Operator #5
© Wildside Press
Classic Americana Pulp Returns
By: Pat FerraraDate: Tuesday, December 19, 2006
An FBI agent harvests the souls of the dead in a quest for power and vengeance, Edgar Allen Poe travels through time in a haunting conspiracy thriller, and the first four books of the original Star Trek: The Bloodwing Voyages gets a facelift.
There’s a lean release schedule of genre books this Tuesday as the industry braces for the holiday season. Fortunately for us there are still a few attractive books despite the meager weekly offering…
Rob MacGregor and Beachfront Publishing release Romancing the Raven on hardback to outstanding fan and critic reviews. Following a splintered plot of mystery and intrigue across several decades, Romancing the Raven smoothly combines fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction in a rousing, genre-busting thriller. The story’s protagonist, aptly named Destiny Douglas, takes us on a journey with Edgar Allen Poe to explore the early history of New York City and the writer’s far-reaching impact on today’s culture. Layered above interesting facts and the ruminations of a true Poe fan, MacGregor manages to weave a haunting tale of romance and conspiracy that transcends any time period.
Diane Duane and Peter Morwood bring back their Star Trek: Bloodwing series with all the Vulcan, Romulan, and Captain Kirk action that’s made them famous in the Trekkie fan world. Delving deep into the Vulcan’s unstable past and the rocky history of the newly-formed Romulan race, The Bloodwing Voyages brings together My Enemy, My Ally, The Romulan Way, Swordhunt, and Honor Blade in a single comprehensive tome.
Wildside Press resurrects some classic Americana pulp with stories from Robert Wallace and Curtis Steele. Extracted from the “The Phantom Detective” and “Operator #5” magazines, Wallace spins another Phantom adventure in Tycoon of Crime while Steele delivers an action-packed, Jimmy Christopher espionage thriller in The Dawn that Shook the World.
Other books to check out: Secret Dead Men & Chronicles of the Apocalypse: Species
New in Hardcover:
Romancing the Raven © Beachfront Publishing
Romancing The Raven is a stunning, love and fantasy story that connects the past to the present in the persons of Edgar Allan Poe and Destiny Douglas as they find their lives fated and their futures at risk in this page-turning thriller. Providing insightful fact about one of America’s most prolific writers, MacGregor weaves mystery, time-traveling sci-fi, and a romantic tale in one hell of an imaginative and entertaining book. Rave reviews and the rumors of possible sequels give this novel enough momentum to win over even the hardiest of skeptics. Count this guy in.
New in Paperback:
Flawed Angel © Vintage Books
Once upon a time, a ruler had two sons, the first stillborn, so they said. The younger, a sweet-natured boy, is his heir. Far from the capital there are rumours of a creature, half boy, half beast, that roams the forests. A jewel of a fable, inspired by the Arabian Nights. An acclaimed poet and novelist, John Fuller is a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford and author of Flying to Nowhere, a novel shortlisted for the Booker Prize and winner of a Whitbread Award.
Raffy’s Shapes, Tamar Hodes (Accent Press Limited)
Late at night when all the world is asleep Raphaella, a painter who has the unusual ability to change shape at will, swoops as a bird over dark waters or, fishlike, swims to deeper depths… what a hollow and utterly meaningless synopsis for a 314-page book. Great work PR people at Accent Press!
Secret Dead Men © Point Blank Publishing
Del Farmer isn't your ordinary hardboiled private eye. Instead of collecting fingerprints or clues, he collects souls of the recently dead. His latest dead guy, Brad Larsen, might just be the key to destroying Farmer's longtime nemesis, The Association. Of course, Farmer is sadly mistaken. An FBI agent unstuck in time is toying with him. A mysterious couple keeps trying to kill him. Another job - a mundane babysitting gig that pays the bills - is threatening to steer him way off course into a violent hell of sexual deceit, fractured identities and cheap apartment toilets. Amusing, witty, and downright absurd, Swierczynski’s sci fi thriller about a soul collecting, vengeful FBI agent is just as fun as it is unusual. Check in to the Brain Hotel (Del’s soul archive complete with a full lobby and swimming pool) if you’re interested in this unique murder mystery.
Chronicles of the Apocalypse - Species © Elder Signs Press, Inc.
On Any Given Day The End May Come… In the final days, humanity faced the final hour of existence. With a whimper they passed from this life and into something inhuman, something monstrous, something impossible. The only warning is written in fossils, a message so vast that it is overlooked. In the last hours they longed for a deliverance that would never come - there was only emptiness. But all species are difficult to extinguish, and in humankind there were seven imperfect souls selected for survival. But what seemed a blessing was a nightmare… and the dead are unforgiving. A powerful book that resonates with fears and nightmares. Inventive and fast-paced—a work that goes to the edge of annihilation and peers into its depths.
Operator #5 © Wildside Press
Operator #5, America's Secret Service Ace, appeared in 48 novels in the classic pulp magazine bearing his name. From April 1934 to November 1939, Jimmy Christopher fought villains from inside the United States and invaders from without. With World War II looming on the horizon, the Operator #5 novels became a reflection of the times, showcasing American fears of technology and oppression. In The Dawn that Shook the World, Jimmy Christopher leads a band of agents into Europe, battling a dictator with plans for world dominations (shades of Adolph Hitler!). Those interested in this reprint should act quickly: a limited release assures that this title won’t be around for long.
That Phantom Detective: Tycoon of Crime, Robert Wallace (Wildside Press)
A diabolical fiend uses the weapons of modern science to threaten humanity! Mysterious doom hovers menacingly over the members of the Gargoyle Club! Follow the Phantom, the world's greatest sleuth, as he pits brain and brawn against a vicious criminal and embarks on one of the most exciting manhunts of his entire career - and answers fire with fire! Ripped from the pages of “The Phantom Detective” magazine, here is the lead novel from the February 1938 issue!
Rihannsu of the Star Trek Fiction Series © Simon & Schuster Publishing
The historic saga begins… Born in the twilight years of Vulcan's violent and passionate past, those who declared themselves Rihannsu chose to reign free in the unknown reaches of space rather than to serve under the new tyranny of logic. Having severed themselves from their homeworld, they survived the perilous voyage across the stars to wash ashore on a distant planet, there to begin the civilization that would one day flower into the Romulan Star Empire. Now after millennia of wars and conquests that empire is decaying from within, surrendering its noble heritage to reckless ambition, abandoning honor for kidnapping and murder. The corruption is so great that the Rihannsu's finest military officer—Commander Ael t'Rllaillieu of the warbird Bloodwing—believes she can save her people only by joining forces with her greatest enemy: Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise™. Meanwhile, on the Romulan homeworld, a Federation deep-cover agent has been posing as a household servant named Arrhae i-Khellian, but her operation takes a strange turn when a captured Starfleet officer is brought to her home… The lives of Ael, Arrhae, and the crew of the Enterprise come together in these astonishing adventures originally published in four volumes: My Enemy, My Ally; The Romulan Way; Swordhunt; and Honor Blade… that will challenge everything you thought you knew about the Romulans.
That’ll do it for this Tuesday, check back next week for all the latest buzz on new sci fi, horror, and fantasy book releases. Questions or comments? Hit me up at PFerrara.mania@gmail.com.
