This combination crime and science fiction novel is certainly not a classic, but Hijack is creative and includes a clever twist towards the end that might make you chuckle a bit.
High Point: The plot is creative and simply fun.
Low Point: You might get the sense the author included unnecessary events as fillers to ensure the story reaches novel-length.
Author: Edward Wellen
Publication Date: 1971
Genre: History
Project Gutenberg: Not available
LibriVox: Not available
Movie/TV Adaptation: None
Weird.
That’s the best way to describe Hijack by Edward Wellen. The weirdness starts even before you read the first word—the cover art depicts a spaceman wearing a fedora and holding a tommy gun.
Despite that, Hijack is an oddly entertaining read that tells an off-the-wall story about the 1970s Mafia taking on the US space agency. Their goal is simple: hijack a spaceship intended to take American political leaders to safety before the sun explodes. The Mafia wants it instead for members of the Families. As one might expect, there are contracts, hits and double-crosses. Life is cheap, and the body count builds as the Mafia goes about its business.
Wellen was a prolific short story writer who contributed to the mystery and science fiction anthology magazines that were popular in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Hijack, his first novel, reads a bit like an elongated short story. The characters aren’t particularly well developed. And there is a sense that some of the events serve as fillers to ensure the story reaches novel-length.
This combination crime and science fiction novel is certainly not a classic, but the plot is creative and includes a clever twist towards the end that might make you chuckle a little. It is not a book you will likely read more than once, but it is easy, quick and fun.
And weird.
