The quintessential bounty hunter in space is, of course, Boba Fett from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He is the King of All Bounty Hunters, a well-deserved accolade. Why? He’s a total badass, wears awesome armor, and steals every scene he’s in.
What makes bounty hunters like Boba Fett so much fun?
- They’re dangerous
- They perform a needed “service” and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty
- They often operate on the wrong side of the law
- They wield all sorts of righteous weapons
- They’re strong (rowrr!)
- Cunning is a bounty hunter’s middle name
- They have great networking skills (albeit of the underground kind)
- They know every hideout and seedy bar in the galaxy
- Their negotiation skills are killer
- They’re cooler than starship captains
But.
Boba Fett is not a romance hero. The only way we’ll get to experience a space-faring bounty hunter in love is in a science fiction romance. Luckily, there are some go-to stories for just such a character:
- Runner - Anitra Lynn McLeod
- Hunters - Michelle Marquis & Lindsey Bayer
- The Slipstream Con - S. Reesa Herberth & Michelle Moore
- Enslaved By A Viking - Delilah Devlin
- Ricochet - Sandra Sookoo
- Replicant (forthcoming) - Dani Worth
- Mako’s Bounty (forthcoming) - Diane Dooley
The default gender for a bounty hunter in general is male, but what I love about sci-fi romance is that authors don’t limit themselves that way. Remember Bounty Hunter Leia from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi? Well, she’s proof positive that heroines can be exciting bounty hunters, too, and several of the above authors continue that tradition.
Do you have a favorite bounty hunter character/story? Would you like to see more of them in a futuristic setting?
Boba Fett meme via EntertainmentBuddha.com
Heather Massey is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for sci-fi romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express.
She’s also an author: Her latest sci-fi romance is Queenie’s Brigade from Red Sage Publishing. To learn more about her published work, visit www.heathermassey.com.
