Hal Spacejock 3: Just Desserts by Simon Haynes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review first appeared in the now-defunct webzine, The Specusphere, in January 2008.

Hal and Clunk are back! (Did they ever go away? Their fans would say not.) Again they create inter planetary mayhem and somehow manage to come out unscathed. Well, almost unscathed. Simon Haynes is a master of the close shave, contriving to rescue his unlikely heroes from all manner of danger, including their own stupidity, with nothing worse to show for the adventures than the odd bruise or blazing headache.

As usual, it is Hal, the human half of the partnership, who is the stupid one: his metal off-sider, Clunk, is both the brains and brawn of this outfit. Without Clunk and good ol’ Navcom, Hal would no doubt be drawing the dole on some obscure planet while he drinks his coffee and dreams his Walter-Mittyish dreams. But with the help of his long-suffering nursemaids, Hal actually manages to live out his dreams, albeit precariously, and that is perhaps half the charm of this series. There is a bit of Hal in all of us. He often embarrasses us, frequently annoys us and repeatedly amuses us. And in the end, he saves the day, convincing us that no matter how limited we seem to be, we might, one day, win out over forces more powerful than we are.

In this episode, Hal and Clunk are pitted against a robot enemy who engages hit men to see them off. In fighting for their lives and their cargo, they find themselves stewarding aboard a shuttle, risking arrest for impersonating army officers, enjoying all the fun of the fair while shying at coconuts and making utter fools of themselves at a formal dinner. How Haynes dreams up his improbable scenarios is a mystery to an unimaginative clod like me, but I’m glad he does it.

This is the third book in the series and there is a strong possibility of more. This brings one to wonder just how long a writer can get away with the same formula. Mind you, this is a formula that works – and it sells, too. Many a writer would like to dream up such a formula. Yet now Haynes has really hit his stride, one feels that perhaps he could start to take the odd risk; to play with the formula and subvert it – or lift it to greater heights than even Hal might dream of. The potential is certainly there. But meanwhile, enjoy another fast and furious ride with Haynes's zap-happy, zany rapscallions.

Between books, readers can continue to follow Hal and Clunk on their blog: http://haldiary.blogspot.com/ Their official biographer also has a blog: http://halspacejock.blogspot.com/ and a website http://www.spacejock.com.au/ They are all worth checking out.

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