Book Review: Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille     Amazon US PB Amazon US TPB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada TPB
Steven Brust
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction
Tor, Mar 2003, $13.95, 288 pp.

Billy and the rest of the band were within a mile of Jerrysport, Mars when someone turned the town into ashes with a nuclear strike. Billy was knocked unconscious, but besides a headache was fortunate to be alive as he was just beyond the ground zero meltdown range.

Galaxy society is in trouble as nuclear strikes like that which recently shook Mars is becoming the norm even with the Trekkies a thing of the past and the Enterprise a thing of the future. Perhaps the last bastion of sanctuary (not the butt of all those Venus to Jupiter jokes) remains Cowboy Feng’s establishment where someone can get a gourmet meal consisting of matzoth ball soup and tamales and hear Irish musicians play mostly not so Irish music. Can the galaxy survive if Cowboy Feng’s Space Bar and Grille is destroyed? Probably not, but in the time-space continuum, Feng’s place seems to be one large step for mankind ahead of those nuking this sector, but can the regulars take the small steps to keep man safe?

COWBOY FENG’S SPACE BAR AND GRILLE is a wild satirical futuristic space adventure that is for readers who appreciate the zany wrapped inside a witty tale or perhaps a witty tale wrapped outside the zany. Billy and the band and the mysterious Cowboy Feng seem like the last choices for the magnificent heroes trying to stop a murderous conspiracy. This amusing story contains enough action to keep the Trekkies contended, but mostly rips the skin off those who use weapons of mass destruction to cleanse those who possess weapons of mass destruction.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner