Welcome
[2/10/2012]
When We Were Executioners is out and for sale wherever fine books are sold! Reviews are good. For instance…
I have to admit – I haven’t read anything quite like J.M. McDermott’s Dogsland Trilogy (Never Knew Another, the recently released When We Were Executioners, and the forthcoming We Leave Together). A seemingly straightforward fantasy narrated by the unnamed female of a husband/wife team of wolfskin-clad Walkers – shape-shifting members of a religious order whose mission it is to remove the taint of the half-breed spawn of demons from the face of the earth – the storyline follows the duo as they set out on a seemingly impossible mission.
Walkers have the ability to understand the memories of the deceased and after stumbling across the demonic corpse of a king’s man named Corporal Jona Lord Joni, the nameless narrator and her spouse begin the monumental task of tracking down and erasing the evil stain on every person and place the demon spawn has touched. Joni’s memories are deeply disturbing but perhaps the most unsettling revelation is the fact that he knew of others like him…
Head over to your favorite book shop. (For instance, IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781597803380) and pick up a copy today!
Forthcoming next month is the short story collection, Disintegraton Visions from Apex Books. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover:
[12/21/2011]
Lots of news coming over the transom at the end of the year.
Publisher’s Weekly reviewed my forthcoming Dogsland Novel, When We Were Executioners:
The second Dogsland novel picks up where Never Knew Another left off, with a wolfskin-wearing priest and priestess of Erin reconstructing the last days of Jona, Lord Joni, a half-demon corporal of the King’s Men, from residual dreams that imbue his found skull. Hoping to track down and terminate two similarly demon-tainted Dogslanders of Jona’s acquaintance—Rachel Nolander, his lover, and Salvatore Fidelio, his detested enemy—the priestly pair follow Jona’s memories through adventures that include his clashes with drug smugglers and his assassination of suitors to the daughter of a powerful lord, whereby Jona hopes to manipulate the succession. McDermott make Jona a compelling antihero, by turns ruthless and compassionate. The author’s real achievement, though, is his vivid evocation of Dogsland, a quasi-medieval realm whose squalor, depravity, and brutality give credible context for the best and worst behaviors, as well as the novel’s subtly fantastic goings-on. Agent: Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Feb.)
Source: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59780-338-0
In other good news, Jess VanderMeer has posted this about Women and Monsters:
Another great story collection, somewhat themed, among the best of the year. The stories revolve around the women and monsters of Greek mythology but in new contexts. For example, Eurydice wanders an abandoned amusement park and Korey thinks of leaving her mother, her small town, her mundane, simple life. Monsters making an appearance include Charybdis, Scylla, and Gorgon.
Source:
2011 Overlooked Books? Unique Fantasy, SF, and Horror You Might Have Missed
More good news than this, to be sure, but I think this is enough for this particular spot. Check the blog for more regular updates.
