was around the least of the main characters and I know almost nothing about her. It looks like the author is creating more stories with these characters so maybe she will get a chance to shine but I won’t be continuing.
I do think this is a book that you have to be a sci-fi fan to enjoy. I also recommend that you like oddball comedies so maybe you will find funny what I was missing. This author can write there is no doubt, so if you like oddball sci-fi books don’t let my review dissuade you. This just wasn’t for me personally.
A copy was given to me from https://lezreviewbooks.com for a honest review.
June 28, 2021
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a fun book! I don’t read too much science fiction anymore because I’ve found that most of the books I would pick up in that genre would be too complex and dense for my enjoyment; this is not the case at all here. The Audacity is lighthearted and quick-paced with distinct characters and quirky dialogue. I loved the humor—definitely great for fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I also appreciated the fact that our main character was asexual. I’ve been trying hard to find asexual representation this year and this was great.
I switched on and off between reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook through Spotify, as I usually do with books where both formats are available to me. I 100% recommend the audiobook! It was in the form of a podcast, so at the end of each chapter, the author has some very brief commentary. This style of course is a bit different than other audiobooks, but I loved it so much. There’s nothing better than hearing what an author has to say about their work and their thought process.
Thanks to the author for such a fun reading experience!
This was such a fun book! I don’t read too much science fiction anymore because I’ve found that most of the books I would pick up in that genre would be too complex and dense for my enjoyment; this is not the case at all here. The Audacity is lighthearted and quick-paced with distinct characters and quirky dialogue. I loved the humor—definitely great for fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I also appreciated the fact that our main character was asexual. I’ve been trying hard to find asexual representation this year and this was great.
I switched on and off between reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook through Spotify, as I usually do with books where both formats are available to me. I 100% recommend the audiobook! It was in the form of a podcast, so at the end of each chapter, the author has some very brief commentary. This style of course is a bit different than other audiobooks, but I loved it so much. There’s nothing better than hearing what an author has to say about their work and their thought process.
Thanks to the author for such a fun reading experience!
October 4, 2020
The audacity is a humor-filled story about a young girl who gets abducted by aliens.
Although “funny” is very personal and it depends completely on your own sense pof humor, I personally thought this book is hilarious.
It is a fun adventure that you can easily read in one day if you want, because it isn’t that long and it is pretty fast-paced.
It also has a great cast of diverse characters that have great interactions.
Representation: asexual main character, bisexual character, pansexual character and a lesbian character.
Although “funny” is very personal and it depends completely on your own sense pof humor, I personally thought this book is hilarious.
It is a fun adventure that you can easily read in one day if you want, because it isn’t that long and it is pretty fast-paced.
It also has a great cast of diverse characters that have great interactions.
Representation: asexual main character, bisexual character, pansexual character and a lesbian character.
June 21, 2019
Where to start? The characters are so relatable and fun to get to know. It's like being on a ride with new friends who become family. The book is fantastically written. I haven't literally laughed out loud at a book since Good Omens, and Laura Loup had me laughing for a solid amount of time. I'd say more about that, but I don't want to spoil it for you!
Cleverly written and thought out as well as highly imaginative. I highly recommend stepping aboard The Audacity, and make sure you're ready for a wild ride when you do!
Cleverly written and thought out as well as highly imaginative. I highly recommend stepping aboard The Audacity, and make sure you're ready for a wild ride when you do!
July 21, 2019
A categorically delightful cast, beoops of laugh-out-loud moments, and a bit of truth, relevancy, and complete irrelevancy, akin to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Too Many Curses. It's good-natured fun, and an absolute pleasure to read.
Xan and May really come alive on the pages -- Xan is a blue-skinned alien who adores I Love Lucy. May is a Sonic employee who just wants to get home, with or without using her 'Key Fist'.
Then, an AMC Gremlin appears.
Race your obnoxiously orange spaceship to your nearest book depot and thank me later.
Xan and May really come alive on the pages -- Xan is a blue-skinned alien who adores I Love Lucy. May is a Sonic employee who just wants to get home, with or without using her 'Key Fist'.
Then, an AMC Gremlin appears.
Race your obnoxiously orange spaceship to your nearest book depot and thank me later.
May 1, 2023
From the opening scene of an alien watching Earthly TV to a couple of our protagonists meeting each other and revealing that their names are 'May June July' and 'August', you know what you're getting into from the moment you open this one up. Probably even earlier than that, in fact - this is one case where it's fine to judge the book by its cover (and title). Because they're funny. It's funny. This book is a good time.
When a giant alien ship called the Peacemaker, powered by a dwarf sun within which a parasitic Chaos God has been squatting (it's a whole Thing), turns up near Earth and abducts everyone, blows up a bunch of shit, then returns them all with instruction manuals on how to do shit properly, the stage is set. Our main protagonist May (June July) escapes after her abduction and runs into August and Ix. Their daring escape goes awry and May ends up aboard the Audacity with Xan, our sassy I Love Lucy-loving alien from the prologue, and Ix and August end up flung into the past to continue their plot thread among a series of junkyard planets.
Yvonne, the head of the alien invader / organisers, is then possessed by Chaos in a way not unlike the events of Mantivore Dreams or The Chaos Job. Whether Yvonne would have been an enemy or not without Chaos being in control(ish) is a question for the philosophers, since a) a large number of alien pro- and antagonists are in love with her, and b) the invasion and rearrangement of Earth seemed to have been happening anyway but was just made worse by Chaos and assorted others, as well as being sabotaged by Chaos because ... well, it's Chaos. It's right there in the name, really.
I found myself rather charmed by the time-travelly long-way-round subplot with August and Ix. I was left resoundingly uncertain how many angles there were in the inter-character love triangle, and since it was an wacky alien love triangle I don't suppose it really needed to be a triangle anyway. I was also left at a loss as to what the main human characters' names being months meant, if anything.
All the weird hijinks and adventures come full circle and they return to Earth for the big showdown, as slapdash and slipshod as you would expect these characters and this situation to dictate. Somewhere in the middle May and Xan had time to have a whole rocket-racing subplot and not really win anything or make any progress, everyone had a few cracks at the fourth wall, and we were left with a very satisfying cliffhanger and a generally fun read.
Sex-o-meter
Pretty genteel actually, for a secondary protagonist who is a ... gigolo? There's a bit of sleazy dude action, and a bit of hot alien-on-alien on-getting in the final chapters, but all in all this is a civilised and fun-loving bit of sci-fi comedy and it doesn't get too down and dirty in its charming idiom. A Deuce Bigalow out of a possible Deuce Bigalow in space for The Audacity.
Gore-o-meter
We're treated to some surprising moments of graphic violence nicely spliced into the witty patter. Generally tastefully handled though, so it wasn't all that jarring. Just ... merciless, really. The universe is bizarre, but that certainly doesn't mean it can't kill you in some horrendously inventive ways. Life lesson right there. Two flesh-gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
Plenty, and nicely technicolour too! I can't really list it all, but everything alien was beautifully alien and everything human was also beautifully alien. I was amused at the out-of-nowhere question about why spaceships would even have a self-destruct, and the subsequent realisation that so many spaceships in sci-fi seem to, and ... why? They're purely for drama, they can serve no other practical purpose. And no, "preventing the ship and / or crew from falling into enemy hands" is not a practical purpose. It's drama. It's a cyanide capsule tooth for a spaceship, is what it is. All in all though, this was just wacky surreal fun and I can't say a word against it. My WTF-o-meter has given it a large alien slug inflated with helium and turned into a balloon out of a possible vending machine filled with strange alien underwear. It's not for sale, someone just filled the machine up with it and left.
My Final Verdict
The way Xan thinks of Earthlings is cute. The overall setup and mood of the story is cool, and the writing is very solid indeed. At the end, I was a little puzzled by May's comment about getting a call and a job offer. I'm pretty sure she was being sarcastic and I was too tired to spot it. Overall this was pretty darn good, even if Douglas Adams did a lower-key and more subtle Douglas Adams impression in his day. Four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale, 7.5 out of 10. I'll round it up to 8/10 for the term "dastardly cleavage", though.
When a giant alien ship called the Peacemaker, powered by a dwarf sun within which a parasitic Chaos God has been squatting (it's a whole Thing), turns up near Earth and abducts everyone, blows up a bunch of shit, then returns them all with instruction manuals on how to do shit properly, the stage is set. Our main protagonist May (June July) escapes after her abduction and runs into August and Ix. Their daring escape goes awry and May ends up aboard the Audacity with Xan, our sassy I Love Lucy-loving alien from the prologue, and Ix and August end up flung into the past to continue their plot thread among a series of junkyard planets.
Yvonne, the head of the alien invader / organisers, is then possessed by Chaos in a way not unlike the events of Mantivore Dreams or The Chaos Job. Whether Yvonne would have been an enemy or not without Chaos being in control(ish) is a question for the philosophers, since a) a large number of alien pro- and antagonists are in love with her, and b) the invasion and rearrangement of Earth seemed to have been happening anyway but was just made worse by Chaos and assorted others, as well as being sabotaged by Chaos because ... well, it's Chaos. It's right there in the name, really.
I found myself rather charmed by the time-travelly long-way-round subplot with August and Ix. I was left resoundingly uncertain how many angles there were in the inter-character love triangle, and since it was an wacky alien love triangle I don't suppose it really needed to be a triangle anyway. I was also left at a loss as to what the main human characters' names being months meant, if anything.
All the weird hijinks and adventures come full circle and they return to Earth for the big showdown, as slapdash and slipshod as you would expect these characters and this situation to dictate. Somewhere in the middle May and Xan had time to have a whole rocket-racing subplot and not really win anything or make any progress, everyone had a few cracks at the fourth wall, and we were left with a very satisfying cliffhanger and a generally fun read.
Sex-o-meter
Pretty genteel actually, for a secondary protagonist who is a ... gigolo? There's a bit of sleazy dude action, and a bit of hot alien-on-alien on-getting in the final chapters, but all in all this is a civilised and fun-loving bit of sci-fi comedy and it doesn't get too down and dirty in its charming idiom. A Deuce Bigalow out of a possible Deuce Bigalow in space for The Audacity.
Gore-o-meter
We're treated to some surprising moments of graphic violence nicely spliced into the witty patter. Generally tastefully handled though, so it wasn't all that jarring. Just ... merciless, really. The universe is bizarre, but that certainly doesn't mean it can't kill you in some horrendously inventive ways. Life lesson right there. Two flesh-gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
Plenty, and nicely technicolour too! I can't really list it all, but everything alien was beautifully alien and everything human was also beautifully alien. I was amused at the out-of-nowhere question about why spaceships would even have a self-destruct, and the subsequent realisation that so many spaceships in sci-fi seem to, and ... why? They're purely for drama, they can serve no other practical purpose. And no, "preventing the ship and / or crew from falling into enemy hands" is not a practical purpose. It's drama. It's a cyanide capsule tooth for a spaceship, is what it is. All in all though, this was just wacky surreal fun and I can't say a word against it. My WTF-o-meter has given it a large alien slug inflated with helium and turned into a balloon out of a possible vending machine filled with strange alien underwear. It's not for sale, someone just filled the machine up with it and left.
My Final Verdict
The way Xan thinks of Earthlings is cute. The overall setup and mood of the story is cool, and the writing is very solid indeed. At the end, I was a little puzzled by May's comment about getting a call and a job offer. I'm pretty sure she was being sarcastic and I was too tired to spot it. Overall this was pretty darn good, even if Douglas Adams did a lower-key and more subtle Douglas Adams impression in his day. Four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale, 7.5 out of 10. I'll round it up to 8/10 for the term "dastardly cleavage", though.
December 26, 2022
I read The Audacity as part of a judging team for the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC2), where we have advanced it to the quarterfinals.
This is going hard for the Douglas Adams vibe, starting with the dedication, ramping up with hundreds of AMC Gremlins falling out of the sky, and continuing apace for the entirety of the novel. And it generally does the Adams vibe pretty well. It’s intensely silly (if the Gremlins didn’t convince you, one character has a black hole in his basement), and it’s absolutely good for a chuckle every chapter or so (note: they are short chapters)
It’s not, however, funny enough for the comedy to carry the entire story—the characters and story have to bring something as well. And the characters and story are very silly, but in an endearing and entertaining way. May and Xan (the ones on the cover) are generally a lot of fun, as their hijinks take them across the universe. Some of the sections are more entertaining than others (and the promised rocket-racing scenes didn’t necessary stand out to me), but on the whole, I enjoyed their story.
I’m not sure I really enjoyed the second major storyline, with a hapless German passing decades as an extraterrestrial outsider. It is *also* silly, just not quite as compelling. Perhaps necessary for the plot convergence, but…well, the story often worked well, but it didn’t always work well.
Overall, I see plenty to appreciate, and fans of silly space operas will probably enjoy this one. For me, there were ups and downs, and never quite enough ups to fully capture me. But there were enough ups for me to see this as noticeably above average, on the three/four-star borderline, even if I do round down.
First impression: 13/20. Full review and official SPSFC2 score to come at www.tarvolon.com
This is going hard for the Douglas Adams vibe, starting with the dedication, ramping up with hundreds of AMC Gremlins falling out of the sky, and continuing apace for the entirety of the novel. And it generally does the Adams vibe pretty well. It’s intensely silly (if the Gremlins didn’t convince you, one character has a black hole in his basement), and it’s absolutely good for a chuckle every chapter or so (note: they are short chapters)
It’s not, however, funny enough for the comedy to carry the entire story—the characters and story have to bring something as well. And the characters and story are very silly, but in an endearing and entertaining way. May and Xan (the ones on the cover) are generally a lot of fun, as their hijinks take them across the universe. Some of the sections are more entertaining than others (and the promised rocket-racing scenes didn’t necessary stand out to me), but on the whole, I enjoyed their story.
I’m not sure I really enjoyed the second major storyline, with a hapless German passing decades as an extraterrestrial outsider. It is *also* silly, just not quite as compelling. Perhaps necessary for the plot convergence, but…well, the story often worked well, but it didn’t always work well.
Overall, I see plenty to appreciate, and fans of silly space operas will probably enjoy this one. For me, there were ups and downs, and never quite enough ups to fully capture me. But there were enough ups for me to see this as noticeably above average, on the three/four-star borderline, even if I do round down.
First impression: 13/20. Full review and official SPSFC2 score to come at www.tarvolon.com
May 26, 2020
I have to admit to enjoying this queer sci-fi romp. As much as it may get me shunned for saying, I've never read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, so I hit this book with fresh eyes and no expectations. What I was gifted with was a witty, conversationally vibrant work of fiction that made me love the characters, plot, and setting. If your a fan of the genre, I definitely recommend taking a ride on The Audacity.
November 30, 2019
Thank you to the author for giving me this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This is available now.
With a tagline like “Where rocket ships run on coffee and dumb luck,” how could I not fall in love with this book? Poor May works (slaves?) at a convenience store- until she is beamed up into a spaceship, launching her on an intergalactic adventure.
This book was absolutely bonkers, in the best way. I loved the witty humor, especially when the narration would include the reader briefly. When Xan’s ship was described as something from the BBC, I laughed out loud. I’m a big fan of tongue-in-cheek humor, and this book had it in abundance.
Xan, by the way, is hands-down the best alien ever created. There’s something endearing about him. His I Love Lucy obsession, and his oddball taste, made him a blast to read. May reminded me of Dante from the movie Clerks (“I wasn’t even supposed to be here today”), which made me laugh.
This book is light-years ahead of many others, in terms of comedy. The prose is quippy without being over-the-top, the characters are fun and different. It’s funny without trying too hard to be, if that makes sense.
Basically, this book is a blast to read, and I highly recommend it. If you want a good belly-laugh, this book is for you.
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.hom...
With a tagline like “Where rocket ships run on coffee and dumb luck,” how could I not fall in love with this book? Poor May works (slaves?) at a convenience store- until she is beamed up into a spaceship, launching her on an intergalactic adventure.
This book was absolutely bonkers, in the best way. I loved the witty humor, especially when the narration would include the reader briefly. When Xan’s ship was described as something from the BBC, I laughed out loud. I’m a big fan of tongue-in-cheek humor, and this book had it in abundance.
Xan, by the way, is hands-down the best alien ever created. There’s something endearing about him. His I Love Lucy obsession, and his oddball taste, made him a blast to read. May reminded me of Dante from the movie Clerks (“I wasn’t even supposed to be here today”), which made me laugh.
This book is light-years ahead of many others, in terms of comedy. The prose is quippy without being over-the-top, the characters are fun and different. It’s funny without trying too hard to be, if that makes sense.
Basically, this book is a blast to read, and I highly recommend it. If you want a good belly-laugh, this book is for you.
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.hom...
August 20, 2021
Carmen Loup's The Audacity is the book I've been looking for for a long time.
Now, I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again: when people review Sci-fi/Fantasy comedies, they inevitably fall into the trap of comparing them to Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, because they really lack any other significant frame of reference.
... I'm going to fall into that same trap for the second time in as many months, despite my self-awareness. That's because you can see incredibly clear strands of Hitchhiker's Guide DNA in The Audacity. Right down to the very initial set up of the story.
But Loup takes that set up and lovingly pivots it into its own unique tale filled with bright, colorful, and snarky characters and a fun, insightful (and, indeed, inciteful) voice that rings incredibly true to an Americanized Douglas Adams (that is, lacking in British poise and restraint).
There are times in the middle where the story meanders and seems to just be taking its time in lieu of advancing a narrative, and some might find a few of the fourth wall breaking jokes to be a bit much for a novel. But Loup's narration, descriptions, and hilarious world-building really made those concerns moot for me.
The Audacity is simply an amazing sci-fi comedy from start to finish and feels like a love letter to The Hitchhiker's Guide and, indeed, to all its fans. This, and anything else Loup touches, is an instant buy. We've been lacking in these kind of books for years, and, frankly, I need more.
Now, I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again: when people review Sci-fi/Fantasy comedies, they inevitably fall into the trap of comparing them to Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, because they really lack any other significant frame of reference.
... I'm going to fall into that same trap for the second time in as many months, despite my self-awareness. That's because you can see incredibly clear strands of Hitchhiker's Guide DNA in The Audacity. Right down to the very initial set up of the story.
But Loup takes that set up and lovingly pivots it into its own unique tale filled with bright, colorful, and snarky characters and a fun, insightful (and, indeed, inciteful) voice that rings incredibly true to an Americanized Douglas Adams (that is, lacking in British poise and restraint).
There are times in the middle where the story meanders and seems to just be taking its time in lieu of advancing a narrative, and some might find a few of the fourth wall breaking jokes to be a bit much for a novel. But Loup's narration, descriptions, and hilarious world-building really made those concerns moot for me.
The Audacity is simply an amazing sci-fi comedy from start to finish and feels like a love letter to The Hitchhiker's Guide and, indeed, to all its fans. This, and anything else Loup touches, is an instant buy. We've been lacking in these kind of books for years, and, frankly, I need more.
July 27, 2019
Ok, this is BY FAR the funnest and funniest book I've read this year!
I don't even know where to start with the review. Do you like relatable main characters who are thrown into insane situations? Check. Do you love non-creepy, totally healthy, absolutely adorable men-women friendships? Check. Do you love mad, off the hook, oddball scenarios taken in stride? CHECK. This book has everything!
(Also, were you a fan of the lesbian purple goddess who just won the world cup? Um, this book has one. It totally predicted the world cup.)
The Audacity is a book written with so much love. Love to the genre; love to Douglas Adams; love to a chaotic universe and those of us just trying to live through it. That love oozes out of every page and gets you stuck like glue. May is one of the spunkiest characters I have ever read and I see so much of myself in her. And Xan, her crazy alien friend with Day-Glo hair and a ship which really shouldn't be able to fly with him at the helm, is the BFF you always wanted to have. Turn the dial up on space operas to the max, and you'd have the Audacity.
It's a fun book, a fun-loving book, and a loving-fun book. You've got love triangles here there and everywhere making shapes that should only be visible in the fourth dimension. Character growth which reaches peak heights. An alien invasion of Earth for all the wrong reasons.
Basically, if you want to have a fun time in space, you need this book!
I don't even know where to start with the review. Do you like relatable main characters who are thrown into insane situations? Check. Do you love non-creepy, totally healthy, absolutely adorable men-women friendships? Check. Do you love mad, off the hook, oddball scenarios taken in stride? CHECK. This book has everything!
(Also, were you a fan of the lesbian purple goddess who just won the world cup? Um, this book has one. It totally predicted the world cup.)
The Audacity is a book written with so much love. Love to the genre; love to Douglas Adams; love to a chaotic universe and those of us just trying to live through it. That love oozes out of every page and gets you stuck like glue. May is one of the spunkiest characters I have ever read and I see so much of myself in her. And Xan, her crazy alien friend with Day-Glo hair and a ship which really shouldn't be able to fly with him at the helm, is the BFF you always wanted to have. Turn the dial up on space operas to the max, and you'd have the Audacity.
It's a fun book, a fun-loving book, and a loving-fun book. You've got love triangles here there and everywhere making shapes that should only be visible in the fourth dimension. Character growth which reaches peak heights. An alien invasion of Earth for all the wrong reasons.
Basically, if you want to have a fun time in space, you need this book!
August 5, 2019
The Audacity by Laura Loop is a colorful and eccentric book that was hard to put down. From start to finish you're pulled in to a colorful and eccentric universe ready to be explored.
Our story follows May, a Sonic Drive-In waitress who is growing tired of her monotonous lifestyle. Until one day, fate had something in store for her as she is pulled in to an intergalactic adventure she could never have imagined. And, to her surprise, befriending a rather flamboyant and charming blue alien with a taste for I love Lucy.
To start off, I am not usually one for Sci-Fi genre stories. But the world of The Audacity is bright and intriguing, with equally memorable characters whose own stories peak with individual personalities. My only complaint was I wish we had seen more of them! [Thank goodness a sequel is on the way]. I personally found myself invested in all of them, their worries and troubles, and their own unique adventures. Laura's descriptive detail of other alien races and worlds are eclectic and amazing, on top of the consistent humorous tone.
I recommend this for anyone looking to sink their teeth in to something fresh, fun, and new to the sci-fi genre.
Our story follows May, a Sonic Drive-In waitress who is growing tired of her monotonous lifestyle. Until one day, fate had something in store for her as she is pulled in to an intergalactic adventure she could never have imagined. And, to her surprise, befriending a rather flamboyant and charming blue alien with a taste for I love Lucy.
To start off, I am not usually one for Sci-Fi genre stories. But the world of The Audacity is bright and intriguing, with equally memorable characters whose own stories peak with individual personalities. My only complaint was I wish we had seen more of them! [Thank goodness a sequel is on the way]. I personally found myself invested in all of them, their worries and troubles, and their own unique adventures. Laura's descriptive detail of other alien races and worlds are eclectic and amazing, on top of the consistent humorous tone.
I recommend this for anyone looking to sink their teeth in to something fresh, fun, and new to the sci-fi genre.
February 4, 2022
An awesome ride. Read? Ride. One of those books that successfully incorporate the humor and weirdness of Douglas Adams' style, but have their own personality and twist on things. I love the feeling of having no freaking idea where the whole thing is going to go, just following the characters and action because they're fun, then as we near the end, things start to fall in place, and by the way, during the impossible action, you somehow managed to get attached to these people as well. I loved May and Xan and the friendship forming between them; the jokes, the existential dread, and the comredary, everything. I'm very excited to read more about them. (Among the other characters, my favourites were probably Ix and Chaos).
The word play, the wittiness and occasional wisdom was mostly hitting all the right targets for me. It's colorful, it's fun, it's just lovely.
The word play, the wittiness and occasional wisdom was mostly hitting all the right targets for me. It's colorful, it's fun, it's just lovely.
August 6, 2019
The Audacity is a spiritual descendant of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and if you loved that book, you should definitely give this one a look. Laura Loup keeps the pace quick and the jokes flowing throughout. The characters are distinct and lively, and clearly the result of a lot of love from the author. The real draw here, though, are the gags that Loup weaves through the text - none of which I'll spoil for you here. Overall, the perfect palate cleanser for the end of a day in our much-less-fantastical real world.
June 19, 2019
Is life gettin' you down? Are you constantly craving flawless humor and space adventures? Then this book exactly what you need! Fantastic characters, intriguing conundrums, space racing, time travel, smile-inducing friendships and so much orange.
Caution: Only read this book if you enjoy laughing.
Caution: Only read this book if you enjoy laughing.
February 23, 2022
No one can write descriptions better than Laura Loup! She paints a (sometimes painfully) vivid picture of her setting that you cannot help but feel immersed the moment you read the first page. August is my favorite character and I have a newfound appreciation for strawberry flavored lip tint.
August 20, 2024
I really liked the way this book was written. It was silly and funny, and you could tell the author had a lot of fun writing it!
June 13, 2020
The Audacity is fun, funny, off-the-walls... in short, it's a RIDE.
I picked this book up largely because of the author's Twitter account, where they often post art and headcanon-y stuff about the characters. Any book that is so CLEARLY loved by its author has to have a lot of heart, right? In this case, at least, I wasn't wrong.
Billed as a modern-day Hitchhiker's Guide, The Audacity definitely lives up to that promise. The Douglas Adams influence is clear, but the humor and the characters are definitely from this century. Most of the book is told from the perspective of May, a human who is rescued by the titular Audacity and her pilot, Xan, right before the human race is enslaved by a chaos goddess who just happens to be one of Xan's former flings.... and the plot only gets crazier from there.
May is a likeable, anywoman-ish character, and Xan is... well, he lives up to just about everything you'd expect based on the cover art. The two of them make a hilarious, sometimes heartwarming team, and the supporting cast (who also get smaller doses of POV time) are nearly as memorable in their own right.
Also worth mentioning is the writing style--humor is all about the delivery, after all, and the timing and rhythm of the writing make individual paragraphs and sentences enjoyable in their own right, as well as as a part of the story. This definitely isn't the kind of book you can skim, and it's not only because the plot can take a complete 180 in the course of a single sentence. I'm definitely the kind of reader/editor who finds myself whipping out my mental red-pen-of-death more often than not, but most of what my red pen wanted to say here was "LOL!" "OMG love it" and "Nice turn of phrase".
Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi, humor, and damn good writing alike.
I cannot wait for the next installment.
I picked this book up largely because of the author's Twitter account, where they often post art and headcanon-y stuff about the characters. Any book that is so CLEARLY loved by its author has to have a lot of heart, right? In this case, at least, I wasn't wrong.
Billed as a modern-day Hitchhiker's Guide, The Audacity definitely lives up to that promise. The Douglas Adams influence is clear, but the humor and the characters are definitely from this century. Most of the book is told from the perspective of May, a human who is rescued by the titular Audacity and her pilot, Xan, right before the human race is enslaved by a chaos goddess who just happens to be one of Xan's former flings.... and the plot only gets crazier from there.
May is a likeable, anywoman-ish character, and Xan is... well, he lives up to just about everything you'd expect based on the cover art. The two of them make a hilarious, sometimes heartwarming team, and the supporting cast (who also get smaller doses of POV time) are nearly as memorable in their own right.
Also worth mentioning is the writing style--humor is all about the delivery, after all, and the timing and rhythm of the writing make individual paragraphs and sentences enjoyable in their own right, as well as as a part of the story. This definitely isn't the kind of book you can skim, and it's not only because the plot can take a complete 180 in the course of a single sentence. I'm definitely the kind of reader/editor who finds myself whipping out my mental red-pen-of-death more often than not, but most of what my red pen wanted to say here was "LOL!" "OMG love it" and "Nice turn of phrase".
Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi, humor, and damn good writing alike.
I cannot wait for the next installment.
August 23, 2021
I initially wasn't sure what to expect when starting The Audacity. I don't generally read comedy fiction, but I've been trying to read more science fiction and I enjoyed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The first few chapters were a little unsteady with the humour and I was wary, but soon the book found its feet and I settled in for what ended up being an enjoyable and captivating read.
The worldbuilding in this book is incredible. With the whole universe at their fingertips, Loup creates a unique and expansive backdrop for her characters' adventures without weighing it down with technical details. In this reality, nothing seems implausible: the ship runs on coffee? Okay! Time as an Earthen construct is different to time as a space construct? Almost definitely true in our reality too. Loup cleverly created a reality in which anything goes and uses that to their advantage in telling our protagonists' story.
Our two main characters, May and Xan, complement each other perfectly. Xan's erratic nature is balanced by May's logic approach to things, while May's desire to race rockets is balanced by Xan's knowledge of space customs. Neither of these characters fall into the one-dimensional personality trap common in stories with extensive worldbuilding; they both have their strengths and weaknesses that help drive the story.
The story is shared to some degree by two secondary narratives. Neither narratives detracted from the main plot and the final merging of all three storylines felt completely natural. The book was fast-paced, and towards the second half I was reluctant to put it down in case I missed something. It reminded me in a way of the revived Doctor Who, with the same dynamic as Christopher Eccleston/David Tennant and Billie Piper.
The Audacity is a high stakes sci-fi adventure that completely captures the spirit of Douglas Adams himself.
I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The worldbuilding in this book is incredible. With the whole universe at their fingertips, Loup creates a unique and expansive backdrop for her characters' adventures without weighing it down with technical details. In this reality, nothing seems implausible: the ship runs on coffee? Okay! Time as an Earthen construct is different to time as a space construct? Almost definitely true in our reality too. Loup cleverly created a reality in which anything goes and uses that to their advantage in telling our protagonists' story.
Our two main characters, May and Xan, complement each other perfectly. Xan's erratic nature is balanced by May's logic approach to things, while May's desire to race rockets is balanced by Xan's knowledge of space customs. Neither of these characters fall into the one-dimensional personality trap common in stories with extensive worldbuilding; they both have their strengths and weaknesses that help drive the story.
The story is shared to some degree by two secondary narratives. Neither narratives detracted from the main plot and the final merging of all three storylines felt completely natural. The book was fast-paced, and towards the second half I was reluctant to put it down in case I missed something. It reminded me in a way of the revived Doctor Who, with the same dynamic as Christopher Eccleston/David Tennant and Billie Piper.
The Audacity is a high stakes sci-fi adventure that completely captures the spirit of Douglas Adams himself.
I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 20, 2022
Get ready for a wild ride! The Audacity is a charmingly nonsensical space adventure in the style of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but with more queer rep and feminist vibes.
Fast-paced and over-the-top humor is not my typical flavor of choice when reading. I usually enjoy more time for savoring character development and a deeper exploration of themes. But this book knows what it is and does it really well.
The writing is top-notch and clever (including the times it breaks the fourth wall), all the characters are well-drawn and likable (even the villain), and I couldn’t help but snort at the ridiculousness of it all.
By the end, I was loving the friendships that had developed amidst the chaos, and the strange logic that the randomness maintained throughout. That’s impressive crafting right there.
Take a break from the mundanity of life with this dose of weird and warm-hearted indie scifi.
The Audacity is one of the books in my first-round allotment as a judge for the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (#SPSFC2). Its ultimate status will be determined in conjunction with other team members. Meanwhile, my thoughts here are my personal opinion.
Fast-paced and over-the-top humor is not my typical flavor of choice when reading. I usually enjoy more time for savoring character development and a deeper exploration of themes. But this book knows what it is and does it really well.
The writing is top-notch and clever (including the times it breaks the fourth wall), all the characters are well-drawn and likable (even the villain), and I couldn’t help but snort at the ridiculousness of it all.
By the end, I was loving the friendships that had developed amidst the chaos, and the strange logic that the randomness maintained throughout. That’s impressive crafting right there.
Take a break from the mundanity of life with this dose of weird and warm-hearted indie scifi.
The Audacity is one of the books in my first-round allotment as a judge for the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (#SPSFC2). Its ultimate status will be determined in conjunction with other team members. Meanwhile, my thoughts here are my personal opinion.
April 15, 2023
Disclaimer: This book was assigned to my team to read for the semi-finals of SPSFC2
Rating: 5/10
The Audacity is a hitchhiker's guide-inspired story with lots of humor and pop references.
While I think the story is well plotted out, I didn't vibe with the humor. And if you don't like the humor of this book, it won't be as entertaining as it relies on it a lot. On the contrary, if you like this type of humor, this book is likely going to be a blast for you!
Since it is a more light-hearted book, there are things that don't make much sense or are not as serious (i.e., she got a tooth pulled out and barely flinched?). I like how the author handled the two different plot lines and time jumps though. This is not necessarily easy to pull off, but they did.
Book one feels like the setup for a longer series. It's explaining why the main characters are where they are, introduces the "universe", and sets the scene. The stakes are not very high here and it feels like, it's really more about getting to know everyone.
At times, I was wondering if this book is just inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide or more of a rip-off. Some scenes were very similar... But maybe someone who has read Hitchhiker's Guide more recently than I did can comment on that.
Rating: 5/10
The Audacity is a hitchhiker's guide-inspired story with lots of humor and pop references.
While I think the story is well plotted out, I didn't vibe with the humor. And if you don't like the humor of this book, it won't be as entertaining as it relies on it a lot. On the contrary, if you like this type of humor, this book is likely going to be a blast for you!
Since it is a more light-hearted book, there are things that don't make much sense or are not as serious (i.e., she got a tooth pulled out and barely flinched?). I like how the author handled the two different plot lines and time jumps though. This is not necessarily easy to pull off, but they did.
Book one feels like the setup for a longer series. It's explaining why the main characters are where they are, introduces the "universe", and sets the scene. The stakes are not very high here and it feels like, it's really more about getting to know everyone.
At times, I was wondering if this book is just inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide or more of a rip-off. Some scenes were very similar... But maybe someone who has read Hitchhiker's Guide more recently than I did can comment on that.
August 1, 2020
Note: This was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Wohoo! This was A RIDE!
This was such a fun and interesting story! The author did an amazing job, the world-building is hilarious! I laughed so hard at some parts and the plot was really well done. I absolutely loved the main characters, they’re so funny and so well described. This is a science fiction comedy, and I rarely read sci-fi but I had so much fun while reading this one because the story itself is so addicting!!
The writing style was a bit heavy for me but very beautiful! And you CAN judge this book by its cover! The cover is OUT OF THIS WORLD (literally lol). It took me a while to get into the story that’s why I am not giving this a full rating but in the enjoyment level, this would definitely be a 5 star read. Highly recommend this to everyone who loves reading sci-fi, comedy books and fun stories!
Wohoo! This was A RIDE!
This was such a fun and interesting story! The author did an amazing job, the world-building is hilarious! I laughed so hard at some parts and the plot was really well done. I absolutely loved the main characters, they’re so funny and so well described. This is a science fiction comedy, and I rarely read sci-fi but I had so much fun while reading this one because the story itself is so addicting!!
The writing style was a bit heavy for me but very beautiful! And you CAN judge this book by its cover! The cover is OUT OF THIS WORLD (literally lol). It took me a while to get into the story that’s why I am not giving this a full rating but in the enjoyment level, this would definitely be a 5 star read. Highly recommend this to everyone who loves reading sci-fi, comedy books and fun stories!
February 1, 2020
I picked up this book expecting a slapstick-filled romp through outer space, and The Audacity did not disappoint. It starts as fast as a racing rocket, and it doesn't let up. May is a displaced human among the stars, trying to make the best out of a piss poor situation. Xan is an alien who takes her in for the karma.
The characters mesh well. There are others who pop in and out of the story, but you never feel overwhelmed with an abundance of filler. To the contrary, everything fits well in the sci-fi jigsaw puzzle that is The Audacity. I found myself unable to put this one down as I read. The chapters are short, but the book flows well. I look forward to reading more form this author, and I can't wait for The Audacity 2!!!!
The characters mesh well. There are others who pop in and out of the story, but you never feel overwhelmed with an abundance of filler. To the contrary, everything fits well in the sci-fi jigsaw puzzle that is The Audacity. I found myself unable to put this one down as I read. The chapters are short, but the book flows well. I look forward to reading more form this author, and I can't wait for The Audacity 2!!!!
December 30, 2019
I loved everything about this book. It had been on my tbr list for a while since I saw the cover art for it on Twitter. I got it for a Xmas present and the moment I saw the Douglas Adams quote in the beginning I knew I was going to be in love. And I am. It was a great book with great characters, great story, great friendship (no forced romances thank Xan!) and best of HILARIOUS JOKES. (One of my favorites: “But I loved you” “Gross”) I genuinely laughed several times throughout the book. I think Mr Adams would be damn proud to know he inspired such a wonderful book. I’m preordering the sequel the second I get paid!!!
November 14, 2020
It is a pretty good book, I would say. Funny and smartly written. This time I am sure the problem was me. I went through one of the worst reading slumps and at the same time this books was a new style for me and the combination of these two brought as a result the long time I had to read it. Overall "The Audacity" is a book I would recommend. The characters were deffinitely one of a kind and the world built was AMAZING. The writting style was SO GOOD. Maybe someday I would come back for a reread for a better experience. May and Xan were fun companions and I would like to spend some time with them in the commfy orange ship watching "I love Lucy" and drinking coffee.
June 29, 2022
I'm not a fan of science fiction but I picked this up at a local book store to support the store. Let me say I didn't expect to enjoy this story. I laughed so damn hard. The characters were absolutely hilarious, and the whole situation was entertaining. So much was going on and I was entertained throughout the whole thing. Still not fully my thing but it was entertaining. If you want a funny, easy, quick read, pick this up. And if you are a fan of science fiction and hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, then you will love this
August 15, 2025
Ever wished A Terry Pratchett novel and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy had a queer child? If so this book is for you. If not, maybe you need to search your heart because I assure you this is something everyone needs in their lives.
The premise is fun but my favorite aspect of the book was the characters: May was fun and relatable, Xan is my favorite kind of weird little guy. Funny but with enough plot and character to not get too crazy.
(I received this book in exchange for an honest review)
The premise is fun but my favorite aspect of the book was the characters: May was fun and relatable, Xan is my favorite kind of weird little guy. Funny but with enough plot and character to not get too crazy.
(I received this book in exchange for an honest review)
October 30, 2022
This book was a lot of fun! I've read sci-fi comedies compared to Douglas Adams before and none of them managed to live up to the comparison. This one does! It's got the same off-beat humor, and while the jokes don't all land, they still tie enough to the plot and hint at some underlying quirks that make the characters unique. The worldbuilding is solid, though still funny, and the plot progresses nicely until a satisfying ending. Sounds like a cool series of books!
October 8, 2025
Think Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but queer and with a more modern American twist. It’s got alien worlds with cool technological gizmos, aliens with unique cultures and ideas, and a heap of the comedically bizarre.
Full review can be found on Grimoire Ink's
https://grimoireinkreviews.wordpress....
Full review can be found on Grimoire Ink's
https://grimoireinkreviews.wordpress....
April 23, 2020
Thank you to the author for giving me a copy to review. I enjoyed this very much. It's a wonderfully fun read and the characters are great! It is really well written and funny; also, it has a well thought out plot that complements the whimsy perfectly. Review will be up on bookstagram soon.
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