Michael Rubens

A: “There had been a somewhat involved discussion over the appropriate time to depart, a debate ultimately settled with a Firestick--a double barreled Firestick 24, to be precise, the weapon of choice for those who want to decorate the landscape with bits and pieces of their opponent.” This quote was the one of the first paragraphs in the book; I believe it did set the mood for the rest of the book. You never knew what was going to happen in this book, every second there was something new and extremely interesting. I admit the book was very confusing one second his ship was being blown up people and the next getting “fargged” (a term used regularly in the book) by a patrol bot. The main character was always getting into trouble; his ship turned to dust because of an expired parking meter, hijacking a ship of freeze-dried orphans, and nearly cheating death at every turn.

I think that even though this book is absurd, it is actually enjoyable. The obscurity of this book combined with the complete randomness pushes you to read on. There is never a moment of rest as you go on a never-ending adventure that may be your last. At points, the book seems predictable but I have been proved wrong many, many times by complete surprise I never would have guessed. At times, I found the narrative/story hard to follow, but when I didn’t understand, I found I could fill in the blanks and make up what is happening in my head.

A: I think that the motto of the main character is "live today like it is your last, because tomorrow new challenges await you that you cannot escape.”

I really do believe this is the motto the character lives by. Since the beginning of the book, the main character has been faced with many obstacles which he cannot avoid. You would think that he would give up after multiple attempts of attack on him, but he keeps going, always looking ahead. Who cares if there is a space alien that resembles a squid is chasing him, or if the squid wants to plant eggs in his brain; all he has to do is run in order to survive. Each new challenge he faces might be his last, he just has a hope of surviving. His challenges are not confined to this world, either. After impersonating a rival smuggler and hopping aboard a ship, he takes off. In space, life does not get much better for him. He is one-upped by an orphan and almost shot multiple times with a Firestick, which, regardless the model, would have his head missing in a second. He just keeps moving, and although you would think that he can’t die because he’s the main character, you never know in a book like this.