The Sending, by Matt Koceich

LOSE YOUR FAITH. SAVE YOUR SOUL.

Mark Grant has a unique ability to see distant places and has earned millions in his quest to locate the Garden of Eden. Now dark forces want him to uncover a 4,000 year-old secret that holds the key to eternal life.

This is no harmless quest for Paradise. Armies of darkness seek to reclaim their place in heaven. To do so, they must escape their ultimate death in the lake of fire by using Mark as their human host. The fruit of the Tree of Life will solidify their insidious plan. So Mark is sent to find the way back into Eden—and his family is kidnapped to ensure his compliance.

The minions of Satan think Mark is working completely for their errands. But someone else is sending Mark, as well.

Racing time to find them and the Tree of Life, Mark must decide if he’s willing to lose his faith to save his soul.

The Tenth Crusader, by Kirk Outerbridge
A Rick Macey Cyberthriller:
Thirty years of unrequited revenge stuffed into the body of a high powered combat cyborg

The Philippines of the future is a dangerous place. A country ravaged by 20 years of Islamic civil war. A nation fractured by religious fundamentalism and socioeconomic decay—and a place General Rick Macey thought he’d never have to see again.

But when a political assassination takes place at the US embassy in Manila, a calling card is left that Macey can hardly ignore.

Charged with mending US-Philippine relations, Macey must uncover the assassins, known only as The Tenth Crusaders, before the U.S. is accused of politically sabotaging the Philippines’ efforts to join the Islamic Alliance of Oceania—a pan-Islamic Supercountry comprised of the former Malaysia and Indonesia.

Failure could mean a new conflict between the U.S. and I.A.O., but to find the Crusaders, Macey will have to confront his past in the Philippines and the truth behind why he never wanted to return.

König’s Fire, by Marc Schooley

They Called Me Nebuchadnezzar

The Nazis have established a torture center in a mine at the heart of a Romanian forest. Here they interrogate prisoners and, sometimes, throw them into the furnace at the heart of the mine.

Only now, the primeval forest is rising against them, unleashing a preternatural army to besiege the great iron gate of the mine. The fearsome guards become terrified prisoners and the furnace itself burns with hungry anger against them.

Sascha König, a man they called Nebuchadnezzar, is their only hope. He is master of the furnace. All along, he has been Hitler’s ardent servant. But now…König is wrestling with demons of his own, and the Master of all fires is calling him to Himself through the haunting eyes of a little gypsy girl König did not save.

You can find the publisher and sample chapters here: Marcher Lord Press

Release date is October 1, 2010.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

And yet, Eternity Falls goes beyond many suspenseful sci-fi adventures in that a couple of profound themes are woven deep into the plot. Themes of: self-righteous judgement; how difficult it can be sometimes to determine what God’s perfect will is; and when righteous anger is righteous versus when it is misdirected.

And one of my favorite quotes from Eternity Falls sums it all up: “It’s never too late–never, before eternity falls–to regain your soul.”

Kirk has been gracious enough to grant me an interview. Here goes:

What led you to write this particular story?

I think I wanted to reduce life down to its common denominator, death, and then speculate what would happen if that final boundary were ever removed. How would the world change if dying were no longer an issue? How would we see God? And of course, being a Sci-fi enthusiast, I just had to tell the story with a cyberpunk flair.

Who was your favorite character to write? Why?

I truly enjoyed writing Sheila. She’s an interesting character because I wrote her to first be immediately unlikable but then slowly grow on you as you get to know her. That gave me a challenge as a writer. Hope I managed to pull if off! <grin>

Did anything funny happen while writing this book?

Funny? I don’t think so. Amazing maybe, in the fact that I actually found a publisher willing to take a chance on my Christian cyberpunk novel!

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I don’t have a list of favorite authors really. It’s strange but I find I tend to read less when I’m writing. Maybe it’s something about me not wanting to have my creativity or writing influenced or something. But there is one exception: I am always inspired by anything produced by Masamune Shirow. He’s not an author but a Japanese Manga artist, famous for creating Ghost in the Shell, one of my favorites. His cyberpunk stories never cease to get me in the mood to write my own.

If you could be any character from a sci-fi book, who would it be and why?

Guess it’d be too easy for me to pick the main character in my own book, right? <grin> This is a hard one. I think I’d have to say Felix from John Steakley’s Armor. He was just such an awesome dude.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Since I still have a desktop I don’t have a favorite place so much as an only place. <grin> In my study at home.

What projects are you working on now?

I’m working on the next book in the Rick Macey series. Halfway done!

How can readers find you on the web?

They can find me on my author website www.kirkouterbridge.com and then follow the links to my book on Amazon or my Facebook fan page.

Eternity Falls is published by Marcher Lord Press, which was kind enough to send me a PDF file for review.

Disclosure of Material Connection: At times, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”