How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

I think that Charles Yu would have been a better choice to the sixth Hitchhiker's Guide book than Eoin Colfer.  I will admit that I have not read the latest edition to the series, but I have heard from others that it was not fantastic.  Unlike many series, I am perfectly happy to let that one rest as the trilogy in five parts that it was meant to be.

The reason that I think that Charles Yu would have done a better job is that this his book, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, is very similar to the later books in the series.  It has that same mixture of being humorous, meaningful, and slightly depressing.

The reason I picked up this book was the words "a novel" on the front.  At first glance I thought it was one of thise faux instruction books like the zombie survival guide.  Lured in by the promise of a real story and not lists of good things to remember if you travel back in time, I gave it a read.

The book is chock full of references to other science fiction works, some blatant some subtle, but all lovingly added.  There is a great section about when he was growing up how all the kids on his block wanted to be Han Solo.  Much of the book takes place in clearly science fictional locales but there is so much about his relationship with his father and his life growing up that I cannot help but wonder if it is at least a little autobiographical. 

This book has so many great quotes, I can almost flip through it and find one on every page.  There is an interesting discussion about the how there are many versions of who a person could be, but only one version of who a person ought to be (in relation to the many worlds theory of time travel).   Another really interesting part is when the author talks about how people, when given access to time travel, will travel back to the worst day of their lives.  I am not sure if I believe that everyone would do that, but I think a great many people would.

This book does have a fair amount of technobabble.  I think it is intended to be humorous, and in some places it is.  However, I feel that it might drive off some less tolerant readers.  Despite this it is overall a fun read.  If you like science fiction, philosophical musings, and humor, you will like this book.  I would give it a 81%.