Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80617 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Synopsis
Lifetimes ago, the generation ship Willflower set out, manned by the cream of humanity, on a mission to colonize the stars. But by the 10th generation, things are starting to go badly wrong. The only man who can save the ship is astrophysical Dr Piers Morton. Only he's not an astrophysical engineer, he's not a doctor, he's not even Piers Morgan, and all that remains of his body is his head, his spinal column and absolutely nothing else. Better yet, somebody on board is trying to kill what's left of him...

Customer Reviews

Space Yarns - life after Red Dwarf.
The Willflower (a nice pun on the Mayflower) is a state of the art space craft designed to take the most talented, the most gifted, and the most intelligent people on a mission to repopulate somewhere else in order to continue humanity somewhere else (a back up for when we all get extinguished from existence).

One of the intended crew, Charles Gordon is celebrating his last days on Earth when he wins a fortune in a casino - reluctant to leave his new found wealth and envisaged lavish lifestyle behind, he decides to stay.

He gives his Mayflower entry to Eddie O'Hare - the main character of the book. Eddie has hit a bit of a financial crisis (a lot of one actually) and seizes the chance to escape, given the fact that someone attempted to kill him earlier - it seems like a pretty good opportunity.

Once on board, he discovers he has replaced a fascist loon who is the community planner - and soon after - he is killed.

Revived several generations later; the ship is ran by the inbred descendants of the original crew. They are retarded and the captain has a habit of giving new planets rude names. The ship is in a state of disrepair and seems to have forgotten how to auto-repair itself. And on top of all this - a centuries old mentalist is trying to kill Eddie.

His adventure often seems a bit daft, but it is entertaining enough to take you through the full story. I suppose it's best described as "a yarn". This isn't going to be your favourite book, but you'll care enough about the lead character to want to know what will happen to him.

This is a funny book - not laugh out loud hilarious, but it is still funny. It is sci-fi, and it's different to Red Dwarf, it seems a little like The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy with its anti-heroic Eddie O'Hare.

This isn't best sci-fi comedy piece you'll come across, but it is still a worthy read. I feel this is a 3.5 star book, but as there is no option for that, I'd say it is more deserving of four than three. You might not consider it to be one of those books you want to read over again - but I'm sure you'll want to explore more of Rob Grant's solo works, and for that I strongly recommend his non-sci-fi novel "Fat".

Not JUST for red dwarf fans.
It seems that a lot of these reviews are from 'red dwarf' fans. I have not read these, or indeed know what they are- but i should say that i really enjoyed reading this book. I found it in a bookshop next to a sign that read "if you like hitchhikers guide to the galaxy then read these", and that sign was right too. It is a very funny comedy/sci-fi novel suitbale for young teens and up. Do not think you have to be a red dwarf fan to read it- this story as far as i know is unconnected and is worth your time. Buy it now!

What an enormous let down. Awful.
After reading the Red Dwarf books (and having watched the series from the very first episode in the UK) by both Grant and Naylor, i saw this in the shop and immediately bought it, anticipating a decent read.

After reading, i regretted bothering. Plot seems to have borrowed a lot from the idea behind Red Dwarf, and i felt it offered nothing new. Not a patch on the Red Dwarf books and i'd now be unlikely to buy another of his books, let alone read them. Yes i'm probably being harsh, but i think we all read a book every now and then that rubs us up the wrong way, and this is certainly mine!