Press Release

Toxicity

by Andy Remic

Utopia crumbles on May 29th (US & Canada) and 7th June (UK)

£8.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-78108-003-0
$8.99/$10.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-78108-004-7

Available as an ebook

Andy Remic returns to the world of the Anarchy with another brash, no-holds-barred action!

Welcome to Manna – the utopian galaxy where all races exist in harmony. Ruled by perfect alien machines, Manna is a place of wisdom, technology and art. But on the edge of the galaxy, far away from romantic holiday cruises, hides Toxicity, a reprocessing planet where The Greenstar Company deals with all Manna’s waste. ALL of it.

But ECO terrorist Jenni Xi is fighting a cleanup war against The Company. Yet when a sabotage goes horribly wrong, she learns the future of the planet – and it’s far worse than she ever dreamed. Along with swashbuckler and bon viveur Svoolzard Koolimax and a torture model Anarchy Android known simply as The Dentist, Xi must survive on this polluted world long enough to ensure that the fate of Manna changes forever…

Remic’s irresistible blend of high-octane military SF and good old fashioned adventure is an absolute delight. Edgy, over-the-top, and provocative – Remic is the master of action!

"If you’re looking for something that mixes the sensibilities of Blackadder and an Iron Maiden album cover, with a pinch of vintage 2000 AD thrown in, then look no further."

– Financial Times on Cloneworld

New Reviews

DRIVEN, James Sallis, Poisoned Pen Press, $19.95, 158 pages, ISBN: 9781464200106, reviewed by Barry Hunter.

This is the follow-up adventure to DRIVE, which has been converted to a successful movie. At the end of DRIVE, Driver has decided to get out of the business and put his past behind him. We all know how that usually turns out.

It has been seven years and Driver has become Paul West and settled in Phoenix where his business is successful. He and his fiancée are walking down the street on a Saturday morning when they are attacked. Driver manages to take them both out, but discovers that Elsa, his fiancée, has been killed.

Driver enlists the aid of a friend from Desert Storm and spends the remainder of the book settling the account for Elsa. He makes no qualms in leaving a trail of bodies in order to complete his mission.

DRIVEN is a 1940s era noir story with all the trappings told in the settings of today. Sallis has written a mile a minute story that you move through like Driver handles his car at 120 mph. Be prepared to read this at one sitting. Be sure to buckle your seat belt.

The Gift of Fire / On the Head of a Pin: Two Short Novels from Crosstown to Oblivion, While Mosley, Tor, May 8 2012, $24.99, ISBN: 9780765330086, reviewed by Harriet Klauser.

“The Gift of Fire” - Prometheus escapes from Zeus’ divine punishment for his betrayal with The Gift of Fire to the mortals. Though Prometheus knows he should plead with Pluto or Neptune for asylum, he refuses to cower. Instead he hides as a human in Los Angeles with plans to give the second gift. Cops greet him by beating him. Soon afterward he calls himself Foreman Prospect and meets wino Nosome Blane who agrees to take the big man around the city. After facing a judge, Foreman continues his trek around South Central.

“On the Head of a Pin” - At Jennings-Tremont Enterprises, Joshua Winterland and Ana Fried are developing an animatronics editing technique to create movies that contain the same quality as live filming. Their method will enable the perfect blending of dead superstars with the top talent of today. However, neither is prepared for the final cut on their footage that denotes a new reality.

Somewhat different in tone, these are two superb urban fantasy novellas share in common a focus on mankind’s relatively short and low stature in the universe. This leads to a degree of separation between an African-American wino and a billionaire oil man being insignificant in the expanding realm of the big bang. Intelligent, readers will appreciate this fine two-story collection as Walter Mosley makes it look Easy switching from mystery to fantasy.

The Hot Gate, John Ringo, Baen, Apr 24 2012, $7.99, ISBN: 9781451638189, Harriet Klausner.

In the outer Solar System, the orbital gates appear as a trading boom for mankind and the Grtul, but the Horvath arrive in warships conquering Terra (see Live Free or Die). As humanity quickly teetered on the brink of extinction, tycoon Tyler Vernon converted the large asteroid Troy into a tremendous battle station that along with the Solar Array Pumped Laser humans was used to drive away the invaders from the Sol System. However, an even more dangerous threat entered the system as the reptilian Rangora began a deadly serpentine blitzkrieg (see Citadel).

Though earthlings have battled back, the threat remains ominous. To survive and thrive they must go where no one has dared ventured before: into the heart of the Rangora horde. Tyler Vernon and his unit aboard Troy begin the suicidal counter assault.

The latest Troy Rising storyline starts slow with a deep but irrelevant look into relationships in various cultures before finally turning back into the war of the solar systems. When the plot returns to its military science fiction theme, the tale goes into hyperspeed as readers anticipate the deadly confrontation that affirms Stalin’s commentary: "When one man dies it is a tragedy, when thousands die its statistics.”

Fantasy Reviews

Witchful Thinking
H. P. Mallory
Bantam, $7.99
ISBN: 9780345531452

Almost thirty, fortuneteller Jolie Wilkins gave up on dating after the last few losers were deader than the reanimated she has brought back from beyond. Her self-image is pitiful; however, that was when she was just another mundane human trying to eke out a living. Her world spun off its axis when Rand the Warlock entered her shop. Soon afterward, she becomes a witch resurrected from the dead by Mercedes. Jolie is proclaimed the Queen of the Underworld of vampire, werewolf, fae, and witches; she has no earthly or other plane understanding of why or how it happened except some ties back to 1878 where she almost killed Rand.

Even more confusing for the new royal is Rand the hunk seems to want her. Throwing her already out of control life further into chaos is Sinjin the vampire who desires her Highness while vowing to protect her. Not used to one man coveting her let alone two, Jolie cannot make up her mind. However, Jolie has no time to ponder choosing one as a deadly paranormal species threatens genocide of her subjects even while she begins to learn governance is not a matchbook cover endeavor.

This is an engaging urban fantasy starring a self-deprecating heroine and two hunks who vie for her affection. The storyline starts off a bit choppy as the backstory (from self-published E-books) is provided. Once the game is set, Witchful Thinking turns into a wonderful amusing thriller as the paranormal seem real in the Mallory mythos. Wisenheimer Jolie makes the tale as she struggles with two males wanting her, preventing ethnic cleansing by malevolent mobsters, and learning governance of four conflicted species (like post Tito Yugoslavia). Harriet Klausner


Burned
J.F. Lewis
Pocket, $7.99
ISBN: 9781451651867

Eric Courtney the vampire wonders how killing one evil vampire ruler could cause such sh*tty chaos in Void City. His Mouser Talbot explained many time over the past year that it is easier to criticize the opposition than to rule. Still Eric in spite of his tumultuous tsuris as the city’s leader, would kill again; as Lord Phillip, the twisted late city ruler, deserved to die for his assault on Courtney’s adopted lunatic daughter Greta. Now by default he is the ruler of a lunacy ridden Void City as the riffraff has risen to the surface with Phil’s demise.

Responsibility sucks, but it is time for to begin the Big Plan. First is to kill immortal VCPD Captain Stacey the crooked Mouser running unlawful enforcement due to a deal with the Mages Guild. That is if Eric can remember not to step out of the squad car into the sun as his Alzheimer’s syndrome can make him forget to stay out of the sun.. He orders Stacey to leave his hole and meet him at a scene where many cops lay comatose thanks to his Eric’s mage Magbidion. Step two is to place Greta as sheriff; her crazed credo is to kill first and ask questions afterward. The final transformation is hell breaks loose in Void City as Lord Eric demands loyalty or else. That’s just the job; his personal life is even more screwed up with family curses and cursed females.

The latest Void City fantasy (see Crossed, Revamped and Staked) is a fabulous satirical noir starring an antihero whose attitude switches from bad ass leave me alone to bad ass I’m in charge. Fans will enjoy his “transformation” while he deals with myriad of paranormal species with demons always lurking in the gut. Harriet Klausner


The Dread
Gail Z. Martin
Orbit, $7.99
ISBN: 9780316093613

Weary of war but knowing hostilities are heating up; tired King Donelan of Isencroft goes to lie down in his bed. However, an assassin rigged a bow contraption underneath, which is activated when the monarch’s weight hit the bed. The ruler is dead and the kingdom is on the verge of civil war. Donelan’s daughter Queen Kiara Sharsequin Drayke leaves her husband and child behind in Margolan to go home as the monarch and prevent the civil war at a time when external crisis threatens the country.

Elsewhere in the Winter Kingdoms, trouble has returned with the bellicose rise of normally isolated Temnotta. At the same time, Kiara’s mate Summoner-King Martris Drayke (see Chronicles of the Necromancer) struggles with sorcery and steel combat coming to his nation at a time Tris fears for the soul of his infant child while he must use forbidden magic to deal the rise of the Dread.

The latest Fallen King’s Cycle political-military fantasy (see The Sworn) starts off with the shocking assassination, but slows down immediately afterward while the numerous subplots are established. Once done, the storyline accelerates into a rousing thriller as war has returned to the Winter Kingdoms. Filled with minute details, fans will believe they traverse the dangerous realms of the Martin mythos. Harriet Klausner


The Galahad Legacy
Dom Testa
Tor Teen, $17.99
ISBN: 9780765321121

On earth, mankind is dying out. Only 250 chosen teens were sent into space on board the Galahad to find a new home for what is left of the species (see The Cassini Code). One year away from their home, the survivors have faced a difficult journey, but so far prove that the adults who selected them picked those with the right stuff. However, the latest problem seems insurmountable as the vessel is falling apart having gone through the normal rigor of outer space, but amplified by alien attacks, internal sabotage and worm hole devastation (see The Comet’s Curse and The Web of Titan). Days remain with no exit strategy as a virus loaded to the computer has speed up the doomsday countdown.

That is until Council leader Triana Martell returns from her journey through a wormhole (see Cosmic Storm). Accompanying her back to the Galahad is the ambassador of the Dollovit who offers them a chance to survive but at what price.

This is a strong finish to a great teenage science fiction thriller. The storyline is fast-paced as the leader returns with an option that may save the crew but can they trust this alien race after meeting a bellicose species early in their journey. Readers will enjoy the adventures of the space crew Galahad as Dom Testa provides a fabulous space odyssey in which he sums up in his afterward note to his audience that like those on board, the cool person is the smart person. Harriet Klausner

Veterans News

VA Adding Family Therapists and Mental Health Counselors to Workforce

Follows Announcement of Additional 1900 Mental Health Staff Nationwide


The Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its mental health services to include professionals from two additional health care fields: marriage and family therapists (MFT) and licensed professional mental health counselors (LPMHC).


“The addition of these two mental health professions is an important part of VA’s mission to expand access to mental health services,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans and their families can face unique challenges. By providing a complete range of services, we can help them address those challenges and help keep more families together.”


The two fields will be included in the hiring of an additional 1,900 mental health staff nationwide that VA announced last week. Recruitment and hiring will be done at the local level. The new professionals will provide mental health diagnostic and psychosocial treatment services for Veterans and their families in coordination with existing mental health professionals at VA’s medical centers, community-based outpatient clinics, and Vet Centers.


VA has developed qualification standards for employment as LPMHCs and MFTs and has announced the appointments of mental health and health science professionals to serve on professional standards boards. The boards will review applicants for LPMHC and MFT positions in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to determine eligibility for employment and the government grade level appropriate for the individual in the selected position. The boards will also review promotions in these positions.


For more information about mental health care that VA provides, visit: http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/

Harmony/alt.human Press Release

Harmony

May 29th (US & Canada)

$8.99/$10.99 ISBN 978-1-78108-001-6



alt.human

7th June (UK)

£7.99 ISBN 978-1-78108-002-3



by Keith Brooke



Available as an ebook



The aliens are here. They always have been. And now, one by one, they’re destroying our cities.



Dodge Mercer deals in identities - until the day he deals the wrong identity and clan war breaks out. Hope Burren has no identity, and no past, struggling with a relentless choir of voices filling her head.



In a world where nothing is as it seems, where humans are segregated and aliens can sing realities and tear worlds apart, Dodge and Hope lead a ragged band of survivors in a search for the rumoured sanctuary of Harmony, and what may be the only hope for humankind.



Keith Brooke forces us to look again at the idea of alien invasion, abandoning tired cliché and instead creating an all-too-real world where mankind faces extinction. With his crystal clear prose and vivid imaginative storytelling, Harmony/alt.human promises to reinvigorate one of the oldest themes in SF.



“a startlingly new take on the theme of an Earth under alien occupation. Keith Brooke's vivid, high-definition prose makes us see it all with magnificent clarity, as if we were there, sharing the ruins and rubble with his strange but all too human characters.” – Alastair Reynolds

Fantasy Reviews from Harriet

Bloodrose
Andrea Cremer
Philomel, Jan 3 2012, $18.99
ISBN: 9780399256127


Bellicose Calla knows if she is to be the Alpha of her pack, she must prove her leadership skills in combat and choose a mate. Ren and Shay vie to be that male. However, Calla makes it clear to both competitors and her pack she will not select anyone until the Keepers and their magic are defeated.

Calla also shows her loyalty when she protects her brother Ansrel, stripped of his essence, from those who want to kill him for being a traitor. However, it is what she prays is the final battle that she focuses on; a war Calla does not expect to survive and if she does she knows she will live with regret of having led brave warriors to their deaths; though she feels she had no choice.

The final Nightshade fantasy (see Nightshade and Wolfsbane) is an exciting thriller starring a heroine who was forced to detach her feelings for others in order to lead her side in war as she knows she will leave brothers and sisters in arms dead and maimed. A stunning twist adds to the realism that people die in war. Andrea Cremer provides a shocking but strong finish to an intriguing trilogy. Harriet Klausner


Eternity’s Mark
Maeve Greyson
Kensington Brava, Mar 1 2012, $14.00
ISBN: 9780758273390


On Jasper Mills, veterinarian Hannah MacPherson grieves the death of her husband though he died in Iraq four years ago. Frustrated by her lack of response to the missives he sent to the stubborn Hannah that she inherited a Scottish castle, dragon-human Taggart de Gaelson arrives in Jasper Mills to bring her to Taroc Na Mor. Though wary, she goes to Scotland with Taggart.

He and his race need her to save his breed as she is the last sacred guardian of the Draecna magical dragons who guard the portal between worlds. Hannah is a whisperer who talks with animals. Taggart believes her uncanny skill will bring out the hatchlings from their eggs. However, she soon finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the bitter war between brothers.

This is an award winning entertaining romantic urban fantasy starring a stubborn American and a desperate hybrid. The romance seems too stereotypical as a woman in mourning for several years attracted to an outsider wanting to disrupt her life is a sub-genre staple. However, the dragons waging an inbreeding dark good and evil civil war with the Yank tilting the edge to one side makes for an exciting thriller. Harriet Klausner


Nightborn
Lynn Viehl
Signet, Mar 6 2012, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451413215


The High Lord of the Immortal Darkyn wants the alleged scrolls that contain the secrets to immortal life and the maps that lead to Templar treasure buried in the early fourteenth century. He sends his best warrior Korvel to France to obtain the scrolls.

As he drives the worst road in France, Korvel is warned others are making an attempt too. Soon he is attacked and hurt, but defeats his enemy, but is aware more await him. His quest leads Korvel to Simone, the daughter of the scroll’s guardian. She seeks them too in order to return them to safety. As they team up with killers pursuing them, they begin to fall in love, but Simone fails to inform her new partner that once she obtains the scrolls, she is to kill Korvel.

The first Lords of the Darkyn romantic urban fantasy is a great entry inside the magnificent mythological world of Lynn Viehl. The storyline is fast-paced from the first assassination attempt until the final confrontation as readers will wonder whether Simone will complete the mission as ordered. Fast-paced, fans will appreciate the opening act in the new trilogy due to the strong protagonists who make the Viehl realm exciting to visit. Harriet Klausner


Eye of the Sword
Karyn Henley
WaterBrook, Mar 13 2012, $9.99
ISBN: 9780307730145


In Camrithia, King Laetham completes the ceremony that makes Trevin a comain military leader. At the same time, Dregmoorian Prince Varic arrives at the castle with a peace proposal that Laetham considers as a means to end the raids from his neighbor to the east. Varic offers to marry Princess Melaia, who Trevin loves. Daughter of a late angel, Melaia tells her father that she will wed Trevin only, but after she obtains the three missing harps that will restore The Wisdom Tree.

Laetham sends Trevin on a mission to find the missing comain; while Melaia asks him to bring back the harps; one of which is possessed by the Dregmoorian Secondborn Benasin. Trevin loathes leaving her with Varic, the sly treacherous heir to the Dregmoorian throne. Still he leaves on his missions to prove his worthiness to his beloved Princess and himself. On his horse Alamarin who once had wings, Trevin’s journey begins when his steed leads him to Eldarra Prince Resarian and the Golden. As Varic tries to kill him, Trevin’s horrible deeds while working for the Dregmoorian FirstBorn Lord Rejius, haunts him.

The second Angelaeon Circle thriller (see Breath of Angel) is an exhilarating quest fantasy starring an honorable champion who’s driven by his love for the princess and his obsession to for redemption. The storyline is action-packed from the moment the vile Varic and the tense Trevin meet and never slows down until the readers learn why the Dregmoorian heir wants the newest Camrithia comain dead. Though it behooves the audience to read the first tale to better understand the complex Henley mythos, fans will enjoy walking and riding in a realm where the Angelaeon interact with people and often rule. Harriet Klausner

The Unseen, The Kingdom, Spellcaster, and Fair Coin Reviewed

The Unseen Heather Graham’ Mira, Mar 27 2012, $24.95 ISBN: 9780778313298 In 1835 in San Antonio, someone brutally murders a woman in room 207 of the Longhorn Saloon. One year ago in the same location as the nineteenth century homicide, another woman was apparently killed, but her body vanished. One month ago, battered dead young female bodies begin to appear all over city; some disappeared a long time ago. Texas Ranger Logan Raintree leads a task force of paranormal law enforcement operatives investigating the murders. While he communicates with the dead, on his team is U.S. Marshal Kelsey O’Brien who sees the past. She is staying at the Longhorn where the 1835 and last year homicides occurred. The pair combines their extrasensory perception skills to obtain clues from the deceased in order to end a serial killer’s reign of terror. The Unseen is an exciting paranormal police procedural starring two dedicated individuals with special talent and San Antonio. The city comes alive during The Texas War of Independence and in the present; especially vivid is the Alamo. Although the gory killings somewhat diminish the frightening level, fans will enjoy Heather Graham’s entertaining ghost story. Harriet Klausner The Kingdom Amanda Stevens Mira, Mar 27 2012, $7.99 ISBN: 9780778312772 Amelia “Graveyard Queen” Gray is renowned for her talent to restore lost respect to neglected cemeteries. Luna Kemper hires her to repair Thorngate Cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina at the foothills of the Blue Ridge. She soon learns there are two Thorngate cemeteries. The original one is below locally named Bell Lake, found on maps as the Asher Reservoir; the other was once called Asher Cemetery. Amelia also feels drawn to a remote concealed but reverently kept grave in woods near a cave. She senses evil throughout the dying rural town that lost everything when prominent Pell Asher sold his soul for the reservoir. However, Amelia is uncertain whether what she feels is caused by the irreverence towards the dead or by her growing consciousness of her past. One thing she decides is to help the dead rest easy and mend the broken souls of the town; but first the Restorer needs to know what has caused the slow death of Asher Falls. The second chilling Graveyard Queen thriller (see The Restorer) is a great urban fantasy that makes ghosts feel real alongside of predatory breathers. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with action that grips the reader from the moment she meets the grandson of still living Pell, Thane Asher, who says the dead want to not be forgotten. Sub-genre fans will appreciate this dark yet somehow hopeful tale. Harriet Klausner Spellcaster Cara Lynn Shultz Harlequin Teen, Mar 27 2012, $9.99 ISBN: 9780373210503 Four months ago in Manhattan, Vincent Academy students Emma Connor and Brendan Salinger broke a centuries-old curse that haunted them when he risked his life to save her from an evil student (see Spellbound). They have become a happy couple. However, their little Upper east Side Eden has serpents. Emma’s witch mentor Angelique seems upset whenever she hears Brendan’s name. His mother pressures him to end his relationship with the Jersey orphan. Finally Angelique senses an unknown adversary stalks Emma while somehow revealing inner secrets of the couple in order to force a wedge in her relationship with Brendan. This foe plans to dine on her blood to gain her untapped power unless Brendan and Angelique can put aside their differences to keep her safe. Spellcaster is an exciting teen romantic urban fantasy with a strong cast who makes the paranormal seemingly normal. Initially breezy with cute (don’t say that world to Brendan) young love, the storyline turns dark as a nasty powerful malevolence begins preying on the lead couple. Readers will enjoy Cara Lynn Shultz’s sensational Spellbound story. Harriet Klausner Fair Coin E.C. Myers PYR, Mar 27 2012, $16.95 ISBN: 9781616146092 Summerside High student sixteen-year-old Ephraim “Eph” Scott stayed a little later than usual at the school hoping to talk to Jena Kim. He came home to find his mom unconscious after taking pills and alcohol. He wakes her but she says he is dead as she saw his body. Eph dials 911. Hospital employee Mrs. Morales, whose twin daughters are in Eph’s English class, informs him that a boy who resembled him carrying his library card was hit by a bus. His mother was shown the body. Eph looks at the belonging given to his mom of the dead person. He finds his library card and a commemorative quarter stamped Puerto Rico 1998. He soon learns flipping the coin while making a wish will grant whatever you ask. Coping, Eph wants two things: his mom to be a better parent stating with going cold turkey and Jena the geeky brain to reciprocate his attraction. Excited, he tells his best friend Nathan who obsessively wants to use the coin and will do anything including kill to possess it as Eph’s simple wishes have a monstrous butterfly effect on him and several degrees beyond his social circle. Using hyperbolic teen stereotypes and chaos theory, E.C. Myers provides a terrific young adult science fiction tale. The coin’s impacts are not always positive as Eph learns you get what you wish for. Readers will enjoy this teenage twentieth-first century version of the early twentieth century horror thriller The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs. Harriet Klausner