Barnes and Noble Review

In the 1930s two pulp writers, Harry Bates and Desmond Hall, created the character of Hawk Carse, a.k.a. Space Hawk. His adventures were collected in book form in 1952. Upon publication, this volume was eagerly assimilated by two youths: Gary K. Wolf and John J. Myers. The former grew up to become the bestselling author of Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (1981), while the latter is currently the Catholic archbishop of Newark! Together, they have written an homage to their childhood idol. Their novel Space Vulture seeks to recapture a certain pulp giddiness, where action, heroism, villainy and improbable super-science outweigh subtlety and emotional insights. In this goal they have for the most part succeeded beyond common aspirations. Tossing maturity, logic, and fine writing to the wind, they manage to escape self-consciousness and create a pastiche on the order of William Goldman's The Princess Bride (1973) or Brad Bird's The Incredibles (2004).

Interstellar pirate Space Vulture is an egotistical superman who favors the same high-collared wardrobe as Ming the Merciless. His equally adroit nemesis, Galactic Marshal Captain Victor Corsaire, is less gaudy but still fully capable of MacGyvering his way out of any "escape-proof" cell. Across a galaxy stuffed with a million odd species of aliens -- and some sympathetic supporting human characters -- the duo battle for supremacy in nonstop fashion. Not even impalement with a tree-trunk stops the Vulture, nor does loss of an arm deter Corsaire. If you can accept such blatant assaults on realism, you'll find Space Vulture as nostalgically rich as a five-cent Hershey bar.

Author of several acclaimed novels and story collections, including Fractal Paisleys, Little Doors, and Neutrino Drag, Paul DiFilippo was nominated for a Sturgeon Award, a Hugo Award, and a World Fantasy Award-all in a single year. William Gibson has called his work "spooky, haunting, and hilarious." His reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, Science Fiction Weekly, Asimov's Magazine, and The San Francisco Chronicle.

— Paul DiFilippo

© 2007-2008 Gary K. Wolf and Archbishop John J. Myers. All rights reserved.