Friday, 29 July 2022

Space Traipse Hold My Beer Season 5 - Karina Lumbert Fabian

Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 5
Karina Fabian
Laser Cow Press
ISBN 9781956489057
ASIN B0B4KT7LVX


An amazing addition to the Space Traipse stories! I have read many books by Karina Fabian. I love her wit, her witticisms, and her wisdom. He stories are in a wide range of genres. And her list of Series every growing. This is the fifth in the Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Series. I have read the previous 4 and a standalone side story. In the last month she has published 4 short stories, three previously in anthologies, and now this book. I cannot seem to put her books down, and have devoured the 5 new offerings. The only think in my reading queue are some older works in a series I never got around to starting. And 1 or 2 stand alone works. I have read some of her contributions in anthologies and love her short form fiction. I love her religious themed fiction. However the Space Traipse books are completely different than any of her other works. Well maybe not completely different, the humour infuses much of what she writes. In some ways her works are like a Catholic version of Douglas Adams, Robert Asprin, or Tom Holt. All of whom I enjoy but Fabians works have eclipsed them in my list of favourites. 

I grew up watching reruns of Star Trek the Original Series, and the animated series during its original run. I have long been a fan of the shows and when much younger read many novelizations. I loved reading the old James Blish Star Trek stories. Reading the stories in this series take me back to that early stage in my reading, but with a much more humorous slant. These stories are part homage, part satire, part commentary, part parody, and they are a whole lot of fun! The dedication to this book states:

“Who was a great fan and a good friend. Tamara was the epitome of a writer who supported her fellow writers. The Internet is a lonelier place without her.”

The tag line for the series is:

“Space: By Keptar, there’s a lot of it. And it’s chock-full of stuff to do and people to meet. These are the adventures of the HMB Impulsive. Its mission: to explore worlds, to seek out anomalies, and to boldly do what no one else has the guts to do! And you know that we’re the ship to do it.
Don’t believe me? Hold my beer!”

As a Canadian I love that the all-powerful being in this series is called Eh! Instead of Q. There is just something smugly fitting about that. And the predicament he and the cred end up in, in this volume.

These stories follow the further adventures of the captain and the crew of the HMB Impulsive. The descriptions of the main crew members are: 

• Capt Jeb Tiberius: A good ol’ boy from Texas whose religion requires firm buttocks.
• First Officer Commander Phineas Smythe: His uncanny ability to win Rock-Paper-Scissors-Redshirt-Alien means he can pick his away missions.
• Chief Engineer Commander Angus Deary: The first person to reverse the polarity by 90 degrees.
• Chief of Security, Enigo Guillermo Ricardo Montoya Guiterrez LaFuentes: Raised on the UGS The Hood, where gang war is a cultural right, he’s not afraid to shoot a fellow crewman. That’s what stun is for!
• Ops Officer Ensign Ellie Doall: Fresh from the HMB Mary Sue, she can so just about anything all on her own – and often does.
• Transporter Chief, Dolfrick Dour: By the manipulations of technology, he reduces people to their most basic elements and rematerializes them elsewhere. Is it any wonder he’s 23rd Century Goth?

The stories in this volume are:

Journey to Belon
Day Before Tomorrow
They Left the Duck Blind On

Being caught up on all the volumes in this series, I can easily state it is getting even better with age. Being stuck in a time look can have some serious side effects. Especially if you are engaged and being counselled by an Eh!.  Or a contentious journey when your parents are diplomats and your ship is now transporting them. Your tensions are almost always high with them, and add in a suiter you dearly love … there are bound to be fireworks and not necessarily of the romantic kinds. And the final bonus story, … pure genius. But to find out how you will need to pick up the volume and give it a read.

Join once again the unique crew as they navigate the minefields of space, time, place, and relationships. This volume contains three excellent stories or episodes. 

Another great read in a terribly fun series. And one that leaves you hanging absolutely desperate to find out what happens to the Impulsive and her crew next. And that surprising voice from the past!  

It is another wonderful collection of tales. I said it before and even more so after this volume, it is great for fans of trek, fans of parodies, or people who just love great science fiction stories. The tales reminded me of Spider Robinson’s Cross Time Saloon books in many ways. It is a great ensemble crew, with interesting adventures, and a whole lot of fun.
 
Many of Fabian’s earlier works and Anthologies are out of print, but they are well worth tracking down. I suggest you grab these new stories I am sure you will be entertained. Give this book or series a try; I am certain you will be entertained. It is a lot of fun in a small package.    

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2022 Catholic Reading Plan!


Dex Hollister Series:
The Old Man and the Void
Dex's Way
...

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator Series :
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
I Left My Brains in San Francisco
Shambling in a Winter Wonderland
…

DragonEye PI Series:
DragonEye PI Novels:
9.0 Gapman
10.0 Magic, Mensa and Mayhem (Revised edition forthcoming)
11.0 Live and Let Fly (Revised edition forthcoming)
... 

DragonEye PI Short Stories:

DragonEye PI Original First Editions:
Live and Let Fly
...

Space Traipse Series:
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 1
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 2
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 3
Space Traipse Stories
…

Mind Over Series:
Mind Over Mind
Mind Over Psyche
Mind Over All
Hearts Over Mind
…

Edited by: Karina Fabian:
Infinite Space, Infinite God I
Leaps of Faith
Infinite Space, Infinite God II
...


Contributed to:
Firestorm of Dragons
The Zombie Cookbook
The Book of Tentacles
Twisted Fayrie Tales
FRIGHTLINER: And Other Tales of the Undead
Mother Goose is Dead
Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary
Image and Likeness Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body
Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction
Weird Noir
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels
Manifesto UF
Avenir Eclectia
Planetary Anthology: Jupiter
Planetary Anthology: Pluto
Planetary Anthology: Luna
Planetary Anthology: Uranus
FlagShip Science Fiction and Fantasy v2i5
My Little Book of Headdesks
To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity
...







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