On the HahaFiction shelf

Columbus Day

Expeditionary Force · Book 1 · 2016

Audiobook available · 16 hr 23 min

Joe Bishop leaves Earth with an expeditionary force to help the aliens who drove off humanity's invaders. He learns that those supposed allies pose a threat to Earth.

From the publisher’s blurb

“Even if that friend is an ancient alien AI. Who is an arrogant jerk.”
Read the full description at Podium Entertainment, publisher description
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What makes it funny?

Skippy has the appearance of a beer can and the self-regard of a god. He would like Joe to address him accordingly. The grand introduction gives this supremely capable intelligence an ego that is hard to take seriously.

The comedy at work

Joe recounts military danger in a relaxed, straightforward voice. Skippy brings extravagant claims about his own importance and an abrasive manner. Their exchanges give a soldier caught in an interstellar war someone very powerful to argue with.

Try this if…

For readers who enjoy military space adventures with uneven alliances and a talkative artificial intelligence. Joe and Skippy's partnership makes verbal sparring a substantial part of the appeal.

Good to know

The book begins closer to conventional military science fiction. The comedy becomes more prominent when Skippy enters; the opening does not yet have the partnership that drives much of the humor.

A few distinguishing details

  • Human soldiers serving dangerous alien allies
  • A beer-can-shaped intelligence with divine pretensions

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