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Hard Luck Hank #1
Screw The Galaxy
Hank is a thug. He knows he's a thug. He has no problem with that realization. In his view the galaxy has given him a gift: a mutation that allows him to withstand great deals of physical trauma. He puts his abilities to the best use possible and that isn't by being a scientist.
Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn’t need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person’s locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there.
Unless you are a criminal.
Because of its location, Belvaille is populated with nothing but crooks. Every day is a series of power struggles between the crime bosses.
Hank is an intrinsic part of this community as a premier gang negotiator. Not because he is eloquent or brilliant or an expert combatant, but because if you shoot him in the face he keeps on talking.
Hank believes he has it pretty good until a beautiful and mysterious blue woman enters his life with a compelling job offer.
Hank and Belvaille, so long out of public scrutiny, suddenly find themselves at the epicenter of the galaxy with a lot of very unwelcome attention.
Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn’t need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person’s locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there.
Unless you are a criminal.
Because of its location, Belvaille is populated with nothing but crooks. Every day is a series of power struggles between the crime bosses.
Hank is an intrinsic part of this community as a premier gang negotiator. Not because he is eloquent or brilliant or an expert combatant, but because if you shoot him in the face he keeps on talking.
Hank believes he has it pretty good until a beautiful and mysterious blue woman enters his life with a compelling job offer.
Hank and Belvaille, so long out of public scrutiny, suddenly find themselves at the epicenter of the galaxy with a lot of very unwelcome attention.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 16, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 311 reviews
December 9, 2014
Hank is a good natured mutant enforcer on the most corrupt and irrelevant space station on the distant fringes of a space Empire. He settles scores between rival crime syndicates, knocking a few heads but generally resolving things without bloodshed.
Hank's mutation is that he is virtually indestructible. This means he can absorb high-velocity projectile damage, regrow lost limbs and in general take one hell of a beating. The boss' know this so when Hank shows up they talk rather than shoot. Life is good for Hank. And then all hell breaks loose.
A couple of mutants show up. They want Hank's help to score some drugs. An odd job, but with what they are paying, Hank is game. Of course, nothing is exactly what it seems. The two mutants turn out to be class 10 mutants who are being followed by the Navy. The two refugees had been raised in a secret government lab to more or less be living weapons. The government wants them back. To make matters worse, a couple of ferocious nigh on indestructible robots arrive and start killing (think the Terminator). It seems they want the mutants too. Oh, and then a planet sized alien space ship shows up (think the Death Star, only bigger). Hank has to resolve all of this.
I wanted to like this book much more than I did. It was a solid "OK." The characters themselves were only somewhat interesting and the threads of the story while each was individually interesting didn't quite thread together the way I had expected them too. Everything was resolved but it somehow didn't make sense to me as I read. It didn't feel right. I wanted the logic of these threads to flow naturally into one another. They didn't, or at least I didn't think they did. The book was also not as humorous as I had anticipated. I think it was intended to be funnier and at times I was amused, but it fell flat for the most part.
A generous three stars.
Hank's mutation is that he is virtually indestructible. This means he can absorb high-velocity projectile damage, regrow lost limbs and in general take one hell of a beating. The boss' know this so when Hank shows up they talk rather than shoot. Life is good for Hank. And then all hell breaks loose.
A couple of mutants show up. They want Hank's help to score some drugs. An odd job, but with what they are paying, Hank is game. Of course, nothing is exactly what it seems. The two mutants turn out to be class 10 mutants who are being followed by the Navy. The two refugees had been raised in a secret government lab to more or less be living weapons. The government wants them back. To make matters worse, a couple of ferocious nigh on indestructible robots arrive and start killing (think the Terminator). It seems they want the mutants too. Oh, and then a planet sized alien space ship shows up (think the Death Star, only bigger). Hank has to resolve all of this.
I wanted to like this book much more than I did. It was a solid "OK." The characters themselves were only somewhat interesting and the threads of the story while each was individually interesting didn't quite thread together the way I had expected them too. Everything was resolved but it somehow didn't make sense to me as I read. It didn't feel right. I wanted the logic of these threads to flow naturally into one another. They didn't, or at least I didn't think they did. The book was also not as humorous as I had anticipated. I think it was intended to be funnier and at times I was amused, but it fell flat for the most part.
A generous three stars.
July 29, 2017
For years I have wondered what became of all the fun that was supposed to reside between the covers of Bill, the Galactic Hero, but was somehow completely missing when I searched its pages.
Well, it seems to be in the possession of an extra-terrestrial, indestructible, mutant-criminal named Hank. It sounds suspicious to me, but knowing Hank, he's probably just fencing it for someone.
Bottom Line: Who knew space crime could be so much fun?
Well, it seems to be in the possession of an extra-terrestrial, indestructible, mutant-criminal named Hank. It sounds suspicious to me, but knowing Hank, he's probably just fencing it for someone.
Bottom Line: Who knew space crime could be so much fun?
June 14, 2017
HARD LUCK HANK is notably the first book I ever saw advertised alongside one of my books and every single volume of the series has been advertised alongside my Supervillainy Saga books, almost in tandem. This factor, along with the hilarious covers, made me finally shell out the money to buy a copy of the first book. I'm currently on the fifth book, interrupting my work in writing my Lucifer's Star sequel and reading other series to read the books one after the other.
Hank, last name unknown, is a mutant on the space station of Belvaille. He is mostly indestructible, at least to small arms fire, and slow as hell. He's basically the Juggernaut if the Juggernaut were a third as powerful and an even bigger slob. Actually, that describes Spiderman villain The Rhino but a lot more people know the Juggernaut than the Rhino. You could also make a comparison to the Hulk's Joe Fix-It personality but that's even less known. Bellvaile is one of the worst cities in the galaxy and composed almost entirely of criminals.
Despite possessing superpowers, Hank is a low-level thug who lives just well enough to keep himself in doughnuts, hamburgers, and whatever else he eats in the future. He has a close friendship with the station's incredibly corrupt security chief, Garm, and more or less has no ambitions but to keep doing what he's doing for the next few centuries.
Hank's life changes a great deal when a pair of other mutants start living next door, one of whom is a level 10 mutant who may be able to change the galaxy. Also, the discovery he's been mislabeled a level 10 mutant himself and this has attracted the attention of two indestructible robots that are going to potentially murder everyone in the station to get rid of this threat to their race. Hank more or less gets roped into doing the right thing and everything goes downhill from there.
I recommend the audiobook version of this book since Liam Owen does an amazing job of imitating Patrick Warburton as a burned out space goon. The text version isn't bad by itself but the audio acting adds something special to the story. This is a comedic story which can still be taken seriously and enjoyed on the merits of being anti-hero fiction at its funniest. Hank is a killer, leg-breaker, and general all round beast but he's too lazy to be malevolent.
The supporting cast is a treat with Garm being my favorite character but a certain purple skinned femme ingenue being every bit as enjoyable. This cast will carry Hank's adventures through a number of books so I'm going to say it's a good thing they're all as fun as they are. I also like Belvaille here most. The station will go through some dramatic changes but it's never more enjoyable than when it's like a floating Mos Eisley.
Hank is a likable character despite how much shade I throw on him and a great comedy protagonist. He's dangerous enough that he can deal with most problems without getting hurt (again, primarily because he's mostly indestructible). Unfortunately, for him, most of the problems in the book are much more dangerous than him. As a career criminal, we see him try to do whatever he's paid to do but he keeps a certain honesty despite it. Perhaps the biggest insight into his character is when one of his customers tries to drastically overpay him, only for him to correct her with the right total. No one else on Belvaille would have done that, nor, do I suspect would much of the galaxy put up with the lumps he takes for his kinda-sorta friends.
In conclusion, I strongly recommend you pick up this book if you're in the mood for a sci-fi comedy. The characters are great, the story is decent, and the setting is interesting. Best of all, Hank is hilarious as he lumbers from bad situation to bad situation, making things worse for the most part, as he tries to do the bare minimum required. Sometimes, it ends up fixing things and it's as surprising to Hank as it is to the reader.
9/10
Hank, last name unknown, is a mutant on the space station of Belvaille. He is mostly indestructible, at least to small arms fire, and slow as hell. He's basically the Juggernaut if the Juggernaut were a third as powerful and an even bigger slob. Actually, that describes Spiderman villain The Rhino but a lot more people know the Juggernaut than the Rhino. You could also make a comparison to the Hulk's Joe Fix-It personality but that's even less known. Bellvaile is one of the worst cities in the galaxy and composed almost entirely of criminals.
Despite possessing superpowers, Hank is a low-level thug who lives just well enough to keep himself in doughnuts, hamburgers, and whatever else he eats in the future. He has a close friendship with the station's incredibly corrupt security chief, Garm, and more or less has no ambitions but to keep doing what he's doing for the next few centuries.
Hank's life changes a great deal when a pair of other mutants start living next door, one of whom is a level 10 mutant who may be able to change the galaxy. Also, the discovery he's been mislabeled a level 10 mutant himself and this has attracted the attention of two indestructible robots that are going to potentially murder everyone in the station to get rid of this threat to their race. Hank more or less gets roped into doing the right thing and everything goes downhill from there.
I recommend the audiobook version of this book since Liam Owen does an amazing job of imitating Patrick Warburton as a burned out space goon. The text version isn't bad by itself but the audio acting adds something special to the story. This is a comedic story which can still be taken seriously and enjoyed on the merits of being anti-hero fiction at its funniest. Hank is a killer, leg-breaker, and general all round beast but he's too lazy to be malevolent.
The supporting cast is a treat with Garm being my favorite character but a certain purple skinned femme ingenue being every bit as enjoyable. This cast will carry Hank's adventures through a number of books so I'm going to say it's a good thing they're all as fun as they are. I also like Belvaille here most. The station will go through some dramatic changes but it's never more enjoyable than when it's like a floating Mos Eisley.
Hank is a likable character despite how much shade I throw on him and a great comedy protagonist. He's dangerous enough that he can deal with most problems without getting hurt (again, primarily because he's mostly indestructible). Unfortunately, for him, most of the problems in the book are much more dangerous than him. As a career criminal, we see him try to do whatever he's paid to do but he keeps a certain honesty despite it. Perhaps the biggest insight into his character is when one of his customers tries to drastically overpay him, only for him to correct her with the right total. No one else on Belvaille would have done that, nor, do I suspect would much of the galaxy put up with the lumps he takes for his kinda-sorta friends.
In conclusion, I strongly recommend you pick up this book if you're in the mood for a sci-fi comedy. The characters are great, the story is decent, and the setting is interesting. Best of all, Hank is hilarious as he lumbers from bad situation to bad situation, making things worse for the most part, as he tries to do the bare minimum required. Sometimes, it ends up fixing things and it's as surprising to Hank as it is to the reader.
9/10
August 14, 2019
If you're not familiar with the Hard Luck Hank books, it would be easy to write them off based on their cover-art alone. It harkens back to 1970's and eighties science fiction and fantasy covers. With their overly muscled men, ray guns, and gratuitous female posteriors.
This is the point where anyone else would tell you, "But, look deeper". I, on the other hand, am going to ask you not to, because that stands a very good chance of ruining the book for you entirely. Hard Luck Hank isn't the kind of book where you want to look deeper, it's the kind of book you should consume like cheap dollar store chocolate - Oh, you'll finish it, without even realising it's finished most likely. Maybe, a year after you won't think to yourself "Man, I really want another sack of Bradbury's Solid Chocolate Semi-Whitened christmas trees", but while you're eating them you'll enjoy them. And if you see another bag, you'll damned well buy it.
This particular Solid Chocolate Christmas Tree is helmed by Hank, who in the first fifty pages is established as the prototypical hulking bruiser. A man so tough he has to be taught how to duck.
However, unlike your average hulking muscle, who's verbal acumen resembles nothing so much as a thrown turd in flight, Hank's specialty and occupation seems to revolve around talking very dangerous criminals out of killing one another.
The author has a knack for portraying a man who's good at what he does not out of any natural talent, but because he's been at it so long. He's developed aptitude out of habit.
Belvaille, the space station where Hank hangs his hat, seems almost alive... which is odd, because in book it's described as square, boxy, and samey. And I quote:
"I was in the warehouse district by the space port. There were squat, metal, box-like buildings packed tightly all around me. Like a very unimaginative architect had gone mild when designing our city."
What really brings the setting to life are the characters in it, all of which have a distinctive voice and believable motivation. Most everyone's crooked, and everyone does the things they do for a reason: There's none of this irrational action to advance the plot crap. Not once in the book did I have to ask myself the question I most dread when reading.. "Why would he do that?".
But, to be honest with you, you're not going to enjoy this for the plot, which, while not uninspired, gets a bit tropey and drags some in the middle.. What really shines here is the humour throughout. While it's not a rare thing for a book to give me a chuckle, very few make me actually laugh.
For example, during the completion of a drug deal:
"'That's it?" she asked, pointing at the bag.
It was one of those times again when we were on different wavelengths. I immediately thought she was asking essentially, "Is that small amount all that constitutes my drug purchase?" As if I should have come out dragging a transport ship. Or maybe a destroyer.
"Yes. Yes, this is it," I answered sarcastically."
No bullshit judgement: It's a far cry from Herbert of Heinlein, but sometimes I just don't have the patience for either of those. And although it's not quite as side-splittingly hilarious as Douglas Adams, it improved my day. Eat it up, go back for seconds.
This is the point where anyone else would tell you, "But, look deeper". I, on the other hand, am going to ask you not to, because that stands a very good chance of ruining the book for you entirely. Hard Luck Hank isn't the kind of book where you want to look deeper, it's the kind of book you should consume like cheap dollar store chocolate - Oh, you'll finish it, without even realising it's finished most likely. Maybe, a year after you won't think to yourself "Man, I really want another sack of Bradbury's Solid Chocolate Semi-Whitened christmas trees", but while you're eating them you'll enjoy them. And if you see another bag, you'll damned well buy it.
This particular Solid Chocolate Christmas Tree is helmed by Hank, who in the first fifty pages is established as the prototypical hulking bruiser. A man so tough he has to be taught how to duck.
However, unlike your average hulking muscle, who's verbal acumen resembles nothing so much as a thrown turd in flight, Hank's specialty and occupation seems to revolve around talking very dangerous criminals out of killing one another.
The author has a knack for portraying a man who's good at what he does not out of any natural talent, but because he's been at it so long. He's developed aptitude out of habit.
Belvaille, the space station where Hank hangs his hat, seems almost alive... which is odd, because in book it's described as square, boxy, and samey. And I quote:
"I was in the warehouse district by the space port. There were squat, metal, box-like buildings packed tightly all around me. Like a very unimaginative architect had gone mild when designing our city."
What really brings the setting to life are the characters in it, all of which have a distinctive voice and believable motivation. Most everyone's crooked, and everyone does the things they do for a reason: There's none of this irrational action to advance the plot crap. Not once in the book did I have to ask myself the question I most dread when reading.. "Why would he do that?".
But, to be honest with you, you're not going to enjoy this for the plot, which, while not uninspired, gets a bit tropey and drags some in the middle.. What really shines here is the humour throughout. While it's not a rare thing for a book to give me a chuckle, very few make me actually laugh.
For example, during the completion of a drug deal:
"'That's it?" she asked, pointing at the bag.
It was one of those times again when we were on different wavelengths. I immediately thought she was asking essentially, "Is that small amount all that constitutes my drug purchase?" As if I should have come out dragging a transport ship. Or maybe a destroyer.
"Yes. Yes, this is it," I answered sarcastically."
No bullshit judgement: It's a far cry from Herbert of Heinlein, but sometimes I just don't have the patience for either of those. And although it's not quite as side-splittingly hilarious as Douglas Adams, it improved my day. Eat it up, go back for seconds.
January 10, 2016
This is a fun book I stumbled upon randomly. I listened to it and although the audio was good I am not sure I would recommend it over the physical copy. Which mainly means that I don't think it added to the reading experience. It may even be more confusing, as I am not really sure I know what this book wanted to tell me.
I enjoyed the story, and the characters but I frequently felt lost. I couldn't quite grasp the time that had passed, or how we got from one event to the next, or what the heck was going on in general.
I don't know. A fun read but not sure if I'll pick up the next in the series as I guess one could stop here. There are no cliffhangers at the end.
I enjoyed the story, and the characters but I frequently felt lost. I couldn't quite grasp the time that had passed, or how we got from one event to the next, or what the heck was going on in general.
I don't know. A fun read but not sure if I'll pick up the next in the series as I guess one could stop here. There are no cliffhangers at the end.
September 28, 2018
Entertaining
The beginning of this book was pretty entertaining but then it changes from a good romp in a small space station to something way more galactic... It was better as a small planetary book with a few species.
The beginning of this book was pretty entertaining but then it changes from a good romp in a small space station to something way more galactic... It was better as a small planetary book with a few species.
November 5, 2023
Hilarious and a joy to read.
What a fun-filled, easy read Hard Luck Hank is. This series could easily be my new palate cleanser.
What a fun-filled, easy read Hard Luck Hank is. This series could easily be my new palate cleanser.
November 15, 2016
Well my update pretty much says it all. A fun romp, more personal and local conflict than politics. The station very corrupt and as Hank is described as a "nice bully". 3/4 update below
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Well I'm about 2/3 to 3/4 through and this is quite a hoot. Scifi fluff. What I really like is that it isn't military political drowning you in the next conflict. No instead this is Hank dealing with the thugs and crime lords of the space station he live on. The head of the station lets the thugs and the crime lords deal with each other but has Hank to step in when he is needed. The military comes in but we just get it as another conflict and soon discover why they are really there.
Hank is great. He is almost indestructible but his weight and size holds him back from being some uber soldier. He is definitely not uber anything but indestructible. He runs slowly, is too slow in hand to hand, but he is big and has got strength and size along with being able to take a punch. So not the uber fighter. He knows how to deal with the criminals of the station to keep them at peace but knows it is inevitable that conflicts will happen. When they do, he tries to keep his head down but it never seems to work. I like him because he is far from perfect.
There are other characters but I don't feel like I know them really well. This is a definite show don't tell way of introducing them. You get a little of who there are but their personalities only come out somewhat while he deals with him. None are well know... but are developing. This is character driven but mainly by Hank's personality.
I'm enjoying greatly
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Well I'm about 2/3 to 3/4 through and this is quite a hoot. Scifi fluff. What I really like is that it isn't military political drowning you in the next conflict. No instead this is Hank dealing with the thugs and crime lords of the space station he live on. The head of the station lets the thugs and the crime lords deal with each other but has Hank to step in when he is needed. The military comes in but we just get it as another conflict and soon discover why they are really there.
Hank is great. He is almost indestructible but his weight and size holds him back from being some uber soldier. He is definitely not uber anything but indestructible. He runs slowly, is too slow in hand to hand, but he is big and has got strength and size along with being able to take a punch. So not the uber fighter. He knows how to deal with the criminals of the station to keep them at peace but knows it is inevitable that conflicts will happen. When they do, he tries to keep his head down but it never seems to work. I like him because he is far from perfect.
There are other characters but I don't feel like I know them really well. This is a definite show don't tell way of introducing them. You get a little of who there are but their personalities only come out somewhat while he deals with him. None are well know... but are developing. This is character driven but mainly by Hank's personality.
I'm enjoying greatly
October 30, 2013
Funny take on the future. Gritty, dirty and full of really bad people, this is a sort of action book. Substitute Robert Parker's Spencer for Hank and you get the picture. Hank is hired muscle, the one they go to get things done. He's a mutant that has a unique ability to regenerate even after the worst wounds. Couple that with a super, scary weapon inherited from his ancestor and he makes for a larger than life character that's a fun read. At times, just a tad comic bookish for me- it still made for an entertaining read.
February 22, 2014
Fast paced blundering hilarity
Fast paced blundering hilarity
hank's small space town tough guy attitude belies a razor sharp wit for extricating himself and his clientele out of cosmetically epic twists. highly recommend this well written space opera
romance, action, technology, multiple larger than life space menaces, mutants going nuts, this book had it all
Fast paced blundering hilarity
hank's small space town tough guy attitude belies a razor sharp wit for extricating himself and his clientele out of cosmetically epic twists. highly recommend this well written space opera
romance, action, technology, multiple larger than life space menaces, mutants going nuts, this book had it all
February 16, 2017
fun story, great characters. i laughed hard, out loud, several times. a real rarity.
April 26, 2017
Judging by the cover, I was hoping for a Harry Harrison, Bill the Galactic Hero, vibe. That’s not what I got. This was “okay.” It was a collection of threads that don’t quite connect, or flow/escalate towards the book’s conclusion. Some of the humor works well, but a lot of it unfortunately fell flat for me. This is a solidly written book, but in the end, it didn’t entertain me enough to make we want to explore this series further.
November 22, 2016
Hank is a thug and a Level 4 mutant. He’s chosen to live on the out-of-the-way space station Belvaille because his skills are appreciated there. Those skills include being able to take a bullet to the face and keep right on talking. This skill set makes him perfect for playing negotiator between rival gangs. Then the mysterious Jian and her brother show up and have an unusual proposal for Hank. Coupled with the dredaled robots and the Colmarian navy, Hank is in for a tough time of it.
This was a very fun scifi comedy! Hank is this big, nearly indestructible thug that some mistake for simple or dumb. Hank’s motivations might be simple, but he does use his brain when his mere presence isn’t enough to change people’s intentions.
There’s a fun cast surrounding Hank. Gorm is a crooked cop, but a good person. She’s Hank’s voice of reason when he’s not thinking. Then there’s the mutant Jian (who is beautiful and may or may not be interested in Hank) and her brother (whose special abilities are fueled by drugs). Eldablo is a procurer of odd bits and he has one big secret that may or may not be possible to keep under wraps. Hank is definitely the star of the show but these other characters give Hank a great backdrop to do his thing.
The dredaled are independent robots that have their own society, etc. Also, they are deadly to most humans and extremely hard to destroy. Hank’s efforts to deal with these bots were heroic and monumental! Yet he alone is not enough! I came to have a great appreciation for the dredaled as they trashed the space station.
Meanwhile, the Colmarian navy is on it’s way to the Belvaille space station for an inspection. The residents have a few weeks to get the place cleaned up before they arrive. Obviously, the various crime lords aren’t happy about this as it means destroying some illegal things and putting nearly all criminal activities on suspension. There’s plenty of pressures on Hank to help keep the peace.
There’s humor everywhere in this book but I most appreciated Hank’s straight forward viewpoint on so many issues. He pretty much takes the simple approach to problems. Again and again, he has to point out the consequences of not complying to the station-wide clean up and I just had to grin as I imagined various crime lords working through their options and not coming up with much.
Crime lords, dredaled robots, the navy, and…. yes, there is yet one more adversary to toss into the mix. Hank has a lot of hurdles and stuff to fix in this book, all for a space station that may or may not be worthy of calling home. An excellent start to the series!
Narration: Liam Owen was great in his narration of this book. I loved his voice for Hank! He had distinct voices for all the characters and a variety of accents. He pulled off the humor quite well. I also liked his little touches here and there, like taking the time to mimic a bullhorn when the scene called for it.
This was a very fun scifi comedy! Hank is this big, nearly indestructible thug that some mistake for simple or dumb. Hank’s motivations might be simple, but he does use his brain when his mere presence isn’t enough to change people’s intentions.
There’s a fun cast surrounding Hank. Gorm is a crooked cop, but a good person. She’s Hank’s voice of reason when he’s not thinking. Then there’s the mutant Jian (who is beautiful and may or may not be interested in Hank) and her brother (whose special abilities are fueled by drugs). Eldablo is a procurer of odd bits and he has one big secret that may or may not be possible to keep under wraps. Hank is definitely the star of the show but these other characters give Hank a great backdrop to do his thing.
The dredaled are independent robots that have their own society, etc. Also, they are deadly to most humans and extremely hard to destroy. Hank’s efforts to deal with these bots were heroic and monumental! Yet he alone is not enough! I came to have a great appreciation for the dredaled as they trashed the space station.
Meanwhile, the Colmarian navy is on it’s way to the Belvaille space station for an inspection. The residents have a few weeks to get the place cleaned up before they arrive. Obviously, the various crime lords aren’t happy about this as it means destroying some illegal things and putting nearly all criminal activities on suspension. There’s plenty of pressures on Hank to help keep the peace.
There’s humor everywhere in this book but I most appreciated Hank’s straight forward viewpoint on so many issues. He pretty much takes the simple approach to problems. Again and again, he has to point out the consequences of not complying to the station-wide clean up and I just had to grin as I imagined various crime lords working through their options and not coming up with much.
Crime lords, dredaled robots, the navy, and…. yes, there is yet one more adversary to toss into the mix. Hank has a lot of hurdles and stuff to fix in this book, all for a space station that may or may not be worthy of calling home. An excellent start to the series!
Narration: Liam Owen was great in his narration of this book. I loved his voice for Hank! He had distinct voices for all the characters and a variety of accents. He pulled off the humor quite well. I also liked his little touches here and there, like taking the time to mimic a bullhorn when the scene called for it.
October 8, 2016
Screw The Galaxy (Hard Luck Hank #1)
by Steven Campbell
I didn't know what to expect when i started Hard Luck Hank. I had been told by a friend that it was a fun light hearted violent read. That didn't sound possible so I had to check it out.
In the first scene Hank is falling 5 stories and lands on his head. Then he gets up and complains a bit and hurries on to settle a dispute between a bunch of armed thugs about to kill each other. One thug drops a huge crate on hank from a crane. As Hank climbs out from the hole in the crate he is mildly annoyed to notice his pants had been torn off. So in his underwear he calms everyone down using just his words.
That pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the book. Hank is a Mutant that is basically bulletproof. The few things that do hurt him are not much of a problem because he also heals fast. The story takes place on a space station in the most remote edge of the galaxy. It is filled with 100,000 people almost all work for one crime boss or another. Yes because of its distance to civilized parts of the galactic Empire it is natural that anyone hiding from the law would end up there. For that reason the cast of characters Hank has to deal with is hilarious.
When a threat to the whole station arises they will all need to work together. But how do you get a whole population of 75,000 thugs to work with each other? Things get even more complicated when Hank finds out the most powerful mutant ever that can just think anything into or out of existence (but only when he is high) is hiding on the station wanting to get sober things get really complicated.
I loved this book and all 8,000 people living on the Station. I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun light hearted violent read.
I give it 4 out 5 Stars
by Steven Campbell
I didn't know what to expect when i started Hard Luck Hank. I had been told by a friend that it was a fun light hearted violent read. That didn't sound possible so I had to check it out.
In the first scene Hank is falling 5 stories and lands on his head. Then he gets up and complains a bit and hurries on to settle a dispute between a bunch of armed thugs about to kill each other. One thug drops a huge crate on hank from a crane. As Hank climbs out from the hole in the crate he is mildly annoyed to notice his pants had been torn off. So in his underwear he calms everyone down using just his words.
That pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the book. Hank is a Mutant that is basically bulletproof. The few things that do hurt him are not much of a problem because he also heals fast. The story takes place on a space station in the most remote edge of the galaxy. It is filled with 100,000 people almost all work for one crime boss or another. Yes because of its distance to civilized parts of the galactic Empire it is natural that anyone hiding from the law would end up there. For that reason the cast of characters Hank has to deal with is hilarious.
When a threat to the whole station arises they will all need to work together. But how do you get a whole population of 75,000 thugs to work with each other? Things get even more complicated when Hank finds out the most powerful mutant ever that can just think anything into or out of existence (but only when he is high) is hiding on the station wanting to get sober things get really complicated.
I loved this book and all 8,000 people living on the Station. I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun light hearted violent read.
I give it 4 out 5 Stars
October 24, 2014
Well, the book blurb pretty much describes Hank and the scenery for this book. The part about Belvaille not being a thinking person’s locale is certainly spot on. I would say that I felt that the first third of the book was quite entertaining. Crazy but entertaining.
Unfortunately after that the book only got tiresome. Hank’s worldview seems to be to float through life with a minimum of resistance and a maximum of stupidity. Unfortunately a lot of the people he associates with appears to share his reluctance to use the gray cells, if they have any that is. I could live with the whacky story if, at least, the hero had some character and a some focus but Hank is just a big organic entity that responds to external stimuli (usually delivered by means of a rapid chemical reaction) and occasionally cracks a joke.
It did not help that, towards the end, the story became increasingly ludicrous. There has been published two more books and two short stories in the series so obviously there are people that likes this book but unfortunately it was not really my cup of tea.
Unfortunately after that the book only got tiresome. Hank’s worldview seems to be to float through life with a minimum of resistance and a maximum of stupidity. Unfortunately a lot of the people he associates with appears to share his reluctance to use the gray cells, if they have any that is. I could live with the whacky story if, at least, the hero had some character and a some focus but Hank is just a big organic entity that responds to external stimuli (usually delivered by means of a rapid chemical reaction) and occasionally cracks a joke.
It did not help that, towards the end, the story became increasingly ludicrous. There has been published two more books and two short stories in the series so obviously there are people that likes this book but unfortunately it was not really my cup of tea.
October 25, 2018
Actual rating:3.5/5
Screw the Galaxy doesn't take itself too seriously. Hank is a bulletproof mutant and a professional gang negotiator. Everyone knows they can’t harm him anyway, so they usually listen to him. Hank narrates the events of the story in a hilarious, genuinely funny voice.
Despite his career choices and long life (hundreds of years), Hank still has a heart. He tries to find a non-violent approach to solving problems whenever he can. When he can't, mayhem ensues.
The story is often comical, but don't make a mistake of considering it shallow. Satire mixes with good, surprising intrigue, and the plot has few layers.
Belvaille Station is a city of criminals, well sketched, nicely stylized and climatic.
I’ve enjoyed reading Screw the Galaxy because it was easy and entertaining without being offensive or moronic. Sure, some moments are over the top, but StG remains funny, where many books try too hard and become pathetic.
Screw the Galaxy doesn't take itself too seriously. Hank is a bulletproof mutant and a professional gang negotiator. Everyone knows they can’t harm him anyway, so they usually listen to him. Hank narrates the events of the story in a hilarious, genuinely funny voice.
Despite his career choices and long life (hundreds of years), Hank still has a heart. He tries to find a non-violent approach to solving problems whenever he can. When he can't, mayhem ensues.
The story is often comical, but don't make a mistake of considering it shallow. Satire mixes with good, surprising intrigue, and the plot has few layers.
Belvaille Station is a city of criminals, well sketched, nicely stylized and climatic.
I’ve enjoyed reading Screw the Galaxy because it was easy and entertaining without being offensive or moronic. Sure, some moments are over the top, but StG remains funny, where many books try too hard and become pathetic.
March 27, 2019
Sloppily written, flip, parody of a space opera/noir gangster crossover. I suppose the author was aping Douglas Adam’s HHGTTG here, but the effort makes a monkey out of him.
My copy was a blissfully slender 250-pages.
The writing was uneven. Frankly, at points it was cringe-worthy. Language was crude, but not profane. I suppose the author was trying to write in a hip, colloquial-style? However, seeing the word literally appear four (4) or more times within two (2) pages without the protagonist intending to be ironic was simply jargonly tiresome. The pacing was peculiar. The protagonist spent months in the hospital in periodic fades to black, whilst the whole story could have properly taken place in a single week. The story was intended to be humorous—it was, but only sporadically. It was neither consistently arch nor puerile—it was both. This is where the story differed from the late Douglas Adam’s work. For example, I don’t recall Adam’s writing anything like, “a bowel movement was the most strenuous effort in his daily routine”.
The story contains sex, drugs and violence. The sex was not graphic. All sex was with mammalian species close enough species-wise to humankind to be heteronormative. In fact it amounted to no more than a couple of snog-fests. Drug usage was a plot element, but its abuse was abstracted to provide comic relief. Futuristically named pharmaceuticals with uncertain side-effects didn’t strike me as particularly funny. Old fashioned alcohol use and abuse among the characters was toward the high-levels of noir stories set on Old Earth. Violence was moderately graphic, but not disturbing. It included: edged weapons, physical and firearms usage. Firearms included: ray blasters, futuristic pistols, rifles, and machine gun projectile weapons. There was remarkably little blood in the descriptions of the mayhem. Body count was moderate.
The main character (Hank) was a caricature of the romantic outlaw antihero. His was the single POV. He’s a happy thug. He's a slob. He's middling-bright. That he was also invulnerable made the pounding he regularly took seem a bit pointless. Other characters included the accoutrements of a space opera/gangster crossover: femme fatales, psychotic mob bosses, alien diplomats, robotic spies, politicians, space navy officers, rich men, movie stars, activists, bent cops, good cops, hookers, pimps, hangers-on, drug dealers and con artists. Supporting characters were very thin. All the women were thin too, but most were only underdeveloped character-wise. The different cardboard characters were shown in many different lights; but the overall theme was that they lived by a set of rules alien in both thought and species to the law-abiding public. Unfortunately, except for Hank, there was never enough development for you to know what makes them tick, except in the most superficial way. The aliens, of which there were many, were never around long enough for me to understand their world and to see it in all its extraterrestrial reality.
There was no world building. There was also only the thinnest of sy-fy [sic] veneers over the noir story. Imagine the Mean Streets of Raymond Chandler’s Bay City floating in space. That's the space station Belvaille where the action took place. (Don't sweat the details of a 'flat' space station.) Garnish it with some Star Trek and Star Wars tropes and world building was done. The aliens were humans in rubber masks. Gigantism and a weird speech pattern was signature of being alien. Hand-waving was the solution to anything more technical than a screw top bottle. For example, Hank’s universe had its own flavor of Unobtainium.
Plotting was straightforward, but draped in extraneous sub-plots. A beautiful, blue-skinned woman with baggage walks into Hank’s apartment (he doesn't have an office) and offers him a job. This is an old noir chestnut. I think the author only had about 100-pages of story, but needed to write a novella to get paid. To remedy that, vignettes tangentially related to the main story were ‘tacked-on’. They started, introduced characters, ended and were never heard from again. Other than creating opportunity for more one-liners, these diversions were plot-wise pointless.
The publisher must have thought this was a very hip, tongue-in-cheek read. I did not. The book was about as deep as a carpark puddle. It takes the corpse of a noir thriller dresses it up as science fiction and walks it around. In the process it tries to show the reader a comically, violent existence from the safety of their acceleration couch.
As I mentioned above, I think the author tries to borrow its look ‘n feel from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, although with a more lowbrow sense of humor. (That's literally fine by me.) However, I eventually grew weary of the reliance on one-liners; the sloppy, trope-ridden prose, and the meandering of the story line. I was glad the book was so short. I only stuck it out to the end, because I was fascinated with it being literally a literary train wreck. I will not be reading the next book in the series Basketful of Crap . There are literally too many good books out there to be reading, and too little time to do it.
Note, in the previous paragraph I was literally channeling the author. ;)
My copy was a blissfully slender 250-pages.
The writing was uneven. Frankly, at points it was cringe-worthy. Language was crude, but not profane. I suppose the author was trying to write in a hip, colloquial-style? However, seeing the word literally appear four (4) or more times within two (2) pages without the protagonist intending to be ironic was simply jargonly tiresome. The pacing was peculiar. The protagonist spent months in the hospital in periodic fades to black, whilst the whole story could have properly taken place in a single week. The story was intended to be humorous—it was, but only sporadically. It was neither consistently arch nor puerile—it was both. This is where the story differed from the late Douglas Adam’s work. For example, I don’t recall Adam’s writing anything like, “a bowel movement was the most strenuous effort in his daily routine”.
The story contains sex, drugs and violence. The sex was not graphic. All sex was with mammalian species close enough species-wise to humankind to be heteronormative. In fact it amounted to no more than a couple of snog-fests. Drug usage was a plot element, but its abuse was abstracted to provide comic relief. Futuristically named pharmaceuticals with uncertain side-effects didn’t strike me as particularly funny. Old fashioned alcohol use and abuse among the characters was toward the high-levels of noir stories set on Old Earth. Violence was moderately graphic, but not disturbing. It included: edged weapons, physical and firearms usage. Firearms included: ray blasters, futuristic pistols, rifles, and machine gun projectile weapons. There was remarkably little blood in the descriptions of the mayhem. Body count was moderate.
The main character (Hank) was a caricature of the romantic outlaw antihero. His was the single POV. He’s a happy thug. He's a slob. He's middling-bright. That he was also invulnerable made the pounding he regularly took seem a bit pointless. Other characters included the accoutrements of a space opera/gangster crossover: femme fatales, psychotic mob bosses, alien diplomats, robotic spies, politicians, space navy officers, rich men, movie stars, activists, bent cops, good cops, hookers, pimps, hangers-on, drug dealers and con artists. Supporting characters were very thin. All the women were thin too, but most were only underdeveloped character-wise. The different cardboard characters were shown in many different lights; but the overall theme was that they lived by a set of rules alien in both thought and species to the law-abiding public. Unfortunately, except for Hank, there was never enough development for you to know what makes them tick, except in the most superficial way. The aliens, of which there were many, were never around long enough for me to understand their world and to see it in all its extraterrestrial reality.
There was no world building. There was also only the thinnest of sy-fy [sic] veneers over the noir story. Imagine the Mean Streets of Raymond Chandler’s Bay City floating in space. That's the space station Belvaille where the action took place. (Don't sweat the details of a 'flat' space station.) Garnish it with some Star Trek and Star Wars tropes and world building was done. The aliens were humans in rubber masks. Gigantism and a weird speech pattern was signature of being alien. Hand-waving was the solution to anything more technical than a screw top bottle. For example, Hank’s universe had its own flavor of Unobtainium.
Plotting was straightforward, but draped in extraneous sub-plots. A beautiful, blue-skinned woman with baggage walks into Hank’s apartment (he doesn't have an office) and offers him a job. This is an old noir chestnut. I think the author only had about 100-pages of story, but needed to write a novella to get paid. To remedy that, vignettes tangentially related to the main story were ‘tacked-on’. They started, introduced characters, ended and were never heard from again. Other than creating opportunity for more one-liners, these diversions were plot-wise pointless.
The publisher must have thought this was a very hip, tongue-in-cheek read. I did not. The book was about as deep as a carpark puddle. It takes the corpse of a noir thriller dresses it up as science fiction and walks it around. In the process it tries to show the reader a comically, violent existence from the safety of their acceleration couch.
As I mentioned above, I think the author tries to borrow its look ‘n feel from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, although with a more lowbrow sense of humor. (That's literally fine by me.) However, I eventually grew weary of the reliance on one-liners; the sloppy, trope-ridden prose, and the meandering of the story line. I was glad the book was so short. I only stuck it out to the end, because I was fascinated with it being literally a literary train wreck. I will not be reading the next book in the series Basketful of Crap . There are literally too many good books out there to be reading, and too little time to do it.
Note, in the previous paragraph I was literally channeling the author. ;)
April 1, 2015
I loved this story. Well-written, fairly clean (just a few typos), and an engaging, first-person point-of-view.
Hank never gets a chance to relax. Every time he turns around, he has a new problem to solve. For a while, I thought one problem had been forgotten, but it finally got taken care of.
The only problem I had was a small part of the ending. I'd love to ask the author, "what was so important/valuable about the blue light?"
Hank never gets a chance to relax. Every time he turns around, he has a new problem to solve. For a while, I thought one problem had been forgotten, but it finally got taken care of.
The only problem I had was a small part of the ending. I'd love to ask the author, "what was so important/valuable about the blue light?"
November 15, 2013
Pretty quick / fun read. The plots are straight forward with very few twists (if any, haha). Quite adequate brain candy
June 14, 2017
3.5 stars.
Good at times, but inconsistent. I'll try the next book in the series though as there is a great deal of potential.
Good at times, but inconsistent. I'll try the next book in the series though as there is a great deal of potential.
November 18, 2013
Hank is a Colmarian, a fourth degree mutant who lives on the space station Belvaille. And has for a hundred and thirty-six years. He's big and hard to hurt, skin so tough it repels small arms fire. He works as a negotiator among the station inhabitants. He carries two weapons: a four barreled shotgun, the bottoms loaded with buckshot, the tops with small steel pellets, four of each, and a Ontakian pistol, once owned by his several greats grandfather. Hank had never fired it, but it was reputed to be super powerful.
Belvaille is the most isolated of Colmarian space stations with all portals to it closed but one. Most of it's inhabitants are, shall we say, on the lower end of civilization. Criminals that engage in all sorts of contraband and illegal activities.
Hank's job is to keep things sort of civilized. He's fair when he needs to be, very nasty when he has to be, and generally keeps things on an even keel.
Then one day, he gets word that the Colmarian navy is coming. With a host of ships, a couple of them Dreadnaughts, a single one capable of destroying Belvaille.
It sets off a panic and dumping, or hiding as much as they can, contraband.
Hank's job gets harder and he wonders if the coming of the Colmarian Confederation has anything to do with his recent taking out of two Dredel Led, giant robots, that had landed on Belvaille and slaughtered anyone that got in their way before they disappeared into hiding.
But there was much worse coming and Hank will be called on to use all his negotiating skills to save the Colmarian Confederation and his beloved Belvaille.
Action packed, at times funny, I quite enjoyed this SF romp.
Belvaille is the most isolated of Colmarian space stations with all portals to it closed but one. Most of it's inhabitants are, shall we say, on the lower end of civilization. Criminals that engage in all sorts of contraband and illegal activities.
Hank's job is to keep things sort of civilized. He's fair when he needs to be, very nasty when he has to be, and generally keeps things on an even keel.
Then one day, he gets word that the Colmarian navy is coming. With a host of ships, a couple of them Dreadnaughts, a single one capable of destroying Belvaille.
It sets off a panic and dumping, or hiding as much as they can, contraband.
Hank's job gets harder and he wonders if the coming of the Colmarian Confederation has anything to do with his recent taking out of two Dredel Led, giant robots, that had landed on Belvaille and slaughtered anyone that got in their way before they disappeared into hiding.
But there was much worse coming and Hank will be called on to use all his negotiating skills to save the Colmarian Confederation and his beloved Belvaille.
Action packed, at times funny, I quite enjoyed this SF romp.
July 29, 2024
tl:dr; ugh, girls are dumb, hero ooga booga strong, crime cool
There were so many things that sucked about this book that is felt like very slowly reading a 600 page novel, while actually being only 250 excruciatingly slow and badly written pages.
But the worst thing was the gender dynamics. At 10%, still relatively happy with a dumb, light read, I thought "well, it was probably written in the 90's, no wonder all the characters are men" only to discover it was published in 2016.
There are only 2 women in this thing. A ditzy damsel in distress that was somehow competent enough to smuggle her brother away from a military testing facility while the army is looking them, but then became a fuzzy sex-bunny, looking at Hank all doe-eyed for absolutely no reason.
The other is the tough lady who runs the place. But don't worry, everyone agrees she's hot. She's also a hysterical women who cries because she's stressed.
And of course they are catty with one another because of Hank, who they both want although he's dumb, ugly and self-centered.
Oh yeah, all other references to women were prostitutes.
If this is the best the galaxy has to offer, I'd agree with the "screw the galaxy" tagline.
I mean, really, we are talking about a future thousands of years ahead with aliens and mutants, but Hank gets queasy about wearing something pink?
At 50% I thought that just tandomizing the genders after writing the book would have fixed it, but no, it was also just bad.
There were so many things that sucked about this book that is felt like very slowly reading a 600 page novel, while actually being only 250 excruciatingly slow and badly written pages.
But the worst thing was the gender dynamics. At 10%, still relatively happy with a dumb, light read, I thought "well, it was probably written in the 90's, no wonder all the characters are men" only to discover it was published in 2016.
There are only 2 women in this thing. A ditzy damsel in distress that was somehow competent enough to smuggle her brother away from a military testing facility while the army is looking them, but then became a fuzzy sex-bunny, looking at Hank all doe-eyed for absolutely no reason.
The other is the tough lady who runs the place. But don't worry, everyone agrees she's hot. She's also a hysterical women who cries because she's stressed.
And of course they are catty with one another because of Hank, who they both want although he's dumb, ugly and self-centered.
Oh yeah, all other references to women were prostitutes.
If this is the best the galaxy has to offer, I'd agree with the "screw the galaxy" tagline.
I mean, really, we are talking about a future thousands of years ahead with aliens and mutants, but Hank gets queasy about wearing something pink?
At 50% I thought that just tandomizing the genders after writing the book would have fixed it, but no, it was also just bad.
November 23, 2013
Mr. Campbell thoroughly entertained me with his fast moving, quirky, and well written story. I quickly became enamored with Hank - a tough guy who had a wicked sense of humor, as well as a heart of gold (hidden beneath attitude). The characters were perfect - I could picture them perfectly. The one great thing about this fun story was how easy it was to keep reading. The chapters were short and I could put my kindle down and pick it up without loosing the story line - although it was really hard to stop reading once I started. The author's writing style made it a pleasure and I appreciated the quirky humor that was throughout. I found myself laughing out load a few times, and at others simply chuckling as I read. Hank is the type of person I'd love to spend time with in real life - I'd never be bored. Great story, fantastic characters, fast-paced, entertaining, and a perfect book to take you away from real life for a short time. Highly recommended and I can't wait to read more from Mr. Campbell.
November 24, 2013
Hard Luck Hank has a swift moving story line that didn't bog down, with a few chuckles in there. The chararacters were interesting and likeable. Now, Hard Luck Hank is moreso a gangster novel with sci-fi elements thrown in. Hank's a bulletproof mutant, who is kind of a bully, but not really a bully, because he's hired by all the gangs and even the local government to settle disputes before they break out into wars.
A few things though - two of the important characters (not main characters, but important ones nonetheless) just kind of disappear at the end of the book; there is no resolution with them. What happened to them? One other inconsistency - they use this volatile, explosive material, but it sees a lot of use throughout the book yet doesn't explode. The ending was very predictable, and the resolution just too simple. Wanted to give it 3.5 stars but Amazon doesn't allow half stars, so 4 it is.
Overall, an enjoyable, light read. If done right, it could be an enjoyable movie!
***Reviewed by Anne for New Age Mama. Complimentary copy received.***
A few things though - two of the important characters (not main characters, but important ones nonetheless) just kind of disappear at the end of the book; there is no resolution with them. What happened to them? One other inconsistency - they use this volatile, explosive material, but it sees a lot of use throughout the book yet doesn't explode. The ending was very predictable, and the resolution just too simple. Wanted to give it 3.5 stars but Amazon doesn't allow half stars, so 4 it is.
Overall, an enjoyable, light read. If done right, it could be an enjoyable movie!
***Reviewed by Anne for New Age Mama. Complimentary copy received.***
February 6, 2017
Lighthearted, pulp, sci-fy. 3.5 stars
Hank is a thug, the kind of thug that prefers guns over brains, and is quite alright with his place in the universe. That place being: a backwater, crime riddle space station where he can work and live in relative peace. As the prime gang negotiator, he settle disputes, officiates contracts, and general keep people from killing their way out of a deal. Especially so because hank is a level 3 mutant and virtually invulnerable to anything they can throw at him. Handy in a place where the 'tripple check' consist of: Wallet, Phone, gun....
This is one of those almost 'feelgood' SF novels, where the main characters are just fine despite the problems they encounter. The whole plot is a lighthearted, fun filled romp throughout the station, where Hanks reluctantly solves the problem thrown in his way. Overall this was an enjoyable read, with only a slight (in my opinion forgivable) dip towards the end.
I've marked both the next novel al the short short story bundle as 'To-Read'
Hank is a thug, the kind of thug that prefers guns over brains, and is quite alright with his place in the universe. That place being: a backwater, crime riddle space station where he can work and live in relative peace. As the prime gang negotiator, he settle disputes, officiates contracts, and general keep people from killing their way out of a deal. Especially so because hank is a level 3 mutant and virtually invulnerable to anything they can throw at him. Handy in a place where the 'tripple check' consist of: Wallet, Phone, gun....
This is one of those almost 'feelgood' SF novels, where the main characters are just fine despite the problems they encounter. The whole plot is a lighthearted, fun filled romp throughout the station, where Hanks reluctantly solves the problem thrown in his way. Overall this was an enjoyable read, with only a slight (in my opinion forgivable) dip towards the end.
I've marked both the next novel al the short short story bundle as 'To-Read'
July 26, 2016
Really funny adventure with space mobsters in small outpost on outskirts of galactic empire. The people in empire are using mutations for generations, so they are unique, have different powers and live very long. The title Hank is resistant to all weapons, so didn't have to worry about anything in his life. The story is fast paced, has vast empire with millenia of history, old enemies, alien artifact, but deals with small smuggling outpost and makes you laugh a lot.
May 29, 2014
This book was fun. Hank is a near indestructable negotiator/enforcer on an old of the way space station run by crime bosses. Hank has a series of bad days that get more ridiculous as the story progresses, but I didn't care. If you go into a book expecting Crime & Punishment and end up getting Alcatraz Vs. The Evil Librarians, you'll be disappointed. That being said, no one is going to be expecting anything but what you get from this book. A little silliness with lots of action.
March 19, 2014
Fun read that was just what I needed at the time. I actually had some real LOL moments in the book. It is just a fun romp through a sci-fi adventure with Hank. Hank is a real down to earth kind of guy, easy to like and follow along.
January 2, 2014
Hank is a basically a superhero...who is stuck on a space station and doesn't act like a superhero.
May 3, 2014
Very entertaining, well paced book. Look forward to reading more about Hank.
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