Space Vulture

Surprises and twists keep the pages turning to the very last.

Any adventure story needs a quality villain, a negative force that all good intentions bounce off, darkness to give light to the hero, someone to invoke both intrigue and hatred. That Gary K. Wolf and Archbishop John J. Myers chose to title their new novel Space Vulture after the story’s magnetic evil-doer is relevant. Because Space Vulture is not simply the dark side of the hero’s shiny coin. In this contemporary yet pulpy science fiction romp, Space Vulture is a villain larger than life, overshadowing the hero with his dominative, impeccable badness.

In a fast paced opening, the authors manage to introduce all the main characters before Space Vulture makes his grandly evil entrance when their interests collide on the Verlinap colony. Captain Corsaire is our hero and a thorn in Space Vulture’s unstable ego. Gil is a rogue and small time crook, arrested by Corsaire as he’s trying to thieve enough mushrooms to buy back his arm and eye (temporarily replaced with awkward insect parts) from a bookie. Cali is the female lead, a hard working woman raising her two sons Regin and Eliot in the relative safety of Verlinap, until Space Vulture arrives and takes the entire colony hostage to sell as slaves.

I admired the development of Cali in particular, because although she is put in the token science fiction damsel quagmires, she is portrayed as highly intelligent and tremendously strong without losing her feminine qualities. Many writers will separate these qualities into two archetypes, the delicate damsel or the hard, sword swinging warrior woman, but few have the insight to put them together and form a genuine, well rounded female character.

When Space Vulture swoops down in his enormous space craft TheTalon, complete with cyborg army, we meet the ambassador of all things large and over the top. Space Vulture’s character is incredibly fun to read, a caricature of himself with his impossible ego, fueled by insecurities about his weakling past, driven to forever compensate by consuming all he encounters, never satisfied as he seeks to control the entire universe. While the authors give us clear view of Space Vulture’s fearsome notoriety through the eyes of others, we also get to spend ample time inside the villain’s point of view, with incredibly funny internal dialogue and insights into this complex character’s obsessions and hang ups.

After this initial invasion, our rogue Gil hits a bit of luck when Space Vulture chooses to leave him behind to spread the word of his conquest and further his evil reputation. But he’s not exactly home free, as Cali’s two sons, Eliot and Regin escaped capture as well, and the unlikely trio teams up, finding a way off planet in a quest to save Cali…or so the boys think. Gil, naturally, has his own agenda, but is happy to use the older boy’s smarts and aviation experience to his advantage.

The subplot of Gil traveling with the two boys shows us more creative character development, particularly in the relationship of Gil and the younger, babyish son Regin. There’s a tickling scene where Gil determines to teach the little boy how to be a pick pocket in a simulation game. The description of the child’s manic giggles as his delight with the game escalates feels entirely real, perfectly capturing the behavior of a kid this age, furthering our connection to even the smallest characters in the story.

The adventure leads us around the universe as heroes and villains alike endure captures and liberations, conflicts and collaborations, narrowly escaping and sometimes even defying death. As the secret behind Space Vulture’s power and ironic vulnerability is exposed, the desperation heightens. This novel simply never lets you relax, full of surprises and twists that keep the pages turning to the very last.

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