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Eventually we knew that even in this backwater of the galaxy
we would one day be discovered, but would it be by alien minds
far superior to our own. When that fateful meeting took place
how would they view the oddities in thought and behaviour
that make up the inconsistent being that we call human. Now
the truth can be told. Now, the horror of the reality can
be unfolded, because when we do meet face to face they turn
out to be as screwed up and wacky as we all are...
A
New Treatise on a Small Blue Planet is the new novel by
Michael K. Robinson, the basic premise of which is the first
meeting between an alien race and us. That said, it's a little
like saying that The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
was about a bloke who left Earth, as both books use their
premise to explore some of the more surreal behaviours and
beliefs that surround human beings. Both books also employ
humour in this examination, and is what the movie Morons
from Outer Space
(1985) could have been, if it had had a good script.
With
the exception of Major Mishmash, the book is full of wonderfully
realised oddballs whose oddities are kept in check, enough
to be great comic characters without them descending into
caricatures. The extreme nature of Mishmash can be forgiven
as he is the only character in the book that gets into extreme
situations due to his equal measures of stupidity, cowardice
and arrogance. He is also the character who get all the best
bizarre moments. I particularly like the part where he and
two underlings are mistaken, for some out of town rich guys
out for a good time, by a trio of transvestite prostitutes,
who mistake their drunkenness for compliance and provide them
with a night of screaming queens and spanking.
The
other characters are less extreme, which makes them a little
more rounded. Their innate lack of fundamental stupidity also
means that the situations that they find themselves in tend
to derive their comedy from misunderstandings between the
two races. The expedition to Earth is split into two, one
under the command of Mishmash and another under the command
of the slightly more sensible Captain Dar. Her character is
used to explore the absurdities that arise from interaction
between beings who lack a common frame of reference. Misunderstanding
even figure in their efforts to blend in when they pick up
earlyish television signals and decide that to blend in they
are required to dress anachronistically and drive around in
Robin Reliants.
The
book is jam packed with nice little asides that, whilst they
do not progress the plot, nevertheless, pulled a smile out
of me on most every page, like the explanation of 314159's
Dipstick or the song lyrics which are dotted throughout the
book which loose a lot in translation, a serious case of misheard
lyrics.
If
Douglas Adams has an heir then that man is Michael K Robinson,
read his novel with care or else you may just get carted away
for giggling to yourself on a bus. The book is so well written
and so full of memorable characters, witty asides and one
liners that it is a no brainer as a recommendation for any
fan of Adam's work.
 
Charles
Packer
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