No Free Lunch: Hal Spacejock, Book 4 (Simon Haynes, Fremantle Press, $19.95 pb, ISBN 9781921361081, June) ***

Hal Spacejock, a space freighter pilot, and his loyal robot Clunk are bordering on bankruptcy and desperate for any business they can get. While at the peaceful ‘retirement’ planet of Dismolle they meet Harriett Walsh, a trainee peace officer who is eager for a case to investigate. A call comes through from the snow-covered planet of Forzen—a large amount of money has been stolen by a person who is now missing. Hal and Harriett combine forces to investigate the mystery. The fourth book in a series, No Free Lunch is an effortless read that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The plot is fun and intelligent, with some genuine laugh-out loud moments. The book will appeal to teenage boys, especially fans of science-fiction comedy. But it is more subtle, and the main character more complex and endearing, than the macho title suggests. At times the book loses momentum, but in Hal Spacejock’s universe, life has its ups and downs, and everything does not operate seamlessly. Once readers accept that Hal is just an everyday guy with no princesses or galaxies to save, they will enjoy this escapade with more to it than meets the eye.

Gavin Jones is the literature librarian at Melbourne Girls Grammar

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: simon haynes