Tempt Me Saturday!

Hellcats and Honeygirls by Lawrence Block and Donald E. Westlake

Subterranean Press is proud to publish an omnibus containing the three novels jointly written by Lawrence Block and Donald E. Westlake. The individual titles have been out of print for nearly five decades.

“Now, as I write these lines, Don’s been gone a year and a week. And our three joint novels are now available in this handsome hardcover edition. I’m happy about this, and I can only hope that Don would be pleased as well.

I can’t be sure of that, as he hasn’t had any say in the matter. I do know that, in recent years, he became increasingly open about pseudonymous work that he’d previously kept in the dark. Part of this may have stemmed from a recognition of the inevitability of it all. There are people out there practicing a weird form of scholarship on the crap of which we who wrote it thought so little, and a quick search of the internet can unearth no end of information about our early work, some of which may even be true. The genie, alas, is out of the bottle, and the toothpaste is out of the tube. And, really, what difference does it make?

When Don agreed to have Hard Case Crime reissue some of his early books—crime novels, I should point out, which had nothing to apologize for—a mutual friend asked him why he thought this a good idea. The money didn’t amount to much, after all, and the work was not as good as what he’d produced since then, and—

’The difference between being in print and out of print,’ Don told him, ‘is the same as the difference between being alive and being dead.’

So I don’t think it’s too great an abuse of our friendship that I’m shepherding these three books back into print.”
—Lawrence Block, from his Introduction

The Wolf’s Hour by Robert McCammon

First published in 1989, The Wolf’s Hour remains one of Robert McCammon’s most indelible creations. Ranging freely and with great authority through realms of history, folklore, and myth, it combines two seemingly disparate genres – the World War II action thriller and the paranormal romance – into a seamless, irresistible whole.

McCammon’s hero is Michael Gallatin, embattled inhabitant of two different worlds. Born into the Russian aristocracy, but “changed” and raised by a pack of werewolves, Michael’s journey takes him from the wild regions of his native Russia to the battle-scarred landscapes of a world at war. Offering his unique talents to the Allied cause, Michael becomes a sort of secret weapon aimed at the destruction of Hitler and his “Thousand Year Reich.” His adventures take him from the deserts of North Africa to the German-occupied countries of Western Europe. There, with the aid of a vivid assortment of friends, comrades, and lovers, he uncovers a horrific conspiracy known as “Iron Fist,” which threatens to disrupt the Allies’ long-planned invasion of Europe and to alter the very outcome of the war.

Both a scrupulously researched historical thriller and a brilliant re-imagining of the traditional werewolf tale, The Wolf’s Hour offers pleasure, excitement, and illumination on virtually every page. Exotic, enthralling, and endlessly inventive, it is the work of a master storyteller in full command of his matchless narrative gifts.

The Subterranean Press edition of The Wolf’s Hour will feature an original introduction by Robert McCammon, as well as a full-color dust jacket and a number of color plates by Vincent Chong, including a gatefold illustration depicting the novel’s famous “death train” scene.

The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton

Subterranean Press is proud to announce volume two of The Nights Dawn trilogy, one of modern space opera’s classic series.

Now the primeval evil has left Lalonde behind to spread its malign presence across the unsuspecting worlds of the Confederation. The possessed have acquired a chilling range of superhuman powers that can defeat most conventional weapons. Technology cannot defeat them. Fear multiplies like wildfire across the planets and asteroid settlements which make up the Human Confederation, the precursor to conquest and surrender. But even surrender fails to bring an end to the torment, for the possessed will not stop their campaign until their victory is absolute, with every living human taken.

Against this force the Confederation Navy is struggling to contain the threat, a battle it will ultimately lose. It seems as if individuals can make very little difference. Then out of history, Dr Alkad Mzu returns with the Neutronium Alchemist, the single most destructive weapon ever built. And she is determined to use it to avenge the death of her homeworld. It falls on Captain Joshua Calvert to try and stop her, but he’s not the only one hunting her down in an increasingly lethal universe. And not everyone thinks the doomsday device should be neutralized.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.