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Interstellar Pig #1
Interstellar Pig
Barney's boring seaside vacation suddenly becomes more interesting when the cottage next door is occupied by three exotic neighbors who are addicted to a game they call "Interstellar Pig."
200 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1984
45 people are currently reading
1,308 people want to read
About the author
William Sleator
47Ìýbooks311ÌýfollowersWilliam Warner Sleator III was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland on February 13, 1945, and moved to St. Louis, MO when he was three. He graduated from University City High School in 1963, from Harvard in 1967 with BAs in music and English.
For more than thirty years, William Sleator thrilled readers with his inventive books. His House of Stairs was named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by the Young Adult Library Services Association.
William Sleator died in early August 2011 at his home in Thailand.
For more than thirty years, William Sleator thrilled readers with his inventive books. His House of Stairs was named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by the Young Adult Library Services Association.
William Sleator died in early August 2011 at his home in Thailand.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 323 reviews
October 21, 2019
It takes a special book to stick in one's memory for over thirty years. There are some I remember because I read them over and over, but then there are those that I remember because of the sheer ideaness and atmosphere imprinted on my young brain (there's also the category of Awful Things that Happened to Animals genre, which caused a less happy kind of imprinting). I must have read Interstellar Pig shortly after release in 1984, and it has remained one of those books that vividly recall in entire sections now and again. Not the title, of course; but strangely enough, put 'young adult/aliens/pig' into Google, and it comes up with this book in a flash, so it was easy for me to track it down for a wander down memory lane.
It is with pleasure that I realized it was still an interesting, engaging read.
Barney is sixteen, and trapped with his parents at a two-week rental college on the coast coast, a beachfront location that does absolutely nothing for his sunburn-prone skin but seems to serve a purpose for his status-hunting parents, but does give him a chance to catch up on his science-fiction reading. The caretaker informs them that the sea captain who built the cottage kept his brother locked in the front room for twenty years. Barney is hoping for more information, perhaps a ghost story or two, when the caretaker has to abandon story-telling to settle in the next-door neighbors who have an obsessive interest in Barney's cottage. Barney's intrigued by their cosmopolitan personalities and by the game they continually reference.
"But they didn't seem to appreciate my wit. Barely moving their heads, their eyes met; three pairs of eyes meeting equally somehow, as though there were only two of them. And I thought of the jagged pits and troughs in the windowsills of my room, and I felt uneasy for the first time. A curtain flapped gently at the window. The others in the room remained as still as reptiles in the sun."
To say much more would enter spoiler territory, as the plot moves quickly and has a couple of interesting twists with an earlier scene providing nice foreshadowing for the climactic event. Slater builds suspense well, and I think that the atmosphere of fear he created might have helped stick this book in my memory. Characterization is perhaps a weaker point, but its more than adequate for the story. I'd say for my 2017 re-read, although Barney's age is supposed to be sixteen, he feels more like twelve or thirteen in modern terms.
The writing is solid, feeling more sophisticated than most of the young adult I've read in recent years. Like many teens, Barney's descriptions of his parents are ruthlessly honest, but there's also a measure of acceptance there, and eventually fondness, that elevates it above the simple sarcastic dismissal. The three people next door have traveled a lot and "seemed exotic, as though English was not their native language." It is cleverly conveyed through their dialogue, though Barney never remarks on it but that once. "Ugh! You let the milk go sour again, Manny,' Zena groaned. 'Can't you learn to recollect the date?'"
At 197 pages, it goes by too quickly. A fun little book with a great finale, and a final flourish of well-earned humor. You just never know who will win the great game.
Four and a half stars.
It is with pleasure that I realized it was still an interesting, engaging read.
Barney is sixteen, and trapped with his parents at a two-week rental college on the coast coast, a beachfront location that does absolutely nothing for his sunburn-prone skin but seems to serve a purpose for his status-hunting parents, but does give him a chance to catch up on his science-fiction reading. The caretaker informs them that the sea captain who built the cottage kept his brother locked in the front room for twenty years. Barney is hoping for more information, perhaps a ghost story or two, when the caretaker has to abandon story-telling to settle in the next-door neighbors who have an obsessive interest in Barney's cottage. Barney's intrigued by their cosmopolitan personalities and by the game they continually reference.
"But they didn't seem to appreciate my wit. Barely moving their heads, their eyes met; three pairs of eyes meeting equally somehow, as though there were only two of them. And I thought of the jagged pits and troughs in the windowsills of my room, and I felt uneasy for the first time. A curtain flapped gently at the window. The others in the room remained as still as reptiles in the sun."
To say much more would enter spoiler territory, as the plot moves quickly and has a couple of interesting twists with an earlier scene providing nice foreshadowing for the climactic event. Slater builds suspense well, and I think that the atmosphere of fear he created might have helped stick this book in my memory. Characterization is perhaps a weaker point, but its more than adequate for the story. I'd say for my 2017 re-read, although Barney's age is supposed to be sixteen, he feels more like twelve or thirteen in modern terms.
The writing is solid, feeling more sophisticated than most of the young adult I've read in recent years. Like many teens, Barney's descriptions of his parents are ruthlessly honest, but there's also a measure of acceptance there, and eventually fondness, that elevates it above the simple sarcastic dismissal. The three people next door have traveled a lot and "seemed exotic, as though English was not their native language." It is cleverly conveyed through their dialogue, though Barney never remarks on it but that once. "Ugh! You let the milk go sour again, Manny,' Zena groaned. 'Can't you learn to recollect the date?'"
At 197 pages, it goes by too quickly. A fun little book with a great finale, and a final flourish of well-earned humor. You just never know who will win the great game.
Four and a half stars.
June 30, 2008
I’m almost ashamed to comment on Young Adult books; I’m afraid that anyone stumbling across this will suspect that I play with action figures, wank it to anime, and collect the free trinkets from cereal boxes, when in reality I only partake in one of these three unsavory acts. However, I also know that 99% of the posts in regards to young adult works published prior to 2001 will be along the lines of “I read this when I was a kid and it kicked my ass! I should dig through that mountain of decaying issues of Hustler/Juggs/Omni and re-read it sometime!� I hope that I can potentially provide the impetus for you to actually go read it, by giving you some idea what the book happens to be about, why I personally liked it, and rapping some absolute gibberish which you are better off ignoring, all with the with the goal of convincing you that not only is "Interstellar Pig� worth your time, but that playing with action figures should be regarded as a sign of manliness.
Just to make sure I’m covering all the bases, I did read this back in my youth (and yes, it did thoroughly kick my ass), but aside from the general plot, this story taught me several things I thought were cool; the meaning of the word ersatz, it introduced me to the practice of keelhauling (which made such a deep impression that to this very day, every time I witness a transgression while aboard any form of water-bound conveyance, I drunkenly blurt ‘keelhaul that scurvy scalawag!�), symbiotic relationships were first explained to me through the misfortune of poor Luap and his slug-tongue Zshoozsh, and I also established that my IRSC is probably disastrously high (ranking alongside that of the hilarious and carnivorous lichen). If you’re already on goodreads searching for book reviews from the many fine reviewers out there, I’m assuming this would all be remedial for you; but I would certainly suggest that you keep this book mind for when you start introducing your own little brood to the wonders of reading.
I’d also strongly recommend this to any gamers. While I’ve never experienced the joy of getting immersed in the world of role-playing (short of the ordinary nurse/patient, hooker/john, Ike/Tina, Santa/kid-wishing-for-a-Red-Ryder BB Gun type stuff that doesn’t require dice or the need to keep stringent record of hit points), it seems that author William Sleator certainly spent his fair share of days in the trenches. Even without RPGs, I get very involved in any game I do play, or make a game of anything I’m doing. While throwing darts I’m not particularly concerned with the score, I’m busy pretending that the double-bull is actually the one component of the opponent’s artificial heart susceptible to attack, and only by pegging that sumbitch can I effectively eliminate them from this year’s round of DeathDarts. Should I go a little retro and hunker down for a game of Clue, I’m not foolishly dashing to the billiard room to discover what nefarious ends the venerable Colonel Mustard might have found for the rope, I’m the pervert lurking in the filthy, darkened secret passageway that connects the lounge to the conservatory, fondling myself vigorously while peeking out to see what creative uses that sultry minx Ms. Scarlet has found for the candlestick while draped naked across the top of the Steinway, usually leaving behind a small specimen of evidence of my own to an insidious crime nobody is going to bother investigating amidst all the madness at hand. When my old man would throw me out the door and make it plain I wasn’t welcome back in until the lawn was properly mowed, I knew this wasn’t merely an exercise in property upkeep, I was Bombardier Chris, being sent out on another reconnaissance sortie over North Viet Nam with my B-57 crew, which quickly becomes wrought with peril, and each swath of grass I cut is actually the deforestation caused by my merciless carpet-bombing, until, at long last, we receive word from Admiral Ackbar that it’s time to return to base and resume smoking dope through a rifle barrel. Growing concerns from the neighbors led to my folks prohibiting me from wearing the flak jacket while operating the trusty old Toro, but we settled on letting me keep the aviator goggles on, perhaps the only successful compromise in family history.
For this behavior, I lay the blame entirely on William Sleator’s doorstep, and whoever the hell wrote the screenplay for The Last Starfighter. In these yarns, one is rewarded for their gaming expertise with a chance to become the savior of the human race if not the collective freedom of a galaxy by untwitting an armada of giant, W-shaped spacecraft piloted by betentacled badasses, but in real life, your unparalleled proficiency at gaming is merely indicative of your constant and fervid jack-off sessions, the lack of significant companionship in your life, and hours spent at home during peak partying time while you sit home huffing gas playing Gurps.
This is supposed to be a compliment of the highest order, even if I’m not effectively getting that message across. I cannot possibly repay Mr. Sleator in this lifetime for both entertaining me fully with “Interstellar Pig� and for helping me realize that if you look at every little nuisance in life as a game, it all works out pretty well in the end. The boss needs me to get some shit from headquarters in Wurzburg to the Chicago office; there I am contacting Lufthansa, playing “Sneak the Bomb on Prototype German Aircraft�. The girlfriend calls giving me short notice that her mother is coming over; it’s time for a quick session of “Hide The Contraband (And Probably the Drudwyn Works, Too)�. Wow, I’m just realizing that will probably be a song title on an emo album in the next five years. There you go, Taking Back Sunday, I’ve saved you five minutes. Resume plugging groupies at your leisure.
“Interstellar Pig� is the story of Barney, a self-proclaimed ‘whiz� at games (and evidenced by his pasty white coloring from spending many a night in his dungeon-like basement) who is vacationing with his parents on a private beach. His folks are pompous asses with absolutely no regard for the fact Barney doesn’t like the beach, and he’d rather be rolling a 20-sided die to determine if the wood-nymph/dryad he just encountered in the “Forbidden Forest� will acquiesce to his request for a blowjob. So, while his folks hobnob with the social elite of the area, Barney is left to his own devices, which is pretty much limited to reading so sci-fi novels while avoiding the sun’s wicked rays, and dwelling on an eerie story concerning the ill-fated former owner of the house they are currently occupying, which the groundskeeper felt it was imperative to relate to an impressionable kid. The story in a nutshell: about 100 years ago the house was owned by a respected seaman known as Captain Latham, whose downfall began when he rescued a shipwrecked sailor. The sailor was a truly unique individual, speaking a language none of the world-traveling crew was familiar with, and while recuperating, the unfortunate wretch is iced by the Captain’s brother. Per the ship’s inflexible charter, the brother gets a brief introduction to the pageantry of keelhauling and winds up locked in the house, insane, clawing at the walls.
Then unexpected neighbors arrive, three of them; two total studs and a fine chick (Manny, Joe, and Zena), all apparently in their early twenties. Barney, who is probably on the path to blindness with all the time on his hands to pound his pud, can’t help but become ecstatic when they seemingly want to hang out with him, though he quickly realizes that they simply using him as a tool to assist in some sort of treasure hunt. This disparaging fact isn’t making Zena’s rack any smaller, so Barney is still content to tag along.
Eventually, the neighbors shed some light on what exactly it is they do behind closed doors; they play a board game called Interstellar Pig, perhaps one of the coolest things conceived. The point of the game is to scour a few planets scattered about the galaxy and combat all manner of their indigenous monstrosities in order to possess an ugly-ass and seemingly useless relic know only as The Piggy when the allotted time runs out. The Piggy only serves one purpose, it grants the owner and his planet immunity from being completely destroyed when the game time finally runs down to zero. During the four-player games of Pig, Zena always ends up in the role of Zulma, a menacing arachnid creature, Joe is always Jrlb, a beast which looks like the expected result had Jeff Goldblum ended up with a swordfish in the matter-transfer device from ‘The Fly�, and Manny is always Moyna, at which time he changes gender and is described kindly as an “octopuslike gas bag creature�. Barney gets to assume the role of a colony of flesh-eating lichen in one game, and a lizard-man named Luap in another, both creatures are considered borderline imbecilic by their character attribute as IRSC (IQ, generally) although Luap has a relationship with a slug living in his mouth, and the slug has the best IRSC of any species in the game, even if it lacks manners. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is Barney playing as Luap, trying to feed the slug to boost his powers of reasoning, but the slug decides to talk trash about his sloppy eating manners and exclaim “Hey, slow it down, you retard!�
The next time Barney sits down to play, he’s breathless when he draws the “Barney � Homo Sapiens� character card. Good thinking kid, you’ve drawn us all into the game which will almost inevitably end with planetary destruction thanks to your lust for a tarnished talisman shaped like a pig.
The story is predictable, fun, and very short-lived; it’s like shotgunning a beer. And we all know how totally awesome that is.
Just to make sure I’m covering all the bases, I did read this back in my youth (and yes, it did thoroughly kick my ass), but aside from the general plot, this story taught me several things I thought were cool; the meaning of the word ersatz, it introduced me to the practice of keelhauling (which made such a deep impression that to this very day, every time I witness a transgression while aboard any form of water-bound conveyance, I drunkenly blurt ‘keelhaul that scurvy scalawag!�), symbiotic relationships were first explained to me through the misfortune of poor Luap and his slug-tongue Zshoozsh, and I also established that my IRSC is probably disastrously high (ranking alongside that of the hilarious and carnivorous lichen). If you’re already on goodreads searching for book reviews from the many fine reviewers out there, I’m assuming this would all be remedial for you; but I would certainly suggest that you keep this book mind for when you start introducing your own little brood to the wonders of reading.
I’d also strongly recommend this to any gamers. While I’ve never experienced the joy of getting immersed in the world of role-playing (short of the ordinary nurse/patient, hooker/john, Ike/Tina, Santa/kid-wishing-for-a-Red-Ryder BB Gun type stuff that doesn’t require dice or the need to keep stringent record of hit points), it seems that author William Sleator certainly spent his fair share of days in the trenches. Even without RPGs, I get very involved in any game I do play, or make a game of anything I’m doing. While throwing darts I’m not particularly concerned with the score, I’m busy pretending that the double-bull is actually the one component of the opponent’s artificial heart susceptible to attack, and only by pegging that sumbitch can I effectively eliminate them from this year’s round of DeathDarts. Should I go a little retro and hunker down for a game of Clue, I’m not foolishly dashing to the billiard room to discover what nefarious ends the venerable Colonel Mustard might have found for the rope, I’m the pervert lurking in the filthy, darkened secret passageway that connects the lounge to the conservatory, fondling myself vigorously while peeking out to see what creative uses that sultry minx Ms. Scarlet has found for the candlestick while draped naked across the top of the Steinway, usually leaving behind a small specimen of evidence of my own to an insidious crime nobody is going to bother investigating amidst all the madness at hand. When my old man would throw me out the door and make it plain I wasn’t welcome back in until the lawn was properly mowed, I knew this wasn’t merely an exercise in property upkeep, I was Bombardier Chris, being sent out on another reconnaissance sortie over North Viet Nam with my B-57 crew, which quickly becomes wrought with peril, and each swath of grass I cut is actually the deforestation caused by my merciless carpet-bombing, until, at long last, we receive word from Admiral Ackbar that it’s time to return to base and resume smoking dope through a rifle barrel. Growing concerns from the neighbors led to my folks prohibiting me from wearing the flak jacket while operating the trusty old Toro, but we settled on letting me keep the aviator goggles on, perhaps the only successful compromise in family history.
For this behavior, I lay the blame entirely on William Sleator’s doorstep, and whoever the hell wrote the screenplay for The Last Starfighter. In these yarns, one is rewarded for their gaming expertise with a chance to become the savior of the human race if not the collective freedom of a galaxy by untwitting an armada of giant, W-shaped spacecraft piloted by betentacled badasses, but in real life, your unparalleled proficiency at gaming is merely indicative of your constant and fervid jack-off sessions, the lack of significant companionship in your life, and hours spent at home during peak partying time while you sit home huffing gas playing Gurps.
This is supposed to be a compliment of the highest order, even if I’m not effectively getting that message across. I cannot possibly repay Mr. Sleator in this lifetime for both entertaining me fully with “Interstellar Pig� and for helping me realize that if you look at every little nuisance in life as a game, it all works out pretty well in the end. The boss needs me to get some shit from headquarters in Wurzburg to the Chicago office; there I am contacting Lufthansa, playing “Sneak the Bomb on Prototype German Aircraft�. The girlfriend calls giving me short notice that her mother is coming over; it’s time for a quick session of “Hide The Contraband (And Probably the Drudwyn Works, Too)�. Wow, I’m just realizing that will probably be a song title on an emo album in the next five years. There you go, Taking Back Sunday, I’ve saved you five minutes. Resume plugging groupies at your leisure.
“Interstellar Pig� is the story of Barney, a self-proclaimed ‘whiz� at games (and evidenced by his pasty white coloring from spending many a night in his dungeon-like basement) who is vacationing with his parents on a private beach. His folks are pompous asses with absolutely no regard for the fact Barney doesn’t like the beach, and he’d rather be rolling a 20-sided die to determine if the wood-nymph/dryad he just encountered in the “Forbidden Forest� will acquiesce to his request for a blowjob. So, while his folks hobnob with the social elite of the area, Barney is left to his own devices, which is pretty much limited to reading so sci-fi novels while avoiding the sun’s wicked rays, and dwelling on an eerie story concerning the ill-fated former owner of the house they are currently occupying, which the groundskeeper felt it was imperative to relate to an impressionable kid. The story in a nutshell: about 100 years ago the house was owned by a respected seaman known as Captain Latham, whose downfall began when he rescued a shipwrecked sailor. The sailor was a truly unique individual, speaking a language none of the world-traveling crew was familiar with, and while recuperating, the unfortunate wretch is iced by the Captain’s brother. Per the ship’s inflexible charter, the brother gets a brief introduction to the pageantry of keelhauling and winds up locked in the house, insane, clawing at the walls.
Then unexpected neighbors arrive, three of them; two total studs and a fine chick (Manny, Joe, and Zena), all apparently in their early twenties. Barney, who is probably on the path to blindness with all the time on his hands to pound his pud, can’t help but become ecstatic when they seemingly want to hang out with him, though he quickly realizes that they simply using him as a tool to assist in some sort of treasure hunt. This disparaging fact isn’t making Zena’s rack any smaller, so Barney is still content to tag along.
Eventually, the neighbors shed some light on what exactly it is they do behind closed doors; they play a board game called Interstellar Pig, perhaps one of the coolest things conceived. The point of the game is to scour a few planets scattered about the galaxy and combat all manner of their indigenous monstrosities in order to possess an ugly-ass and seemingly useless relic know only as The Piggy when the allotted time runs out. The Piggy only serves one purpose, it grants the owner and his planet immunity from being completely destroyed when the game time finally runs down to zero. During the four-player games of Pig, Zena always ends up in the role of Zulma, a menacing arachnid creature, Joe is always Jrlb, a beast which looks like the expected result had Jeff Goldblum ended up with a swordfish in the matter-transfer device from ‘The Fly�, and Manny is always Moyna, at which time he changes gender and is described kindly as an “octopuslike gas bag creature�. Barney gets to assume the role of a colony of flesh-eating lichen in one game, and a lizard-man named Luap in another, both creatures are considered borderline imbecilic by their character attribute as IRSC (IQ, generally) although Luap has a relationship with a slug living in his mouth, and the slug has the best IRSC of any species in the game, even if it lacks manners. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is Barney playing as Luap, trying to feed the slug to boost his powers of reasoning, but the slug decides to talk trash about his sloppy eating manners and exclaim “Hey, slow it down, you retard!�
The next time Barney sits down to play, he’s breathless when he draws the “Barney � Homo Sapiens� character card. Good thinking kid, you’ve drawn us all into the game which will almost inevitably end with planetary destruction thanks to your lust for a tarnished talisman shaped like a pig.
The story is predictable, fun, and very short-lived; it’s like shotgunning a beer. And we all know how totally awesome that is.
March 21, 2020
Aliens search the Earth for a powerful device that was lost over a century ago. Now a teenager must defeat them in order to save our planet
Meet the new neighbors
There was a casual, animal grace to their movements that attracted the eye simply because it was so unusual. I knew they were just three people—but somehow I felt as though I were watching three lions.
. . . .
There was such authority and command in the way she spoke that I complied without thinking. What had happened to the petite, demure creature who had so coyly tried to cajole Ted to let them into our house? This person wouldn't have cajoled; she would have ordered. She seemed a different woman now, massive, brusque, in control. We sat close together around the fireplace. I could tell that they really weren't too much older than me—they seemed about college age. The two men were shirtless, their taut bodies as deeply tanned as the woman's. I knew they had just arrived, but they looked as though they'd been living on the beach for months.
A board game - but it's nothing like Monopoly
They turned on the lights, pulled their chairs up to the table and sat down around the board I had noticed when I first came in. They hadn't asked me to play, so I stood behind Zena and looked down at it. It was the first chance I had had to study it, and I saw now that it was not like any board game I had even encountered before.
"Hey, what game is this, anyway?" I asked, beginning to feel extremely excited. It seemed to be a space fantasy, with dreamlike, but detailed, planets. "I love games, but I've never seen anything like this. Where on earth did you get it?"
There was a moment of silence. Then Zena said, "It's a very new game. I suppose it isn't even on the market yet. It's still being . . . uh, what's the word? . . . Consumer tested, that's it."
"It's called Interstellar Pig," Zena said tartly. "We'd ask you to play, but we're in the middle of a three-person game. Perhaps another time."
A review of "The Puppet Masters" by Robert Heinlein (yes - really!)
"What are you reading?" Manny inquired. I held the book in front of my face. "Oh, I love science fiction," he said, clasping his hands together fervently. "But I haven't read that volume. What's it about?"
"It's about these aliens that invade the earth," I said. "These sort of sluglike things, like exposed brains, that attach themselves to people's backs and control them."
"How loathsome," Zena said, and turned down the corners of her mouth.
"Not to mention biologically naive," Joe said, 'chuckling. "There's no way an organism like that could evolve naturally."
"Why not?" I said, wanting to defend my taste in literature. "Nobody knows what conditions might be like on other planets. Anything could be possible, couldn't it?"
"Well I think it sounds enchanting," Manny said. "I love creepy stories like that. It reminds me of our game. Can I borrow the book when you're through?"
The game of Interstellar Pig becomes horribly real as our hero struggles to survive and save the Earth
Enjoy!
Meet the new neighbors
There was a casual, animal grace to their movements that attracted the eye simply because it was so unusual. I knew they were just three people—but somehow I felt as though I were watching three lions.
. . . .
There was such authority and command in the way she spoke that I complied without thinking. What had happened to the petite, demure creature who had so coyly tried to cajole Ted to let them into our house? This person wouldn't have cajoled; she would have ordered. She seemed a different woman now, massive, brusque, in control. We sat close together around the fireplace. I could tell that they really weren't too much older than me—they seemed about college age. The two men were shirtless, their taut bodies as deeply tanned as the woman's. I knew they had just arrived, but they looked as though they'd been living on the beach for months.
A board game - but it's nothing like Monopoly
They turned on the lights, pulled their chairs up to the table and sat down around the board I had noticed when I first came in. They hadn't asked me to play, so I stood behind Zena and looked down at it. It was the first chance I had had to study it, and I saw now that it was not like any board game I had even encountered before.
"Hey, what game is this, anyway?" I asked, beginning to feel extremely excited. It seemed to be a space fantasy, with dreamlike, but detailed, planets. "I love games, but I've never seen anything like this. Where on earth did you get it?"
There was a moment of silence. Then Zena said, "It's a very new game. I suppose it isn't even on the market yet. It's still being . . . uh, what's the word? . . . Consumer tested, that's it."
"It's called Interstellar Pig," Zena said tartly. "We'd ask you to play, but we're in the middle of a three-person game. Perhaps another time."
A review of "The Puppet Masters" by Robert Heinlein (yes - really!)
"What are you reading?" Manny inquired. I held the book in front of my face. "Oh, I love science fiction," he said, clasping his hands together fervently. "But I haven't read that volume. What's it about?"
"It's about these aliens that invade the earth," I said. "These sort of sluglike things, like exposed brains, that attach themselves to people's backs and control them."
"How loathsome," Zena said, and turned down the corners of her mouth.
"Not to mention biologically naive," Joe said, 'chuckling. "There's no way an organism like that could evolve naturally."
"Why not?" I said, wanting to defend my taste in literature. "Nobody knows what conditions might be like on other planets. Anything could be possible, couldn't it?"
"Well I think it sounds enchanting," Manny said. "I love creepy stories like that. It reminds me of our game. Can I borrow the book when you're through?"
The game of Interstellar Pig becomes horribly real as our hero struggles to survive and save the Earth
Enjoy!
January 16, 2019
This was a much more fun little story than i remembered from my first reading who knows how many years ago. It is another on my Encore list, where I have books that I could not decide immediately about keeping or giving away when I tidied up my library a few weeks ago. I will be re-reading them and then making decisions. This one stays!
Sixteen year old Barney is on a boring vacation: two weeks at the beach with his parents and no other kids his age. He burns too easily to be out in the sun, so while Mom and Dad are out laying around becoming candidates for skin cancer, he has to stay in reading books. (Gee, poor kid!)
But then some neighbors arrive to spend their vacation in the little cabin next door to Barney's. Zena, Manny and Joe. They seem too perfect to be true. Barney is fascinated, so are his parents. And the three newcomers are very interested in the cabin Barney's family is renting. As a matter of fact they had hoped to rent that cabin themselves. But why? And do they all really have lavender colored eyes or was that just a trick of the light?
Most curious of all, what is that cool board game they are playing? What are the rules for Interstellar Pig, anyway? And could Barney play? Pretty please?
Oh, Barney. With all the reading you do, why did it never sink in to be very careful what you wish for?!
Clever, entertaining, and Someday I hope to find the sequel, Parasite Pig. I never knew that there was a sequel until I read the author's page here on GR. I hope it will be as enjoyable as this book was!
Sixteen year old Barney is on a boring vacation: two weeks at the beach with his parents and no other kids his age. He burns too easily to be out in the sun, so while Mom and Dad are out laying around becoming candidates for skin cancer, he has to stay in reading books. (Gee, poor kid!)
But then some neighbors arrive to spend their vacation in the little cabin next door to Barney's. Zena, Manny and Joe. They seem too perfect to be true. Barney is fascinated, so are his parents. And the three newcomers are very interested in the cabin Barney's family is renting. As a matter of fact they had hoped to rent that cabin themselves. But why? And do they all really have lavender colored eyes or was that just a trick of the light?
Most curious of all, what is that cool board game they are playing? What are the rules for Interstellar Pig, anyway? And could Barney play? Pretty please?
Oh, Barney. With all the reading you do, why did it never sink in to be very careful what you wish for?!
Clever, entertaining, and Someday I hope to find the sequel, Parasite Pig. I never knew that there was a sequel until I read the author's page here on GR. I hope it will be as enjoyable as this book was!
March 11, 2020
Book rating: 3.8 🌟
Do you like playing board games? Games where there are different characters involved, solar systems, different creatures, different attributes, different disguises? Sounds interesting right. This book is dedicated to all those young adult sci-fi lovers, wherein your imaginative mind can never sit at rest. As the book progresses, the protagonist wonders if he is doing the right thing playing this board game; but then who can ever say no to exciting board games. This action packed book by William Sleator addictive as well as exhilarating. Once you finish the book, you can't help but wish you were a part of the game.
Do you like playing board games? Games where there are different characters involved, solar systems, different creatures, different attributes, different disguises? Sounds interesting right. This book is dedicated to all those young adult sci-fi lovers, wherein your imaginative mind can never sit at rest. As the book progresses, the protagonist wonders if he is doing the right thing playing this board game; but then who can ever say no to exciting board games. This action packed book by William Sleator addictive as well as exhilarating. Once you finish the book, you can't help but wish you were a part of the game.
April 30, 2018
I gave this book five stars because i thought the plot was very interesting, it had a lot of weird pieces in it but otherwise i enjoyed reading it. I liked the character development, and how descriptive it was. This book was really fun to read
January 18, 2018
This book was extremely interesting, but I'll admit I had serious reservations when my class started reading it has a read-aloud. I had not expected it to be written well, because when the back was read it had one of the oldest clichés "Summertime at a timeshare beach house, but uh oh the neighbors are aliens." But this book had a whole new spin on it and I was hanging on every word waiting for the thrilling climax as the story crescendoed to an ultimate ending.
November 15, 2007
Months after I read this book and went on to other William Sleator books, I did a report on it by creating the large game board described in the story. I think I still have it in the back of a closet in San Leandro. I do remember than while creating it, I wished the slots I cut, the swirls I painted, and the cards I wrote really would do what they were supposed to do.
Interstellar Pig and Singularity are the two best William Sleator books because they fuck with the mind most successfully. At least that's how I remember it.
Every time I see a shattered window, I think about how all the lines, if extended, might point to a single location in the distance where space voyagers would perk up their senses with the knowledge that I've spotted them, and come after me.
I'll have to go back and read the book again. Maybe I'll dig up my game board and now it'll work.
Interstellar Pig and Singularity are the two best William Sleator books because they fuck with the mind most successfully. At least that's how I remember it.
Every time I see a shattered window, I think about how all the lines, if extended, might point to a single location in the distance where space voyagers would perk up their senses with the knowledge that I've spotted them, and come after me.
I'll have to go back and read the book again. Maybe I'll dig up my game board and now it'll work.
January 30, 2019
One of my children has asked me to read all of William Sleator's books. So far they are great. Interstellar Pig is innovative and entertaining story-telling, and it reminds me of what books for young people could be like, before "YA" became a category.
I have a feeling that all my ratings of Sleator's books are going to be 5 stars, both because my kids love them, and because I'm rating them in relation to other middle-school popular reads being published recently, such as the execrable books of the GONE series, which in comparison make William Sleator books sound like William Shakespeare.
I have a feeling that all my ratings of Sleator's books are going to be 5 stars, both because my kids love them, and because I'm rating them in relation to other middle-school popular reads being published recently, such as the execrable books of the GONE series, which in comparison make William Sleator books sound like William Shakespeare.
January 18, 2018
This was... um... an interesting book, to say the least. It had kind of a weird plot, but you get used to it I guess. It was suspenseful at some points but others were kind of slow. Its not until you get to the end of the book that it actually starts getting interesting.
January 18, 2018
Overall I really enjoyes this book. In the beging it makes you think. Like who the tree mysterious neighbors are. And why they are always trying to come into the captains house. It keeps your attention and always leaves you with a cliff hanger from chapter to chapter. Overall its a good read and I would recommend it.
February 3, 2020
There’s many books one reads throughout their life but some just stay with you like a pleasant distant memory your brain clings on to forever. This is one of those books. Im not sure how it holds up now. But i feel lucky to have read it when i was young and everything felt fascinating.
June 7, 2023
Oops, forgot to review as I read it the day before packing for a trip. I remember it fairly well, and I do like and recommend it. Among Sleator's best. But why? Hmm... because it's truly exciting, in that it's mostly plot-driven and despite the fact that I don't particularly care for straight-up adventures I had a hard time putting this down? Because I admired Barney's persistent curiosity, the fact that he'll take risks just because he wonders what's going on? The interesting way the parents were worked into the story? The creativity & originality of the SF element? The fact that a week, many books, and a vacation later I still remember it pretty well?
Too bad I don't remember the exact ending....
I bet the sequel isn't nearly as good, but in any case I probably won't be able to find a copy.,.. this was hard enough to find (in a number of different libraries).
Too bad I don't remember the exact ending....
I bet the sequel isn't nearly as good, but in any case I probably won't be able to find a copy.,.. this was hard enough to find (in a number of different libraries).
April 30, 2018
I enjoyed this book. It was really interesting to read, and had lots of weird elements. I thought the concept was was interesting and made the book fun to read. I like the character development, and the descriptions to. I normally don't read science fiction to much, but this was good.
March 25, 2012
Back in the day, there wasn't much to write about.
At least, that's what it seems must have been true when I look at the Bloody Great Wall of YA fiction which dominates our Barnes and Noble these days. Did I say Wall? Walls. Multiple Walls. They are now separating the YA fiction into genres because they take up about half of the store.
That's a good thing. Back when I was a wee nipper, the only "YA" fiction was horrible, horrible crap like Then Again Maybe I Won't and "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. It's like all the authors who even deigned to compose YA fiction thought that what teenagers wanted to read about was other teens just as messed up as themselves. Idiots. What teens wanted was an escape from the misery of hormones and cliques and oedipal tensions and peer pressure and all the other crapola that S.E. Hinton and Judy Bloom were shoving at us.
Thank God for J.K. Rowling.
So, when I was young and stumbled across the rare exception to the YA rule of angst, angst, and more angst, I DEVOURED it. Of those, Interstella Pig was better than many. It contains just enough of the adolescent angst to feel realistic, psychologically, while providing escapism in buckets in the medium of a boardgame being played by aliens for life-and-death stakes. That is pure gold to a budding nerdling, so if you've got one or three of your own geeklets, by all means hand this over to them.
In fact, the real shockeroo is how well this one stands up in the hurricane of post-Rowling YA scifi/fantasy available these days.
At least, that's what it seems must have been true when I look at the Bloody Great Wall of YA fiction which dominates our Barnes and Noble these days. Did I say Wall? Walls. Multiple Walls. They are now separating the YA fiction into genres because they take up about half of the store.
That's a good thing. Back when I was a wee nipper, the only "YA" fiction was horrible, horrible crap like Then Again Maybe I Won't and "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. It's like all the authors who even deigned to compose YA fiction thought that what teenagers wanted to read about was other teens just as messed up as themselves. Idiots. What teens wanted was an escape from the misery of hormones and cliques and oedipal tensions and peer pressure and all the other crapola that S.E. Hinton and Judy Bloom were shoving at us.
Thank God for J.K. Rowling.
So, when I was young and stumbled across the rare exception to the YA rule of angst, angst, and more angst, I DEVOURED it. Of those, Interstella Pig was better than many. It contains just enough of the adolescent angst to feel realistic, psychologically, while providing escapism in buckets in the medium of a boardgame being played by aliens for life-and-death stakes. That is pure gold to a budding nerdling, so if you've got one or three of your own geeklets, by all means hand this over to them.
In fact, the real shockeroo is how well this one stands up in the hurricane of post-Rowling YA scifi/fantasy available these days.
January 19, 2018
I finished this for a second time (at least with students) today. It is always a relatively quick, engaging, and fun science fiction read. I have yet to have a student not like this book, which makes it a safe choice as a read aloud, and the final fight scenes are action-packed and compelling.
Pick it up - you know you want to!
Pick it up - you know you want to!
January 19, 2018
First of all I want to say that this was a read aloud. That may have swayed my opinions on the book both positively and negatively at some points. When we first started the book it went kind of slow. Barney met some neighbors while vacationing on a beach. The neighbors charmed his parents quickly and were oddly angry at the fact that they could not get the beach house that Barney was staying in. In this house there was a tale that a captain of a ship that had put his brother in after he went mad. Barney became friends with them and started to hang out with them more often. They were obsessed with a game they said was brand new called interstellar pig. He played a few times and found it odd that the "randomly" cards that show you what alien character you will be for that game were the same for his neighbors every time. Every game they ended up drawing the same aliens. He went over to their house one day and snooped around to find a document about the story of Barney's beach house. When his neighbors sailed out to a nearby island in search for the "trinket" that the captain's brother had carried around for what is presumed to be the rest of his life. Barney stole it from its crate before the others could. Disappointed the neighbors sailed home. Barney hung out with them a bit more before they finally realized that he had the piggy(the trinket the captains brother had) and this proved that the game was real. (the piggy is the end game in the game interstellar pig, v when you don't have it at the end of the game your planet is destroyed.) They all tried in their own ways to persuaded him into giving them the piggy. At the end he didn't and they all changed into their true forms(they are aliens) and attacked him. Other creatures showed up too and a battle happened. Barney found out that the piggy was lying and he let on of the creatures take it. The book ended with the other aliens leaving earth chasing after the piggy. Overall I really enjoyed the book. At first it was kind of slow, then during the battle we only had 5 minutes to read each day so there were many cliff hangers which made it even better. Great book if you like science fiction.
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2018
This is a really great book. The story and the plot makes you want to keep "reading" until the book is over. If you don't like science fiction or fantasy however, I wouldn't recommend this book to you.
Read
January 26, 2018I thought it was pretty good book. I am usually not a big science fiction fan but this book I enjoyed a lot. The ending seemed a little weird to me because I didn't see it coming because I haven't read a lot of science fiction books so it seemed to me a little weird at the end of it. Overall I liked the book a lot!
February 8, 2018
Interstellar Pig is about this boy who moved with his parents. He meets his next door neighbor and plays a board game with them. The board game turns out to be real life later on. I loved this book it was my favorite all year. Mostly because it was science fiction and thats my favorite genre. Also it talks about all these creatures that weren't just in a fiction book but it all being real. The theory I have on this book is The Piggy is the one taking information from the creatures who have The Piggy and put that information into the book.
June 7, 2018
I read this book for the Science Fiction Unit with my group, and it was one of the best books I have read all year. It starts off very confusing and introducing many characters. But as the story goes on the book starts to develop. And the things that they said at the beginning that made no sense, start to develop into a crazy plot. I loved how the characters weren't who you thought they were, and how the book kept getting more intense. No doubt one of my favorite science fiction books this year.
April 15, 2017
Some YA fiction is aimed at the younger set - this is one. Bonus, it is science fiction, though far from the hard-SF that I enjoyed as a youth. Most of the high ratings are for nostalgia, where this is my first time. Not sure I can recommend this book.
The scooby doo mystery takes a few chapters to get rolling. After that, most chapters kept my interest, though there were slow patches. At other times, important action happened in just half a page. The pace was ragged.
The plot worked, and wasn't predictable or narrow - though the focus was quite linear. No side story, no romance, and very soft science fiction. As the protagonist was fond of sci fi (and shown reading early on), I am surprised he didn't ask more questions when he had the chance.
I don't plan to seek out the sequel (written 18 years later), but would welcome a conversation with someone who loved this book. For me, it was just OK.
The scooby doo mystery takes a few chapters to get rolling. After that, most chapters kept my interest, though there were slow patches. At other times, important action happened in just half a page. The pace was ragged.
The plot worked, and wasn't predictable or narrow - though the focus was quite linear. No side story, no romance, and very soft science fiction. As the protagonist was fond of sci fi (and shown reading early on), I am surprised he didn't ask more questions when he had the chance.
I don't plan to seek out the sequel (written 18 years later), but would welcome a conversation with someone who loved this book. For me, it was just OK.
January 23, 2018
I enjoyed the book but overall despite the fact it didn't catch my attention until about 3/4 through the book. Personally didn't really enjoy the childish and obscure things that constantly seemed to happen that left me shaking my head. This along with the fact it didn't grab my attention until late in the book is why it earned my star rating of 2.
July 12, 2007
This book was read to us when I was in elementary school. I thought it was so good that I checked it out again a year ago and re-read it.
February 19, 2024
This was a read-aloud with my son that was also one of the first sci-fi books I remember from my own childhood (along with the White Mountains series). My son found the story creepy (in a way that he enjoyed), but he was mystified by some of the things that were common in the 80s but not really anymore - peoples' obsessions with being tan, the parents' disinterest in / irritation with their child (and letting him spend so much time alone or with the complete strangers renting the place next door). I think the story itself held up pretty well, though.
Read
May 19, 2017This was a very strange book, I thought it would be confusing and it was at times but it was mostly clear. There really isn't much to say except "The Lichen were confused"
January 21, 2019
I think this was a super-fun, great YA read and I am happy to have read it as an adult. I am also very disappointed I didn't stumble across this book when I was younger during the times when I would be dragged out to lake-side cabins for family vacation.
Interstellar Pig tells the story of a not-so-boring summer vacation with one's parents.... this one includes .
Barney is vacationing in an old sea Captain's cabin. The cabin is steeped in gothic lore featuring the captain's brother and a long lost treasure. (I am trying to summarize the book without giving too much away, but it's quite difficult to do without making this whole review a spoiler.) Ultimately, Barney must learn to navigate a relationship with some very strange, fellow vacationers and a mysterious, intriguing board game that they have.
All I have to say is this is a super fun, very enjoyable read. It was interesting and a bit of a puzzle; perfect for those who love sci-fi and board games. Really, this could maybe have been a series arc of something like Dr. Who or Star Trek.
Interstellar Pig tells the story of a not-so-boring summer vacation with one's parents.... this one includes .
Barney is vacationing in an old sea Captain's cabin. The cabin is steeped in gothic lore featuring the captain's brother and a long lost treasure. (I am trying to summarize the book without giving too much away, but it's quite difficult to do without making this whole review a spoiler.) Ultimately, Barney must learn to navigate a relationship with some very strange, fellow vacationers and a mysterious, intriguing board game that they have.
All I have to say is this is a super fun, very enjoyable read. It was interesting and a bit of a puzzle; perfect for those who love sci-fi and board games. Really, this could maybe have been a series arc of something like Dr. Who or Star Trek.
August 27, 2022
This was a childhood favorite that I have kept on the shelf all this time. I re-read it as part of the SPL Book Bingo challenge, and it did not disappoint. I can totally see why my younger self enjoyed this: It is smart, wry, and contains some solid action. I love the nerdy teen protagonist and the "bons vivants" aliens. It blends the vibe of a New England ghost story and a Science Fiction thriller. I am recommending this to my kids, who are now the right age to enjoy it.
July 28, 2010
Very weird, read very rapidly on a family vacation. For some reason Sleator keeps coming up lately, and I started wondering about his other very strange-sounding versions of YA lit. I think most were probably written after I outgrew the stuff. Even this seemed "young" though fascinating by whenever I read it (age 10? 11? not sure exactly.)
March 30, 2016
This was a fun and absorbing YA read involving some shady visitors, an old sea captain, a possibly haunted vacation house on an island, and a strange board game.
As a fan of board games, YA fiction, old sea tales, and all things haunted, I quite enjoyed it. I've read this author before, and highly recommend him.
As a fan of board games, YA fiction, old sea tales, and all things haunted, I quite enjoyed it. I've read this author before, and highly recommend him.
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