Excerpt

Excerpt: THE APOCALYPSE ARK by Peter Darbyshire (Poplar Press)

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DarbyshireP-BoC3-ApocalypseArkThe Apocalypse Ark is the third novel in Peter Darbyshire‘s Book of Cross series, and today we have an excerpt from the book. We’ve already shared excerpts from the first two books in the series — The Mona Lisa Sacrifice and The Dead Hamlets. The three novels are out now, published by Poplar Press. Here’s the synopsis for the third book:

“You fool,” Sariel said. She gestured with a hand and the table between us slid to the side. “You ridiculous mortal fool. What did you do with the sphinx?”

With these words Cross finds himself thrust into his most dangerous adventure yet, working with the double-crossing angel Sariel to stop Noah from ending his eternal suffering by ending the world. But this Noah has not saved any beings from the flood, he is God’s warden, and he is bound to hold all God’s mistakes captive on his ark for eternity. And he has gone mad. Between provoking the sorcerous pirate Blackbeard, dealing with the devious vampire Ishmael and travelling beneath the seas with Captain Nemo and the last of the Atlanteans, Cross struggles to keep one step ahead of Noah until the last battle occurs before the very doors of Atlantis itself.

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Excerpt: BOOK OF ATRIX WOLFE by Patricia A. McKillip (Tachyon)

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McKillipPA-BookOfAtrixWolfe_30thNext month, Tachyon Publications are due to release a 30th anniversary special edition of The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip. To celebrate the release (on February 25th) and this milestone, the publisher has provided CR with an excerpt to share. Here’s the synopsis:

This brand new edition celebrates the 30th anniversary of a classic, luminous novel from the World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia A. McKillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld). In McKillip’s stunning cinematic prose, the human world and the realm of faeries dangerously entwine through chaotic magic. Discover the spellbinding legend of generational atonement and redemption between a reluctant mage, a powerful wizard, a struggling heir, fae royalty, and a mysterious scullery maid.

 When the White Wolf descends upon the battlefield, the results are disastrous. His fateful decision to end a war with powerful magic changes the destiny of four kingdoms: warlike Kardeth, resilient Pelucir, idyllic Chaumenard, and the mysterious Elven realm.

Twenty years later, Prince Talis, orphaned heir to Pelucir, is meant to be the savior of the realm. However, the prince is neither interested in ruling nor a particularly skilled mage. Further, he is obsessed with a corrupted spellbook, and he is haunted by visions from the woods.

The legendary mage Atrix Wolfe has forsaken magic and the world of men. But the Queen of the Wood, whose fae lands overlap Pelucir’s bloody battlefield, is calling Wolfe back. Her consort and her daughter have been missing since the siege, and if Wolfe cannot intervene, the Queen will keep a sacrifice for her own.

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Excerpt: THE DEAD HAMLETS by Peter Darbyshire (Poplar Press)

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DarbyshireP-BoC2-DeadHamletsOn January 13th, we shared an excerpt from the first novel in Peter Darbyshire‘s Book of Cross series, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice. Today, we have an excerpt from the follow-up book: The Dead Hamlets. (In a few days, we’ll post an excerpt from the third novel, The Apocalypse Ark.) The three novels are out now, published by Poplar Press. Here’s the synopsis:

The Witches never failed to extract a price somehow.

When Cross stumbles drunkenly into a darkened Berlin theatre that is staging Hamlet, he does not expect to see Morgana le Fay on stage as Queen Gertrude or witness a real murder. But a deadly ghost is haunting the faerie queen’s plays and Morgana expects Cross to solve the mystery or risk his daughter, Amelia, becoming the next victim. With the fate of Amelia in the balance Cross tries to unravel a mystery that takes him to libraries outside of time, into battles alongside an undead Christopher Marlowe and to bargaining with the real Witches of Macbeth. But is the play the thing, or is there something far older haunting Shakespeare’s famous work?

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Excerpt: MONA LISA SACRIFICE by Peter Darbyshire (Poplar Press)

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DarbyshireP-BoC1-MonaLisaSacrificeToday, we have an excerpt from The Mona Lisa Sacrifice by Peter Derbyshire, the first book in the Book of Cross series. The book is out now, published by Poplar Press. Here’s the synopsis:

“Even angels have to make a living these days.”

Cross is a man who has lived thousands of years, though he’d prefer not to have, and who is now hunting angels in a Barcelona filled with tourists, phone cameras and deep mystery.

When an angel promises to deliver Judas, a forgotten god of a forgotten people, to Cross for revenge if he can find the real Mona Lisa, a cascading set of mysteries involving a sisterhood of gorgons, Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Morgana le Fay and renegade angels is set in motion. Everything hangs in the balance. Even the fate of the world.

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Excerpt & Guest Post: MISERERE by Teresa Frohock

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Miserere was my debut novel in 2011, and as such, it had some problems. The prose was too purple, the descriptions too long, and the villains were a bit over the top. Thirteen years and four novels later, I’ve learned a lot about writing fiction, and I’ve grown, not just as an author, but as a person.

Once I reacquired my rights to Miserere, I reread it with more experienced eyes, and rather than just reissue the old book, I used the opportunity to make the story stronger. When Stefan graciously offered me space on his blog to host an excerpt, I thought long and hard about which scenes might have changed the most.

Frankly, each chapter has changed dramatically from the original. I’ve cleaned up the tautology and sharpened the character interactions, especially between Lucian and Catarina. More than ever, they feel like a brother and sister diametrically opposed to one another.

In the end, I chose to begin this excerpt at the beginning for people who have never read Miserere and to reacquaint former readers with the new edition. The first chapter is rather long, so I’ve found a good stopping point and left you there for now.

The story begins in the Sabbatical year 5873. Welcome, my darklings, to Woerld: Continue reading →

Excerpt: CULT OF THE OBSIDIAN MOON by James Lovegrove (Titan Books)

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A little while ago, we shared an excerpt from the first new Conan the Barbarian novel published by Titan Books — City of the Dead by John C. Hocking. Today, we’re sharing another Conan excerpt, this time from the Cimmerian’s next, action-packed adventure: James Lovegrove‘s Cult of the Obsidian Moon. Before we get to the excerpt, here’s the synopsis:

Still mourning Bêlit, Conan attempts to drink away his sorrows. In his tavern-hopping journey he meets and befriends married couple Hunwulf and Gudrun and their son, Bjørn. A decade ago, Hunwulf eloped with Gudrun after killing her betrothed, they live on the run from her tribe, who are desperate for revenge.

Bjørn has the makings of a shaman, while Hunwulf is prone to having strange fits which bring him visions of past and future lives. When a descendant warns Hunwulf of imminent danger, he and his wife ride out to ambush the tribe, leaving Bjørn with Conan, who vows to protect the boy with his life.

Unfortunately, Conan is betrayed by a former accomplice, and Bjørn is kidnapped by the tribe. Conan and Bjørn’s vengeful parents search for the lad. They catch up to the tribe, only to find Bjørn has been taken by murderous bat-winged figures, who fought with talon and sword. The boy, and other “gifted” children have been taken to the Rotlands, a place plagued by a contaminating supernatural force that warps all who go there. To save Bjørn, the trio must go to the heart of the Rotlands, where strange, horrifying fates await at every turn.

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Excerpt: WHEN WE CHASED THE LIGHT by Emily Meeker (Lake Union)

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Tomorrow, Lake Union is due to publish the latest novel by Emily Beeker: When We Chased the Light. A new novel set in Golden Age Hollywood, here’s the synopsis:

A Hollywood legend. A legacy of secrets. An epic and emotional novel about forgiveness, fame, family, and truly unconditional love by the bestselling author of When We Were Enemies.

Christie’s auction house, Beverly Hills. The effects of Hollywood icon Vivian Snow are up for bid. In the collection is a set of hand-drawn postcards spanning six decades. The sender is Antonio Trombello, a soldier, POW, priest, and Vivian’s confidant. Each postcard sheds new light on a deeply private woman the public only thinks it knows.

It’s World War II. Vivian is a USO showgirl traveling the world when her husband goes AWOL, disappears, and is presumed dead. Facing increasing suspicion, she leans on her dear friend Father Trombello for support. He’s her confessor, her savior, the elusive love of her life, and when it comes to her husband’s death, the keeper of Vivian’s secrets.

As Vivian rises from canteen dream girl to starlet to bona fide legend, she navigates the highs and lows of Hollywood, new romances, and tumultuous family relationships ― all in the shadow of her past and the guilt, unmet longing, and buried truths that could still upend the lives of everyone she loves.

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Excerpt: SHADOW OF THE ENDLESS by Stephen Gaskell (Titan)

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In a couple of weeks, Titan Books is due to publish the latest novel by Stephen Gaskell — a brand new novel tying into the acclaimed Endless franchise: Shadow of the Endless. The novel is pitched as “Perfect for fans of the Endless series as well as readers of space opera and YA science fiction.” Here’s the synopsis:

While her starring people are being hunted by an implacable enemy, a young caver discovers a traitor in their ranks and must undertake a transformative journey across the galaxy to save everything she has ever known.

Persecuted for their worship of the Endless ― an ancient, galactic-spanning race of god-like power, who disappeared long ago ― the Pilgrims escaped the world of Raia almost a century ago, fleeing the despotic rule of the United Empire in a dozen space-faring fleets. The Pilgrims of the Horizon of Light fleet have spent two long years being hunted by an especially determined Empire foe. Now though, it appears they’ve finally caught a break, laying low on a non-descript comet that’s hurtling into deep space.

Young Pilgrim Sewa Eze wants to become a caver―and head into the depths on deserted moons, asteroids, and worlds to secure whatever the fleet needs: precious resources, Endless relics, even Dust. However, a strange device is discovered deep in the ice of the comet they shelter on ― suggesting dark forces are afoot ― and Sewa is instead selected for a leadership role at the Ceremony of Duties and must reassess her life, beginning with finding the traitor in their ranks who threatens her entire fleet’s existence.

The course of Sewa’s life changes forever as she is forced to confront treachery, discover the secrets of the ancient past and travel to the very heart of the tyrannical United Empire.

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Excerpt: TINY TIME MACHINE by John E. Stith

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Today, we have an excerpt from John E. Stith’s Tiny Time Machine, which collects the author’s trilogy of the same name. It’s a sci-fi adventure for younger readers. To mark the occasion, we have an excerpt from the book. First, though, here’s the synopsis:

When Meg’s mother died in a hospital mishap, her scientist father set out on an obsessed journey to develop a tiny time machine to save her. He became so angry that he and Meg have rarely spoken since the death of her mother.

Now a loner preoccupied with combating polluters, Meg meets Josh at a break-in at a paint company in efforts to expose their practices when they suddenly find themselves on the run from the cops. Meg heads for the one man who should always take her in — her father.  But when they reach him, they find him dying before he can perfect his device.

It’s all up to Meg and Josh to fix a disaster set to render the Earth uninhabitable, dive back into the past to rescue Mom and Dad, and overcome an adversary who wants the Tiny Time Machine for his own purposes. Can they succeed?

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Excerpt: WE OUGHTA KNOW by Andrea Warner (ECW Press)

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WarnerA-WeOughtaKnowCAHCOn October 15th, ECW Press is due to publish We Oughta Know by Andrea Warner. The book is an essay collection that examines “How Céline, Shania, Alanis, and Sarah Ruled the ’90s and Changed Music”. To mark the book’s publication, the publisher has allowed CR to share the Introduction. Before we get to the excerpt, though, here is the synopsis:

A lively collection of essays that re-examines the extraordinary legacies of the four Canadian women who dominated ’90s music and changed the industry forever

Fully revised and updated, with a foreword by Vivek Shraya

In this of-the-moment essay collection, celebrated music journalist Andrea Warner explores the ways in which Céline Dion, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan became legit global superstars and revolutionized ’90s music. In an era when male-fronted musical acts were given magazine covers, Grammys and Junos, and serious critical consideration, these four women were reduced, mocked, and disparaged by the media and became pop culture jokes even as their recordings were demolishing sales records. The world is now reconsidering the treatment and reputations of key women in ’90s entertainment, and We Oughta Know is a crucial part of that conversation.

With empathy, humor, and reflections on her own teenaged perceptions of Céline, Shania, Alanis, and Sarah, Warner offers us a new perspective on the music and legacies of the four Canadian women who dominated the ’90s airwaves and influenced an entire generation of current-day popstars with their voices, fashion, and advocacy.

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