Nonstop-paced, detail-packed, funny sci-fi fantasy

By Michael Rubens

Pantheon Books

275 pp. $22.95

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Reviewed by Jeff Bredenberg

Douglas Adams writes no more. The author of the profoundly funny

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

and related books died in 2001. The only reasonable substitute has been Terry Pratchett, but Pratchett, while he continues to write, struggles with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Fans of satirical, absurdist science fiction and fantasy are left to ponder a potentially barren and humorless literary landscape. Who will rescue us and quench our thirst for comedic sci-fi fantasy?

Oh, look - here's a volunteer. It's Michael Rubens, a television writer and producer whose credits include Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. He offers his first novel, The Sheriff of Yrnameer, to fill the gap.

You might reasonably observe that the shoes of Adams and Pratchett may be difficult to fill, that these authors have enormous fan bases likely to be skeptical of stand-ins, and that comparing any other author's comedic writing to that of Adams and Pratchett probably isn't fair. But that's precisely the comparison that the promotional language on the book's dust jacket invites.

What kind of story could a science-fiction novel called The Sheriff of Yrnameer offer? Gunsmoke with ray guns? Actually, it's more like High Noon with aliens.

The name Yrnameer is the product of corporate sponsorship gone berserk. In Rubens' universe, the habitable planets are linked by a Financial System that opens the naming of planets to marketing interests. Thus we have a planet called Yrnameer, a condensed pronunciation of "Your name here."

The artsy, idyllic Yrnameer, "the last unspoiled spot in the universe," is so out-of-the-way that spacefarers debate whether it exists at all or is merely a persistent myth.

Our story follows the exploits of Cole, an intergalactic adventurer and smuggler reminiscent of Star Wars' Han Solo (Rubens promises a book packed with pop-culture references).

The lovely intergalactic relief worker Nora pops in and out as a sort of Greek chorus for droll commentary on Cole's activities. While she leaves Cole little privacy, Nora has a secret of her own: a shipment of freeze-dried orphans in the cargo hold.

Similarly, Kevin, a tentacled monster who is chasing Cole to collect a gambling debt, materializes whenever we need a sudden turn in the narrative. (Kevin threatens to lay eggs in Cole's brain if he doesn't pay up.)

Kevin is usually described as a grotesque deep-sea creature, so it's fitting that his spaceship would resemble a lobster. But don't dismiss Kevin as another looming monster in a freak show. He's a deceptively complex character who may hold the key to at least two story lines - the defense of Yrnameer from marauding Bad Men, and Cole's yearning for MaryAnne, a beautiful Intergalactic Public Radio (IPR) correspondent.

Rubens packs much of his narrative with the details of his characters' frantic efforts to meet the frustrating, sometimes dangerous, demands of daily life. After 43 chapters at this pace, readers may be exhausted, but the barrage of details delivers a repeating set of messages that the author wants us to remember about his imagined future: Technology is out of control; business and marketing interests have invaded every aspect of life; violence is random; and aliens may come in any size or shape, as long as they set up a good punch line.

Here's a sample passage, to give you an idea of the nonstop pacing:

Now another voice was coming over the intercom, a female voice backed by a warm, upbeat mixture of acoustic guitars and strings: "Hello! If you're hearing this announcement, you're being targeted by the Eco-Lance Missile System, part of the Aunt Jessica line of green armaments. In just a few moments, our patented, environmentally sound technology will gently and effectively recycle your ship and its contents into their component fermions."

In the cockpit, Cole reached out to shut down the communicator, then froze, afraid of the unintended consequences of pushing any buttons.

"Cole!" said Nora, "I'm here! What do I do?"

Cole chewed his knuckle, thinking.

"Cole!"

"Hold on!"

"At Aunt Jessica's, your opinion matters to us," continued the female voice. "When you hear the tone, you will have ten seconds until recycling commences. Please take that time to respond to this brief customer-satisfaction survey. . . ."

In a scene reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, Cole becomes a hero by landing his stolen Benedict 80 spaceship on bandits as they are shooting up the town.

But the vengeful and murderous leader of the Bad Men, Runk, vows to return with an army of ne'er-do-wells to attack Yrnameer.

Hapless hero Cole has stumbled into Gary Cooper's High Noon role. With the bad guys closing in, he is trying to keep his love life together, organize the townsfolk, and decide whether it's wisest to just flee.

The author's TV background shows. The Sheriff of Yrnameer is told in cinematic style, with a sometimes made-for-TV feel. And some scenes seem plucked out of a sitcom.

Sheriff is a good, funny effort, but Rubens is trying on a set of hand-me-down clown shoes that are way too big. Let's hope he keeps at it, hits his stride, and returns with more Yrnameer.