Daily Archives: March 19, 2020

Mechcraft by Brian Fitzpatrick

What would the world be like if a swarm of shape-shifting nanotechnology awoke within the DNA of an unsuspecting teenager?

In Mechcraft, 15-year-old Jake London’s ideal teen life is thrown into chaos when he discovers the ability to control a swarm of shape-shifting nanotechnology that has, until recently, lain dormant in his DNA. Mentally connected to the tech within, London is able to summon liquid metal through his pores, and with it, he creates any object he can possibly imagine.
 
But he’s not alone.  A secret world in Los Angeles opens to him, revealing a hidden society of Mechcrafters– all having gained their power through a rigorous injection process. Philosophical disagreements on the best use of the Mechcraft ability fractures the group, leading to all out war, leaving each of the three factions vying for dominance.

Being the first person born with the nanotech, Jake finds himself caught in the center of the warring factions’ designs and schemes, each believing his potential power will be the wildcard that will deliver victory. Now, with two young Mechcraft agents escorting him, and a horde of enemies chasing them down, Jake finds himself in a desperate race to safety.

Battling through psychotic Mechcrafters, elite hunters, a pre-teen annoying show-off, and a ruthless enemy leader, the trio perseveres through a hard-fought road to the only safe place in the city, where Jake hopes to reunite with his parents.

Faction leader, Sasha, obsessed with possessing and controlling Jake to finally win the war, grows increasingly mad in her pursuit.  She is always one step ahead, and her twisted connection to Jake becomes symbiotic and complex.

Mechcraft delves into areas of ethics, moral dilemmas, vulnerability, and loss wrapped in an action-packed coming-of-age tale.

Will agents, Bex and Trent, be able to protect Jake and get him to their headquarters? Or will Sasha eventually destroy him?  What wildcard powers will Jake manifest?  He could be the savior of the war or end them all.

It’s "The Matrix" meets "Harry Potter"

Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre

“If Huckleberry Finn were set on the Mexican-American border and written by the creators of South Park, it might read something like this.” —San Francisco Chronicle
 
Hailed by critics and lauded by readers for its riotously funny and scathing portrayal of America in an age of trial by media, materialism, and violence, Vernon God Little was an international sensation when it was first published in 2003 and awarded the prestigious Man Booker Prize.
 
The memorable portrait of America is seen through the eyes of a wry, young protagonist. Fifteen-year-old Vernon narrates the story with a cynical twang and a four-letter barb for each of his townsfolk, a medley of characters. With a plot involving a school shooting and death-row reality TV shows, Pierre’s effortless prose and dialogue combine to form a novel of postmodern gamesmanship.
 
“A dangerous, smart, ridiculous, and very funny first novel . . . Pierre renders adolescence brilliantly, capturing with seeming effortlessness the bright, contradictory hormone rush of teenage life.” –Sam Sifton, The New York Times

The Painted Darkness by Brian James Freeman

The Painted Darkness: A Novella

When Henry was a child, something terrible happened in the woods behind his home, something so shocking he could only express his grief by drawing pictures of what he had witnessed. Eventually Henry’s mind blocked out the bad memories, but he continued to draw, often at night by the light of the moon.

Twenty years later, Henry makes his living by painting his disturbing works of art. He loves his wife and his son and life couldn’t be better… except there’s something not quite right about the old stone farmhouse his family now calls home. There’s something strange living in the cramped cellar, in the maze of pipes that feed the ancient steam boiler.

A winter storm is brewing and soon Henry will learn the true nature of the monster waiting for him down in the darkness. He will battle this demon and, in the process, he may discover what really happened when he was a child and why, in times of trouble, he thinks: I paint against the darkness.

But will Henry learn the truth in time to avoid the terrible fate awaiting him… or will the thing in the cellar get him and his family first?

Written as both a meditation on the art of creation and as an examination of the secret fears we all share, The Painted Darkness is a terrifying look at the true cost we pay when we run from our grief–and what happens when we’re finally forced to confront the monsters we know all too well.