Customer Reviews

Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Robot Slaves

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Harry Harrison's Bill the Galactic Hero (BtGH) series is the sci-fi equivalent of Robert Aspirin's "Myth" fantasy books: pun-based humor is paramount and the more improbable the plotline the better.

This time around BtGH and company find themselves on the Planet of Usa after a nasty Chinger attack on their military base. Robotic lifeforms are the indigenous species on the planet, with two factions endlessly at war with each other. The Chingers have allied themselves with one of the factions (the one with the robot slaves), leaving the humans to ally themselves with the other. Residing on the planet are several humanoid groups, also endlessly at war with each other.

If you've picked up on the theme of endless war then this book might not be too subtle for you (if the theme escaped you, you might consider a position as a cadet with the Space Troopers). The machinations of war are severely criticized - and parodied - in the novel. In this respect the book is similar to Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (in much the same way that microwaveable pork rinds are akin to a Honeybaked ham), but because so little of the storyline can be taken seriously Harrison's commentary is easily dismissed if you happen to disagree with it.

The first BtGH book was divided into three major sections. Here the story takes place in half a dozen or so set pieces, each having very little to do with each other (beyond taking place on the Planet of the Robot Slaves). Some of them are funny (The Roman Legion vs. King Arthur), some of them are not (the PLDP).

Take away the comedy and there's not a lot to recommend this book. I happen to find character names like Cy BerPunk (computer technician) and Mel Praktis (doctor) mildly amusing - plus my father, brother and a nephew are each named Bill (only the nephew has true Galactic Hero potential), so it's fun to tweak them about their namesake. If these things don't hold true for you, you might want to consider reading a different book.

This review was supposed to be for the FIRST BTGH book. Sorry for clicking the wrong title.
Please see Bill The Galactic Hero

The puns in this book whiz by at a rapid and frequent pace, it takes an agile mind to catch and appreciate them all. It is a science fiction story that is a parody of science fiction stories, the human propensity for war and the military mindset that propagates it. Bill is a reluctant soldier, he was drafted into the military yet has no stomach for the arts of war; he would rather spend his time in chemically induced bliss.
Through a sequence of foul-ups, Bill finds himself marooned on a planet with a few other misfits, one of which is called Cy BerPunk. None of them could ever be mistaken for a person with courage and they find themselves riding dragons, fighting with and against mechanical war machines and in the territory of Barthroom, where a southern gentleman named Jonkarta rules with his fiancee Princess Dejah Vue. King Arthur, Merlin, a parody of the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz and many other references to the pulp side of science fiction make an appearance.
To completely appreciate this book it is necessary to know something about the history of science fiction where science is not paramount. For example, the reference to Barthroom has a double meaning, the more obvious one to "bathroom" and the more complex one to the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. With parodies piled on parodies, this book is fun to read as long as you take not a single word of it seriously.

Bill does not like danger, although he is supposed to really get a kick out of it, him being a Space Trooper and all. But no matter what he does -mainly trying to get danger as far as possible away from him or vice versa- heroism keeps following Bill without mercy. That is why he is still alive and kicking. That is, because of an earlier accident: kicking with his two right arms -there weren't any spare left ones- and his chicken leg -there weren't any human legs left. When his camp is attacked by gigantic metal dragons he volunteers not to be made member of the revenge mission, and that is exactly what his commander officer decides not to do...

Harry Harrison has a talent for the absurd. With seemingly no effort he paradises the whole science fiction genre and gets away with it. If you would want to compare him with to writers, you are bound to think of him as Terry Pratchett being genetically cloned in the neighborhood of Douglas Adams. Although Harrison never reaches the level of absurdness of Adams and is only a few times as funny as Pratchett, he still has created a quite enjoyable character in the hero of Bill. What makes this story special is its continuous anti-war message. Although most of the characters crave for some kind of unending battle, it is clear to the reader that the absurdness of the wars described in this book is certainly not far from what is happening in our world. It is certainly quite surprising and refreshing to see such theme appear in this kind of book.

If you enjoy mindless sex and overindulgence in every aspect of life, this book is for you! It all starts out when the garbage tug Bill is on crashes onto an unknown planet called Usa (manufacturer of fine products the galaxy over). As the small little band of soldiers and drunkards are taken on a journey, things get a bit out of hand. If you don't mind the occasional typo and off-color humor, this book is great. I would give just about anything for this book. Verily, even my flabby buttocks!