Part of the success of Slaves of Spiegel comes from its presentation of aspects of modern society: fast food, plastic, and UFOs. The Fat Men, "whose raids have depleted much of the junk food of the universe," are obsessed with fast food such as french fries and hamburgers; they even call their mighty warships "spaceburgers." There is little direct social criticism involved in the presentation of junk food; Pinkwater merely identifies the modern obsession with fast foods, takes it to an extreme, and has hyperbolic fun with the theme in the process. The presentation of artificial products, on the other hand, is a little more pointed. The space pirates and their wives, exaggerated though they may be, look almost familiar, as if they were someone readers may have seen at the grocery store or in a fast food joint. Imitation leather, imitation fabrics, and imitation food...