Red Lightning Black Thunder

The acclaimed author of The Iskra Incident puts his experience as an Air Force commander and fighter pilot to extraordinary use once again in this top-notch techno-thriller, a "novel (that) rockets off the launch pad" (Library Journal). The U.S. and Soviets, long at peace on Earth, enter into a cold war in the far reaches of outer space.

The sequel to Red Thunder is “a cosmic coming-of-age novel . . . [with] enthralling everyday heroics” from a Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author (Paul Di Filippo, SciFi.com). It doesn’t matter that Ray Garcia-Strickland’s father was one of the first men on Mars. The now overdeveloped planet has lost its hip factor, its luxurious hotels—like the one Ray’s father manages—overrun with gravity-dependent tourists from Earth. Ray is over the Red Planet. Soon he gets his own chance at interplanetary adventure, when an unknown object hits Earth and causes a massive tsunami. Ray heads back to Florida to help family and friends who’ve survived the devastation—and soon learns the so-called natural disaster could have unnatural consequences . . . “The book Robert A. Heinlein would have written if he lived in George Bush’s America.” —Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing “A highly satisfying sequel to Red Thunder . . . Much more than a simple adventure story, full of poignant moments and relevant social commentary.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Drawing unabashedly on current events from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, the author mixes space opera–esque adventure and merriment with uncensored images of disaster areas and teenage sex. At his Heinlein-channeling best, Varley preaches the gospel of individual responsibility with all the fervor of a space-age libertarian revival preacher.” —Publishers Weekly “John Varley blends past fiction, current events and future tech to create a story all his own, but with classic roots in at least a half dozen of Heinlein's juveniles.” —SF Site

Seven suburban misfits are constructing a spaceship out of old tanker cars. The plan is to beat the Chinese to Mars--in under four days at three million miles an hour. It would be history in the making if it didn't sound so insane.

Michelle Rosenchild is a young woman who's grown sick of working in retail. After being betrayed by Corporate America, she turns into a supervillain known as "Black Thunder," who vows to expose the corruption of modern society. Together with her pals Captain Silverware, Deerboy, and Minor Inconvenience Man, they try plotting world domination, only to realize it's incredibly difficult when you're poor and don't know how to build a super death-ray. Instead, they decide to plot a bank robbery, so they can make some quick cash, and maybe buy their own secret supervillain island somewhere. But along the way, Black Thunder gets recruited by a gang of terrorists known as "The Furies," who are hell-bent on tearing down the city's government. Now, Black Thunder is faced with a dire choice: Should she help "The Furies" with their acts of villainy...Or defend the corrupt system she claims to hate? THE LEGEND OF BLACK THUNDER is a black comedy which deconstructs supervillain tropes from throughout comic book history, questioning the idea of what it means to be a villain, and who the true "villains" are in the world today. After all, who should we be more afraid of: Comic book villains, or the people they owe back-taxes to? Read what top critics are saying about The Legend of Black Thunder: “Well, at least it’s better than ‘The Golden Age.’” – everyone “Wait, why is this written like a stage play?” – also everyone “I’m totally going to read it!” – people who read 5 pages and then put it away “It was okay, I guess.” – people who actually read it “Of all the books I’ve ever read, I can definitely say that this was one of them.” – The Rock (Not Dwayne Johnson—literally just a rock.) “Makes for great kindling.” – Kindling Magazine (which also makes for great kindling) “seen.” – The Washington Post ABOUT THE AUTHOR KALEB QUIST is a non-award-winning “author” whose last book, The Golden Age – a story about retired superheroes living together in a nursing home – peaked at 1,354,971 on Amazon’s list of best-selling novels. Kaleb Quist currently resides in Southern Oregon, which is only slightly better than anywhere in California. When he’s not making up words about fake people for monetary gain, he enjoys firing people at places he doesn’t work, driving 5 miles over the speed limit, and screaming obscenities at the local ducks.

When a plane carrying top Soviet officials crashes en route to an epoch-making summit in San Francisco, and a US Air Force jet missile is blamed for the crash, it suddenly looks like WW III is about to begin. USAF Colonel Jack Phillips must get past the Russians and the US military to find answers that no one seems to want him to find.

“A cosmic coming-of-age novel… enthralling everyman heroics.”—Paul Di Filippo, SciFi.com “Mars sucks.” And if anyone’s allowed to say it, Ray Garcia-Strickland is, since his father was one of the first men to set foot there. Ray’s father is now the manager of the Red Thunder, one of the swankiest hotels on overdeveloped Mars. And Ray has seen his share of gravity-dependent Earthies. Which doesn’t stop him from fearing the worst when Earth is struck by an unknown object, causing a massive tsunami. Living high on his father’s glory was okay, but now Ray must literally come down to Earth—and help solve one of its greatest mysteries…

“Dray captures the genius and ingenuity of Franklin’s scientific thinking and then does something even more fascinating: He shows how science shaped his diplomacy, politics, and Enlightenment philosophy.” –Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Today we think of Benjamin Franklin as a founder of American independence who also dabbled in science. But in Franklin’s day, the era of Enlightenment, long before he was an eminent statesman, he was famous for his revolutionary scientific work. Pulitzer Prize finalist Philip Dray uses the evolution of Franklin’s scientific curiosity and empirical thinking as a metaphor for America’s struggle to establish its fundamental values. He recounts how Franklin unlocked one of the greatest natural mysteries of his day, the seemingly unknowable powers of lightning and electricity. Rich in historical detail and based on numerous primary sources, Stealing God’s Thunder is a fascinating original look at one of our most beloved and complex founding fathers.

The Ace of Hearts, once poor and unknown, has used his power to wield influence over criminal organizations, key people in politics, law enforcement, and private industry. Along with his three super-human partners, they are in the final phases of a plan to become the power behind the power in several states. Shade, a civic-minded martial-artist trained on another world, and Atlas, a police officer with super-strength and the power of flight, discover the hard way that nothing is as it seems. They must avoid becoming pawns themselves and build a coalition in an environment where no one can be trusted and a self-proclaimed African god pursues a destructive vendetta against them all.

Chief of Detectives Larry Cole and investigative journalist Kate ford team up to face an ominous threat to the dity of Chicago.

Rolling Thunder is the picaresque tale of Dennis Oldham-partner, newsman, foil and friend to Roberto Velez, king of New York rock radio.