- ASIN: B09QK675KK
- Language: English
- Print length: 343 pages
- Genre: Parody Science Fiction Novels
The BookViral Review:
A mischievously clever and slickly humorous sci-fi comedy novel The Alas League saga continues with The Lost Ark and Falardeau delivering fun and reflection in equal measure as he gently tweaks the fanaticism of science fiction while at the same time validating it.
Far too many authors attempting humorous science fiction assume it is funny simply to “be writing* a parody, when in fact the material has to be funny in its own right. Something Falardeau not only understands but leverages to the benefit of his readers.
To this end and with backstories firmly established in Book 1 Falardeau’s plot for The Lost Ark is kept firmly tongue cheek with his imaginative flair and affection for his intrepid survivors shining through as they find themselves embarking on a search for the Lost Ark.
Fumbling their way through alien artefacts courtesy of The Alas League, Mayor of Verminus Monica Boisse, Peter, Alberic, Sylvia and Andrew Bank, to name but a few, are back doing what they do best and making us laugh, with humour at its best when the illogic of the narrative is at its most outrageous.
On this level, The Lost Ark is a treasured rarity. Bemused and fascinated we know the narrative for what it is yet strangely we find ourselves wanting to believe in it and this is down to Falardeau’s thought-provoking intermissions which purposely transcend The Lost Ark’s parody territory.
“It is thus not chance that determines the result, but a very precise and complex sequence of events of a scale and subtlety that elude us” says Hend Y. Notte to Gabriel and in statements like this we find ourselves not only reflecting on the sheer magnitude of the universe in which we live but the illusion of control through which we chart the passage of time.
Simply superb, The Lost Ark proves another addictive read from Falardeau and one which will definitely leave readers wondering about Earth’s ability to defend itself in the face of higher life forms! It is unreservedly recommended!