The Dragon Engine - Andy Remic

The Dragon Engine - Andy Remic



Hi-octane fantasy from the natural successor to David Gemmell.

Five noble war heroes of Vagandrak get drunk one night and sign a contract – to journey to the Karamakkos in search of the Five Havens. There, it is written, there lies untold, abandoned wealth and, more importantly, the three Dragon Heads, legendary jewels claimed to give unspeakable power and everlasting life to those who wield them.

But the Dragon Heads aren’t what the adventurers think they are, and the world has not encountered their like in many, many generations!

Praise for The Dragon Engine:

“A thunderous hammer-blow of a novel, brimming with the best sorts of savagery and nastiness.”
- Ian Graham, Author of Monument

"The Dragon Engine is a not-f***ing-around fantasy. A blood-soaked tribute to Tolkien from the worthy successor to David Gemmel’s throne.”
- Gavin G. Smith, Author of Veteran, War in Heaven, Age of Scorpio and A Quantum Mythology

If Then - Matthew De Abaitua

If Then - Matthew De Abaitua



The intriguing literary SF second novel from the author of the Clarke Award-nominated The Red Men...

In the near future, after the collapse of society as we know it, one English town survives under the protection of the computer algorithms of the Process, which governs every aspect of their lives. The Process gives and it takes. It allocates jobs and resources, giving each person exactly what it has calculated they will need. But it also decides who stays under its protection, and who must be banished to the wilderness beyond. Human life has become totally algorithm-driven, and James, the town bailiff, is charged with making sure the Process’s suggestions are implemented.

But now the Process is making soldiers. It is readying for war — the First World War. Mysteriously, the Process is slowly recreating events that took place over a hundred years ago, and is recruiting the town’s men to fight in an artificial reconstruction of the Dardanelles campaign. James, too, must go fight. And he will discover that the Process has become vastly more sophisticated and terrifying than anyone had believed possible.

Praise for If Then:

“If Then is a love story, the history of a marriage, a topical meditation on the end of capitalism; best of all, it is a bone-deep, blood-sweet British fantasy, naive and ingenious as William Morris and as warpedly nostalgic as Richard Jeffries’ After London. As disturbingly hyperreal as any Pre-Raphaelite painting, If Then imagines what the end of history really will really look like, what’s really at stake, and maybe, just maybe, what we can do about it.”
- Simon Ings, author of Wolves

“Sumptuously written, with prose that glitters with a dark lustre like a Damien Hirst fly collage. intricately plotted, and a satirical point as sharp and and accurate as the scalpel of a brain surgeon: De Abaitua operates on the smiling face of the present to reveal the grimacing skull of the future.”
- Will Self

Windswept - Adam Rakunas

Windswept - Adam Rakunas



Padma Mehta has to save her city, her planet, and Occupied Space from a devastating crop-killing plague — all before Happy Hour.

Labor organizer Padma Mehta is on the edge of space and the edge of burnout. All she wants is to buy out a little rum distillery and retire, but she’s supposed to recruit 500 people to the Union before she can. She’s only thirty-three short. So when a small-time con artist tells her about forty people ready to tumble down the space elevator to break free from her old bosses, she checks it out — against her better judgment. It turns out, of course, it was all lies.

As Padma should know by now, there are no easy shortcuts on her planet. And suddenly retirement seems farther away than ever: she’s just stumbled into a secret corporate mission to stop a plant disease that could wipe out all the industrial sugarcane in Occupied Space. If she ever wants to have another drink of her favorite rum, she’s going to have to fight her way through the city’s warehouses, sewage plants, and up the elevator itself to stop this new plague.

Praise for Windswept:

“Like all the best speculative fiction set in the future, Windswept is also about the way we live now, and Adam Rakunas tackles what matters most with a metric ton of humor and heart. A promising, thrilling debut.”
- Robert Levy, author of The Glittering World

“Lush and exotic, Rakunas’s Windswept is like the booze that powers his world: a delightful cask aged añejo rum that keeps revealing greater complexity and depth the more time you spend with it. I didn’t realize I had been lacking rum-running space opera in my life, but after Windswept, I definitely have a thirst for more.”
- Mark Teppo, Author of Earth Thirst and co-Author of The Mongoliad

Empire Ascendant - Kameron Hurley

Empire Ascendant - Kameron Hurley



Loyalties are tested when worlds collide…

Every two thousand years, the dark star Oma appears in the sky, bringing with it a tide of death and destruction. And those who survive must contend with friends and enemies newly imbued with violent powers. The kingdom of Saiduan already lies in ruin, decimated by invaders from another world who share the faces of those they seek to destroy.

Now the nation of Dhai is under siege by the same force. Their only hope for survival lies in the hands of an illegitimate ruler and a scullery maid with a powerful – but unpredictable –magic. As the foreign Empire spreads across the world like a disease, one of their former allies takes up her Empress’s sword again to unseat them, and two enslaved scholars begin a treacherous journey home with a long-lost secret that they hope is the key to the Empire’s undoing.
But when the enemy shares your own face, who can be trusted?


Praise for The Mirror Empire, the first in the Worldbreaker Saga:

“The Mirror Empire is an extraordinary novel. The scale and invention here makes it essential reading but the characters make it remarkable. None of them are heroes and none of them have the comforting sense of having read the book they’re in. They’re all flawed, terrified people doing what they can to survive. Seeing them struggle even as the stakes are raised makes for a reading experience as packed as it is tense. Book 2 can’t get here fast enough.”
– Alasdair Stuart

“The Mirror Empire is the most original fantasy I’ve read in a long time, set in a world full of new ideas, expanding the horizons of the genre. A complex and intricate book full of elegant ideas and finely-drawn characters.”
– Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of The Shadows of the Apt series and finalist for the 2014 Gemmell Legend Award

Ania Ahiborn's THE PRETTY ONE

Here's some informationabout bestselling horror author Ania Ahlborn. Ania’s brand new e-novella THE PRETTY ONES is out this month from Pocket Star.



A rising star among horror novelists, Ania Ahlborn’s last novel Within These Walls was praised by the New York Times, Portland Monthly, the popular website The Mary Sue, and many more. Ania quickly became a self-published sensation with her first novel Seed, and her other novels have gone on to become bestsellers.



In her terrifying e-novella, THE PRETTY ONES, it is New York, 1977, in the sweltering height of the Summer of Sam. The entire city is gripped with fear, but all Nell Sullivan worries about is whether or not she’ll ever make a friend. The self-proclaimed “Plain Jane” does her best to fit in with the girls at work, but Nell’s brother, Barrett, assures her that she’ll never be like them. When Nell manages to finally garner some much-yearned-for attention, the unthinkable happens to her newfound friend. The office pool blames Son of Sam, but Nell knows the awful truth…because doing the devil’s work is easy when there’s already a serial killer on the loose.



If you are interested in reviewing THE PRETTY ONES, please let me know and I will send you a digital review copy. Ania Ahlborn’s next full-length novel, BROTHER is out September 2015 from Gallery Books

Waterborne Exile - Susan Murray

Waterborne Exile - Susan Murray

A nameless priestess will stop at nothing to get revenge on the killers of her lover.

In a world of turmoil, following the king’s death, the traitor Vasic is struggling to secure his rule over the combined Peninsular Kingdoms whilst the exiled queen, Alwenna, has taken refuge with a freemerchant community whose elders fear her dark power.

Mistrust rules the day with bribery, drugs, trafficking of children, and murder rife throughout the kingdom

As the priestess’ plot for revenge continues, Alwenna leaves to seek the outcast group of loyal kinsman. Marten attempts to restore Alwenna to the throne but as the priestess closes in, will he succeed?

Praise for the Waterborne Series:

“This is a wonderful thing, a sweeping fantasy which somehow manages to pull off the trick of being intimate and very human at the same time. It begins with a realm in peril, and then puts its shoulders back and strides confidently towards a horizon packed with magic and love and abandoned palaces and a huge and very real evil."
– Dave Hutchinson, author of Europe in Autumn

“This is a well-paced, enjoyable read with characters that feel rounded and real…the writing shines.”
– Rian Drinkwater, SFX Magazine

“It’s an engrossing read, with a dramatically convoluted plot and plenty of action, to the point that it’s occasionally hard to remember who did what. Still, it makes for an impressive first novel, and an intriguing start to a series. ”
– Carolyn Cushman, Locus Magazine

Dawnbreaker - Jay Posey

Dawnbreaker - Jay Posey



Wren is living in Greenstone under the temporary care of Charles and Mol, and the protection of Chapel. Unable to determine the fate of his mother and those he left behind in Morningside, Wren believes there is nothing left to do but wait for Asher’s final blow … until a man named Haiku walks into the Samurai McGann, looking for Three.

After learning of Three’s fate, Asher’s ascension, and Wren’s gift, Haiku offers his help, and together they set out to find the remnants of House Eight and convince them to help.

As Cass and the few who survived the fall of Morningside face overwhelming odds to escape Asher and the Weir, they realize it is impossible…until their daring and probably suicidal plan to strike turns out to have surprising results and unexpected discoveries.

Praise for the Legends of the Duskwalker trilogy:

“Dawnbreaker is the third book in the Legends of the Duskwalker trilogy, which may be one of the best sci-fi trilogies published in the last decade. Start at the beginning, with Three, and don’t stop until you get to the end.”
– Looking for a Good Book

“Posey has constructed a really unique world, one that steps to the side of the usual zombie tropes and provides an apocalypse that’s at once unfathomable, but also believable. That’s no mean feat.”
– SF Crow’s Nest

“Gritty action-packed drama so hi-res and real you’ll believe you got something in your eye.”
– Matt Forbeck, author of Amortals and Dangerous Games

The Contrary Tale of The Butterfly Girl - Ishbelle Bee

The Contrary Tale of The Butterfly Girl - Ishbelle Bee


Ishbelle Bee - The Contrary Tale of The Butterfly Girl

A dark and twisted Victorian melodrama, like Alice in Wonderland goes to Hell, from the author of The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath.

Two orphans, Pedrock and Boo Boo, are sent to live in the sinister village of Darkwound. There they meet and befriend the magical and dangerous Mr Loveheart and his neighbour, Professor Hummingbird, a recluse who collects rare butterflies. Little do they know that Professor Hummingbird has attracted the wrath of a demon named Mr Angelcakes.

One night, Mr Angelcakes visits Boo Boo and carves a butterfly onto her back. Boo Boo starts to metamorphose into a butterfly/human hybrid, and is kidnapped by Professor Hummingbird. When Mr Loveheart attempts to rescue her with the aid of Detective White and Constable Walnut, they too are turned into butterflies.

Caught between Professor Hummingbird and the demon Angelcakes, Loveheart finds himself entangled in a web much wider and darker than he could have imagined, and a plot that leads him right to the Prime Minister and even Queen Victoria herself …

“This book is such a cacophony of prose, eccentricity and delight.”
– Black Tea & Milk

“The characters and instances are brilliant and the scenes rendered in flawless fashion.”
– Koeur’s Book Reviews

Well, Ishbelle Bee has done it again. After my wonderful experience reading The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath (I can truly only describe reading it as an experience), I was anxious to see where Bee was going to take both her characters and us, the reader, and I am tickled by the result.
– From My Bookshelf

race and flags

i don't think I'm alone in this sentiment, but if I am that's fine. I've always been a loner and will probably will always be. You may think of this as a rant, but can't hold it in any longer.

I was born and bred in Alabama and Georgia. First clue! I was taught history in the South and I always thought that everyone else used the same books and encyclopedias and learned the same facts. In all my 67 years, I have never seen the kind of things that people are doing. you are trying to change our Heritage, and you may ultimately win, but not without some resistance.

The Rebel Flag does not hurt anyone, t fly's to show heritage and there were men of color who fought and died for it as well Some people in power and upper classes forget who their ancestors were and how they have risen to their positions today.

Now we are having all this political correctness gone extreme wanting to take the flags down, dig up people from their graves, remove or destroy statues, rename streets, and do whatever the hell they want to do.

Would it be so hard to put it to a vote and let the citizens decide what they prefer. After all, this is still a free country;and I am not a Constitutional scholar, collectively - we are America, a group of United States and are still able to pull away from the union and try to make it on it's own, The war of 1861-1865 was for the states to have the right to pass their own laws that applied to their citizens.

If this path follows the way, things will change. no more SOUTHERN fried chicken, no more Yes Sir and Yes Mam, no more SOUTHERN gallantry or SOUTHERN Belles, no more biscuits and gravy and grits, no more Southern Gospel music, country music (still unsure about, but it is in Tennessee-a Confederate state).

I'm sure I'm missing some things that will also disappear that others may think of later.

God only made one race and nowhere is the color of their skin mention the color of their skin. and as a famous person said: "Racism will never go away until all the OLD WHITE FOLKS DIE." Sorry but I don't think that will be the case.

Rarity In the Hollow, reprise

Several years ago I reviewed a first effort by Robert Eggleton. Now it has gained some more attention and here are two of the latest reviews to come out and Bob could use the exposure. Hopefully you will like to see someones elses views than mine.





ISBN: 0977644839


A Universe On the Edge

RARITY FROM THE HOLLOW. Robert Eggleton . Doghorn Publishing. Published 2012.



Rarity From the Hollow

Lacy Dawn is a little girl who lives in a magical forest where all the trees love her and she has a space alien friend who adores her and wants to make her queen of the universe. What’s more, all the boys admire her for her beauty and brains. Mommy is very beautiful and Daddy is very smart, and Daddy’s boss loves them all.

Except.

Lacy Dawn, the eleven year old protagonist, perches precariously between the psychosis of childhood and the multiple neuroses of adolescence, buffeted by powerful gusts of budding sexuality and infused with a yearning to escape the grim and brutal life of a rural Appalachian existence. In this world, Daddy is a drunk with severe PTSD, and Mommy is an insecure wraith. The boss is a dodgy lecher, not above leering at the flat chest of an eleven-year-old girl.

Yes, all in one book.

Rarity From The Hollow is written in a simple declarative style that’s well- suited to the imaginary diary of a desperate but intelligent eleven-year-old – the story bumping joyfully between the extraordinary and the banal.

The central planet of the universe is a vast shopping mall, and Lacy Dawn must save her world from a menace that arrives in the form of a cockroach infestation. Look again and the space alien has made Daddy smart and happy – or at least an eleven year old girl’s notion of what a smart and happy man should be. He has also made Mommy beautiful, giving her false teeth and getting the food stamp lady off her back.

About the only thing in the book that is believable is the nature of the narrative voice, and it is utterly compelling. You find yourself convinced that “Hollow” was written as a diary-based autobiography by a young girl and the banal stems from the limits of her environment, the extraordinary from her megalomania. And that’s what gives Rarity From The Hollow a chilling, engaging verisimilitude that deftly feeds on both the utter absurdity of the characters’ motivations and on the progression of the plot.

Indeed, there are moments of utter darkness: In one sequence, Lacy Dawn remarks matter-of-factly that a classmate was whipped to death, and notes that the assailant, the girl’s father, had to change his underpants afterward because they were soiled with semen. Odd, and often chilling notes, abound.

As I was reading it, I remembered when I first read Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle” at the age of 14. A veteran of Swift, Heller, and Frederick Brown, I understood absurdist humour in satire, but Vonnegut took that understanding and turned it on its ear.

In the spirit of Vonnegut, Eggleton (a psychotherapist focused on the adolescent patient) takes the genre and gives it another quarter turn. A lot of people hated Vonnegut, saying he didn’t know the rules of good writing. But that wasn’t true. Vonnegut knew the rules quite well, he just chose to ignore them, and that is what is happening in Eggleton’s novel, as well.

Not everyone will like Rarity From The Hollow. Nonetheless, it should not be ignored.
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson

http://www.amazon.com/Rarity-Hollow-Robert-Eggleton-ebook/dp/B007JDI508

http://electricrev.net/2014/08/12/a-universe-on-the-edge/



8-12-14



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The most enjoyable science fiction novel I have read in several years



Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton is the most enjoyable science fiction novel I have read in several years. Who could think of an intergalactic handbook for entrepreneurs? Who could turn a tree-hugger into a paranormal event of death-defying significance? Who could create characters so believable, so funny, so astonishingly human (and not)?

Robert Eggleton, that’s who.

I put this book on my IPhone, and it followed me everywhere for several days. Strangers smiled politely at my unexpected laughter in the men’s room toilet stall. They looked away as I emerged, waving the IPhone at them as if it might explain something significant.

Oddly, the novel explains a great deal that has become significant in our society. Rarity from the Hollow is satire at its best and highest level. It is a psychological thriller, true to traits of mankind (and other species). It is an animal rights dissertation (you will laugh when you understand why I write that). It celebrates the vilest insect on earth (make that Universe).

The characters created by Robert Eggleton will bug your brain long after you smoke, uh, read the final page. Thanks for the laughs, the serious thoughts, the absolute wonder of your mind, Mr. Eggleton. A truly magnificent job.



You have my permission to use this however you see fit, with the following attribution:

Temple Emmet Williams, Author, Former Reader’s Digest Editor



http://warriorpatient.com/blog/2015/05/18/58/



5-18-15

Status update

Sorry to have been away for so long, but I have been having more heart problems and constant headaches.I'm seeing a doctor every week and have three different ones this coming week. We have tried several drug cocktails and they are constantly "tweaking" them and we still haven't found the right one yet. Some of the drugs are narcotics and they totally keep me groggy and sleepy.

I am trying to get everything resolved and back on track, but it looks like a road right now. I'll do what I can to post more later.

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July.