Galactic Hellcats

Galactic Hellcats #1

by Marie Vibbert

Ki is a petty thief. Her best friend wills her his solo-flyer—call it a space motorcycle: temperamental, fast as hell, and expensive to maintain. Any reasonable person would sell it to get off the street, but Ki isn’t reasonable.

Margot is a military vet at loose ends. She blows her entire back pay on a solo-flyer, a decision she instantly regrets but can’t bring herself to undo. Margot meets Ki and thinks she’s the sympathetic friend she needs when she feels most alone. Ki thinks Margot is an easy mark for food money. They’re both right, but lunch leads to a joy ride to planet Ratana, where Margot is arrested by border control.

Ki enlists Ratanese local Zuleikah, a bored rich girl who can think of no stupider, and therefore better, way to spend her time than busting someone out of jail. Together they rescue Margot, but find themselves trapped on a hostile planet on the cusp of civil war.

When Zuleikah convinces them that their best bet for escape is to kidnap—er, rescue—Prince Thane from his dreary role in the crumbling monarchy, it results in a chase across the desert and into the farthest reaches of the universe.

If they can learn to trust each other, and if the repo men, cops, and three different galactic governments don’t catch them, the Galactic Hellcats might just use their solo-fliers to carve a place for themselves among the stars.

Genres: Science Fiction, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Space Opera, Adult, Speculative Fiction

298 pages, Paperback

First published March 9, 2021

About the author

Nebula and Hugo Award finalist Marie Vibbert has over 100 short stories in top magazines like Analog, F&SF, Nature, and more. Her debut novel about a biker gang in outer space, Galactic Hellcats, was called "A rip-roaring space heist" by publisher's weekly. It was long-listed by the British Science Fiction Award!

Marie is a software developer in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended the Clarion writer's workshop in 2013 and joined the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2014. She belongs to the Cleveland Science Fiction writer's workshop headed by Mary Turzillo.

She also has been a medieval (SCA) squire, a lineman for the Cleveland Fusion women's tackle football team and has ridden 18% of the roller coasters in North America.

She lives with her husband Brian Crick and their child in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean ... I've read this 80 times through and I love it each time, but I'm the audience the author had in mind writing it. :D

... I did this mostly as a joke but now I can't remove it? Oops.

[Patrice Sarath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books in which, when I close the book, I can tell the characters continue on with their lives and adventures. I love books in which I want to hang out with the characters, laugh with them, and be friends with them. I love this book for those reasons and many more. The characters are fully drawn and three-dimensional and they made me laugh (especially Ki) and made me want to give them all hugs.

Also, this book is kind. Everyone is messed up and in pain, but their kindness for each other, even when they don't understand one another, really comes through. Vibbert does a fabulous job of taking care of her characters even when she's putting them in danger, if that makes sense (and I think it does).

For fans of Murderbot and A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. If you like your space opera and heists and characters saving each other, then this should be your next read.

Also, dammit, I want a solo-flyer.

[Mars Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you looking for fun, adventure science-fiction without getting bogged down in all the gritty details of how things work (e.g., lightspeed)? Do you want to read something with a little heart? Marie Vibbert's first book has the promise of a series (I hope!) about a rag-tag wannabe gang of thieves.

But these are thieves we can all love. Through their separate stories, I grew to understand their personal struggles. I loved Ki's sad backstory and felt Margot's feeling of listlessness and uselessness and I identified with rich girl Zuleikah's boredom, but the person for whom I had the most sympathy was poor, abused Prince Thane. When the gang breaks him out of his oppressive life on Ratana (a planet whose gender discrimination is tipped towards extreme feminism), I felt complete relief. For the entire novel, I fretted about his mother catching up with him and taking him back. That poor man needs to get away from his expected life the most!

I loved the name of the planets (Old Hope, Jefferson are some examples). I loved that this universe was slightly quirky and not what you would expect. The story is serious at times, lighthearted at others. Ki's over-inflated sense of self-confidence both gets the group into and out of trouble.

Vibbert's world-building was spot-on: feeding you the immediate details you need to understand the situation at-hand, but leaving more questions in the wake for (again, hopefully) future tales. I can't wait to continue the adventures of the Galactic Hellcats and learn more about this quirky universe.

[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes people describe a book as escapist as if that were a bad thing. I disagree. This week was a hard one for me in the real world, and Galactic Hellcats was a brightly colored island that I visited gratefully, happily, eagerly. For those wanting to know more particulars, it's a character-centered interstellar girl-gang romp. There's heart and humor, the starfaring equivalent of hot motorcycles, and a beleaguered prince for the girl gang to rescue. Sign me up for book two (alas, not yet finished, according to the author's website).

Four out of five hellcat stars.

Re-read. Still so much fun and it moved me more than I had remembered. I am officially ready to dive into the recently-published sequel :-)

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

[Celeste Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Galactic Hellcats is an action-packed thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night. It’s a full-throttle adventure through space with a thief, a Navy vet, a noble woman and a prince. You’ll follow this hapless gang of solo flyers — think space motorcycles — through the process of learning to trust each other and learning to follow their hearts to what they truly want in life.

Zuleikah — the wealthy noble woman — and Margot — the middle-class Navy vet — can’t understand why penniless Ki feels the need to steal anything and everything she can lay her hands on. It represents the ignorance of those that have to the plight of those that have not.

Handsome Prince Thane takes the feminine fairy-tale trope of the helpless princess who needs to be rescued and flips it on its head. Here, he’s the prized chattel who’s just supposed to keep his pretty mouth shut and make an advantageous marriage.

All together, it’s a fast-paced story with vibrant characters and humor to spare. It’s a tale of how the “family” you choose can be all the “family” you truly need.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Galactic Hellcats (2020) 291 pages by Marie Vibbert

Ki lives on the fringes using her skills at conning and thievery to survive. Margot is a navy veteran who just wants to find a job. They are thrown together and end up on Ratana where they meet Zuleikah. The back cover gives a good synopsis*.

Action packed, they go from one scrape to another. 4 stars. I think I would have loved it when I was twenty, now I probably need the heroes to have more of a noble purpose. The setting, movement between planets, [outwitting of] law enforcement, reminded me of The Stainless Steel Rat. Three main characters playing off of each other has its own original flavor. My favorite part were the scenes on near-Jefferson. The escape from that predicament was clever and the androids were hilarious.

*Goodreads has it as the decription. "Ki is a petty thief..."

[Kathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would happen if "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Princess Bride," and "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" fell into the food processor? "Galactic Hellcats" by Marie Vibbert! Seriously, this book was a wild, fun read about a street kid, a Navy veteran and an alien elite who set off to rescue a prince from the clutches of his evil mother - set off on FTL-enabled motorcycles, that is.
Vibbert's style was light, but the writing was good. Teens would love it, heck, I loved it and I'm far from being a teen. Thanks for a fun romp in a dark time.

[Robin Rose Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept of a girl motorcycle gang in space was enough to draw me in initially, but the worldbuilding was what made me stay. Looking forward to reading on in this series!

[Jared Millet · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how fun science fiction can be when an author takes advantage of the infinite improbabilities of the genre instead of trying to be "grounded" and "serious." John Scalzi excepted, most SF these days is downright somber. Thank the Great Prophet Zarquon that Marie Vibbert hasn't caught that disease.

The improbability at the root of this novel is that at some point in the future, the technology will exist for people to own single-passenger FTL spaceships as easily as buying (or stealing) a car. If you ignore the unlikeliness of that scenario, then there's no good reason at all that a trio of young, somewhat neurotic women shouldn't throw off their shackles, kidnap a prince in distress, and start their own intergalactic biker gang. I mean, who wouldn't?

I think this kind of action-packed fun is what people are really longing for when they pine after the "good old days" of SF. Don't get me wrong, this book has very modern sensibilities, but in such a way that brings classic space-opera silliness into the 21st century. Sequels, please!

[Megan Bosarge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast-paced, interstellar journey of three unlikely friends who have one thing in common... they enjoy life in the fast lane, crossing the galaxy in their space motorcycles. Though the three women are self proclaimed independent spirits, the find that they need each other and that, together, they can cause just as much good as trouble. If you like feisty females and futuristic space crime, you’re going to want to buckle up and read Galactic Hellcats!

[Vera Brook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wild ride & terrific fun from start to finish! I was already a huge fan of Vibbert's short stories, but turns out she can write amazing science fiction novels as well. I'm not surprised. :)

[Crane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I think it deserved. It feels somehow ineffably millenial, and I say that as a millenial.

The characters were all dealing with very familiar, relatable life problems, including a general sense of aimlessness, which unfortunately lead to the book itself feeling very unfocussed. Being generous, one might call it picaresque, but it just felt rather shallow. None of the characters seem to grow very much, nor do their relationships with one another change a great deal. None of their problems are really addressed, beyond the most cursory gloss; instead the solution is to just keep running and hoping.

I enjoyed it; as I said, the characters were relatable, the prose was punchy and the action kept me turning pages. But it was the book equivalent of a chocolate bar; fun while it lasted, unsatisfying once it's finished.

[B.R.M. Evett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book. It's a great ride! Really enjoyable, very funny, and often poignant. The characters are vivid and attractive, and the Vibbert writes with an easy style that is dry, witty, sardonic and clean. I want more Hellcats!

[Chuck Beilstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lil Nas X was born to play Thane

[Mickey (heyheymickeymae) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5 ⭐

Galactic Hellcats was a fun, crime-ridden space opera that took me only about three hours to read. We have four POV characters, each of which has their own unique background and personal conflict:

- Ki, the lifelong thief from Earth currently mourning the man she loved
- Margot, a Lunar war veteran struggling to assimilate to civilian life and her parents' expectations
- Zuleikah, a bored heiress from a wealthy, conservative mining planet
- Thane, prince of said mining planet suffering under its restrictive matriarchal ideals

Every single one of the characters feels like they've lived a life up until this point. They have their own histories, relationships, and associations. (Interestingly, they all watch the same show, but it never comes up.) This sense of independent existence is critical in space operas, which hinge on memorable casts and the dynamics between them to succeed.

Although the set-up is good, I don't think Galactic Hellcats is quite there yet in terms of utilizing its cast. Granted, this is the first book of a series, but first installments should at least function to round out some preliminary arcs while setting up the more lasting ones. The characters still haven't quite opened up to each other or started interacting with or influencing each other in any meaningful way. Margot is the closest, but even in terms of her character it feels disjointed and incomplete.

"Disjointed and incomplete" is actually a phrase I'd use to describe both the ending and thesis of Galactic Hellcats. Again, don't get me wrong: this book is fun and sets up interesting ideas. It simply never delivers on a conclusion or theme that feels adequately meaningful in light of that set up. I do think that this impression is likely heavily influenced by the fact that the author writes primarily short stories, which I learned after completion. In many ways, this novel has the cadence of a short story. Unfortunately, I don't think that cadence works for (1) a novel of this length and (2) a novel with this amount of set up.

I might continue this series somewhere down the line, but as none of my libraries currently has it and I'm not sold enough yet to purchase the novel myself, it will have to wait until later.

(Also, sidenote, and doesn't affect my rating - my copy had a alternate cover that makes zero sense for this book. It depicts four characters that I am assuming are the characters but none of them fit their book description. Most notably, three out of the four on the cover are white and based on character descriptions, I'm fairly certain only one of them is white. So no clue what choices were made there.)

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ki is a small-time thief. Her best friend wills her a solo flier and rather than fencing it quickly to make some money, like a sensible person, she flies away, gathers some other lost souls to her and fights crime. Well, cops. Same thing, mostly.

This was another book I discovered through Scalzi's big idea at Whatever and it was a huge amount of fun. Ki, former military store clerk Margot and bored rich girl Zuleikah are all broken, in their own different ways but are thrown together, along with prince Thane, who Zuleikah persuades the others to "rescue" from a life of misery, all come together as a found family - one of my favourite tropes.

They get up to lots of stupid adventures, some of them not even their fault, and obviously all need a lot of therapy, but instead make do with space motorbikes. (The cover paints these like the floating cars from Star Wars, although I imagine them more like Tron's light cycles.)

One thing I sort of would have liked to see more of was Ki's grief over Ethan's death. Once things start to happen, there's rarely enough time for personal reflection, but that seems like it's quite an important part of Ki's history and personality. We get a bit of time with Margot, who's out of the military, failing to find a job and dealing with disapproving parents. We spend less time in Zuleikah's head. We have hints that her family life is tough as well, but I'd have liked to see more of that. Thane gets more development - a prince whose life is anything but pampered, as he's put on show in a matriarchal society, with staff around him that are contemptuous of him, and a mother who tortures him - where it won't show, obviously - for minor infractions.

While there could be many further adventures of the Galactic Hellcats, the ending was satisfying, and I'm actually happy to let them go on to their adventures together without needing to bear witness to them. I salute the Hellcats (while keeping a very close eye on my property)!

[Lyla · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of the books I had been very excited to get into and found myself walking away terribly disappointed.

From the setup of the book, what I thought I was getting was maybe a chapter or two of this ragtag group of people smashing together through a love of the solo-flyers they love getting into trouble all together. What I got was a somehow long drawn out set of surface interactions and almost comically bad choices where we got the whole gang together only right at the end it felt as a single unit. Even the name of the group, Galactic Hellcats felt like maybe just an afterthought as I can only think of two times it was mentioned by name, and one of those was when Ki came up with the name by herself!

When we finally got to what I wanted in the heist at the end of the book, well, you see the issue. It was the end of the book. Right as the book finally stopped spinning its wheels (ha) getting all of the gang together it was over. Perhaps I came in with the wrong expectations, but even then the way the characters interacted sometimes felt strange and almost forced but not in the way the book wanted.

The one truly good part of this book throughout is Ki, one of the main characters and who I would argue the only main character that should have narrated throughout. A fun character desperately trying to find something to hold onto with fake confidence that was the most charming of the bunch. Not one did I get tired of her character, and she shined all throughout.

As long as you know what kind of book your getting into, one focused on what feels like the prologue to a much bigger story that doesn't exist, I can't say it would be a bad read.

[Matt Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most exciting science fiction books I've read since reading young adult novels like Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein. In fact, this book had a real classic science fiction feeling about it; less tiresome cyberpunk VR sword fights, more cool spaceship chases.

I really enjoyed all the gender-reversal and sex politics stuff. It didn't feel like a gimmick and it didn't come off preachy. Instead. this book hints at a future society of where people are a little bit more able to be more authentic about who they really are. (At least in most places). In fact, without the reversals, it would have felt almost derivative. Thane as a dude really was a lot of fun. Thane as a woman would have been dull.

I could write a ton about how impressed I was by how well-written Ki was as a character... Marie Vibbert nails the street kid ethos so well.

Finally, there's some fun easter eggs in here too if you're cool enough to live in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, or if you're a UNIX nerd.

This is a kick ass origin story, but hopefully not the last we hear about the crew!

[Ticana Zhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately traumatized by Ethan's death in the first few pages, I was hooked by Ki and her loss. I appreciated his spirit living on through Thane--whose name is Ethan's anagram. The author did well with character and situational development and I could not put this book down. It also gave me reflection on living humbly. Too often, we see big lives on social media, and little by little, our desires might creep towards the grandiose. This book brought me a bit of reality. We can't all afford to live big lives. Margot's situation is one I think we can all relate to--the perpetual job hunt. It brought me back to college days when instant ramen with some frozen vegetables and (every now and then) an egg was a delicacy.

I wanted to know more about how the solo flyers worked through Zuleikah. And was Thane officially inducted into the Galactic Hellcats? Will be see Black Dragon again? I understand Ki's induction was mostly to shape her character--to show how she desperately wished for a family/ place to belong, but I wanted more of that world! I'd hoped the author had a book 2, but I couldn't find it with a quick search. Here's to hoping it'll come out soon!

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ki is a petty thief, and Margo is an out-of-work military veteran. When Margo uses what little money she has to buy a solo flyer (basically a motorcycle with FTL capabilities) and then almost has it taken from her, Ki helps her get away. But then Margo and Ki find themselves in several plots, including the kidnapping/rescue of a prince from a totalitarian planet (in the process getting two more members for the group Ki has named the Galactic Hellcats).

This is an entertaining novel, in large part because it's characters are an interesting bunch. They can be annoying, but at the same time they are engaging, and I found myself rooting for them and wanting to know more about them. And the plot moves along quickly.

I hope the author will write more about the Galactic Hellcats.

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was tons of fun. The characters were adorable and loveable and it was action-packed and fast-paced. It felt a little too frenetic and stressful at times (I really felt for poor stressed Margot) and though the characters themselves were well-developed and dynamic, I didn't feel like they truly emotionally connected with each other. There were some overarching plot points that didn't feel resolved, but the whole book was less about a central narrative anyway and more about throwing these four characters together and then throwing them into insane situations and watch the shenanigans they come up with. If you're looking for some fun space heist shenanigans, highly recommend!

[Patti Substelny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a science fiction genre reader. That being said, I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the character development, I really liked the characters and felt like they were friends. I cared what happened to them. I can't wait to see this book as a movie. I am already thinking about who I would cast in the lead roles. I recommend this to LGBT teens and adults alike.

[Michael Hirsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but stupid. 3 young women scamper about the Galaxy making bad decisions and breaking laws, but have fun doing so. They don't do anything worthwhile, just steal flying cars because they enjoy them. No action in this book is thought out in advance, they just do it and somehow manage to improvise their way out of trouble. This could have been so much better.

[Jillian Marlowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that was not afraid to lean in to its imperfect characters. Everyone has a backstory and depth. They’re all messy and emotional and they feel more real because of it. Slow burn but for friendships rather than relationships. The beginning of an intergalactic space motorcycle gang of criminals that I would happily read more about.

[Kope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story. Hard to put down

I read a lot of books. This one has characters that keep you reading. The story arch is full of action, keeping you on your toes. Just when one crisis ends, another kicks in.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep making Jane Carter and A Prince of Mars jokes, and here's a book with a bit of that topsy-turvy feel. A fun and somewhat silly adventure with spaceships and dystopias. A good read, especially for a first novel. I would read more.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of silly fun about the exciting accidental adventures of three mismatched friends who kidnap a prince who needs rescuing. Weak science but plenty of rousing girl-power action and many laugh-aloud, sharply satirical moments.

[Karen Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars because, while it’s a fun romp, I am not much of a sci fi fan. It’s a cute, light, action packed story that would probably be especially enjoyable for the young adult reader. I would consider reading another novel from this author.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book! I loved the world building and story telling. It made me want to read more sci-fi again. The main characters were all wonderful and relatable, and it always kept me wanting to read more!

[Chris Mcdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute blast of a book. Constantly in motion with fun and diverse characters way over their heads.

This was a perfect book as a cleanser after reading a much more difficult read. Fun. Exciting and leaves me curious for where their next adventure goes