‘Interstellar Pig’ Doesn’t Have A Weak Link

Quite a while back, I reviewed “Oddballs,” by William Sleator. It was pretty good, but it was nothing compared to Sleator’s “Interstellar Pig.”

In this, my favorite Sleator book, Barney is spending the summer at the beach in a house formerly owned by a sea captain whose nutty brother scratched up the windowsill of a room facing a small island. Seemingly unconnected to this fact are Barney’s neighbors - Zena, Manny and Joe, three exotic travelers addicted to the “board game” Interstellar Pig.

The captain’s brother’s scratchings all connect on the window and point to a certain spot on the island. There, Barney uncovers the Piggy, which is the central figure of Interstellar Pig. The “game” is really the mission of alien life forms - including aliens Zulma, Moyna and Jrlb (aka Zena, Manny and Joe) - to capture the piggy in order for their own species to survive.

It seems a dimensional traveler, Luap, crashed on Earth and was murdered by the captain’s brother. Now Zulma, Moya, Jrlb and others want the Piggy.

It sounds strange, but pays off in the long run, believe me.

The best characters are the lichen. Desperate to get the piggy, they are capable of eating anything they want. This makes them a tremendous threat to the other players. Also incapable of lying, the lichen alone make this book worth reading. Sleator must have realized this because he gave them the last, and best, scene.

“Interstellar Pig” doesn’t have a single weak link. Every detail, no matter how trivial, affects the plot.

The cast is phenomenal, right down to the piggy itself.

Everything contributes to my calling “Interstellar Pig” not just worthy of reading, but of owning.