Charlaine Harris Enjoys Justin Gustainis's "Evil Ways"

Best-selling author Charlaine Harris has read and loved Evil Ways, by Justin Gustainis.

I really enjoyed Justin Gustainis’s BLACK MAGIC WOMAN, so I was pleased to get a copy of EVIL WAYS. Here’s the thing – I think EVIL WAYS is much better, and BLACK MAGIC WOMAN was a good book. (I’ve got to comment that I think the cover is silly, but that’s just me.) Once again, investigator Quincey Morris teams with witch Libby Chastain to track down the killer of several white witches. The trail leads right to Walter Grobius, a billionaire (no one’s content to be a millionaire any more) who’s very unwisely hired a black witch to prolong his miserable life. The black witch, in turn, unwisely believes he can handle the powers he’s raising.

Morris and Chastain are lucky to have killer Hannah Widmark on their side. They’re also lucky that greed overwhelms good sense. This is a fast-paced book full of adventure, some of it very unpleasant and genuinely frightening.

Review of Three Unbroken

Chris Roberson's Three Unbroken, the next novel in the popular Celestial Empire series, gets a great review over at SF Signal.

A non-stop story that thoroughly entertains

Chris Roberson's Celestial Empire series continues to be a rich setting for telling enjoyable stories. In addition to numerous short fiction pieces (some of which are reviewed here), Roberson has written a few novels that highlight an important milestone of this intriguing alternate future history -- a future in which Imperial China has become a superpower and wages war with their frequent enemy, the Mexic Dominion.

The latest book, Three Unbroken, details the fight to reclaim the planet Fire Star (Mars) as seen through the eyes of a trio of fighters for the Dragon Throne's cause: Arati Amonkar, whose dream to fly drives her to become a pilot for the Interplanetary Fleet; Micah Carter, whose failure to pass the Imperial bureaucracy entrance exams leads him to serve in the Green Standard Army; and Niohuru, a privileged youth who eschews the repetitive boredom of everyday life for the glory of battle as part of the elite group of Imperial Bannermen.

Hardcore

More Remic news! We now have the final artwork for the third Combat-K novel, Hardcore. It's the handiwork of one Marek Okon, who also painted the Age of Ra cover for us. I believe it's what the youth of today refer to as 'skill'. There's something quite unpleasant and medical-looking going on in the background though. I'm trying not to look at it too closely.

Remic Signing & Review

Andy Remic sent us a photo on from his successful signing at Forbidden Planet! Check out his blog to hear what he said.

Also, Zombie Dirt gives a good review of Biohell.

"Before you crack open this novel you should ask yourself: Do I enjoy violent sci-fi coupled with disgusting mutants and a creatively forged universe setting? If you can check: "Positive!" to any of those qualifiers I highly recommend checking out Andy Remic's novel "Biohell". If your reading tendencies trend towards cuddly creatures that hug out their emotions, steer well clear of this book."

Solaris Books On Locus Recommended Reading List

Solaris had three titles featured in the 2008 Locus Recommended Reading list. Congratulations to all involved!


Sideways in Crime, edited by Lou Anders.
Extraordinary Engines, edited by Nick Gevers.
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Vol 2, edited by George Mann.

Novelettes

Shining Armor (SBNSF)
Machine Maid (Extraordinary Engines)
Sacrifice (Sideways in Crime)

Short Stories

The Dream Reason (Extraordinary Engines)
Evil Robot Monkey (SBNSF)
The Blood of Peter Francisco (Sideways in Crime)
Fifty Dinosaurs (SBNSF)
Fixing Hanover (Extraordinary Engines)
The Eyes of God (SBNSF)

Lou Anders on Adam Roberts

Editor Lou Anders has written a very interesting feature for Tor.com on Adam Roberts.

Adam Roberts is one of my favorite science fiction writers going. He is the author of ten science fiction novels and two novellas, all of them brilliant works of epic scope and scale. Adam jumps from hard SF to biting satire, from the ends of time to the decades just ahead. Jon Courtenay Grimwood called him, “the king of high concept SF,” and I couldn’t agree more. He’s also the author of a number of critical works, including the the Palgrave History of Science Fiction. Under the pseudonym A.R.R.R. Roberts he even writes a series of parody novels. (Of the lot, my favorite title is Doctor Whom: E.T. Shoots and Leaves.) DeathRay wrote of him recently that, “You never know exactly what you’re going to get with an Adam Roberts novel, and that’s a strength: each of his books is very different in feel from the last.”

Lord Picacio

Our first Picacio! And what a corker! Mark Chadbourn's rip-roaring, carcass-surfing (yes, really) fantasy novel, Lord of Silence, just cried out for something really special, so who else could we really use, but the uber-talented John Picacio?

We're going to keep posting him bags of top quality chocolate digestives until he agrees to paint something else for us.