In the Rouge, Part One: Do Mimes Dream of Invisible Sheep?

by S.J. Forester

From the cracked mind that will bring you such instant classics as Fungus for Hire and Taking Control, comes part one of his debut series In the Rouge. One part sci-fi adventure, one part Adams-esque humor, shaken not stirred, and served in a slightly tilted universe, where one man is all that stands between humanity and certain doom, or at least a significant amount of paperwork.

100 pages, ebook

First published June 25, 2012

About the author

At one particularly beneficent point in space-time, a notably different child was born to two seemingly normal parents. Not just your average run-of-the-mill child who only comes equipped with two arms, two legs, a couple eyes, matted hair, and . . . well . . . everything else that makes one human. No, this child was born with a gift, one that would ultimately shape the cosmos, or at least the part of the cosmos inside his head. His name is S. J. Forester. (Cue epic space-battle music, maybe even a cheering crowd. No? Well, all right then . . . Maybe next time.) And now, his story-telling abilities are being put to better use than getting out of parking tickets. While his unique vision of far-fetched galaxies may not require a warning label(yet), the sheer amount of barely contained awesomeness may cause fits of ecstasy.
Raised in the quaint suburbs of Indianapolis, S. J. managed to wander all over the country and occasionally outside of it and still end up right back in Indy, where he currently lives with his wife, two dogs, and over-sized mutant imagination. He has been an avid reader since he first found the book Dune on his mother’s bookshelf, but has recently come to an agreement with the Lady of the Lake and taken up the Excalibur of modern day writing utensils(moderate sized rectangle with 108 keys), and now crafts his own tales in hopes of entertaining you, the magnificent reader. Yes you. You’re just that special. Like everyone else.

My first novel, In the Rouge, Part One is currently available on Smashwords, Amazon, and most other major e-book retailers.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0086JJ7X8

Part Two is well on its way and should be available this Fall with Fungus for Hire, Part One following this Winter.

Reviews

[S.J. Forester]

I like it, but my opinion may not count...

[Armand]

Important note! "In the Rouge" is not a complete novel. It's a part of a series. If you are looking for an entire story, you will need to read the sequel(s).

“In the Rouge” is a fun blend of comedy and space adventure. It's plot follows two main plots. One is Liam, a helpless young man who is tricked into joining the galactic navy, and who soon finds himself trapped in a drama and space war that is not in any way of his own making (which is to say, they must track down and defeat the evil space-pirate uber-lord “The Mime”), and the other main plot follows Admiral Garza, who is looking to overthrow the blandly evil accountant-emperor of the galaxy.

It appears that both men may be stymied by the insufferably arrogant and practically-perfect-in-every-way (to crib a line from Mary Poppins) Captain Jim Whorley. To add insult to injury, it appears as though Captain Jim may also be “rooster”-blocking poor Liam's chances at finding love with the unreadable, mercurial Lt. Miriam.

SJ Forester does a good job of building up the plot, and romantic-comedy tension, and his main characters, AND he's got a gift for cliff-hanging, but there are a few things that are still rough-around-the-edges:

Forester mixes a number of narrative and comic styles (with several nods to “Hitchhiker's Guide” author Douglas Adams) and the effect is a bit scattershot. Sometimes it works, but at other times, it feels a bit like genre-hopping. (Is this space-marines or satire?) I hope that in future sequels, he will settle down a bit in terms of these narrative style changes.

The Admiral Garza plotline drags a little. Honestly, he spends a bit too much time in meetings.

I know this is part of series, but I feel like there were a few basic and important unanswered questions that should have been addressed here, in the first book.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book and look forward to more!

If this book were an animal, it would be a chimp hired to build an galactic starship!