Steve Vance

Poorly conceptualized and poorly written. No connection with Superman. Teaches pseudo-morality. Neighborhood criminal gang abuses and harasses main character. Gang gives him a "Superman tattoo" on his chest. The rest of the neighborhood joins in on the harassment and abuse. Writer's solution to this problem is to make his character grow muscle and beat people up. In the end main character sacrifices itself for the neighborhood that abused him. Writer also includes some teary eye melodrama show more involving kids. Disgraceful garbage! show less

To like this book you have to be not interested in the technical details of how the giant alien spaceship works, what went wrong with it and why it has suddenly decided to depart in six hours after being buried for several thousand years. None of that is explained, and I felt that was a lost occasion for some wonderful hard science fiction.

What the book is about is the adventure of a group of people trapped inside the spaceship and their lengthy arguments on whether to stay, to go left or to show more go right at every single intersection, mostly irrational arguments at that. They also kill, by mistake, several aliens on their way. show less

July2013 Review: This has held up well as a fun read, although it is far from a perfect book. From a literary standpoint, it probably sucks & certainly isn't for everyone. Young men will probably like it the most since it is told in the first person by our hero who is in his late teens. He's arrogant, self absorbed, & generally an ass, but physically strong, forthright, & has a low sense of humor - not too bad for a teenager. All of these are overdone in a tongue-in-cheek manner & many guys show more will see themselves in him. I certainly do. Thankfully, I've matured a bit since then, but can still appreciate it.

The action is pretty much nonstop & there are more than a few points where acceptance rather than critical evaluation (just go with it) of the story are required. Still, it's a hell of a lot of fun. Fun characters, great settings, & an interesting premise. I've read it half a dozen times over the years. It only takes a couple of hours, so is a great comfort read. The writing is short, sweet, & to the point. If you're looking for escapist fantasy, this is it.

I've rarely seen this book anywhere. I managed to find a copy for my youngest boy who also loves it, but never found anything else by this author until I looked him up on GR this time. Seems as if he's written for comic books some & does have a few other novels out there, so he's not completely unknown. I've ordered several of his books, although none have great ratings. I'm not surprised & am hoping I find another that is as entertaining as this one.

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April2005 review: It's been too long since I read this, but it is an old favorite. It doesn't have much redeeming value beyond entertainment, but is a great adventure. The hero is very self-centered, but likable & the world is interesting as is the main issue. Must re-read soon. show less

This was an interesting find & not what I expected at all. My memory of Steve Vance's writing is long, but all based on one action SF adventure, [b:Planet of the Gawfs|362547|Planet of the Gawfs (Inflation Fighter Series)|Steve Vance|/assets/nocover/60x80.png|352635]. I recently re-read this old favorite & found that Vance had written quite a few other books, so I bought some including this one. I first tried reading [b:The Asgard Run|1178869|The Asgard Run|Steve show more Vance|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1181674645s/1178869.jpg|1166678], another SF adventure. It has huge, confusing cast of characters &, at the halfway point, had finally gotten around to what I thought should have been at the beginning. I may finish it at some point, but only out of a sense of obligation.

This book was completely different than the other two. It is a psychological drama with a strong element of horror, but of the kind we humans make for ourselves - nothing supernatural. The dozen characters are well drawn & the story is well paced. I did not foresee the ending at all. It wasn't handled as well as it could have been, a bit choppy & abrupt, but quite powerful, especially in retrospect. I almost want to re-read the book immediately to see what I missed, but I doubt I missed anything. Vance's style of writing is easy going & he just played on my prejudices.

I'm torn between giving it 3 or 4 stars, so I'll give it 4, but it's really a 3.5. Pretty darn good. If you get a chance, it's worth the few hours it takes to read. show less