Starred review from January 17, 2022
Where Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy recommended towels, this slapstick and semisweet space opera sends its Earthlings out among the aliens armed only with a jar of pickles. Ben Sullivan, expert fly-fishing lure tier, possesses uncanny knowledge of entomology and clocks—subjects he’s never studied—and facts about both burst out of him willy-nilly. While seeking an explanation (reincarnation? dream transference?), he finds an Internet post that mentions “the Chime.” Unfortunately, the post is bait laid out by Aptat, an interstellar bounty hunter who scoops up Ben and his buddy Patton for COD delivery to the Scythin, who want to drain Ben’s brain. Aptat’s other captives, extraterrestrials all, recognize the Chime as a weapon that could literally empty all of space—and Ben is the key to its use. Panatier (The Phlebotomist) piles a lot of odd insect trivia on top of his off-kilter quest and populates the galaxy with quirky characters who come across as far more real than the reality TV housewives on whom Aptat bases his understanding of Earth culture. Readers are in for a treat. Agent: Hannah Fergesen, KT Literary.
February 15, 2022
Panatier's second novel (following The Phlebotomist, 2020) impresses with a touching exploration of what sentient beings owe to one another nestled into a rip-roaring space adventure and punctuated by sophomoric humor. Ben knows the Chime is important. What it actually is and what it has to do with Ben's mysterious, unearned encyclopedic knowledge of insect sex and watchmaking are the questions that have driven him his whole life. When Ben arranges a meeting with a stranger promising answers, he finally learns he is a "stringer" whose consciousness houses the knowledge and memories of a string of other entities who lived before him. It's too bad this information is delivered by the alien bounty hunter who has just abducted him along with his steadfast stoner best friend, Patton, and a hapless jar of pickles. Panatier combines humor, action, and a memorable cast of characters to deliver a read perfect for fans of Becky Chambers who appreciate a good fart joke and fans of Douglas Adams interested in considering serious moral quandaries in between chuckles.
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