John DeChancie

Starrigger

Justin Jerome Price

First, imagine that you are a big-rig trucker. Now imagine that the highway you travel on is an intergalactic road the runs through countless planets and satellites in faraway galaxies, connected by a series of Einstein-Rosenberg portals generated by cylinders created by a long forgotten ancient civilization. Your big rig is a specially made terrain vehicle designed to withstand a variety of different biomes and conditions with a copy of your late father’s personality and perhaps soul serving as the AI. This is the world of Jacob “Jake” Paul McGraw, the main protagonist of Star Rigger. Star Rigger is a science fiction novel that is very reminiscent of the pulpy style of fiction published in magazines during the early 20th century. Thus the premise is a simple one: during a delivery, Jake picks up a hitchhiker, a woman named Darla who apparently knows him intimately but whom Jake has never seen before this moment. This sets off a series of misadventures where Jake has to deal with a rival delivery service, human hunting aliens resembling insects, and government conspiracies. All trying to get a mythical map to the labyrinthian roadway that Jake supposedly has, yet does not have. What I like about this premise is that it is in many ways a twist on the classic noir stories where a femme fatale comes into the main protagonist life and flips it upside-down by her mere presence. In many ways, Darla does conform to this trope: from the mystery that surrounds her in regards to her somehow knowing Jake without him knowing her, to the hidden talents and gadgets in her bag only intensifies her mystique. And yet unlike other femme fatale, she actually does care for Jake, saving him several times throughout the story. And she is much more prominent in the story than a traditional femme fatale. 

	In a similar vein, Jake is reminiscent of a classic pulp hero but with a few twists. He is much more of an everyman rather than hard-boiled type that pulp novels tend to revolve around. Even his career choice as a ‘trucker’ and president of a nearly bankrupt guild of ‘star truckers’ betray the idea of him being a regular person. And yet, he is able to hold his own against the myriad of people searching for him, be they human or not. He is also shown to be a protector of people who cannot defend themselves, and while some of his flaws do come to light throughout the story(he can be shown to be a flirt at times), he is a character that anybody can relate to. Compare this to one of the main antagonists of the book, Corey Wilkes. Rich, powerful, highly arrogant owner of a rival delivery service. He is the perfect foil to Jake in many ways. Unfortunately, he does not play as big of role in the story as he should. 

	One of the biggest flaws in this story is the fact that the story at times feels quite rudderless. While the story is fast paced, the story does feel more like a series of misadventures rather than having a concrete beginning, middle, and end. And while some may not have issues with this due to it being the first novel in the series, the issue I have with this is the fact that given how the story begins, it needed a much more solid cohesive ending. As is, the ending is not bad, but disappointingly mediocre. As if missing something grand. 

	Still, this is a fun book and I would recommend reading it for the creative premise and characters.

Starrigger

Reviews