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

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.

“The heart-pounding space race is on . . . in this riveting SF thriller” from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of Red Lightning and Rolling Thunder (Publishers Weekly, starred review). As Chinese and US spacecraft compete to be the first to land on Mars, a former astronaut, his cousin, and four teens from Florida decide to take matters into their own hands. If they can quickly build their own space-worthy ship using scrap metal, appliances, and power tools, they have a chance to come from behind—thanks to an inventive new power source that can propel them to the Red Planet within three days. No guts, no glory . . . “Varley’s great strength is in his characterizations, but in Red Thunder he also shows a strong sense of place. . . . If you are willing to simply fantasize about fleeing your office cubicle and becoming a heroic space explorer, this novel will fulfill your wishes.” —The Washington Post “Fast paced . . . Engaging characters.” —Rocky Mountain News “Full of little gems of wit and intelligence.” —Booklist “[A] fun-filled adventure. Varley matches a serious literary style with an outrageous plot, and he’s one of the few writers in the field who could make it work.” —Chronicle