Snark, Space Pirates, and Sentimentality
4.5 out of 5 stars
Vance Turbo is back, and is somehow even more endearingly unhinged than ever.
Space Academy Vagrants is the fifth installment in C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus’s ridiculous, heartfelt, and wildly entertaining series. This time, we’re gifted another galaxy-spanning adventure that expertly juggles sci-fi satire and sincere character growth. This time, Vance’s mission involves assassins, pirate treasure, and existential galactic judgment. You know, just another Tuesday in the Melampus.
What really got me in this one was the theme around growth and the addition of (found) family. Watching Vance try to navigate fatherhood while also, y’know, saving humanity, added a surprising layer of emotional depth. The series has always been snarky, sharp, and fast-paced, but this entry feels especially grounded in its heart. That moment-to-moment humor, like the recurring “I’ve always hated you, Vance Turbo!” (or some form of that) gag—still lands every single time, but it’s the emotional throughline that’s stayed with me.
Jeffrey Kafer once again nails the narration. His delivery perfectly captures Vance’s exasperated wit and brings just the right level of sincerity when things get real. His timing with the humor is impeccable, and he keeps pace with the writers’ whip-smart prose with ease.
This series continues to evolve in all the best ways. If you’ve made it this far, you’ll love this one, and if you haven’t started yet, what are you waiting for? This is top-tier space opera parody with a lot more heart than it has any right to.
Book Description:
“These are the voyages of the starship Melampus. We’re on an eight-year mission to seek out new life and are bored to tears.”
High Protector Vance Turbo managed to save the entire galaxy and retrieve his wayward child, Astrid. As such, he’s been looking for a safe job to raise his daughter and find some peace. Unfortunately, that turns out to have been a terrible idea because while Vance believes the universe doesn’t need him, the universe disagrees.
Sent on a crazy mission to assassinate a Sorkanan warlord and recover a long-lost space pirate treasure, Vance discovers that humanity is on the chopping block for its many sins. The Elder Races intend to judge mankind, and Vance must prove that his species is worth saving—which is hard since he doesn’t even believe that himself.
Space Academy is an all-new series from the hilarious duo of C.T. Phipps (Supervillainy Saga, Agent G) and Michael Suttkus (I Was a Teenage Weredeer, Lucifer’s Star) that lampoons the space opera as well as military science fiction genres.
Includes a bonus short story, “Twinkle, Twinkle.”
Space Academy Vagrants by CT Phipps, Michael SuttkusNarrator: Jeffrey Kafer
Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
Series: Space Academy #5
Published by Podium Audio on February 17th 2025
Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Also by this author: Cthulhu Armageddon, Agent G: Infiltrator, The Tower of Zhaal, Lucifer's Star, I Was a Teenage Weredeer, An American Weredeer in Michigan, Lucifer's Nebula
Also in this series: Space Academy Dropouts, , Space Academy Washouts, Space Academy Miscreants
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