Forbidden Planet: Picking up where ‘The Incorruptibles’ left off, ‘Foreign Devils’ is a fast paced ride through a rough and dangerous world. […] ‘Foreign Devils’ is one hell of a ride – pun fully intended – and I can’t wait to see where Jacobs takes us next.
Starburst: For all of Foreign Devils’ magic, mystery and monsters, it’s a novel about people, and how they react to forces beyond their control and the machinations of those in power. Despite its events potentially having repercussions throughout the world, it never stops feeling like the most important aspects are the individual journeys of those embarked upon them, and it’s precisely this personal perspective that keeps the book endlessly captivating.
Publishers Weekly: Christopher (The Machine Awakes) merges pulp SF and crime novels in the pleasing launch of his L.A. trilogy. In an alternate 1960s America, Raymond is a robot PI, the last of his kind. He’s hired to find a missing movie star with secrets as deep as Raymond’s own. Raymond and his computer partner, Ada, would be at home in an Asimovian retro-future, but Asimov’s three laws of robotics are broken with impunity. The pacing, banter, and descriptions are classic noir, yet the stakes are higher, as Raymond learns that future of the free world is in his mechanical hands. The robot detective is morally gray and instantly likable, and the limitations placed on his abilities help maintain a heightened sense of danger and struggle. Genre mash-ups don’t always succeed, but this one will please fans of both gumshoes and laser beams.
Star Wars: Aftermath hit the New York Times Best Seller list for the fourth week in a row, this time at #16!
As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance—now a fledgling New Republic—presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he’s taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.
Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world—war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.
Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit—to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on Norra and her newfound allies—her technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector—who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.
School Library Journal: When a new social network pops up promising to fulfill any need, 16-year-old Kaylee Dunham knows it’s too good to be true. […] Charbonneau delivers a tightly paced thriller packed with enough tension to keep teens hooked until the dramatic finale. Readers will root for Kaylee as she faces down hateful classmates, a mother who doesn’t trust her, and an out-of-control social network bent on turning everyone she knows into a killer. Told through the perspective of multiple students entangled in NEED, this work raises interesting questions about the real-life dangers that could arise from operating anonymously online. Well-defined conflict and plenty of action also make this a good choice for reluctant readers.
Star Wars: Aftermath continues its run on the New York Times Best Seller list for the third week!
As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance—now a fledgling New Republic—presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he’s taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.
Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world—war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.
Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit—to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on Norra and her newfound allies—her technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector—who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.
Star Wars: Aftermath hit the New York Times Best Seller list for the second week in a row, this time at #5, and the USA Today Bestselling list at #17!
As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance—now a fledgling New Republic—presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy’s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy’s strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he’s taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders.
Meanwhile, on the planet’s surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native world—war weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles’s urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn’t know is just how close the enemy is—or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be.
Determined to preserve the Empire’s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit—to consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven’t reckoned on Norra and her newfound allies—her technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defector—who are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire’s oppressive reign once and for all.
Publishers Weekly: The mysterious Need network, an anonymous social network that springs up overnight, claims that it can fulfill the deepest desires of the students at Nottawa High School. At the center of the storm is 16-year-old Kaylee Dunham; while her classmates mainly seek material gain, her priorities lie with finding her younger brother a kidney donor. Need’s users must follow its directions like lemmings, and a web of deceit and cruel pranks quickly becomes dangerous and deadly. Charbonneau (the Testing trilogy) focuses on a handful of classmates, mostly telling the story from Kaylee’s perspective, but shifting into third person to expose other characters and help the roles they play coalesce into a thrilling narrative. Even after the diabolical source of Need is unmasked—albeit through the cliché of the villain explaining the plan in full detail—Charbonneau still has a few surprises in store to leave readers questioning their trust in (and anonymity of) the internet and the selves we expose when we think no one is watching.
The world is on the brink of war.
Fisk and Shoe – mercenaries, very much not wanting to get caught in the middle of a political whirlwind – must deliver a very important message, and find a very dangerous man. They have caught the eye of the powerful men of the world, and now the stakes are higher than they like.
And the Emperor has decreed that Livia Cornelius, pregnant with Fisk’s child, must travel to the far lands of the Autumn Lords on a diplomatic mission. It will mean crossing half the world, and facing new dangers. And in the end, she will uncover the shocking truth at the heart of the Autumn Lords’ Empire.
A truth which will make the petty politics of war and peace unimportant, and will change the world.
The first book in the Miriam Black series: “A sassy, hard-boiled thriller with a paranormal slant” (The Guardian) about a young woman who can see the darkest corners of the future.
Miriam Black knows how you’re going to die. This makes her daily life a living hell, especially when you can’t do anything about it, or stop trying to. She’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, and suicides. She merely needs to touch you—skin to skin contact—and she knows how and when your final moments will occur. Miriam has given up trying to save people; that only makes their deaths happen. But then she hitches a ride with Louis Darling and shakes his hand, and she sees in thirty days that Louis will be murdered while he calls her name. Louis will die because he met her, and Miriam will be the next victim. No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try.
“Think Six Feet Under co-written by Stephen King and Chuck Palahniuk” (SFX), and you have Blackbirds: a visceral, exciting novel about life on the edge.