"After all, what else is a ship crewed by the damned to do than sail it repeatedly into hell?"
Until this month, my name had never graced the pages of either of the "Big Two" science fiction magazines: Asimov's Science Fiction and Analog Science Fiction & Fact.
While I am a scifi writer, I don't create the right kind of fiction for those two publications. Grisly, foul-mouthed, modern-day scifi/horror doesn't seem to be their bag, baby, nor does a certain far-future series that is often dismissed by highbrow speculative-fiction aficionados as "space football."
But this month, my friends, my work finally touches down in of one of these scifi legends — THE CRYPT: SHAKEDOWN earned a glowing review in Analog.
The magazine has existed in iterations that draw a straight line back almost a century. From Wikipedia: "It was originally titled Astounding Stories of Super-Science, the first issue was dated January 1930."
Sucka's been around since Herbert Hoover was in office. That's some serious pedigree, man.
As for the review itself, it's fantastic. The reviewer, Sean CW Korsgaard, had some wonderful things to say. He really got what I was going for with this book:
"Travel between dimensions causes hallucinations, violent behavior, and psychotic breaks for those onboard, and even with the radical measures taken aboard to mitigate the risks, there are often casualties even from brief exposure. As the war ramps up and the missions tasked to the Keeling grow, the exposure and the danger will be anything but brief. No matter the cost, they have their mission."
I read the entire review and — as many authors who read professional reviews do — was waiting for the last paragraph, where a reviewer will sometimes reveal the book didn't quite live up to expectations. This time, however, I breathed a sigh of relief when I read the following words:
"The Crypt: Shakedown is a gripping page turner with a wonderfully fleshed out ensemble case, whose skillful combination of military science fiction and horror that reads like Run Silent, Run Deep meets Event Horizon." It's also the first in a series, so I'll be very excited to see what forays await the Keeling and its crew in the future."
