Willful Child by Steven Erikson (book review).
Essentially. ‘Willful Child’ is a comical take on old school ‘Star Trek’, but this time with an oddball assortment of crew officers. A wannabe alpha-male captain in front, a sex-kitten pilot, a violent psychopath at the weapons console and even a robot dog. Still, for all the variety, there are some obvious nods to the original show. The captain, for example, is called Hadrian, which does, of course, brings to mind a Roman emperor, just as Kirk’s middle name, Tiberius, should. His opening spiel is basically a reversal of the captain’s log cliché, being more about taking over strange new worlds than merely discovering them. But still, the book opens in familiar territory.
What happens next has the look and feel of an extended ‘Trek’ episode, with new crew members being welcomed aboard, including an alien medical officer the shape of a ball and covered with eyes and tentacles. There’s some universe-building, too. At one point, the captain asks the AI about developing some sort of energy beam weapon, but the AI quickly explains that however clever such an idea might sound, in practice it wouldn’t work, because scattering or blocking a coherent energy beam is just too easy. In the space of a few lines, author Steven Erikson makes it clear that his universe isn’t quite the same as the ones we’re used to seeing on TV and, for all its humour, has some sort of scientific consistency.
On the other hand, there are times Erikson deliberately sends up the 1960s version of ‘Star Trek’, so obviously it feels gratuitous. When they land on a certain planet, there are descriptions of the sparse vegetation, craggy rocks and clear blue sky. Most any reader will already be thinking about the scenes from the TV show filmed on location at Vasquez Rocks. But Erikson has the good captain comment that the place looks like California. Okay, that’s the joke, but it really need explaining?
It’s very hard to write a novel that’s a pastiche of something while also remaining a solid story in its own right. But does ‘Willful Child’ thread that needle successfully? Up to a point, yes. With any parody, there’s only so far you can go if the story isn’t strong enough to make you care about the characters beyond who they’re standing in for. Captain Hadrian Sawback is a dumb jerk most of the time, but he’s got a bit of that Zapp Brannigan pathos that makes him, if not quite endearing, then at the very least engaging. The overarching storyline, such as it is, involves some timey-wimey stuff and talking chickens and there’s a bit of satire thrown in about bureaucracy and gender identities.
A tricky book to recommend, largely because it comes across as a joke taken just that little bit too far. But, if you enjoyed the original ‘Star Trek’, but not so much that you don’t want to see it spoofed, then ‘Willful Child’ might be for you.
Neale Monks
August 2023
(pub: Bantam Books, 2015. 349 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 8.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-0-857-50244-5)
check out websites: www.transworldbooks.co.uk and www.stevenerikson.com
