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From Stephen Deas, bestselling author of The Adamantine Palace and The Royalist, comes LONEFIRE, a new foray into the many worlds of cyberpunk sci-fi.
Constantine is a veteran freelance corporate spy. Time was he was the best of the best with a rep to open any doors, but that all stopped a year ago when Victor Longthorne, the richest man in the galaxy, blew up in his face – literally.
Now he takes what work he can get – dirty, murky, whatever pays the bills; and that's why he's about to wake up in a system that doesn't welcome visitors with no idea how he got there.
Not only that, but he's got an Artificial Intelligence system peering over his shoulder, manipulating his every move and why, like it or not, he's about to find himself sucked into a galaxy-spanning conspiracy, desperate to find out why Victor Longthorne's empire is turning on itself before the galaxy's most lethal cult of religious fanatics catch up with him.
The dead messiah in a box, though? Mostly that one's on him.
Part space-opera, part cyberpunk, and part Tourettes Syndrome, LONEFIRE is a frantic science fiction ride through a broken future with a bad attitude.
Praise for Stephen Deas:
‘....a busy, fast-paced narrative.’ Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES
‘The plot moves along briskly and surprises occur. Promising enough and neatly set up for a sequel.’ Jonathan Wright SFX
‘The tale rattles along at a nifty pace with action and intrigue.’ Peter Ingham THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘[Deas] puts on a good show. The story runs like a whippet, […] good fun.’ Francis Smallfield DEATHRAY
‘… fast, furious and entertaining book that grabs hold of the reader and whisks them off like a rollercoaster.’ THE WERTZONE
‘Giving the book its edgier, more contemporary look meanwhile, are the characters and plot. […] Stephen does a great job of constantly surprising the reader. It's a fun and entertaining debut that will appeal to fans of both classic and contemporary fantasy. In short, […] another winner.’ FANTASY BOOK CRITIC
‘In short: dragons, intrigue, poison, mercenaries and a Big Dark History. If you like that sort of thing then this is definitely worth a look.’ SANDSTORM REVIEWS
‘Deas ramps things up to a completely different level with awesome displays of draconic power and cunning.’ GRAEME'S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW
‘It is a difficult thing to write a novel that uses many of the icons of High Fantasy and make it enjoyable; this is something though that Stephen has done here. The book is an entertaining mix of Pern and Westeros, with the knowing characterisation of Abercrombie and the endearment of Novik.’ SFF WORLD
‘Roll over McCaffrey, there's a new Dragon Lord in town.’ Gareth Wilson FALCATTA TIMES
Stephen Deas is a prolific author of fantasy, historical fiction and science fiction under various pseuodnyms. Deas was brought up in a quiet town populated by retired colonels, which most likely informed his passion for historical fiction. As a child living in a small town he dreamed up fantasy characters and worlds. He now enjoys family life in South-East England with his wife and two children, writing as a full-time career and still attending fantasy conventions.
Venture Press is a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We are committed to the discovery and rediscovery of talented authors in the SFF genre, and continue to push boundaries in search of great literature. Join us as we venture across universes and unknown landscapes – past, present and future.
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