June 2020 LIMITED Bob’s Saucer Repair by Boyd

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

The June 2020 Limited Pick is Bob's Saucer Repair by Jerry Boyd. Please use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews, at any time.

Official description:
Bob thought he was doing fine on his own. Then the love of his life fell out of the sky. Can he get her back in the air with auto parts and a cutting torch? If he does, will she ever come back?

Nikki took a job before she saw the equipment. Can she keep her passengers alive on a strange planet? Are the natives friendly?

John is doing well with his underground medical practice, when his sometime partner Bob calls him with a job. A job that changes everything.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I love this series. A hillbilly maintenance man helps a lady whose flying saucer broke down, and things just sort of snowball out of control from that. Lots of dialog, with puns, pop culture references, and in jokes. In this first book Bob doesn’t get further than the moon, and the only aliens look just like Earth humans, but there are pirates to deal with. Later books have machine characters, aliens who are definitely alien, other planets, etc.

[Teresa, Plan B is in Effect]

I have read this book twice so far, first time being about a year ago. For some reason it hits my comfort zone and my sense of humor.

There are some problems with the writing. It’s easy to get confused as to who is saying which line in the long dialogs, since the lines typically omit any words other than the dialog itself. The characterization and world building improve as the series progresses but is weak in the first book.

I love Topper, Taz, and several of the other robots but I think they show up after the first book.

Edit: yes the robots get their names in book 2

[Audrey]

I read this book a few months ago. It was amusing with passages such as, "'Sandwiches be alright for lunch? I’ve got some chips to go with them.' 'Beach going magic users, what? You’re a cannibal?' 'Not sand witches, sandwiches, meat and cheese between two pieces of bread, like you had yesterday, only not as fancy.' But I did not find it all that well written. Lots of massive coincidences thrown in make the plot, such as it is, work.

[Christi]

I too struggled with the writing, structure, and organization. Dialogue-heavy and no descriptions or world-building.

But on the other hand, it is difficult to ignore the author's light-hearted approach to the story and joy that came through the writing. It's a happy story and the characters are likable and that helps make it a more pleasurable read. I liked the idea of it too - Earth's only saucer repair shop. There's a lot of potential opportunities for future story lines in that.