Thursday, November 22, 2012

Books read in 2012: No. 94 -- The Repairman

by Harry Harrison

Started: Nov. 22
Finished: Nov. 22

Amazon link: The Repairman

Notes: I've never read anything by this late, popular science fiction author, but I've been hankering for something short and fun to read.

Mini review: Well, this did the job. A nice little fast read. I don't know the original publication date for this story, but it reads like a late 1950s or early 1960s tale, something that could have appeared on television on The Outer Limits or some such show. The repairman character is kind of a jack-of-all-trades fix-it man who has the job of traveling from planet to planet in order to rebuild or repair beacons that help spaceships navigate throughout the universe. In this story, the repairman finds himself dealing with a somewhat intelligent but barbaric lizard race who has turned a beacon into a holy shrine and temple. How to fix the beacon without making the lizard folks angry? That's the gist of the problem, and it was a pretty fun read. If you're ever in the mood for something breezy, or for some old-fashioned science fiction, or both, I can suggest this tale.

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I read quite a bit of Harrison at one point. Been a few years since I've read anything though. His Stainless Steel rat stories were fast paced adventures.

Ty said...

Yep, like so many authors I've missed over the years, Harrison has been on my to-be-read list. Glad I finally got to check him out.