Space Humor

Calling Major Tom is a funny, uplifting tale of friendship and community about a man who has given up on the world...but discovers in the most unlikely way that it might not have given up on him. We all know someone like Thomas. The grumpy next-door neighbour who complains to the residents' committee about the state of your front lawn. The man who tuts when you don't have the correct change at the checkout. The colleague who sends an all-company email when you accidentally use the last drop of milk.

The fate of the world lies with one man: Bip Plunkerton. Talentless scientist and frequent drinker at the Empty Goat, young Bip Plunkerton will follow in his father’s footsteps as a volunteer...footsteps that have yet to return from the wilds of the wide world outside.

Once, John Irish was a legend in the porn industry, partying with the likes of John Holmes, Peter North, Nina Hartley, and Seka, but now he's on the far side of 50, and Ron Jeremy won't even return his phone calls. Desperate for any kind of paying work, he's sunk to the level of bit roles in grade-Z porn and is even considering applying to work at Wal-Mart, when hot-blooded starlet Mindy Copperhead comes into his life. He quickly discovers she's far more than a simple blowjob artist, but is in fact an advance scout for a distant alien race, sent to Earth to find...him.

Andorra Pett’s ex turns up with some bad news. Her best friend Maisie has killed herself, on Mars. Trevor doesn’t believe it. Neither does Andorra; it just wasn’t like her. He wants Andorra to come back with him to look around and see if she can find some answers. Despite her misgivings, Trevor’s paying and says she can take Cy with her. It’ll be a cheap holiday! What can possibly go wrong? It soon becomes clear that there’s a lot more going on. Rival gangs, hidden messages, and new friends all point Andorra toward a much bigger story.

Over half of Earth's population has left the planet, mainly as contract workers for aliens, and the homeworld is losing relevance to the emigrants. The EarthCent president takes on the task of making sure that humanity isn't permanently stuck in a rut of low-skilled labor. Can the ambassador put aside her new-found obsession with the Galactic Free Press crossword puzzle and help save the day?

While Kelly struggles to come up with a research project to apply for sabbatical, the role-playing craze reaches Union Station, and the Open University offers a for-credit LARP. Dorothy finally finishes her wedding dress with a technical flourish, and Jeeves plots to recoup his costs.

She's a spoiled shopaholic with daddy issues. He's a socially conscious vegetarian who doesn't hide his disdain for people who come from the trappings of wealth. Of course none of that would have mattered if Chloe could have just left her summer fling with Chase behind her, without a glance back - something that will prove impossible when the consequences of that fling rear their head. Particularly one consequence; one with 10 fingers, 10 toes, and the potential to turn Chloe's privileged life upside down.

Rookie police officer Dana Loy is about to cross paths with a love-struck robot out for revenge, unscrupulous alien scavengers, an entire fleet of pirates, and a psychotically single-minded criminal mastermind. And it's only her first day on the job....

James Hynes is the author of three New York Times Notable Books of the Year. That same publication praises Kings of Infinite Space as “unspeakably funny!” This offbeat novel satirizes an experience ubiquitous to modern times—office life. With a defeated sigh, ex-college professor Paul Trilby faces the downward spiral that is his existence. After his wife and three subsequent girlfriends dump him, and he loses just as many jobs, he’s sure he’s a pawn in some vast conspiracy.

The first carnival to take place on Union Station since humanity joined the galactic community is coming, and the ambassadors of the different species are all entered in the election to become Carnival King or Queen. It's not a job that Kelly wants, and, fortunately for her, the humans get a late start at electioneering.

Floating in a sentient space balloon with his pants around his ankles, Geddy watched a competing salvage trawler swallow his one-of-a-kind ship. Could it get any worse? Most definitely. The For Sale Make Offer's fateful trip to Kigantu ended with a daring escape, but Geddy's checkered past as a partly reformed henchman came back to haunt him. Now, the Penetrator is gone, and he doesn't know where. The newly expanded crew of the Fizmo welcomes him as their new captain, but it'll take more than a can-do attitude and witty repartee to be a working ship.

The force is on a break! One of the greatest sci-fi stories ever told has been told by the heroes, it’s been told by the villains, but it has never been told by the people who were there but did not really care, because they just worked there, until now!

The birth of the legend! War is brewing and the galaxy's only space sheriff and his robot companion will not be enough to contain it. An awesome hero saving the day with dumb luck and unlikely coincidences can only get you so far. But when epic battles loom, epic friends are required.

Chuck never thought too deeply about whether aliens existed - not until Jopp, an intergalactic transport pilot, drunkenly crashed on Earth and tried to steal his truck. Now Chuck finds himself unwittingly roped into helping Jopp work off a debt to the universe's most powerful corporation, the Prime Partners Intergalactic Consortium. Through a series of mishaps and misfortune, the duo find themselves in possession of a mysterious black case. In order to survive, they must fend off murderous marauders, an interplanetary police force, and a peculiar crime boss.

The Stryx offer EarthCent help in reaching out to the wide-spread human communities, but as usual, it comes with a catch or two. Kelly see an opportunity to increase her book hoard, just as publishing on Union Station begins to take off and Donna's daughters enter a friendly competition. But who will publish the most expensive book of all?

A new species has jumped into the Sol system for a quick look, leading the Stryx to assign humans to the greeting mission. Dorothy and Kevin leave on a trading mission in his new ship, bringing the dog, and Samuel and Vivian start at the Open University.

On the other side of the galaxy, the Cayl Empire has decided to wind down operations and the Stryx are planning to pick up the pieces. Kelly is tapped to host an open house event on Union Station to tempt the aliens into joining up, but does anybody other than the Stryx actually want the merger to take place?

The Wanderers have just moved on from Union Station, and the ambassador is ready to take her first vacation in 15 years. Unfortunately, the rules on paid vacation for EarthCent employees have changed for the worse, retroactively. Libby suggests spending some time exploring the station as an alternative, and Kelly cautiously goes along with it. Back at the embassy, while the cat's away, the mice will play.

An intergalactic pop idol dies in a tragic murder. But one of his most devoted fans isn't ready to say goodbye. Twana Burch, super-fan, waits outside a concert venue for a glimpse of Bieber, the object of her obsession. Her whole world changes when his limo explodes. In the blast, she catches a souvenir, his finger. In the midst of recent controversy surrounding illegal cloning, Twana concocts a plan to resurrect her pop idol and rescue his career by booking him at the biggest concert event in the known universe.

Charlie Hong is on the run from both sides of the law. He’s spent the last year in hiding, cultivating one last harebrained scheme to escape his troubles: a clandestine marijuana operation. Just as he’s about to cash in, his cash crop is stolen by a bright light appearing in the night sky. After catching a ride with one of his plants, he finds himself thrown into a world far stranger than anything he could have possibly imagined.