Author Mark JG Fahey dedicates this lighthearted
science-fiction novel to Rosemary, and opens with a verse from protagonist
Nebula Yorker, Neb for short, about no one knowing the future, living in the
present being enough, and that the past is the future. The main action of the
novel begins on February 26, 1986 at 1:16 AM in Woodside Hills, California,
where Neb looks at the skies with his telescope in anticipation of Halley’s
Comet, which for some reason begins to move towards him, and materializes into a
British-accented man named Archibald Tict.
Tict gives his backstory, noting that his mother, a servant of Queen Anne in the eighteenth century, died in childbirth, and is a time traveler, taking Neb to Halley’s Casino, which disguises itself as its namesake Comet. Neb meets a few alien characters, such as TeeceeFore, who is the Prime Minister of Telvon Three, and is introduced to unique casino games such as Crib Poker, not to mention a council of the known universe, Council of U for short. Time travel plays a role in the book’s latter events, with a trip back to Rome in 12 BCE where critical events unfold.
Star Trek, and occasionally Star Wars, references abound throughout the novel, which is for the most part an enjoyable humorous sci-fi novel, with a twist towards the end concerning Neb’s heritage, although as with most stories dealing with the subject, time travel is plot hole fodder, although the connection of the element to the appearances of Halley’s Comet is definitely unique. This reviewer most certainly enjoyed the story, would be more than willing to read its sequel Marine in the near future, and would recommend the book to fans of lighthearted sci-fi like the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.
Tict gives his backstory, noting that his mother, a servant of Queen Anne in the eighteenth century, died in childbirth, and is a time traveler, taking Neb to Halley’s Casino, which disguises itself as its namesake Comet. Neb meets a few alien characters, such as TeeceeFore, who is the Prime Minister of Telvon Three, and is introduced to unique casino games such as Crib Poker, not to mention a council of the known universe, Council of U for short. Time travel plays a role in the book’s latter events, with a trip back to Rome in 12 BCE where critical events unfold.
Star Trek, and occasionally Star Wars, references abound throughout the novel, which is for the most part an enjoyable humorous sci-fi novel, with a twist towards the end concerning Neb’s heritage, although as with most stories dealing with the subject, time travel is plot hole fodder, although the connection of the element to the appearances of Halley’s Comet is definitely unique. This reviewer most certainly enjoyed the story, would be more than willing to read its sequel Marine in the near future, and would recommend the book to fans of lighthearted sci-fi like the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.
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