From Publishers Weekly Best known in the U.S. for his stylishly written horror novels and alternate histories, Stableford (The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires; The Carnival of Destruction), who began his career as an SF writer, returns to his roots with a complex, hard-SF tale of nanotechnology and life extension. Having barely survived the Plague Wars of the 21st century, humanity has supposedly entered a Utopian era, one in which the average life span is at least 150 years and immortality may be imminent. Damon Hart, posthumous son of Conrad Helier, the much venerated scientist who saved humanity from extinction during the plagues, wants nothing to do with his father's legacy and has cut himself off from his father's colleagues and their research. Then Damon's life is disrupted by the Eliminators, terrorists who begin to publish Net-based attacks on Helier, proclaiming that the scientist was in fact responsible for the plagues and was therefore an enemy of humankind. They also claim that Helier, supposedly 50 years dead, is still alive; eventually, they insist that Damon is Helier in disguise. Secrets and lies abound in a future where all evidence, even a dead body, can be falsified though the skillful application of computer- and nanotechnology; in time, Damon discovers that virtually nothing he has been told is true. This futuristic thriller, which contains provocative speculations about the effect of extreme life extension on society, isn't Stableford's best, but it's an enjoyable and challenging piece of work nonetheless. Views: 32
"Superb ... You won't be able to put it down," says Rendezvous. If you love page-turning medieval romance, Angel of Fire is your cup of mead! Devastated by the death of her father, Norman noblewoman Chrestien de Lontaine vows to see her twin sister wed and take refuge in a nunnery... but the Wolf has come knocking on their door and treachery is at hand. King Henry's blue-eyed champion has been sent to quell a nation's rebellion. He vows to seal their peace by wedding Gilbert de Lontaine's beautiful daughter, but although the girl with smoky eyes holds his heart in peril, the real danger lurks in unexpected quarters. Can true love bind two hearts and bring the Silver Wolf's bride home? Views: 32
Before Narska, before Divine Protector Academy, there was Earth. Martin McDonnell is an ordinary guy with an ordinary job. One tragic event keeps him from enjoying life. Serika is a Shinigami, a god of death. She has one overpowering goal: to kill Martin McDonnell. But Martin’s time hasn’t come yet, and ending him is against the rules. Nevertheless, she’s hell-bent on carrying out this act, and she won’t let anything get in her way. Why does she want him dead so bad? Could the answer lie in her mysterious past? Regardless of the truth, she will carry out her deadly agenda, heedless of the threat her actions pose to the entire universe. This is the beginning of the end. Views: 32
At the age of nine, Johnnie lost everything. A quiet, normal child, his life forever changed when his family was attacked by a blood-crazed vampire, leaving his parents dead and Johnnie an orphan.
Now grown, he is the cold, proud, beautiful—but very human—son of the Dracula Desrosiers, who took him in after the tragedy that befell Johnnie's parents. Constantly kept apart for being human, Johnnie chooses to bury himself in the two things he most loves—books and mysteries.
Then he is summoned by a friend to solve a simple mystery involving a pair of Cinderella slippers, and in putting one mystery to rest Johnnie only succeeds in waking several more... Views: 32
EDITORIAL REVIEW: Laird Barron has emerged as one of the strongest voices in modern horror and dark fantasy fiction, building on the eldritch tradition pioneered by writers such as H. P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Thomas Ligotti. His stories have garnered critical acclaim and been reprinted in numerous year's best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy Awards. His debut collection, *The Imago Sequence and Other Stories*, was the inaugural winner of the Shirley Jackson Award. He returns with his second collection, *Occultation*. Pitting ordinary men and women against a carnivorous, chaotic cosmos, *Occultation*'s eight tales of terror (two never before published) include the Theodore Sturgeon and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated story "The Forest" and Shirley Jackson Award nominee "The Lagerstatte." Featuring an introduction by Michael Shea, *Occultation* brings more of the spine-chillingly sublime cosmic horror Laird Barron's fans have come to expect. Contents: Introduction by Michael Shea The Forest Occultation The Lagerstatte Mysterium Tremendum (original to this collection) Catch Hell Strappado The Broadsword --30-- (original to this collection) *(edited by author)* Views: 32
