I realized the other day that I’ve never read a sci-fi book. Ever. (I must fix this – so please give me some recommendations in the comments.)
However, I devour some sci-fi TV and movies. And since the world revolves around me and you are all about to scour your shelves to recommend some great sci-fi books, I figured I’d return the favor by sharing my top five hot heroes in space. See, I do love you!
Han Solo: The Rhett Butler of space.
Luke was an annoying whiner in the beginning and an above-it-all, know-it-all by the end. But Han? Han was a bad boy who made my knobby pre-teen knees knock. Alpha. Sarcastic. Space pirate. Oh man, there is a reason why the Flynn house holds an annual Star Wars marathon every New Years Eve.
Shatner who?
The original Captain James T. Kirk did nothing for me. Unlike the fab Mr. Flynn, I did not enjoy the Star Trek series. My reaction to anything Trekie: belch. Then the latest revamp movie came out with Chris Pine as a young Kirk and I was all RWAR! Needless to say I can’t wait for the second movie to come out (Benedict Cumberbatch!!!!)
Oh Mal. I want to have your babies.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly (and the movie Serenity) just wants to survive in a space world gone mad. He does not want to do the right thing and help those who need him … but damn, the inner good guy in him does the right thing every time. Loyal. Smart. Looks good in brown. Mal’s a man with a tortured past and one of my favorites.
You don’t have to have testicles to have *ahem* balls.
Ripley from Aliens was and is one of the best women in space ever. In a male-dominated field she kicked ass and saved humanity all without a swipe of mascara. Now I’m a makeup girlie girl and about as far away from kickass Ripley tough as you can get, but damn the woman is amazing. If you haven’t gone back and watched Aliens in a while, you really should. More psychological thriller than action flick, it will make you look at your stomach in a whole new way the next time it growls.
The Last Centurian and my favorite hero in space.
Everyone has met a Rory Williams. He’s that guy that is average in every way but the more you get to know him the smarter he gets, the hotter he gets and the braver he gets. In Dr. Who, his love for Amy Pond makes me tear up just thinking about it. At one point he waits 2,000 years for her, guarding her while she is in a form of stasis. Two. Thousand. Years. He is 90 percent beta hero but when the alpha comes out, watch out universe because he is going to kick ass. The other fellas on the list get my blood pumping, but Rory makes me sigh and sends the butterflies careening in my stomach. Don’t tell the fab Mr. Flynn.
About Avery Flynn
Mal! I love him!
I was a huge Starbuck fan (Dirk Benedict) back in my younger days. And Ripley – hot enough to make me want to play for the other team, ya know?
Vin Diesel in Pitch Black? It also had Claudia Black, who I totally loved in Farscape.
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Avery Flynn Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 8:03 am
Starbuck? Wow, you are taking me back. I like Vin Diesel but I don’t know if I’d give him a top five spot. Now if Dwayne Johnson had ever been in a space movie. …
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Debra Dunbar Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 8:05 am
Oh yeah. Dwayne Johnson would need to play Gregory if my UF Imp Series ever made it to film
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I have to admit to a weakness for Han Solo. I do like Mal Reynolds all right, but not as much. Kirk… eh. Give me a bad boy.
At the risk of being gauche and tooting my own horn, my latest release was an SFR. Fortune’s Hero came out in December from Entangled Publishing. You could start there, Avery.
Quinn’s totally worth it, I promise.
Try Linnea Sinclair. Specifically Games of Command or Finders, Keepers. They’re SFR – science fiction romance – and not straight SF, but they may be more your speed. If you want something a touch heavier, anything Lois McMaster Bujold has written is fantastic. The first in her series is Shards of Honor, which is also one of the less-military-SF books in the series, more of an SFR, so that’s probably a good introduction. Gini Koch has a recent release – Alexander Outland, Space Pirate – that’s campy space opera at its best. Not big on substance, but a fun romp.
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Avery Flynn Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 11:44 am
Awesome recommendations! Thanks Jenna! And Kirk as a bad boy? No way. – Unless you mean the Chris Pine Kirk and then my answer is: Oh Yeah!
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Quantum Fairy Tales Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Is _Shards of Honor_ a part of _Cordelia’s Honor_? That’s where I read it, but I understood it was a collection of earlier works, if I remember correctly. _Cordelia’s Honor_ has most of the entire arc of that romance, from meeting to their child’s early growth.
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Jenna Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Cordelia’s Honor is a two-fer, a combination of Shards of Honor & Barrayar. That’s how I read them too.
And yes, it’s from Aral and Cordelia’s first meeting, through the death of the emperor and the civil war and the birth of Miles. After Barrayar, the series is written from Miles’s POV. He’s 5, I think, in the epilogue to Barrayar.
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If you like tortured heroes, check out Linnea Sinclair’s Gabriel’s Ghost. And the follow-up Shades of Dark. Gabriel Ross Sullivan is my favorite tortured hero. SFR.
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Avery Flynn Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 11:45 am
I am a total sucker for a tortured hero.
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Jenna Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 5:42 pm
Quinn. Just saying.
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recommendations:
Just generically, _Mazerunner_ (James Dashner), _Variant_ (Robison Wells), and _The Hunger Games_ (Suzanne Collins) are good easy starting places.
But, I’m guessing you want some hottie hero bits. Given your descriptions in this post, may I recommend _The Android’s Dream_ by John Scalzi. A former-government agent undertakes to care for a genetically-modified woman to keep her from being sacrificed in an alien ritual.
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Thought of another: _Crystal Singer_ by Anne McCaffrey has a hottie love interest opposite the primary protagonist
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Avery Flynn Reply:
January 8th, 2013 at 3:15 pm
Quantum Fairy Tales you might be my favorite person today! … Yeah, you are. Thank you !!!
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Try Grimspace (Sirantha Jax #1) by Ann Aguirre or Song of Scarabaeus (Scarabaeus #1) by Sara Creasy. Happy reading!
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Okay, so it’s totally not romance, but I’m not a fan of SF and this totally got me. Enders Game by Orson Scott Card. First in a series of five I think. It’s an oldie, released back in the 80s, so it may have dated and you’ll be all, what the hell was she on about, but I dont think so, I hope. No hottie heroes (as the main character is a kid) but like I say, it got me when I wasn’t a fan. It’s coming out as a film I think this year too, so if you’re a read the book before the film kinda girl then you’ll be sorted.
Michele
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