REVIEW: Willful Child by Steven Erikson

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Willful Child by Steven Erikson
Publishing Information: Kindle
Publisher: Tor; 4 Nov 2014
ISBN: 978-0765374899
Standalone
Copy: Provided by Publisher
Reviewer: Tyson

Amazon

Synopsis: "From the New York Times Bestselling author Steven Erikson comes a new science fiction novel of devil-may-care, near calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through the infinite vastness of interstellar space.

These are the voyages of the starship A.S.F. Willful Child. Its ongoing mission: to seek out strange new worlds on which to plant the Terran flag, to subjugate and if necessary obliterate new life-forms, to boldly blow the...

And so we join the not-terribly-bright but exceedingly cock-sure Captain Hadrian Sawback and his motley crew on board the Starship Willful Child for a series of devil-may-care, near-calamitous and downright chaotic adventures through ‘the infinite vastness of interstellar space.’

The New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence has taken his lifelong passion for Star Trek and transformed it into a smart, inventive, and hugely entertaining spoof on the whole mankind-exploring-space-for-the-good-of-all-species-but-trashing-stuff-with-a-lot-of-high-tech-gadgets-along-the-way, overblown adventure. The result is an SF novel that deftly parodies the genre while also paying fond homage to it."

Not long ago I read Scalzi's Red Shirts and enjoyed everything but the third act. This time one of my favorite authors tackles the subject again.

Erikson has a unique way of approaching humor, especially when dealing with his characters Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Two necromancers, so when you feel that Captain Kirk a little too restrained you get Captain Sawback, a man who takes sexual harassment as a challenge and not as a sign to slow down it really sets the tone of the book. I have to admit I was really taken aback but this characters approach as he is arrogant and constantly seeking adventure, it was only later as I learned that his actions are justified simply because he is oblivious to the harm he is causing. He is only out for himself and no one else.

The plot of the story is more of several episodic adventures that are thinly tied together that hit on many of the adventures of the original Star Trek series. There is time travel, first contact, and the Prime Directive. While the crew are the main characters the aliens that the crew encounter really take center stage as the push the limits of decency in their appearance and behavior.

I really wanted to enjoy the book but found myself reading something that was way, way over the top and that hampered my enjoyment. While Erikson clearly knows his Star Trek stuff, it left me out in the cold. While I know a great deal of Star Trek tropes and trivia, I just didn't feel as I was always in on the joke with the author.

Overall 7/10
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