Battle Beyond the Dolestars (Battlestar Suburbia)

by Chris McCrudden

Time for the Machine Republic to Kurl Up and Dye

It’s a year since the Battlestar Suburbia broke free from Earth and the human rebellion is hiding out in the asteroid belt. Their leader, Admiral Janice, is assembling a fleet she hopes can topple robot rule – except on Wednesday afternoons when she can do you a half head of highlights for 30 quid.

Janice has given Darren, now the reluctant captain of the teenage starship Polari, a critical mission, to open up a path back to Earth by bombing the Martian Gap Services. But when it goes wrong and Darren and his crew are chased deep into the solar system, Janice has only one hope left, back on Earth.

Here, sentient breadmaker Pamasonic Teffal is resisting the human–machine war the best way she knows how: by running for office. Until a distress signal from Janice persuades her to get her turbo-charged alter ego Pam Van Damme out of mothballs, that is…

Can Pam save the solar system and rescue Kelly from the clutches of her nemesis, the crazed smartphone-turned-cyborg, Sonny Erikzon? Find out in another anarchic comic adventure from the inimitable Chris McCrudden.

• ISBN10: 1788421051
• ISBN13: 9781788421058
• Publish Date: 19 September 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Prelude Books
• Imprint: Farrago
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Battle Beyond the Dolestars is a new humorous SF romp and the second book in the Battlestar Suburbia series by Chris McCrudden. Released 19th Sept 2019 by Farrago, it's 352 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a sequel, following a cast of returning characters (human, machine, and both/neither) who are fighting to save humanity from an oppressive machine empire run by Sonny Erikzon (*groan*). There is enough backstory included to not feel terribly lost, but the reading will be enhanced by having read the prequel.

The setup and humor remind me very much of other humorous SF(ish) classics: Fforde, Fowler, Grant/Naylor, Moore, Stross, et.al. It's not derivative, not exactly, the author has a slightly different humorous slant and oh, good heavens, the puns flow like a mighty river. Whilst reading, I definitely felt like the aforementioned authors were being channeled though...

There are genuinely funny moments and the pacing is frenetic and relentless. The bad guys are boo-worthy, the good guys (mostly identifying as female) are plucky and funny and brave and the end result is enjoyably readable.

Three and a half stars, rounded up for the writing. People who loathe puns (or humorous SF) will likely not enjoy this one. Fans of Laundry Files, Red Dwarf, HHGttG, and the others will find a lot to like until the next Shadow Police novel hits the stands (if it ever does... yes, I'm lookin' at you, Paul Cornell).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.