“Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars,” by Quentin Dodd

“Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars,” by Quentin Dodd is a humorous science fiction story about two best friends who are abducted by opposing alien armies to serve as generals.

Walter Nutria is a young teenage boy who can't stand school. The teachers don't do their jobs right and seem to show favoritism. It is little wonder, then, that he skips school. The only thing that Walter really likes is watching sci-fi films with his best friend Yselle Meridian, a cool girl who seems to like Walter or maybe she just likes renting videos on Walter's card!

But Walter's life changes abruptly when he cuts school one day and finds an alien spaceship waiting to pick him up. The aliens quickly tell him their reason for wanting him:

“Nearly half your motion-picture entertainment was about courageous Earth people fighting off alien invaders, often against incredible odds! Soon it became clear to us that every single inhabitant of Planet Earth must be an expert in space conflicts! It was the perfect opportunity!

So we checked the video rental records to find out who had seen the most films. That person would obviously be the greatest general.”

Invited because of his movie watching skills and promised pay in the form of a year's worth of production from the famous Lirgonian nougat mines, Walter can't really turn the offer down. But soon previously undiscussed issues crop up, such as the fact that the Ligonians have only one spaceship in their fleet. Then Walter finds out that his best friend Yselle has been taken on as the general of the Wotwots, the opposing force that the Lirgonians want Walter to help them defeat. The only good thing is that the Wotwots have only one spaceship too!

When the first face off ends in a humiliating game of chicken that leaves both ships damaged and stuck to each other, Walter and Yselle are grateful that nothing worse happened. At the intergalactic repair shop, though, the war between the Wotwots and Lirgonians is put on hold when both alien ships are stolen by Space Mice from Galaxy Four.

These mysterious mice are the scourge of the galaxy, constantly stealing important things. No one is sure exactly what these electric blue rodents do with the things that they steal, all that's known for sure is that they were first seen near Galaxy Four. Both alien groups are eager to get their spaceships back. As Walter, Yselle and their alien friends try to track down the Space Mice it becomes obvious that more is at stake than two lost spaceships. In fact, the fate of the whole universe might be involved!

“Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars,” is definitely a well-written book. The humor is well designed, never crude or forced. Quentin Dodd's plot is interesting and its unusual alien characters enliven the storyline. I definitely recommend “Beatnik Rutabagas from Beyond the Stars,” to all young science fiction lovers.

Inkweaver Book Rating:

Plot

Characters

Presentation

Overall

Your Rating: