Michael Campling

I was assigned to read this book for Team Space Girls. At first, I did not care much about this book. Most of the problems I have with the early chapters was because I felt Glaubon society (especially their manner of speech) to be far too reminiscent of the United States. I could predict which idiom they would use next within the context of a given conversation. This confused me quite a bit, because Glaubon society is so reminiscent of the green space aliens from the Invader Zim cartoon. I was expecting Glaubon behavior to be much more in tune with that show because Zim and Rawlgeeb are quite similar in certain ways. Both characters are very enthusiastic about world domination within the constraints of their bureaucracy, understand their technology, can deceive unsuspecting humans with well-thought out lies (proving they are quite cunning), and think they are respected among their peers. While everyone detests Zim through no fault of his own, some characters respect Rawlgeeb and others don't. I did enjoy how this book manages some of the character dynamics trying to stir animosity and make things worse for poor Rawlgeeb. Looking back, giving him a coffee hangover might have saved the planet.

I am probably focusing way too much time on Rawlgeeb, but it is clear he was by far my favorite character in the story. Yeah, the Glaubons are the worst red tape bureaucrats in this side of the galaxy and want to eat crocodiles to extinction, but he's very cool. I find it hilarious Rawlgeeb opted to study subjects such as cricket and the Frasier tv series in human culture school to stand out. Only to discover none of the other characters care about that sport or why he is obsessed with the varying accents of Dafne's siblings.

I really wanted to find out why the Glaubons are allied/conquerors of Earth to begin with. In the Invader Zim series, the aliens conquer planets to enslave their population and turn entire planets into production facilties. Which is similar to the districts in the Hunger Games, just that most districts produce raw materials like coal or lumber. From the small tidbits we get from this book, the Glaubons only want to eat all reptillian life to extinction. Humans are just more of an annoying afterthought Glaubons tolerate for unknown reasons. I kept on wondering why a race with far more superior weapons and transportation techology would have teleporters but not meat cloning devices. Considering how many thousands of Glaubons live on ships circling the planet, crocodiles would have gone extinct by now. It would have made more sense to employ human slaves to operate meat cloning factories and only the most delicious live animals are reserved for the elite high commanders. Perhaps I am just overthinking too much and should assume these things don't matter because this is a comedy series.

As for the other supporting cast, I feel a somewhat like/indifferent vibes from them. The variety of characters in Brent's PI office solving the mystery is good, the fish living in a helmet tank is hilarious and we get plenty of laughs because nobody gets along. Having Maisie and Vince agree to work along with Rawlgeeb is explained perfectly well. But there was one thing I felt missing here. While the Rawlgeeb we meet in the start of the story is different from the character at the end (he becomes much wiser), the other three characters don't change. Perhaps Vince grows a little because he sees how a fellow underdog like Rawlgeeb can elicit respect. However, Maisie and Brent are exactly the same people with zero changes after the events of the story. Whereas Rawlgeeb learns to become less naive, Maisie starts off as some badass prison escapee and then ends as... less badass. Funny thing is that you could delete Maisie's character and the story would not have suffered much. Just reverse some scenes where she makes a phonecall with Vince doing these things, and the story would end the exact same way. Part of the humor of the book is the way Brent is a cheapskate who antagonizes everyone, and I am ok with that. I would have wanted just some change in him, even for the worse. Maybe show him an increased disdain for Gloaban rules as he interacts with Rawlgeeb. And then give us a pinnacle moan of irritation when Rawlgeeb makes his important decision at the end of the story. I see where the intention of the story was going and liked it, but something felt missing from the actual execution that didn't give it that humorous punch I needed.

Another issue I had with the book was that I felt some chapters were missing. Rawlgeeb goes from a Glaubon ready to dip in a green bacteria pool to replenish his skin the second he returns to the spaceship to suddenly enjoying his time on Earth. The book really missed some fun side chapters where Rawlgeeb gets some quality fun time alongside Vince and Maisie. Maybe even learning to feed the fish. Given this book is very short, a chapter showing his culture shock interacting with humans for a lengthily time would have been great (it's obvious I wanted him to be the protagonist, ^_^').

Oh, and what ever happened to Dawson?

As for the small side story of the Kreptillian ship, that was a fun little side quest. It initially doesn't have anything in common with the main plot, until everything makes sense. I can see why several other readers liked those chapters so much. My favorite is the little ship status reports at the start of each chapter involving this POV story. One chapter the ship is there, the next missing, and then their home planet is planning to build a rememberance statue. I found that to be hilarious.

In a nutshell, while the book has some character and worldbuilding issues, I am glad to have given it the chance it deserves. Once you surpass the first 25% of the story, the book is quite hard to put down and I would like to read the sequel sometime. I am hoping Rawlgeeb becomes the protagonist. And to stop being obsessed about plot holes in 90's tv shows. Hahahaha… (meer)