CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE trilogy:
The Interstellar Undertakers (Vantage Press, 2002) According to a peachable source quoted on the book’s back cover: “The Milky Way is not the same after Jale goes through it. Ex-smuggler and now body-burier, this likeable thug with a Ph.D. meets his match with the Black Hand Gang. Blasted after transgressing their genetic code, he is rescued by a diffident android modelled on Sherlock Holmes. In trouble at the Purple Escargot, they are joined by a pouty if pretty exotic dancer whose stage name is Vestal Virgin. Can this mismatched trio defeat the precise machinations of the Gang? Well – this reviewer will not spill the asteroids. But the plot is like the scarf Vestal gives Jale before his ultimate game of pool: tightly knit but with a few dropped stitches. For example, what is the connection between love and tensor calculus? It is rare to come across a book which oscillates so effortlessly between the academic and the puerile. It’s a good read – especially if you have a drink handy …” [Isaac Asinine, Times of Trantor]. Also available as a PDF document here (518K).
“With two masters of the art, Isaac Asimov and Fred Hoyle, no longer around … give The Interstellar Undertakers by cosmologist Paul Wesson a try … I found this an excellent read…” [David Stickland, Observatory Magazine]
Cosmic Dreams (Vantage Press, 2003). “Jale’s trip through the galaxies in his space-hearse the Rigor Mortis is an epic. His pretty ex-girlfriend Vestal Virgin has given up exotic dancing and been cloned into a dream machine. Her mission is to project nice thoughts and cure the evil intentions of those bent on war between the Milky Way and Andromeda. But the intergalactic malice she encounters turns her dreams into nightmares, infecting an already unstable cosmos … Can Jale find her, and prevent war? This reviewer’s lips are sealed. But he can tell you that Jale has brawn and brains, as well as the help of his buddy – a Sherlock Holmes robot. This book bounces between circus-like buffoonery and all-to-genuine pathos. It is baffling in parts (can one make love in a multi-dimensional universe strewn with wormholes?) However, it is insightful – a prime example of ‘hard’ science fiction with a broad dash of humour that takes the edge of its poignancy. One suspects that the author is a super-intelligent idiot. Recommendation: get a drink and try it.” [Isaac Asinine, Times of Trantor] Also available as a PDF document here (535K).
“You’ll be pleased to know that Jale’s back in action, aided once more by android detective Sherlock Holmes … all’s well that ends well and an exciting time is had by all.” [David Stickland, Observatory Magazine]
Gambling with Galaxies (Vantage Press, 2011). “If you want a swashbuckling story of the spaceways, with romance and humour, this is it. Jale is the charismatic captain of the space hearse Rigor Mortis, ably assisted by his first mate who is an android version of Sherlock Holmes. This surrealistic pair have, however, a very practical job: find who is decimating the Milky Way with the dread disease CLAG. This kills by simply exploding its victims. The plot curdles when our two heroes discover a pretty stowaway, Pippin, who forsakes her beloved garden to go careening across the Galaxy with Jale. This reviewer likes to be entertained, and the book certainly does that. The storyline is fast-paced and funny, but occasionally the characters cast psychological shadows on it from their troubled pasts. Nevertheless, it is hard not to identify with Jale, Sherlock and Pippin as they struggle against massive odds to protect the people of the Milky Way from the ravages of the CLAG disease. Do they succeed? Well, that would be telling too much. Better is that you get a drink and ride along in the Rigor Mortis as it gambles and gambols among the galaxies …” [Isaac Asinine, Times of Trantor] Also available as a PDF document here (731K).