Review: The Prankster by James Polster
The Prankster: A Novella
by James Polster
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: 47North
Publish Date: July 10, 2012
Format: Paperback | 122 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
Aliens from the planet Archano are using the Earth and it’s people as the setting for a Reality TV series. Traveling back and forth through our time stream Trager, star of the show and prankster, pulls practical jokes on the earthlings to be broadcast back to his planet, with the victims blissfully unaware they have been pranked. Influencing the design of the Edsel, sighting the Loch Ness Monster, creating pet rocks and Cabbage Patch Kids were some of his handiwork.
When Trager is dropped in the wrong location and a malfunction makes it impossible to communicate with him, another from his world must be sent to Earth to get him to the alternate retrieval point. This sends them, along with a few humans they meet on the way, on an action filled road trip to San Francisco and ultimately back to Archano.
I loved the premise of the book and its satirical look at Reality TV and found it to be a fun, light-hearted and often humorous read with a quirky ending. The story was plot driven with not a lot of character development, which was understandable given its length of only 100-ish pages. It’s a fast-paced adventure and at times I felt like we were jumping too quickly from scene to scene, and in a few places we are left to fill in the blanks for ourselves. I would have liked to see this expanded into a novel but it does work well in the short format.
Science Fiction fans and those who like quirky, humorous tales such as Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy will enjoy this short read.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 
Sounds like a quick, entertaining read when you don’t want too much depth to bog you down. Good read for the holiday season when there is a time crunch!
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Leslie, this does sound like a fun novella. Very nice review!
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