2 out of 4 stars
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In the humorous science fiction novel A Better End of the Universe: A Cosmic Con by RJ London and Max Penman, convicts are no longer imprisoned. Rather, they are placed on conpads (vessels equipped to traverse time and space) and sent to the end of the universe. Thus, it is of great shock to those manning the no-longer-used prison planet of Darvpool when the prisoner escape alarm goes off for the first time in over a millennium. The two conpads holding con artists Schtincci and Jinjr have veered from their course and must be retrieved to complete their sentenced journey.
With this setup, one might expect an action-packed science fiction thriller to follow. Will the convicts get away? What havoc will they reek before they are caught, if they are caught?
In a way, these questions are answered. However, it is not in the way the opening led me to believe. In terms of the science fiction thriller with action, I was let down. Chapter 4 begins by telling us we will get a little backstory about Schtincci and Jinjr. The backstory finishes up around Chapter 25 after relaying much more history than I feel the reader needs. If this information had been delivered in a type of flashback with dialogue and shown details, it may have worked, if been a bit too long. As it was, these chapters all read like a summary of events with the story told, rather than shown. By the time the main story resumed, I was so lost in the backstory, I had to go back to the beginning and remind myself what happened.
The book description called this humorous science fiction, and there certainly is humor. Much of the book’s jokes made me smile, and there are laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled throughout. There is a good amount of satire here, and fans of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy would appreciate the tone of this book. As amazing as most of the humor is, though, there were a few places where it just felt juvenile. At one point, a good chunk of a chapter is dedicated to a character picking his nose. This didn’t fit at all with some of the more clever humor. There is a fair amount of sexual inuendo throughout, so this book is not suitable for younger readers, who may not understand much of it, anyway. I would also advise those offended easily to stay away from this book. It picks fun at a great many things. This didn’t bother me, but more sensitive readers may struggle.
While the content of the humor didn’t bother me, the amount of it got to be tedious in the absence of one plotline tying everything together. After a while, it felt as if the humor usurped the action. I found myself laughing less and instead wondering when we’d get back to the story. Many of the jokes seem like they’d work well as part of a comedy routine, but as a book, the humor upstaged the plot and left me wanting more.
I must commend London and Penman on their creativity with technology. The idea of the conpads fascinates me. They are transports that take criminals through time to the end of the universe, which is an unspecified distance away. They pass through any objects in the way without having an impact on the object, the conpad, or the conpad’s passenger. When a conpad nears the end of the universe, its passenger is awakened from suspended animation so the glory of the universe’s end can be experienced. Honestly, I don’t understand how any of this works—why an object traveling through time would even need to be outfitted not to collide with objects in space, for example. This, but for one aspect, did not hamper my reading experience. I would have liked more on how the conpads worked, but I was also content to suspend my disbelief and go with it.
I rate A Better End of the Universe: A Cosmic Con 2 out of 4 stars. The use of truly funny humor keeps me from rating it 1 star. Unfortunately, due to the wayward plot and a smattering of errors throughout, I can’t rate it any higher. This really is a shame because combining a cohesive plotline with the humor here would have made the book a winner for me. I would not recommend this to hardcore science fiction fans who want an adventure story with lots of action and thoroughly explained technology. For readers seeking a slower-paced book who like light science and lots of jokes, this is the perfect read.
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A Better End of the Universe
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