The Girl in the Golden Chair
Fantasy/SciFi at it's finest? Well, not exactly. Fantasy/SciFi at its most hilarious, snarky, smarmy, rollicking, smart-ass wildest? Definitely. Meet the crew of the short-jump cargo ship Moon Maid: Captain Flo, born from generations of Space Traders, former military Peace-keeper- and running away from both; first mate Rosie, who keeps Flo from killing all of them; engineer Donna, who can read people's minds (which is why she prefers engines); and Flo's unofficially adopted daughter, Martha: weapons expert, video star, and all-around dogsbody (just don't call her that because she's a cat-like humanoid who prefers her species name, Kit-Teh). Join them as they work to emancipate Pete, the beautiful, blue, plant-based Girl in the Golden Chair from the rich but shallow and loathsome King Horrible on a journey from the Outer Rim to the rich, snobby Inner Planets. Along the way, there are: ¿run-ins with the Kurl, a species of talking, sentient, blood-sucking leeches whose bite leaves you happily buzzed and stoned; ¿Piggles - awful creatures whose terrible farts can be used to fuel space stations (if only there was a way to collect them); ¿the mysterious, dangerous Madam Nebulosa, queen of the Inner Planet fashion world and sponsor of the wildly popular "Galactic Fashion Runway Stars" show; ¿bounty hunter Captain Clint Enormous of the ship the Testosterone Tank; and ¿a cadre of characters with names like Booger, Lord Mungo the Merciless, Majordomo/Majordumbo, and Melliphant Murmur. It's a light-hearted, funny, escapist fantasy that keeps you reading with more twists and turns than a red licorice stick.