Synopsis
Malvius is a lone wandering gunslinger in the Larragon system, a frontier of six planets linked by two space railways (or “rivers”). With nothing but his skyhorse, Rhiann, his blasters, and a bounty on his head, he roams the stars helping the unfortunate.
That is until he becomes involved with the Raoke gang, a bunch of ragtag outlaws making a name for themselves. Malvius soon finds himself facing space wizards, train heists and space mafias.
Review
What happens when you take a spaghetti western, Deadwood, and Mass Effect and blend that into a book? A Wolf in Space, that’s what. This indie debut already feels like the start of an unmissable series.
Jolie Compote
A myriad of different scenes is in store for readers of A Wolf in Space. Valdiers shoots for the moon. Saloon brawls, a posse out for blood, a space mafia with a vendetta are just a taster of a jam packed novel. So, does the book work or is there too much to digest? Well, as Mal says, just believing in the impossible is reaching for the extraordinary.
The versatility is the book’s greatest strength. I liked Mal’s nomadic canter from planet to planet and moon to moon. It explores a space frontier where something interesting is under every space stone overturned.
And while it threatens to be a lonely life for a gunslinger in space, Mal’s relationship with his space horse, Rhiann, is charming and heartfelt like a throwback to Atreyu and Artax from Neverending Story. Mal’s other relationships with friends and former comrades also make their sporadic appearances and lead the story to break up into a series of vignettes. Couple this with Valdiers’ well-rounded character development and it reminds me of one of my favourite authors in Sci Fi – R.W.W. Greene. Maybe I just like this insular space western theme – when characters appear in such a lonesome setting they simply must matter more.
Most satisfying of all though, it’s a goddam Space Western! Sex, violence, saloon brawls, shootouts, and duels. What more could you ask for? A Wolf in Space is set to be one of the most badass titles of the year.
C’est ma vie
Let’s put all badassery aside. As it transpires, Wolf is also an immensely personal journey for the author. And not just because he wears iconic mutton chops like Mal (and presumably rides a space horse when he’s not writing). There are times where the book seems to stray into the pseudo-autobiographical. For example, Mal was dead set on becoming a writer before giving up and taking up gunslinging. His writing life long behind him yet still a sore wound, I wonder if Valdiers considers Mal to be himself in a different universe.
Mal’s mixed heritage too (born in New Orleans and of Laotian descent) serves up some further hurdles for him to overcome. That sense of belonging feels like a difficult burden for Mal to bear and makes for a road into our lone wolf’s mind. The duty of looking out for one’s own blood also becomes a key component of the late stages of the book.
There’s always a risk when an author puts so much into a book that it could become self-serving. Thankfully A Wolf in Space is nothing of the sort and its intimacy with the reader is what makes it a book full of heart.
The Raoke Gang’s All Here
There’s some serious firepower and potential on display with The Raoke Gang series. Whilst A Wolf in Space certainly works well as a standalone, there’s some curious gang members to explore and a chance for vastly different stories to be told. If A Wolf in Space is any indicator then Valdiers is a Science Fiction writer worth keeping TBR tabs on.
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