Frankly

Hard Luck Hank #9

by Steven Campbell

Hank is fairly happy that his uncle was murdered. The man had been nothing but a source of endless sorrow and hardships since they first met. Nevertheless, Hank is forced to investigate the killing and comes to realize it is connected to a much larger collection of miseries than even his uncle could manage.

This episode marks a huge shift for Hank as he ventures into unknown regions of the cosmos and is confronted with the harsh truths of his reality.

Hard Luck Hank is the ongoing series that is a mixture of classic pulp genres. It has science fiction, detective noir, superhero, and comedy.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

Audible Audio

Reviews

[C.T. Phipps]

Ah, yes, I'm glad to see that Hard Luck Hank is once more being produced. While I felt the series was suffering a bit of a downturn due to the cyclical stories for the last few books, this is a definite return to form. Hank's uncle has been murdered and now there's a new outfit that has taken power in the region called the Cartel. What does any of this have to do with Thad Elon? It gets overly complicated and I wish we'd go back to just plain organized crime but I still had a lot of fun with the book. I am eager to see where the story goes next.

I like this volume a lot more than some of the previous ones because it brings back so much of the classic Hank elements (including a favorite giant). However, I feel like a lot of that was tossed away at the end of the book when I'd really hoped we were getting back into the noir crime style of Hank.

YMMV.

[Scott S.]

Some solid chuckles in here. I again regret not sticking to my rule of not listening to Hank books while in public places or two lane traffic. I definitely want to revisit the book when I'm in more of a mood to appreciate the comedy.

That cover is atrocious.

The narration is perfection.

I personally could've listened to the same rehashed Hank schtick for the rest of my life, but I can see where it might've been wearing on some fans. So despite my contentment I understand the author's changes to the series.

[Catherine Tackett]

cliffhanger

My only gripe with this book is that it’s sort of Part 1 of a new story arc, but very creative and well done. That’s the most I can say without too many spoilers. Definitely leaves me looking forward to the next books in the series. Kudos to Steven Campbell for keeping things fresh.

[Henry Weems]

Hard Luck Hank Is Back

This is the stupidest series I've ever read. And one of the most addictive. There's no way to adequately describe Hard Luck Hank.
Just read the books.

[Amyiw]

This was another great Hard Luck Hank other than it dragged in parts and then went off the deep end and switched up. I actually liked the switch up that puts us where we are in the next book but... to get there, there was a long winded conflict that was after several other conflicts, so I was over the shoot them ups for the book and ended up dragging there. Then the switch, although I liked it seemed to be throwing away a whole cast of characters even if they are in the new universe. I'm reading the next book and it doesn't seem to really change much since the characters are almost the same with little quirks of differences, we have GARM, MTB, the taxi driver glob Zoe, etc... And I had a feeling that would happen with the next book as it is back to the old Hank outlaw protector kind of, though this book does end with a cliffhanger for what will happen when the Gods come to destroy this universe, it is in the future. So a little cliffhanger on the overall, "how does this end" but really, with Hank, what does it matter? It is for the fun and it was a fun ride, so a little slow at points.

[Nirkatze]

Maybe it's just coming off Garm that made it harder to stomach Hank's usual shenanigans.

This was crazy. All these books are crazy. But I do feel, like in addition to the ongoing lack of character depth, that the story has been replaced by nonstop three-stooges-type slapstick humor. Sure it's funny... for the first couple minutes. Not for nine hours. Not the third or tenth time. And it doesn't really hold the story together.

That said, this did have a lot of fun sequences, so I didn't mind it so much for times when I didn't have a lot of brainpower, and it didn't really matter if I didn't catch what's going on, 'cuz even if I did catch it, it'd be nonsensical. Or like, wouldn't matter anyway. But when I tuned in and paid attention for a bit, there was like to be some fun comedy. Just... nothing to care about.

[J M Gray]

I honestly feel let down with this one. The ending was obviously a huge retcon of the series. I just can't explain it any other way. The entire first part was typical and engrossing, but I feel Steven Campbell wrote himself into a corner and couldn't figure out a way to correct it. It's like the entire writing style changed in the last few chapters.

[Paul]

Such unexpected turns!

If the last Hank novel was a fun kayak ride in a fast moving river this one is in a raging torrent and navigates over several waterfalls, the last one being a hell of a drop. CAN NOT WAIT for the next Hank book!!!!

[Jack Rosebery]

Kind of like a sitcom that's been around too long

This series of books has a lot of different stories, but there's no conclusion in sight, and the stories seem to blend together. It's a light fluff, but you read on, thinking it may reach an end.

[Rip L.]

Great book

Read it so he writes more! It’s a great continuation of the series with an odd twist that lets the author re-examine the characters you love

[Mr Geoffrey Bowlt]

Review

Another great story in this fantastic series of books ,can't wait for the next one .If you write them , we will read them!

[Dick SantaCruz]

Hilarious

I have read all the Hank and friends books. Loved them all. They are absurdity funny. Looking forward to more.

[kelly sanders]

Shart Stuck Stank

Poor Hank. Our reluctant hero trudges ever onward always at the mercy of public transportation…

Always an excellent read. Please write a couple more.

[Shawn Cook]

Wow

Another great book in the series. Again funny, philosophical, and full of pathos. My favorite series. Cant wait for more from Mr Campbell.

[Donraj]

Yay

More fun. Glad I finally got around to it. Interesting shake up of the setting. Cliston really does have connections everywhere.

[Jacob Gardner]

Excellent!!!

Great story. Can't wait for the next one! I'm excited to see what Hank does next. I loved this story!

[Frank Perkins]

Awesome book.

Hank never fails to make me smile, laugh, and ponder the deeper value of doing nothing. Such a good read. Amazing series. I love it.

[Craig Russo]

Wow. That certainly moved the story along.

[Abe]

Everything just got bigger . Cant wait for the next book .

[Ryan]

Fun, though Hank was lost through most of this so felt a little aimless at times. Still a fun read.

[Ann Leona]

Awww, Cliston! Can't wait until the author finishes & releases the next Hank book 🥺

[Betsie Erickson]

I loved this chapter in Hank's story. It was very classic Hank. I'm looking forward to all the Hard Luck Hank books to come.

[Linda]

Weird pacing, but good to see return of Hank.

[Paul Hathcox]

Hard Luck Hank readers should love this book, but beware, there are some big twists and turns ahead.

[Edward Johnston]

Hell yeah!

[Bryan]

One of the better entries in the series

[Howard]

I was waiting for a storyline like this to happen ever since I saw the 3D-animated YouTube videos that Steven Campbell put up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wDZm...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEQp4...

The story was fun, but it did seem to end rather abruptly.

There also seemed to be some things left a bit unanswered (not all that important, but still unanswered), like:
1. We know _who_ killed Frank, but not _how_.
2. We don't know how the Frank apartment shooters left the scene at the end. That could be related to the question 1, but it still feels like a dropped plot point.

I also found a lot more editing issues in this book than in previous books (or was I just paying more attention to them this time around)? Different editor? Distracted editor?