Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures

 

Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures (Captain's Log Book 2)
By  Milo James Fowler

ISBN: 9781541361386
167 Pages
Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Meet Captain Quasar, a cross between James T. Kirk and Dudley Do-Right - except in Quasar's case, things seldom ever go right....

Join Captain Bartholomew Quasar and the crew of the Effervescent Magnitude in this hilarious collection of short stories as they confront bands of nefarious space pirates, cantankerous bandits, exotic aliens, devious powers of persuasion, mysterious ghosts from the past, deep space identity crises, a runaway hyper-speed train, an insidious computer virus, and a villain with the fastest thumbs in the quadrant.

My Thoughts:

I'm just going to come out and say it - Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures  is a riot. When I started listening to this I did not know what to expect. Is it supposed to be comedy? I hope so. Because I found it hilarious. It's a little bit Star Trek and a little bit Star Wars, with some cheesy western thrown in for good measure. Are space westerns a thing? If not, they should be. Yeah, I know Firefly exists. But it's not quite a true space western.

When the book started playing (because I was listening to the audiobook), right away I noted that the writer has a thing for extremely long names. The captain is Bartholomew Quasar and his ship is the Effervescent Magnitude. Many of the planets have really long names too. It made me wonder if he was aiming for a target character count. I was worried that the book would become too wordy. But those concerns were alleviated really fast when the humor kicked in. The book is a collection of short stories, some of which are actually only a few lines long. And in the end, the name of the ship is quite fitting, and the story behind the captain's name is ridiculous, but not in a bad way. 

The synopsis for Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures describes Captain Quasar's character as a cross between James T. Kirk and Dudley Do-Right. While listening to these stories I definitely got the James Kirk vibe. But there was someone else, more prevalent, and I just could not place it. That is, until the first time I heard the description of his uniform jacket, and that's when it clicked in my mind. Quasar is about 40% Kirk and 60% Zap Brannigan. You know, from Futurama? He's got that obliviously arrogant womanizer persona nailed. Despite that, he is an extremely likable character.

The other characters are equally entertaining and likeable. Like Quasar, the first officer is another human - an Asian woman named Commander Won - who he likes to affectionately call "Number Won", much to her chagrin. She is the straight counterpoint to Quasar's insanity and it works so well. The third significant human crewman is Bill, the janitor turned bumbling Chief Engineer. While technically more of a background character, for some reason I thought he was hilarious. Maybe because my hubby is a comp tech named Bill... The final crewman of note is his helmsman, a large multiple armed sloth-like alien that is very much a throwback to the Wookie right hand man of Han Solo. 

The stories in Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures take place in a sector of space millions of miles from Earth and involve exploring, negotiating with sometimes hostile alien races, a touch of flirting, and a lot of goofy antics. Some stories may fall a bit flat, but most of them will make you laugh. If you are a fan of Firefly, Galaxy Quest, or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then this book is right up your alley.

I do want to take a moment to address the narration - because as I said, I was listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by  E. M. Carberry, and his storytelling makes the book as much as the writing does. He has a unique voice that draws you in and makes you want to listen, which is key in audiobook narration. Oddly, at times it was a little reminiscent of George Takei. Maybe it was intentional because he was trying to give Won an accent, or maybe he didn't even realize it. I just noticed it because my brain was already in a Trek mindset. It just came out at the weirdest times and caught me off guard.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures from the author, Milo James Fowler, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions stated are mine. The book is currently available available on Amazon.

Parent's Guide:

Captain Bartholomew Quasar: Starfaring Adventures may have some minor adult themes, but really, most of it is written in a way that the worst stuff would go over the head of someone innocent - much like writing in modern sitcoms and family shows. I feel that this could be a safe and fun read for teens who like things about space adventuring.