Review: Tunnel Out of Death by Jamil Nasir

Review by John for Tunnel Out of Death by Jamil Nasir

John’s quick take:   An ambitious science fiction brain tease in which the protagonist “falls into an astonishing metaphysical shadow play”. What is real and what isn’t? What does real even mean?

John’s description:   Set at some point in the future, the story revolves around Heath Ransom who is a very special kind of private investigator. He is a former police psychic and machine-enhanced “endovoyant” who is able to travel into etheric worlds in order to answer puzzles and to track down missing people.

Ransom is hired to find the consciousness of an extremely rich but comatose old woman and to try to bring it back to her body. However, while trying to track her down in the etheric world he finds a terrifying, dark vortex. Falling through the vortex he soon finds himself inhabiting the body of a young man who has just been poisoned by his girlfriend. This in turn leads him into an ever-darker investigation involving government conspiracies, mutants, corruption, torture, self-aware artificial intelligence, androids and attempted immortality.

In deadly danger himself, Ransom starts to jump back and forth between the two worlds. He then finds out that much of what he thought was real is in fact artificial and as paranoia and conspiracy abounds, he starts to doubt his own sanity.

John’s thoughts:  Where to start? Well, it is a very interesting idea on which to base a novel. I like how it started and was quickly pulled into the plot. Soon, however, two things started to happen. Firstly, I started to hit some dense pieces of text that were so full of obscure words and complex ideas that I didn’t comprehend them even after a few re-reads. There weren’t loads of sections like this, but there were enough to make it a difficult read. Secondly, as the novel progressed, the underlying (and interesting) story almost disappeared into the background, seemingly having become just a vehicle to explore some complex concepts and ideas.

Nonetheless I stuck with it as Nasir did create an interesting future world and I did like many of his ideas. Sadly, for me the underlying story didn’t come to any sort of satisfactory ending; in fact I really disliked how the novel ends. Having spent so long building details and ideas, I think the ending is rushed and a bit glib.

Part way through the book I thought this was going to be a four-star read, but having lost the plot (almost literally) and not liking the conclusion, I’d only rate this three stars. Who would like it? Well the jacket references Philip K. Dick, as do some other reviews that I saw out there. If you like Dick’s ideas and world view, this book might well appeal to you.

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Tor Books| May 2013 | Hardcover | 304 pages

Jamil Nasir's third novel, Tower of Dreams, won France's top science fiction award, the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, and was runner up for the Philip K. Dick Award for best science fiction paperback published in the United States.  His short story “The Nomalers” won a first prize in the Writers of the Future Award.

http://www.jamilnasir.com/

Review: Goldenland Past Dark by Chandler Klang Smith

A review by Shellie for Goldenland Past Dark by Chandler Klang Smith.

Shellie’s quick take:   A sweet yet dark and mind-bending coming-of-age romance about a sensitive and small clown who is traveling with a circus during the 1960s.

Shellie’s description:   It’s a slightly bizarre novel based upon the experiences of its relatable main character Webern (Bernie) Bell. What is special about Bernie is that he is only about 4 feet tall and has a hunch on his back.  Not a typical person physically, he is, however, a natural fit as a circus clown for a small traveling show. While riding his unicycle near his home, he is discovered by the show’s dramatic owner, Dr. Shoenburg (Dr. Show for short). Dr. Show recognizes Bernie’s talent and propositions him for the circus. Bernie is happy to leave behind his childhood home to join the troupe, because he’s always felt like he doesn’t fit into a “normal” life. Within the circus he meets Nepenthe, the lizard girl, and falls in love; and finally he feels at home.

As this crazy story about love and growing up unfolds and events push him to face his inner workings, it becomes apparent that Bernie has his demons to work through – but he has his work cut out for him. Things become out of the ordinary when Bernie faces issues of death and has to question his identity, his familial attachments, his heart and some other weird happenings that he experiences.

Shellie’s thoughts:  This is a terrific story with fun characters. I was completely intrigued about the main character Bernie, who is a sensitive soul and easy to like, which creates a desire to continue reading the story. Consequently I would say that this is more of a character-driven novel rather than action based, although it has its drama with its far-fetched ideas and happenings. It is certainly weird fiction, though what I liked best about Goldenland Past Dark  is that it also feels realistic – well, almost.

In addition I particularly enjoyed the author’s simple and straightforward writing style which also sucked me in.  Very clear and thoughtful, the writing just flowed for me. It’s a writing style that is relaxing without having to reread parts or to look up definitions for words.

I’d recommend this for fans of the circus and for those who enjoy likable yet non-mainstream characters - for example a bearded lady, a chimpanzee who’s behavior is almost human, a lizard girl with a disfiguring skin condition, and a grandmother who captures, cooks, and eats raccoons. It’s especially for those who want realism included within surreal events. 3.5 stars for this heartfelt and offbeat novel. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

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Chizine; Trade Paperback 300 pages March 15, 2013.

Event: ThrillerFest VIII July 10–13, 2013 NYC

DIABOLICAL PLOTS, FIENDISH PLANS AND A SHOCKER OF A TWIST YOU WON’T SEE COMING – THRILLERFEST IS BACK IN TOWN!

This year ThrillerMaster Anne Rice takes a bite of the Big Apple at ThrillerFest VIII July 10-13, 2013

New York City is once again the setting for Gotham noir as the International Thriller Writers (ITW) brings ThrillerFest VIII to town from July 10-13, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel to celebrate the art of the thrill.

Spines are already tingling for the legendary Anne Rice, Queen of the Gothic Thriller, who will make a rare appearance to serve as the 2013 ThrillerMaster. Rice is the author of 31 novels, including The Vampire Chronicles, Songs of the Seraphim and the new Wolf Gift Chronicles.

“This is the place where fans can mingle with writers, novices can learn from pros, industry professionals can share their secret passion with librarians, and everyone can have one heck of a great time,” says ThrillerFest Executive Director Kimberley Howe.

New this year at ThrillerFest is FanFest, an opportunity for thriller writers to give back to their most loyal fans. These lucky readers will join such big-league talent as Joseph Finder, John Lescroart, M.J. Rose, Steve Berry and R.L. Stine, for a cocktail party that would impress even Nick and Nora Charles. The event will include a special kickoff book signing, gifts and a chance to mix and mingle with their favorite authors.

Spotlight guests, who will add to the pulse-pounding excitement, include:

• Michael Connelly—Author of the number one New York Times bestsellers The Drop, The Fifth Witness, The Reversal, The Scarecrow, The Brass Verdict and The Lincoln Lawyer, as well as the Harry Bosch series. His most recent novel is The Black Box. A former newspaper reporter, Connelly has won numerous awards for his fiction.
• T. Jefferson Parker—One of only three two-time winners of the prestigious Edgar Award for Best Novel, Parker is the bestselling author of 20 novels including L.A. Outlaws, Storm Runners, and the award-winning Silent Joe and California Girl. His most recent novel is The Famous and the Dead.
• Michael Palmer—Famous for his bestselling medical and political suspense, Palmer’s most recent novel is was Political Suicide. His book, Extreme Measures, became a film starring Gene Hackman. A physician, Palmer helps doctors with physical and mental illness, as well as drug dependence and alcoholism.
• Silver Bullet Award Recipient Steve Berry—The New York Times and number one internationally bestselling author of The Jefferson Key, The Columbus Affair and soon-to-be-released The King’s Deception and nine more novels, Berry will be honored for his philanthropic work on behalf of fellow writers and historic preservation.
• Corporate Silver Bullet Award Recipient USO—The USO will be honored for making Operation Thriller a reality. This past November marked the third USO Operation Thriller tour, which took Kathleen Antrim, Michael Connelly, Joseph Finder, Brad Meltzer, and Andy Harp to the Middle East to entertain the troops.

The thrills continue with two of ThrillerFest’s most anticipated events: CraftFest, where the best authors in the business share secrets with fellow writers, and AgentFest, “speed-dating” with the top agents in publishing.

It all culminates with the 2013 ITW Thriller Awards Banquet, during which Steve Berry will receive the Silver Bullet Award and the awards for best novel; best debut novel and best short story will be finally revealed -- a riveting climax to a sensational event.

The International Thriller Writers is an honorary society of more than 1,300 authors in 22 countries with more than three billion books in print. To make a reservation for the suspense-inspired four-day adventure, please visit www.ThrillerFest.com.

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Event highlights include:

• ThrillerFest opens with a bang on Thursday night with a cocktail party hosting all authors, industry executives and conference attendees. Authors are open and accessible to chat with fans.
• Anne Rice, the 2013 ThrillerMaster, will be interviewed by her son, Christopher Rice, during a spotlight session.
• Author Daniel Palmer interviews his father, New York Times-bestselling novelist and ThrillerFest Spotlight guest Michael Palmer.
• Bestselling novelist MJ Rose interviews international bestselling author Steve Berry and Liz Berry about their non-profit History Matters. Steve is the 2013 ITW Silver Bullet Award recipient.
• A bestselling author of over 25 books, Jon Land interviews thriller-superstar and Spotlight guest Michael Connelly.
• Award-winning author D.P. Lyle, MD interviews T. Jefferson Parker, Spotlight guest and two-time winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel.
• Aspiring writers get the chance to sharpen their prose and hone their agent pitch during CraftFest – a fabulous opportunity to learn from bestselling authors.
• AgentFest allows writers the unprecedented opportunity to meet face-to-face with some of the top agents in the business.

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CRAFTFEST AND AGENTFEST

As most writers know, publishing changes faster than a New York minute! According to Bowker’s 2012 annual report on U.S. print book publishing, it was projected that about 1.5 million books were published in 2011. What’s more, Bowker, the company that handles ISBNs, saw a 287 percent rise in self-published print and e-books since 2006, which totals more than 235,000. If you’re a first-time author, what do you do to stand out in the crowd?

To hone your story to a razor-sharp finish that will thrill readers and critics alike, ITW ThrillerFest offers CraftFest. The top dogs in the thriller world will be your teachers—an incredible opportunity to learn from the best. Imagine being taught point of view from Steve Berry, the secrets of collaboration from Doug Preston and Lincoln Child, how to take your novel places with a sizzling setting with David Morrell or screenwriting tricks from Alexandra Sokoloff.

Hunting for an agent can be the most daunting experience a novice author can have. Thriller veterans Kathleen Antrim and Jon Land teach how to sharpen your pitch for AgentFest. Dozens of agents will be at your disposal, ready to be seduced by your tantalizing prose. This is no fantasy ―it’s the wildly popular portion of ThrillerFest often described as “speed dating with agents.” You’ll have the opportunity to pitch as many of New York’s top literary agents as you can handle.

You never know when publishing magic can happen. At his very first ThrillerFest, author John Dixon met the agent who signed him just one-week after the event. Now, John has a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, and sealed a deal with CBS for a TV series based on his thriller.

Similarly, author Jamie Freveletti met her agent during AgentFest, and her debut novel was part of a two-book deal with Harper Collins. Jamie went on to win the coveted “Best First Novel” award from ITW, but her success didn’t stop there. She has since published two novels and was asked by the Estate of Robert Ludlum to write the next in the Covert One series.

Topping it all off is a power-packed hour with a top literary publicist and a self-publishing guru who will give you the tools to buzz your book in the ever-changing marketplace. Social media, blogs, Web sites, book signings – they’ll answer all your questions about getting your book out there into the hands of readers.

New Release: Vortex by Robert Dunbar

Recently released – Vortex: Essays from a Sea of Nightmares by Robert Dunbar

Dark currents flow beneath the surface… powerful, deadly… ancient. Monsters churn the deep waters of the soul.

From Robert Dunbar’s introduction to VORTEX:

They say a basis in fact underlies most legends. They say it all the time, all those Wise Elders in all those old horror films, the high priests, the scientists, the gypsy fortune tellers. On this single issue they agree unanimously. Deep currents of tradition and superstition swirl through most classic works of horror fiction. They spring from deep within us, these nightmares, these folktales. They speak of our deepest needs, the ones we have all been taught since childhood never to put into words, because dreams reveal our other face, the one we keep hidden, the Hyde to mankind’s collective Jekyll. Our most primitive ancestors never died, the ones who killed with rocks and clubs and clawing hands. No, they remain within us still. And when we sleep, they speak.

Vampires and werewolves, sea hags and witches, even the Jersey Devil – the monsters teeming in our subconscious minds are with us always. VORTEX explores the origins of some of mankind’s oldest folklore and the influence of that lore on literature, film and popular culture.

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Uninvited Books (May 1, 2013) 216 pages

Available in paperback and ebook from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Robert-Dunbar/dp/0983045763/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1_NQTQ

U N I N V I T E D  B O O K S  |  www.UninvitedBooks.com

Excerpt: The Year of the Storm by John Mantooth

Excerpt from The Year of the Storm by John Mantooth:

Around three thirty, a noise from the back of the house woke me. I sat upright, rubbing sleep from my eyes, trying to get my bearings. There was always a moment upon first waking when Mom and Anna were still here. It usually lasted only an instant, and when that instant was gone, I felt as if someone had torn a piece of my heart away. I wondered when it would stop, if it would stop.

The noise had come from the back porch. I waited, very still, on the couch for it to come again. Outside, heat lightning flashed, making the den glow pale and cold and throwing shadows against the walls.

Moving slowly and deliberately in the dark, I slipped into the kitchen, opened the silverware drawer, and grabbed a knife. Creeping around the dining room table, I had the knife raised, ready to strike, ready to go for blood if the sneaky old bastard with the oxygen tank had broken into the house. I made it to the back door that led out onto our makeshift deck, where Anna used to like to stand and sing her songs, the ones that always caused me and Dad to laugh no matter how bad our moods were. Pausing near the door, I waited until the sound came again—a shuffling of feet, a slight creaking of the porch.

Keeping my back to the wall and the knife raised, I took a deep breath, turned on the light, and flung open the door. The porch was empty.

Almost.

Muddy tracks led down the back steps and out into the yard.

I stepped outside, shutting the door behind me gently to keep from waking Dad. With the knife in my hand I felt braver perhaps than I had any right to. Following the tracks to the edge of the porch, I paused at the steps, wishing for a flashlight. The wind chimes hanging from the eaves clinked together musically and then fell quiet. The backyard was silent, thrown out of proportion from the shadows of the looming forest.

I might have gone back in for a flashlight if I hadn’t caught a sudden twist of movement near the entrance to the woods.

At first, I didn’t believe my eyes.

Anna or her ghost—or maybe just a figment of Anna born out of my imagination—stood near a dense cluster of trees, her arms wrapped tightly across her chest, bobbing back and forth the way she did when she was in recovery mode. That was the term Mom had coined when Anna slowly started to bring herself back from an episode.

I stepped off the porch. One step onto the muddy grass and then two, keeping my eyes on her. Something—a fallen branch or vine—caught my foot, and I stumbled forward. I had to look away—just for an instant—and when I looked back up, she was gone.

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About The Year of the Storm:

In this haunting, suspenseful debut novel, John Mantooth takes readers to a town in rural Alabama where secrets are buried deep, reality is relative, and salvation requires a desperate act of faith.

When Danny was fourteen, his mother and sister disappeared during a violent storm. The police were baffled. There were no clues, and most people figured they were dead. Only Danny still holds out hope that they’ll return.

Months later, a disheveled Vietnam vet named Walter Pike shows up at Danny’s front door, claiming to know their whereabouts. The story he tells is so incredible that Danny knows he shouldn’t believe him. Others warn him about Walter Pike’s dark past, his shameful flight from town years ago, and the suspicious timing of his return.

But he’s Danny’s last hope, and Danny needs to believe…

320 pages | 04 Jun 2013 | Berkley | 8.26 x 5.23in | 18 - AND UP

Bio:  John Mantooth is an award-winning author whose short stories have been recognized in numerous year's best anthologies. His short fiction has been published in Fantasy Magazine, Crime Factory, Thuglit, and the Stoker winning anthology, Haunted Legends (Tor, 2010), among others. His first book, Shoebox Train Wreck, was released in March of 2012 from Chizine Publications. His debut novel, The Year of the Storm, is slated for a June 2013 release from Berkley. He lives in Alabama with his wife, Becky, and two children.

 shoeboxtrainwreck.com ; @busfulloflosers

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We also have a current giveaway for one US address for The Year of the Storm. Link to enter.