Would you recommend Toby Frost's Captain Smith books?

[booksforlunch]

Hi!

I stumbled about Toby Frost's Chronicles of Isambard Smith.
Amazon.com: Space Captain Smith (Chronicles of Isambard Smith) (9781905802135): Toby Frost: Books


And from the description of the first one, it sounds as if it's right up my alley, what with an intergalactic (British) empire, a slightly inept 'hero' and an obvious tilt towards the humorous.

So, are they any good?

(As a reference point for a recomendation: I quite enjoyed Stephen Hunt's Rise of the Iron Moon, and adored the heck out of Larklight by Philip Reeve.)

 

[Culhwch]

I'm sure Toby would - he's a member here! I'm afraid I can't recommend the book one way or the other, having not read it (yet) but I am sure it's fantastic. More helpful folks than me will be along shortly, with luck...

 

[Vladd67]

Well I enjoyed them and would definitely recommend them

 

[J-WO]

They're great, great fun. If a humorous book is doing well it gets about a titter a page out of me. Frost's batting average is about two a page, sometimes more. A Douglas Adams ratio, in fact.

And over the series I've become quite attached to the characters. So there's more than just belly laughs to it.

 

[Boneman]

If you like a cracking good read, with humour, that isn't overdone, then you'll enjoy it. I think it may have said on the jacket that it was Flashman in Space - that attracted me, and I wasn't disappointed.

 

[Ursa major]

I too enjoyed all three Space Captain Smith books. Some of the humour is laugh-out-loud funny. They also remain funny throughout (not always the case, sadly, with comic novels).

It helps that while the eponymous hero has some (literally) laughable views, he is neither a fool nor a coward, so the books don't sacrifice plot in the name of humour.


Definitely recommended.

 

[booksforlunch]

Thanks y'all!

Duly noted.

 

[The Judge]

Not read them myself yet (sorry, Toby) but I'll move the thread to Toby's own sub-forum so all the plaudits can be seen by those who frequent it.

 

[The Ace]

Wholeheartedly, even Freda's been known to pick one up and spiders aren't big readers.

 

[jmidd]

Yes, they are really good. Space opera with incredible humour. It goes *just* a bit too far, which in a way shows excellent judgment of much much is too much.

The hero is played perfectly straight, and is apparently unaware of much of the goings on around him. Really, this is good stuff.

 

[Menion]

YES!... all that has to be said.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Space Captain Smith was the first book I've laughed out loud to in years.

 

[Toby Frost]

Thanks all, that's most kind!

 

[AMB]

After having read a rather mediocre review of the first one written by an acquaintance, who decided it wasn't worth picking up the next one, I've come to the conclusion that Space Captain Smith is a must read.

Now to see if I can talk my family into getting them for me.

 

[Rodders]

I've just finishd the first book and would agree that it's thoroughly enjoyable and wouldn't have a problem recommending it at all.

It's quite nice picking out all the little 'In' jokes and it's quite clear that Toby loves the genre that he's lampooning.

Any news on a fourth book in the series?

 

[Geddon's Wall]

I would like to add a hearty affermative to the recommendations.

 

[Vertigo]

SCS didn't start very well for me; the writing lacked confidence and some of the humour fell flat. However as it progressed both the writing and the humour gained confidence. In the end I thoroughly enjoyed it and the humour did take me to laugh out loud territory. I thoroughly enjoyed the nods to various other books and authors, particularly Wells' War of the Worlds.

My only complaint is that the Kindle edition suffered some formatting issues suggesting it wasn't adequately proofed after being created.

That relatively minor detail aside I would definitely recommend SCS. I shall be going on to read more!

 

[Vertigo]

Well I've just bought the second and third books, and if anyone is looking to do the same all three are currently going for £2.16 ($3.35 I think) on Books on Board, which is considerably cheaper than Amazon. They also offer both epub and kindle formats.