New Kindle Book: The Uncertainty Bridge

Following on from the last post, I've also released some of my 'cyberpunk' near future Earth tales on one collection on Amazon Kindle, The Uncertainty Bridge.

This will be the first of several of my science fiction works collected again, and my foray into the world on online publishing.

Here is the blurb:

Black Water — in a poverty stricken Africa, water specialist Joseph Nuwangi hopes to scam a corporation, but will his conscience be his own undoing?

Aftermath — in a continent at war with itself, Donna Young is forced by a neural implant to obey every command of her superior, but can she protect herself from him?

The Uncertainty Bridge — a world decimated by plagues, Geoff Harbin finds he has gained sudden and unexpected encyclopaedic knowledge, but what price does the information demand?

In the vein of Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter F Hamilton and Neal Asher, The Uncertainty Bridge features three novellas from Australian science fiction author, David Conyers.Click to add text, images, and other content.

New Kindle Book: The Impossible Object

I've rebooted the Harrison Peel stories, with the first release The Impossible Object on Amazon Kindle. I want to revisit the series, and tighten it, add more tales, and basically build an overall story arc to develop Peel and his place in the Cthulhu Mythos. Think Lovecraft meets Clive Barker meets Ian Flemming meets Robert Ludlum, as Peter Clines nicely summed it up in his wonderful testimonial for the book.

Here is the blurb:

In a blend of cosmic horror with weird science fiction and action spy adventure, THE IMPOSSIBLE OBJECT recounts the adventures of Army Intelligence Officer, Major Harrison Peel, who travels the globe fighting the good fight against alien monsters wherever they appear threatening to destroy humanity.

Harrison Peel's first adventures are collected in four novellas:

"Made of Meat" - Terrorists hiding out amongst the hill tribes of Cambodia have accurate intelligence on Western covert operations, and Peel works to break the network before more agents are killed in the line of duty.

"Driven Underground" - An ancient alien city is unearthed in the deserts of Outback Australia, and Peel leads a team of soldiers into its catacombs where no living thing has existed for millions of years, or so they believe.

"Impossible Object" - Peel is assigned to a top secret facility studying an alien artifact, an object that cannot be measured or recorded by any means, that promises to offer up the secrets of the universe, or destroy it.

"False Containment" - After witnessing a mass grave of fused human bones, Peel travels to California to investigate a zero waste technology program using wormholes to dispose of rubbish in alien dimensions.

More in the rebooted series will follow.

Cthulhu Unbound 3 Australian Shadows Finalist

I am pleased to announce that Brian M Sammons and I have made the finalist list for Australia's top horror fiction award, the Australian Shadows in the Edited Publication category. This is the fourth time I've been nominated for the award, and maybe this year I might win, but I'm up against some strong competition with Surviving to the End by Craig Bezant and The Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2011 by LizGrzyb and Talie Helene, so I don't think it is likely.

On related news, Cthulhu Unound 3 is now available in paperback from Amazon. If you are looking for a reason to buy this book, here is a recent review from Hellnotes:

"All in all, I highly recommend CTHULHU UNBOUND 3: it’s a great collection of recent novellas that blend traditional Lovecraftian themes with other genres."

"The Masked Messenger" in Lovecraft eZine #22

My Harrison Peel collaboration, written with John Goodrich, is now available to read online at Lovecarft eZine.

Better still, it is also available on Amazon as a Kindle edition or as a Podcast from the Lovecraft eZine site, read by Chaz Engan of Beyond the Mountains of Madness fame. The very cool image of the Masked Messenger is by Adam Baker. I hope you enjoy, and if you do drop a line on the story and I'll respond as soon as I can.

Cthulhu Unbound 3 and "The R'lyeh Singularity" Reviews

Cthulhu Unbound 3, and my Brian M. Sammons co-authored novella in the anthology "The R'lyeh Singularity", has been receiving some positive reviews of late and its sales figures on Amazon.com are rocketing up the sales list. Here are excerpts some of them that I thought I might share if you are thinking about purchasing this anthology and are undecided:

CTHULHU UNBOUND 3

Cthulhu Unbound 3 is a collection of four novellas, marrying Lovecraft’s vision to another genre. Beyond the connections to the Cthulhu Mythos, there is no other underlying theme, excepting that each story seems to climax in feces-against-rotating-blades insanity. Each story is penned by great talents in the weird-fiction realm and it shows. - Bruce Priddy, Horror Novel Reviews

These guys form into the "Avengerspendables" and deal out quite a bit of "literary punishment" through the course of the four novellas on display here. - David Anderson, Amazon.com

THE R'LYEH SINGULARITY

I devoured “The R’lyeh Singularity” in a single sitting, turned back to the opening page and did it again. This is a big budget Hollywood summer movie in novella form, though far smarter than anything Michael Bay would bring to theaters. Lovecraft’s most famous creation makes an appearance here; as told by Conyers and Sammons, the Great Old One warps reality by Its very presence. How they handle this in the story is brilliant. To say more would ruin it for you. I would love to see this translated to the big screen. - Bruce Priddy, Horror Novel Reviews

Conyers has an elegant grasp on quantum physics, while Sammons knows how to get all the "big military toys" in the sandbox. They both fuse together to create some kind of mad orchestrator that doles out awesomeness by the handfuls. - David Anderson, Amazon.com

The pace is excellent. For those interested in seeing how the American government might handle national security threats of the Cthulhu-kind, I would say this one is worth the price of admission on its own - Historicool, Amazon.com

New Harrison Peel tale “The Road to Afghanistan”

My latest Harrison Peel adventure, “The Road to Afghanistan” has just been released in the anthology What Scares the Boogeyman? Edited by John Manning and published by Perseid Press. This story takes Peel to Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan in his hunt to track down Taliban controlled weapons of mass destruction of the otherworldly kind.

Here is the line-up for What Scares the Boogeyman?:

• “Boogeyman Blues” by Janet Morris
• “The Boogeyman’s Wife” by Nancy Asire
• “The Road to Afghanistan” by David Conyers
• “The Fear of the Lord” by Robert M. Price
• “The River Witch” by J.D. Fritz
• “The Cold” by Jason Cordova
• “Blood and Ochre” by Thomas Barczak
• “Testament of Tuff” by C. Dean Andersson
• “Night of the Bettys” by Beverly Hale
• “Jack the Raptor” by Chris Morris
• “Failure to Comply” by Michael H. Hanson
• “The Shadow of a Doubt” by Larry Atchley, Jr.
• “L’Uomo Nero” by Richard Groller
• “Bad Mustard” by Bill Snider
• “Grandma” by Wayne Borean
• “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” by John Manning
• “Apis Primatus” by Bettina Meister
• “Under the Bed” by Shirley Meier

 Here is an excerpt from “The Road to Afghanistan”:

THE ROAD TO AFGHANISTAN

David Conyers

 The three days it took Harrison to flee the black desert of western Pakistan, he barely slept. When the saw the dusk lights of Rawalpindi he felt relief; street lights meant normalcy and a safe place to rest.

When Peel drove into the city’s heart he was forcibly slowed, melded with the busy evening traffic. Despite the late hour, he passed busy bazaars and crowded alleys. Hindu temples and Muslim shrines were clean and complete compared to cheaply constructed apartment blocks and government offices, with their rusting reo jutting from upper unfinished levels. Mounds of stinking garbage piled against chipped walls. Woman’s faces on billboards were ‘veiled’ with black paint while men were left untouched.

Peel reached the Hoodbhoy Orphanage as it was closing. Identified by his National Security Agency employers three days earlier, he had been assured the institution’s reputation was sound. Foreign and local journalists’ accounts spoke highly of their director, a Muslim who accepted all wards, regardless of their religion, gender or ethnicity.

Peel parked in the courtyard. His aching muscles protested as he clambered from the old Soviet Army truck. As he unlatched the rear door, two dozen red and blinking eyes stared back. It took the first child several minutes to shuffle forward and step into their new home, and into a new life.

“Mr. Peel?”

“Yes Sir?” he snapped in a moment of disorientation. Embarrassed, he scratched at the dirt caked to his millimeter thick hair. He felt drunk. He wasn’t. He was dead tired.

“Thank you for saving these children, Mr. Peel.” Rashid Hoodbhoy spoke softly, with a formal and precise command of the English language. He watched, with a gentle smile, his volunteers aid the children as they clambered from the stolen truck. Many had to be carried. All needed water. A few with infected wounds were attended to with bandages and disinfectant.

Lynn Willis

It was sad news to hear that Lynn Wills at Chaosium recently died. Lynn was Chaosium's editor in chief and instrumental in making Call of Cthulhu the game on 18 January 2013. He will be greatly missed. I found him to be an excellent editor. He was the first editor I worked with, and he was instrumental in making my books Secrets of Kenya, Cthulhu’s Dark Cults and The Spiraling Worm, amongst my other early Chaosium projects, what they became today.

Here are what several key contributors to the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, which Lynn directed for many decades, had to say about him:

“He was incredibly smart, astonishingly widely read, detail oriented, and capable. He is largely responsible for the high quality, playability, and popularity of the leading horror RPG in our field.” – Charlie Krank, President of Chaosium Inc.

“Lynn was always a great guy to work for, an all around good guy, and I'm very sorry to hear of his passing.” – Brian M. Sammons, author of Secrets and editor of Atomic Age Cthulhu, Steampunk Cthulhu and Eldritch Chrome.

“Lynn very graciously bought the first book I ever pitched, right out of college. And by the time he put it out (12 years later), we'd developed a real(ly weird) friendship. I'll truly miss (arguing with) him.” – Cody Goodfellow, author of Secrets of San Francisco.

“He was a gentleman and a scholar; I learned so much from him - indeed, I honestly would not be the writer I am today were it not for Lynn's guiding hand.” – Richard Watts, author of “Love’s Lonely Children”, “Tatterdemallion” and “Behold the Mother”

“Lynn was the editor of the 1991 edition of Horror on the Orient Express (and many other Chaosium books besides), and every page is rich with his love of history and detail. We miss him, and do our best to honour the work he left behind.” – Mark Morrison, author of Terror Australis and Horror on the Orient Express.