Hard Luck Hank

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.

Hank is a thug. He knows he's a thug. He has no problem with that realization. In his view the galaxy has given him a gift: a mutation that allows him to withstand great deals of physical trauma. He puts his abilities to the best use possible and that isn't by being a scientist.Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn't need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person's locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there. Unless you are a criminal.Because of its location, Belvaille is populated with nothing but crooks. Every day is a series of power struggles between the crime bosses.Hank is an intrinsic part of this community as a premier gang negotiator. Not because he is eloquent or brilliant or an expert combatant, but because if you shoot him in the face he keeps on talking.Hank believes he has it pretty good until a beautiful and mysterious blue woman enters his life with a compelling job offer.Hank and Belvaille, so long out of public scrutiny, suddenly find themselves at the epicenter of the galaxy with a lot of very unwelcome attention.

Hank is getting married!The space station Belvaille has become home to a species of actors. The newest edition to the Post Colmarian Confederation Colmarian Confederation are the Damakan race. As a species they are capable of "broadcast empathy." Their acting skills are so powerful they are able to make people believe their portrayals are literally happening-even over remote transmission.Belvaille, with its access to powerful radio telescopes, becomes an entertainment powerhouse, cranking out Damakan dramas and tragedies across the empire. As the city modifies is resources to accommodate the new cash cow, Hank is hired to protect important actors by the city's premier talent agent: his butler Cliston.But the good times don't last as Damakans start getting murdered and whole productions are sabotaged and even outright attacked. The Navy threatens to get involved as their favorite tele programs are interrupted and Garm, the Adjunct Overwatch of the city, enlists Hank to find the source of the violence and put an end to it.Hank fears his own betrothed is in danger as the city gets dragged into a gang war of which no one knows the cause.

Belvaille has cemented its place as the most important System in the galaxy and Hank is working as an official Factotum, negotiating deals between gangs and noblemen under the watchful eye of the Arch Minister. When his ever-capable butler, Cliston, is approached to become the general manager of a Super Class glocken team, Hank is hired not only as protection, but as a player. Hank finds himself thrown into the most grueling bloodsport in the galaxy and he is tasked with finding out how and why players are being abducted. The friendly rivalries turn into full-scale conflict and Hank unravels a far more insidious plot than the fixing of gambling results. In the process, Hank learns a lot about his history that he never even dreamed had existed. Many of Hank's friends and enemies return in this action-packed and humorous take on the professional sporting world.

Life on the space station Belvaille was hard. Not for the rich aristocrats who called it home, but for the poor slobs like Hank. Hank was considered a "renowned cutthroat" and was the oldest living person in the city. His job was to do the dirty work of people who didn't want to get their hands dirty but still want dirty things done. Hank was a mutant who was bulletproof and weighed thousands of pounds, both effective attributes in his line of work. When the wife of a City Councilman approaches Hank about spying on her husband, Hank worries he might be flying too close to the flames for his own safety. When the man is assassinated, Hank is sure he is. Hank has to try and keep himself from getting framed for the murder as he is simultaneously dragged deeper and deeper into the machinations of the powerful City Council. NOTE: sequel to Hard Luck Hank - Screw the Galaxy, Hard Luck Hank - Basketful of Crap, and Hard Luck Hank - Prince of Suck

Hank was a dying breed on the space station Belvaille. The criminal gangs that had once made their homes there were forced out by the corporations that had taken over since the facility became an Independent Protectorate. Instead of the gentlemanly gang wars that had once dominated the scene, and made Hank's services prized as a negotiator, the city was now plagued by the clash of corporate armies using heavy weapons. Even tanks roamed the streets regularly. Most everyone from the olden days had either fled the station or was killed due to the organizational changes. Changes that Hank personally brought about when he had negotiated Belvaille's status with the Navy. As Hank contemplates whether he can survive in this increasingly hostile environment, he realizes that things aren't as bad as they seem--they are quite a bit worse. The constant power plays among corporations might have further reach than just the alleys of a backwater space station at the edge of the galaxy.

Sometimes it's not easy being a mutant thug. The space station Belvaille, once the center of civilization, is nearly deserted because of the new government's policies. Hank makes do by working odd jobs, but he isn't sure how long those, or the city, can last.However, there are still some people trying to scratch out a (dis)honest living on Belvaille. Hank concocts a plan to save the city: steal from the countless transports and freighters that pass through the System.In the meantime, Hank falls in with a tough crowd of freedom fighters who seem determined to overthrow the government. The team goes on exceedingly dangerous assignments, with Hank taking the brunt of the danger. As if things weren't bad enough, the Navy set up residence in the System, a powerful alien dignitary is scheduled to arrive, and Hank's absurdly-competent butler states that his robotic species may declare war on Hank's home. It's up to Hank to fix the problems, find out who is doing what and why, and to try and earn a little cash in the process.

He pitched a baseball game that was more than perfect, and yet he lost. Southpaw Harvey Haddix had logged a solid but unspectacular career by the time he took the mound on May 26, 1959. Facing the Milwaukee Braves, he set down the first 36 batters in a row, or 12 innings' worth--a perfect game three innings longer than the norm. But his Pittsburgh Pirates couldn't score, either, and Haddix lost in the 13th inning on a controversial play. This book recounts Haddix's one-of-a-kind performance and describes the official decisions that changed the historical record.