Andrew, Saxon. Jesse’s Starship. Jesse’s No. 1. Andrew Saxon Pub., 2013.
I read a lot of independently published science fiction because I am a sucker for all the traditional tropes of the genre. First encounter story where a kid and his girlfriend steal a flying saucer. I’m down. Usually. But Jesse’s Starship had so many coincidences and unbelievable elements in the plot and characterization that reading it became an “Oh, come on” experience. Kid’s parents are kidnapped by aliens, so he waits for years in the desert for them to come back. Is there a sensible reason for them to come back—not that the kid has any reason to believe. He makes a farmer friend, who turns out to be a rock-em-sock-em vet with high connections in the military. He meets a girl, who just happens to be an orphan from alien abduction too, but she had the good sense not to live in the desert. I won’t get into the political absurdities or the nonsensical alien cultures and technologies. Andrew says his goal was to write family-friendly old school space opera with larger-than-life characters. It is a modest goal he achieves. Sort of. 2.5 stars. ( )