Space Vulture

Space Vulture is a science-fiction novel by Gary K. Wolf (of Who Censored Roger Rabbit? (Literature)? fame) and his childhood friend, the Archbishop John J. Myers. It is an homage to the cheesy, pulp sci-fi epics they both enjoyed as young boys, specifically Space Hawk by Anthony Gilmore (as you can easily tell from the title).

In the far future, the entire galaxy trembles at the mere mention of Space Vulture, a Space Pirate and the most merciless thief, murderer, slaver, and all-around ne'er-do-well ever known by the sentient masses. His latest crime consists of kidnapping the entire population of a small Earth colony situated on the planet Verlinap, with the intention of selling them to the seedy slavers and human-traders of the planet Medusker. Only Captain Victor Corsaire, the galaxy's greatest lawman and "clean-living hero of millions," can stop him. Armed with quite a variety of combat and survival skills in spite of a painful past and many personal insecurities, Corsaire sets out to rescue the good people of Verlinap and bring the cruel and irredeemable Space Vulture to justice, with his feisty love interest Cali Russell by his side.

A secondary plot involves the only three people to escape Space Vulture's assault on Verlinap (middle-aged, half-human ruffian Gil Terry and Cali's sons, child genius Eliot and crybaby Regin) and their various attempts at finding safety and salvation in the cold reaches of space.

This book is unfortunately obscure.

Tropes:

 * Action Girl / Action Mom: Cali Russell.
 * Alien Blood: One's blood is bright green.
 * Alien Sky: Verlinap and Medusker have oddly-colored skies.
 * Applied Phlebotinum: In spades, for that old-school sci-fi feel.
 * Author Tract: The occasional Christian moral, presumably from Myers.
 * Mercifully, it doesn't stop the story dead in its tracks like the worst kinds of author tracts do. Mainly used in Gil's character arc and Space Vulture's
 * Bizarre Alien Biology: Many, most notably Two and the Valued Buyer.
 * Character Title
 * Complete Monster: Space Vulture.
 * Contemptible Cover: Check it out.
 * Crowning Moment of Awesome:
 * Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: The moment when Gil realizes he's really begun to care about Cali Russell's young sons. sniff...
 * A Day in The Limelight: There's an extended passage that's done entirely from One's POV as he and the other crew members attempt a rescue mission. This is the only time in the book where we see things from his perspective.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Cali, once she is
 * Distressed Damsel: Cali (twice)
 * Downer Ending:
 * The Dragon: One, Space Vulture's simply-named second-in-command
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Valued Buyer and the Auctioneer.
 * Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Medusker seems based on Las Vegas.
 * Genius Bruiser: Space Vulture.
 * George Lucas Throwback: Wolf and Myers' purpuse in writing this novel.
 * Half-Human Hybrid: Gil, but not in the traditional sense. After having lost one eye and one arm in a sports bet, he had them replaced with alien body parts.
 * Heel Faith Turn: Gil learns to believe in a higher goodness.
 * Human Popsicle: Space Vulture's nightly method for keeping himself perpetually young.
 * I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream: Everyone who becomes a part of Space Vulture's zombie crew, though you don't know this until
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Gil Terry, although he's really more of an Anti-Hero.
 * Magnificent Bastard: The term seems tailor-made for Space Vulture.
 * People Farms: Some clients on Medusker buy humans for this purpose.
 * Raygun Gothic
 * Reptiles Are Abhorrent: One, Space Vulture's right-hand Lizardo.
 * The Reveal:
 * Rogues Gallery: The group of rogues who show up to bid for Corsaire at the Buck House.
 * Sacrificial Lamb: Can Head, Gil Terry's morally-upright Robot Buddy, dies near the start.
 * Space Pirate: Space Vulture.
 * Space Police: Corsaire, and the corrupt and ineffectual Star Patrol.
 * Squick: The best way to sum up Valued Buyer including
 * Starfish Aliens: Valued Buyer, a hideous insectoid / crustacean alien.
 * Swiss Army Appendage: Gil's alien body parts.
 * Techno Babble: See Applied Phlebotinum.
 * Villain Based Franchise: Well, it's just this one book, but still.
 * Villain Episode: One gets an extended passage all to himself (see "A Day In The Limelight", above)
 * Villain Protagonist: Gil
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Was it really necessary for Corsaire to kill Can Head? No one really calls him on it, but still...
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Eliot Russell, to outrageous degrees.
 * The Woobie: The Bulbo
 * Zeerust: Rampant, but intentional.
 * Zeerust: Rampant, but intentional.