Fireclaw

by Charles Backer

The crew aboard the space cargo ship Fireclaw have been charged with a mission by Ping N-Q-KED-NZR, robot king of the Ping Dynasty, to help him in his mission to locate and retrieve super-weapon H.E.R.P.E.S. On their way they encounter many foes, including a crew of space pirates, headed by the flamboyant Cap'n Argh, Raxicon ship The Eagle III, an ex colleague, and, eventually, H.E.R.P.E.S. itself. The crew includes Holly Wallace, the somewhat girly, but ever-fearless pilot, Zark Zimpson, the egg-headed alien navigator, Rock Huffman, the large but cowardly weapons officer, and George, a Mew from feline planet Miaow. On their journey they encounter swamp planet Festerus, a space-station possessed by the devil, space-pirate ship The Patsy, cat planet Miaow, finally ending with an epic battle on-board the Eagle III. They discover more about each other than ever before, and two members of the crew find romance in unlikely situations. Fireclaw is a comedy novel about war, peace, robots and giant bipedal cats.

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2010