A Review of The First Misadventure of Fragger Sparks by Steven D. Fischer
“That’s the trouble with the future. There’s always something happening, and I never get a chance to catch up with it.”
An apt quote from the protagonist of Steven D. Fisher’s novel, The First Misadventure of Fragger Sparks. Jonathan “Fragger” Sparks is a rerun, a twenty-sixth century term for reanimated people from the past. While the premise, a man revived hundreds of years in the future, is a Sci-Fi trope, Fisher delivers the tale from a refreshing angle. Fragger’s misadventures hit most of the ‘out-of-his-element’ clichés, but from a unique perspective. This isn’t so much a space opera as it is a sword and sorcery tale complete with monsters, sword-play, and magical technology. Lovers of both genres will enjoy the ride.
Summary
Woken from a dream by a renegade revival technician, Fragger Sparks finds himself naked and defenseless during an attack on a distant planet. Captured as a battle prize, he’s a rerun. Reruns are chattel, the lowest of the low, fit for little more than life-threatening hazardous duty. But there is more to Sparks than a typical rerun, something worth risking intergalactic war over – only he doesn’t know what it is. The trouble is every great empire in the galaxy wants his secret. The only thing more important than learning it is keeping their rivals from getting it. If that means killing Fragger, that’s fine with them. Using skills from his life as a sergeant in the elite US Army Rangers, Fragger races through the galaxy to unlock his secret and save himself. Can he successfully turn himself from a pawn in their game to the master of his own fate?
Rating
The First Misadventure of Fragger Sparks is military adventure for adults. As such there are numerous descriptions of combat and even torture. While none of them are explicitly gory, they are intense. Staying true to the hard-nosed warrior ethos of the characters, there is plenty of foul language. F-bombs, S***, and many other words not found in polite conversation pervade the story. Their use is appropriate for the tale, but not for sensitive ears. In comparison, the references to sex and drugs are minor and primarily used as insults rather than descriptions of acts. With that in mind, if Hollywood turned The First Misadventure of Fragger Sparks into a movie and remained true to the author’s vision, it would receive an R rating. With that qualification, I recommend this action-packed story to anyone interested in a fast-paced swashbuckling space adventure.
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