"Fast, funny, quirky, enthralling comedy adventure" - Tom Holt

"Simon Haynes is the Australian Terry Pratchett" - Midwest Book Review

The Hal Spacejock series is published by Fremantle Press and distributed by Penguin Australia

Download Hal Spacejock - Free!

Grab a copy of the hilarious, best-selling sf novel as a free ebook!

Click a button to download your copy:
(File size is under 2mb)

Also Available: Low-cost ebook versions of books 2-4 in the series. Read more here

Please share this page with others

"This book had me roaring. From the first page to the last, Hal Spacejock is a comically lovable idiot — the dubious hero with a heart of gold buried under a whole cargo load of impatience, underhandedness, laughably questionable habits and an indomitable devil-may-care attitude. His faithful sidekick robot, Clunk – with enough common sense for two and a healthy dose of good guy morality – saves Hal's foolish hide at every turn and steals the show on every glorious page." - Mind Unbound

To celebrate the release of Simon Haynes's latest novel, Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch, Fremantle Press are giving away electronic copies of Hal Spacejock, the first book in the series!

Read this free sf novel on your PDA, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader or straight off your computer screen. You can even print the entire manuscript and read it on paper.

Whichever you choose, you get the whole book exactly as published, completely free.

Click a button to download your copy:
(File size is under 2mb)

Also Available: Low-cost ebook versions of books 2-4 in the series. Read more here

If you're not interested in sf comedy, why not share the link with someone else?

Help to publicise the giveaway: http://www.spacejock.com.au/Hal1Download.html

You'll also find buttons & banners at the bottom of the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the book like?

If you enjoy books by Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt and Jasper Fforde, or TV shows like the Young Ones, Firefly, Blackadder, Lovejoy, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, Red Dwarf and Doctor Who, then the Hal Spacejock series is for you.

Is it self published?

No, the Hal Spacejock series is published by Fremantle Press and distributed by Penguin Australia. Fremantle Press recently celebrated thirty years in the industry, and has a reputation for publishing high-quality literary fiction.

Is it a kids book?

The books were written for adults - i.e. me - but are suitable for ages 14+. According to official figures there are nearly 1000 copies of Hal Spacejock in school libraries across Australia. Frightening thought, eh?

Are the Hal Spacejock books any good?

Why not check out the feedback or the reviews?

What's in the download? Which file formats do I get?

You get identical copies of Hal 1 in rtf, prc, html, lrf and text format. This should cover most reading devices, and because they're open formats you can use them to generate other files (e.g. PDF, Kindle, etc)

How big is the download file?

The download file is under 2mb, and should download in less than a minute. It's zipped to keep it as small as possible.

Zipped? How do I extract the contents?

On most operating systems you can double-click the downloaded file, which will display the contents in a window. Highlight the files and drag/drop them into your destination folder (ie. where you want to keep them). Otherwise, extract the contents with 7-zip, Winzip or similar.

How do I open and read the ebook?

• Just double-click the HTML file and read it in your web browser.
• Windows users might like to install yBook, my ebook reader.
• Handheld PC users will probably use the PRC, Text or HTML version.

Why is this book free?

My publisher wants to introduce more readers to the Hal Spacejock series, and nothing generates interest like free books. For more details, see the official press release

Can I email it to friends or put in on a CD to give away?

I can't stop you doing that, but I really need hard figures to show my publisher how many people have downloaded a copy. Therefore, I would ask you to please share a link to this download page instead. Not only that, but everyone will have the very latest corrected edition if they download a fresh copy from my site.

Will the first book still be on sale in the shops?

Yes - in fact, Hal Spacejock is undergoing a third printing. All four books are in stores across Australia and New Zealand, and are also available as imports in the US and UK - e.g. via Amazon and Powell's Books. (See the where to buy page for details.)

Can I download the other books in the series?

No, but you can buy the paperbacks now via my publisher, and you'll be able to buy the rest as ebooks in February 2009.

Can I help with publicity?

Yes please! Any of the following will prove you're a gold-plated Hal Spacejock aficionado:

• Tell others where they can get the free ebook.
• Consider reviewing Hal Spacejock on your blog.
• How about rating the book on Amazon, LibraryThing, or other review sites?
• Forward this page to anyone you think might enjoy Hal Spacejock.
• Remember there are four books in the series. Try the others!

if you'd like to share a download link to this page, here are a number of buttons: