- "I finished reading Hal2 last night. Wow - in 7 days - near a record for me. Great read. Don't know how you think up the situations to put them in. I marvelled at how much was packed into one night in the Da Vinci code, but Hal and Clunk run rings around them. I REALLY like the way you make the villains responsible for their own demise - subtle Law of Karma stuff (intentional or not). I REALLY like your subtle sense of humour... in fact, I REALLY like a lot about your writing. If it makes it to movie-land, stand your ground with director/producer so they don't destroy the integrity of your creations. I know you're not after fame and fortune (or are you?) so you can afford to be firm when the offers start rolling in."
- "Hal Spacejock was a riot! Thanks for writing it and for persisting in getting it published. Fabulous. I happened to read it during a very difficult time. It saved my sanity. Thank you."
- "I came to the book launch for Second Course and have just finished the book, just as good, if not better than the first."
- "I also forgot to mention that I've just finished the second Hal Spacejock book. Excellent read. Better than the first one, I thought (still liked the first one, just like this one more)."
- "Just finished the "Second Course" It is great and truly outstanding. Can you send me a Katie, I wouldn't mind an affectionate robot. Excellent characters again and so many laughs. Thanks for the great read. Again I look forward to the next one."
- "Someone said it is as good as Red Dwarf. It's far better and would make a great TV series."
- "I love your books! my brother got my Boyfriend your first book... I looked at it and thought it looked cool and I decided to read it... I got past the first page and was hooked instantly! so hooked I almost missed my train stop coz I had my nose buried in the book :D was delighted when I found the website *thru Google* and noticed that there was more than one Hal Spacejock book... I recently got the second book and finished it today... all I can say is... I WANT THE NEXT ONE!! I wanna find out what Clunk and Hal get upto next! fantastic books :D love em to bits! I've recommended them to all my family and friends, keep up the good work! :D"
- "Just a quick note to tell you how much I enjoyed your book. I won one of the free copies last year and realized today as I looked at the magnet on the fridge that I had never taken the time to tell you how great the book was. I have read a lot of Sci-Fi and lots of humourous boks over the years. But so few can combine the two. Yours is one of the lucky few that can entertain me with a great story, and leave me laughing through the pages. One of my favorite series is the Phule series by Robert Asprin. Your book was so very much like that in the way it hit me! Now that I know there is a second book out, I will be ordering that one to read. Great job! Please keep them coming!"
- "Your books rock"
- "I picked up the first two books at the airport and enjoyed both of them immensely. I can't wiat until the next installment in the series, I think they are great. Well Done!"
- "I finished the first Hal novel yesterday and just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to getting the next one."
- "I had a look at your website the other night, as my partner is very into Terry Pratchett and at first did not know what to make of HAL SPACEJOCK, if it were some sort of farce or juvenille series or something. Then we read it, and honestly, I know an artist hates comparisons or such, but we have not found a"genre" based piece of humour this GOOD and FUNNY since Red Dwarf. I really wish you the best of luck and will look forward to the further adventures, as well as anything else you may pen."
- "I finally got a copy of the first Hal Spacejock. I am halfway through it and loving it a great deal. Look forward to the second one. I hope you get it distributed in the US it's definately worth it."
- "I fell in LOVE with the brilliant, witty writing, which is leaving me wanting MUCH MUCH MORE! Very clever stuff, without the smarminess of a lot of other "parodies" of its own genre."
- "Finished book one and loved every page of it. I hope the USA gets it soon."
- "I couldn't stop reading! I was reading them during work breaks, while sitting in traffic jams and anywhere else I found myself with a few minutes to spare. Last night I started re-reading book 1 again."
- "I finally finished my uni exams, so I finally got to read Hal 2 - and WOW, I loved it, I seriously could not put the book down! I've never read a book with so many memorable quotes ^_^ ... do we really have to wait until Jan for Hal 3? Okay... I can wait *figits*"
- "Shock horror!! Last night I finished another of the books I've had on the go for months. Simon Haynes' Hal Spacejock-Second Course, loved it, and I reckon they're getting better. Hal's character is bulking out, and Clunk is as great as ever (poor robot). Anyway, recommended for anyone who likes comic sci-fi, though I dunno how available it is overseas yet."
- "Can't wait for your books to appear on the continent! I've just had someone from Australia to send it over to me."
- "Just finished reading Second Course, very enjoyable, thanks :) pity there's never enough time to read much these days :("
- "The Hal Spacejock series is an important contribution because it strikes new ground in appealing to a wide range of ages. I enjoyed Hal Spacejock #1 immensely, and I am a 60-year-old computer scientist. My 9-year-old son gobbled it up in just a few sittings."
- "I recently bought your first novel "Hal Spacejock" from Dymocks here in Adelaide. I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and have a great affinity for the characters. Looking forward to "Second Course" and your other novels in the series. Keep them coming."
- "Just finished Hal Spacejock Second Course - thoroughly enjoyed it. Good luck with the editing of Hal 3. Look forward to reading it in early 2007."
- "At first I thought: "Just another sci-fi writer - whoopee!" Then I read 2nd Course and was hooked! What a hoot. Great story. Not your usual sci-fi novel filled with techno bable. Enough to inspire me to start writing sci-fi. Now that's what I call a job well done, Simon!"
- "Simon - such a great book! and really easy reading. I love the subtle humour - and Clunk and Navcom are wonderful characters. If I was a lucky one in the draw, I'd give the copy to my Mum!"
- "I thoroughly enjoyed Hal Spacejock and HalSpacejock Second Course. The storyline and characters are excellent. Looking forward to Hal Spacejock Books 3,4 and 5. Keep them coming! You are a gifted writer and programmer."
- "I have only just recently gotten into the Hal series, but I am blown away. Well done!!!"
- "I just finished reading Hal Spacejock, I actually finished it a few minutes ago during my "extended" lunch period at work. I just couldn't wait to finish it on my usual trajectory towards home ( I travel about 3 hours per day on buses and trains thus I do a lot of reading). The book is amazing and does not disappoint. I thought of the robots on the first Star Wars movies when I was reading the book. I love the relationship between Hal and Clunk; please make sure Clunk never "dies". [Oops - S] The book had many funny parts including the erotic scenes between clunk and the navcom unit LOL. I also loved the book because it was built on relationships (human/human, human/robot, robot/robot) and lots of dialogue and action as opposed to detailed descriptive scenes which tend to bog down a lot of Science Fiction novels (e.g. books by Peter F. Hamilton). The other aspect of the book that I really loved was that it was in the far future yet had elements of present or past life on earth such as seedy characters and villains, cow dung, etc. [All good books have cow dung - S] The book is ideal for easy reading while you are on a beach or travelling, the chapters whiz by but in the end you are satisfied of how the story turned out and of course not too many people get seriously hurt (Clunk makes sure of that !). A feel good book, and believe me we need more of these books these days specially with what is going on in the world at the present time. I am waiting eagerly for Hal II to arrive in my mailbox, it will be a fun summer!"
- "My husband has just finished reading your first two Hal Spacejock novels and enjoyed them very much. We will be keeping an eye out for the third instalment."
- "I won a copy of Hal Spacejock in one of your draws and have just read it. I thought it was great, very funny but still with a great plot. I often found myself not being able to put it down as I wanted to know what happened next. I know this is a short e-mail but I thought I would let you know what I made of it especially as I won it. All I need now is to win the next book!"
- "This book is a very funny science fiction send up. I think this book is suitable for 12 year olds and up. It will appeal to a wide audience because of its interesting storyline and because it is hilarious. I think Simon Haynes wrote this book very well and I cannot wait for the next one! Ramon, aged 12"
- "I've GOT HS1 and I love it! It's a HOOT!"
- "Cool book -- good read!"
- "Just wanted to say hi and let you know that I really enjoy your writing and your humor - I'm looking forward to Just Desserts"
- "What a fantastic series! Very funny, witty and shows a great sense of humour. Perfect for some light reading!"
- "Hal Spacejock is a funny science fiction book which is complex enough to be interesting but not so technical as to turn the reader off. The characters are well-written and the explanations of space travel are very clear and easy to follow. Hal is an accident-prone pilot and he works with an old-generation robot. The author and publisher are Australian and I would recommend the book to 12 to 16-year-olds." Jack, 15
- "On the books they call your series another 'Red Dwarf' but it's way better, in fact, I'd love to see a TV series made of Hal and Clunk's adventures! Hilarious!!"
- "I loved the first Hal Spacejock novel. I read it in 11 hours (the time it takes to fly from Brisbane to Perth and back) and plan to buy the next one in the series next time I am at the airport."
- "I have now read both your current books... THEY ARE THE BEST! They are so cool! I can't wait for the third one to come out!"
- "I received the copy of Hal Spacejock you sent me and stayed up late reading. It was great! All those problems would have had me sniffing vacuum. I'm sure glad Hal survived! Now I know I have to go to any lengths to get #2 and then #3."
- My husband and I have just finished reading your first two books. I thought he was going to have an asthma attack he laughed so much! He's now in a deep depression, complaining he needs more of Clunk! Can't wait for the third instalment!
- Having read book one and almost through with book two, I must say that if you enjoyed book one, you'll absolutely love book two - it's miles ahead of book one ... and I loved the first book :) Now what *I* want is book three :p
- I'm reading Hal I right now, and it is so much better than expectations. This thing has become my buddy for those hours between classes down at the college.
- I want to read the second one! I love the first one and I'm a new fan of yours :-)
- I finished your book the other day...WOW...What fun...I'll write a blog about it & send out a notice to everyone...This is a must read...Thanks!!!!
- I just want to let you know that I just started reading Hal Spacejock and I am loving it. I could barely put it down to send you this quick note.
- I couldn't put it down. Great stuff. I have a very boring job which means I get to read a lot, so thank you for keeping me entertained :)
- Wanted to let you know that I finally had time to read your 2 books. I laughed myself silly so much that the family was wondering what I was doing !! Very good books....good to see some funny SF here in Oz.
- What a breath of fresh air! There has been almost nothing since Red Dwarf. Well done, keep 'em coming :-)
- Couldn't believe my luck when I found your page! I discovered your books just recently, and read both! I've been a long time Terry Pratchett fan and am so glad to have found you. You make me laugh out loud on buses ... it's embarrassing! Was so disappointed when I went back for a third fix and there were no more books... Can't wait for Just Desserts!
- I bought your book from amazon UK and it was brilliant! I wanted to buy copy for my dad for christmas, did you know your book is going for as much as ?46.97!!!
- Picked up Second Course in an airport and yeh, couldn't put it down. Great writing, great story. Well Done! Gotta get the rest now ..
- I have read Hal Spacejock and just about finished Second Course. I would just like to say these novels are probably the best I have read in a long time, and that is no mere comment as I am a avid reader. They give me so much joy to read them it is one of the few stories that consumes me, I actually feel like I am there - a part of the adventure you might say. Thank you for such a great story and I cannot wait till Just Desserts is released.
(Earlier feedback here, more recent here)
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