Vampire Instinct, The Surrender of Lady Jane and The Nightmare Thief

Vampire Instinct
Joey W. Hill
Heat, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425241264

In 1954 Elisa loves Willis as both are volunteer blood sources for vampires until Victor killed the latter and bit the former. Elisa’s mistress Lady Daniela directs her to escort the eight feral new vampires changed by the previous dead master but she finds them wildly out of control. Instead of an execution as normally done Elisa will escort them to Malachi who owes Lady Danny a favor. However one kills herself in a blood frenzy and Lady Danny kills another.

Native American vampire Malachi reluctantly mentors the remaining six wild cats who he believes should have been executed. He struggles to train the wild pups to control their urges but also helps Elisa heal from her attack. To his shock, she gets the mystic to open up his soul to her.

This is a great urban fantasy romance as the cast is fully developed and the poignant story line filled with plenty of action including erotic scenes that enhance the relationships. Readers will relish the trysts, but also wonder who if any of the six pups will survive the grueling transformation. Joey W. Hill writes a super angst-laden Vampire Queen thriller (see The Vampire Queen’s Servant). Harriet Klausner

The Surrender of Lady Jane
Marissa Day
Heat, $15.00
ISBN: 9780425241257

Hundreds of years ago, the faery Queen Tatiana rescued injured sailor Thomas Lynne. She made him a knight in her court and occasional lover. Her magic keeps him young and alive so he does whatever she asks of him.

Tatiana orders him to seduce Jane, an innocent human attendant to the pregnant Duchess of Kent. His actions will enable her and the fae to enter Kensington Palace where Tatiana plans to kidnap the infant when she is born. That baby is prophesized to become the Queen of England who will lead the mortals in defeating the fae for eternity. Thomas looks forward to his assignment until he falls in love with Lady Jane. If he betrays his queen, he literally will die; if he betrays his beloved, he will die of a broken heart anyway.

The Surrender of Lady Jane is an engaging paranormal historical romantic fantasy starring a wonderful heroine and a divided lead male. The story line is anchored nicely in time and place with references to real persona, which in turn insures the fae become a real threat to the court of England. Although a deeper look into Thomas’ past especially his ties to Tatiana would have explained his motives and doubts about where his loyalty lies, fans will enjoy this entertaining tale. Harriet Klausner

The Nightmare Thief
Meg Gardiner
Dutton, $25.95
ISBN: 9780525952213

In San Francisco reporter Evan Delaney (see Kill Chain) investigates the death of attorney Phelps Wylie as he finds some odd phenomena starting with the corpse found in the Sierras,. Needing help, Evan contacts forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett (see The Dirty Secrets Club) for help. Jo Informs Evan she will perform a psychological autopsy. She begins her analysis and she and her boyfriend Gabe Quintana visit the mine for further information.

In San Francisco, twenty-one years old Autumn Reiniger’s father gives her a birthday present of playing an Edge Adventures urban reality game. However, a different group abducts Autumn and her friends, demanding her father CEO of Reiniger Capital hedge fund pay twenty-million in ransom money for their safe return. Gabe and Jo collide with the kidnappers and their six spoiled offspring of wealth.

The first collaboration between the leads of Meg Gardiner’s two series is a terrific thriller though neither Delaney nor Beckett is the prime players. Instead spoiled overly indulged Autumn with her need to connect anyway she can with her distant dad is the star. Readers will enjoy this strong rescue mission attempt as even the affluent have emotional issues though it is difficult to feel much sympathy towards the six as money may not buy happiness but it eliminates the economic detractors that the impoverish face; which make happiness that much harder to obtain. Harriet Klausner

Rule 34, Heaven's Shadow and Autumn: Purification reviwed

Rule 34
Charles Stross
Ace, $25.95
ISBN: 9780441020348

In 2023, the police conduct 24/7 surveillance of the Internet as a crime prevention method in order to capture illegal porn peddlers. Edinburgh PD Detective Investigator Liz Kavanaugh heads the Rule 34 Crime Investigation Unit that monitors the Net for illegal activity usually extreme porn although she loathes her position.

Three similar homicides occur around the world. Because each is tied to BDSM and drugs, Kavanaugh leads the inquiry into the Scottish murder of dealer Michael Blair. To the DI, this is the case that will revise her dying career. However, her investigation seems to get increasingly murkier as she and her team discovers strange seemingly unrelated clues to the murder that ties to the felonious Toymaker and others with official protection as well as her former lover.

A few years have passed since the events of the Halting State, but if anything the Stross world has grown darker with a deeper nod to Huxley’s 1984. Vividly bleak while extrapolating the philosophy of those who want small government with a Big Brother “patriotic” morality oversight, the story line focuses on society monitoring and censoring the internet. The second case viewpoint adds to that sense of detachment and grimness but the key to this exciting unique police procedural is the enforcement of Rule 34 makes or breaks careers. Harriet Klausner


Heaven's Shadow
David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt
Ace, $25.96
ISBN: 9780441020331

Three years ago, the hundred miles wide object was spotted in the Solar System on a course to the sun. As the planetoid comes closer to its journey’s end, America and a combine of Russia, India and Brazil send a rival manned spacecraft to land on the projectile.

Instead of a rock or gases as expected, the object is an ancient space ship. As the astronauts search the vessel, their entrance turns on machines that have been dormant for eons. Even more eerie is the dead come to life as the earthlings struggle to survive increasingly lethal environs while trying to learn the purpose of the ship and its sentient passengers. On earth NASA officials stay in touch with the crew but grandstanding politicians do what they always do when it comes to effective governing by agencies; they interfere for personal gain.

Heaven's Shadow is a faster than the speed of light science fiction that targets readers who prefer action to the nth degree. None of the cast is fully developed, but fans who relish an outer space potentially disaster thriller along the lines of movies like Armageddon will appreciate this exciting tale of first contact. Harriet Klausner

Autumn: Purification
David Moody
Dunne, Aug 16 2011, $14.99
ISBN: 9780312569990

It took under 24 hours for the germ or whatever it was to kill 99% of the world population. However, those who died did not stay dead but arose to move around aimlessly. The only time they stopped meandering was when they found human who were immune to the disease. People banded together in communities as a means of staying alive because isolation meant vicious death dealt by these undead. One pocket found an underground lab in a bunker in as their haven. Hiding is the only way to prevent these creatures from decimating what is left of mankind.

The British army keeps the living separated just in case any are contagion carriers like a Typhoid Mary. The undead are unable to reach humans in the facility until thousands arrive blocking the air ducts leading from the outside. Those trying to fix the problem fail as the corpses overrun the facility forcing the survivors to flee. They meet Richard, a helicopter pilot, who flies them to an airfield where they take shelter. On the isolated Island of Cormansey, the survivors kill the undead making the place habitable. The cadavers know people are in the airfield building and there is no way to fly to the island.

The undead are killers tearing apart live flesh, but are not cannibalistic zombies. Each character has a story to tell in the naked city that has become London, but the poignant tale is that of Michael and Emma who met and fell in love after the apocalypse destroyed civilization as we know it. The story line is fast-paced as the undead keep on coming while humans try to remain a step (make that a kilometer) ahead of them. Fans will enjoy David Moody’s third the Autumn mankind horror thriller (see Autumn and Autumn the City) as those undead survivors are beginning to learn how to use their senses. Harriet Klausner

Crystal Lyrics by Stevie Nicks

I've been hearing this song a lot lately and I don't know if it means anything or not but I'm reminded of the Soulsmith series by the late Tom Dietz wherein the main character received his daily guidance by the first three songs he heard every day.

Crystal by Stevie Nicks

Do you always trust your first initial feeling
Special knowledge holds truth bears believing
I turned around
And the water was closing all around
Like a glove
Like the love that had finally, finally found me
Then I knew
In the crystalline knowledge of you
Drove me thru the mountains
Thru the crystal-like clear water fountain
Drove me like a magnet
To the sea

How the faces of love have changed turning the pages
And I have changed oh, but you...you remain ageless
I turned around
And the water was closing all around
Like a glove
Like the love that had finally, finally found me
Then I knew
In the crystalline knowledge of you
Drove me thru the mountains
Thru the crystal-like clear water fountain
Drove me like a magnet
To the sea

Copyright Welch Witch Music

Reviews of Spectre and Deadline

Spectyr
Philippa Ballantine
Ace, $7.99
ISBN: 9780441020515

In the land of Vermillion, the beings of the Otherworld are separated from the mortal realm by a barrier; the Order of Deacons insure the two groups remain apart. They are tasked with sending the geists back to the Otherworld.and Deacons Sorcha Faris and Merrick Chambers are investigating rumors of malevolent ghosts after the dangers they faced in their last mission as a punishment to not work independently of the Order. When the pair are given the chance to escort the Chioman delegation home to discuss the Emperor’s marital negotiations they eagely accept the chance to get away from make work.

Sorcha is ecstatic to reach the Hive city of Orithal because that is where her lover the Young Pretender Raed resides. He carries within him a geistlord so much of the time he is in the water where the parasite is relatively helpless. The people of Orithel are afraid due to a series of ghastly deaths. They need the talents of Sorcha, Merrick and Raed to investigate and catch the killer. The trio finds themselves in the middle of a war between the geistlord and the Goddess Hatipi who the Emperor's sister Zofiya summoned. However to catch a killer means dealing with the Otherworld and a Goddess.

The opening act in Philippa Ballantine’s Book of the Order (see Geist) is a great fantasy, but the second tale is even better. The three protagonists have bonded; this link embellishes their powers and enables them to deal with (and hopefully survive) the geists and Otherworld. Raed is the most sympathetic of the trio because he fears 24/7 that the geistmaster inside of him will overcome his sense of being and identity. Spectyr is a fantastic fantasy due to the unique relationships between individuals, species and worlds.Harriet Klausner

Deadline
Mira Grant
Orbit, $9.99
ISBN: 97803916081061

In 2032 Georgia Mason became infected with the zombie Kellis-Amberlee virus (see Feed) that has run wild for decades. Humans have survived by following specific safety guidelines like extremely tiny windows in which a gnat would not find easy egress. However with all they did, the co-blogger of Postcards from the Wall caught the disease due to CDC infecting her and is now dead. Though almost a decade later, her blogging bother Shaun believes he might as well be too though what keeps him alive is talking inside his head to his dead sister; which he knows makes him certifiable even in a land filled with zombies.

CDC Dr. Kelly Connolly visits Mason. He muses the last time they met was when she delivered his sister’s ashes to him and the time before that was when the siblings were accused of amplification. George tells him to ignore history and talk with her. Kelly wants his blogging crew to investigate a new development in the Kellis-Amberlee; research as scientists are dying at an alarming rate. She faked her death to get to him and his news crew. As George orders him to lead the inquiry, Mason thinks his sister is unfair as he just wants the cause of death for CDC being Shaun Mason.

The second futuristic Newsflash Mason Zombie thriller is a fabulous suspense tale that grips the audience even before the prime story line begins. Aptly titled, Deadline contains a super twisting plot and a strong cast including the late Georgia. Readers will enjoy this dark biting thriller as readers wonder what the truth is when the media and the agencies charged with protecting the public manipulate, omit and often lie. Harriet Klausner

The Vietnam War Continues

The Vietnam War was over for me over forty years ago, or so I thought. In September 1970 I left Vietnam to return home. The horrors of war were replaced by nightmares and dreams. We were called "baby killers". We were spit on and treated as criminals by those who wanted peace at any cost.

Mostly we were ignored. We were told that Agent Orange had no side effects, no health risks, and our dreams would go away. The problem is there were side effects, there were health risks, and the dreams got worse.

An unknown number of veterans have died from wounds not suffered on the battlefield, but from the illnesses caused by Agent Orange. Many others carry the mental wounds of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and too many of us don't or won't ask for help.

I've had type 2 diabetes for over twenty years; hypertension and PTSD for longer than that; and, now I've been diagnosed with Ischemic Heart Disease. All of these are related to Agent Orange exposure. I will have more tests and a heart cath in the near future.

Hopefully with treatment, I will not become another casualty of the Vietnam War for a long time. I know the day is coming and I'm doing my best to prepare for it.

Think of all the Veterans and keep positive vibrations heading their way. If you enjoy living in a free country, thank the vet - not the politician.

The Summer of Steampunk

24 August 2011

The Summer of Steampunk

Longest running steampunk series raises the heat in fortnight-long genre celebration

Break out your top hats and holster your Tesla Mark Seven blunderbuss, the Summer of Steampunk from Abaddon Books is here!

To mark a major new direction for the world’s longest-running series of steampunk novels, Pax Britannia, Abaddon is running two weeks of steampunk shenanigans at the new dedicated Pax Britannia Facebook page.

From free eBooks and competition giveaways to debate and word from our authors about what makes steampunk so much fun, join us for two weeks of celebration of this most charming, exciting and ever-growing line of books.

The event will culminate in a major announcement about a surprising new book which throws away the rulebook of how genre publishing works.

A must for any fan of steampunk or pulp adventure action, Pax Britannia is set in a radically different version of the late 20th Century where the age of the Victorians never ended and Queen Victoria remains alive thanks to steampunk technology.

From Jonathan Green’s swashbuckling agent of the Empire, Ulysses Quicksilver, to Al Ewing’s ultra-violent El Sombra, Pax Britannia takes steampunk adventure to a new level.

Jonathan Oliver, editor-in-chief of Abaddon Books, said:
““Pax Britannia is one of the longest running steampunk adventures in publishing, and our Summer of Steampunk will bring a host of goodies bound to appeal to new and old readers of the series alike.”


About the Series

The world’s longest-running series of steampunk novels, Pax Britannia launched in February 2007. A steampunk alternative history set in a late twentieth century in which Queen Victoria – now nearing the end of her sixteenth decade on the throne and dependent on steam technology for survival – rules over the vast, powerful and decadent Empire of Magna Britannia. Airships ply the skies as gentlemen of leisure admire dinosaurs in London Zoo, while the Empire has even extended to the Moon. The United Socialist States of America, loosely allied with the might of Magna Britannia, is home to dreamers, poets, madmen, and heroes, poised to usher in a new era.

The series has included seven books by Jonathan Green, featuring the adventures of Ulysses Lucian Quicksilver, dandy and adventurer and agent of the throne; an omnibus collecting the first three is currently available.

Lou Anders Wins Hugo

Pyr Editorial Director Wins Hugo Award

Lou Anders Recognized

Amherst, NY–Pyr, a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books, is proud to announce a 2011 Hugo Award win by Editorial Director Lou Anders.

Anders received the trophy for “Best Editor–Long Form” at a ceremony on Aug. 20 at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Jay Lake and Ken Scholes presided as masters of ceremony, with additional presenters including Renovation Guests of Honor Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo, and Ellen Asher, along with leading genre writers George R. R. Martin and Robert Silverberg.

The Hugos are international, fan-voted awards. All members of the World Science Fiction Society are eligible to vote.

This was the fifth consecutive nomination and the first win for Anders in the category.

“Words cannot express what an honor this award represents to me,” Anders said. “But what I can express is how privileged I feel to work every day with the host of brilliant authors who have made Pyr what it is.”

“Lou’s taste, vision, and stewardship have been instrumental in shaping the Pyr brand,” said Prometheus Books President Jonathan Kurtz. “We’re extremely pleased and grateful for the tremendous reception Pyr has received since its inception.”

Prometheus Books, an independent publisher of thoughtful nonfiction, launched the Pyr imprint in March 2005. Since then, it has become a brand known for books with quality both inside and out, from rich, engrossing narratives to award-winning cover art and design. Although technically an imprint, Pyr was called “one of a very few publishers I know of who have no bad books to their name” by a BiblioBuffet writer, and “one of the most exciting publishers in the business” by Black Gate magazine.