Free Book Giveaway

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Permalink Reply by David Mark Brown on July 2, 2012 at 11:23am

Looks like you have a lot of great stuff going on. Good luck with the promotion. Nice cover indeed.

Permalink Reply by Grant Gardiner on July 6, 2012 at 1:05am

Hey mate, just finished your story so I thought I'd drop in a short review for anyone else interested in it:

 

I'll give it to you straight: if you're into dystopian dieselpunk then The Troubleshooter is your sort of story. It's one part hard boiled noir, one part Bladerunner, one shot of Total Recall, two shots of Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective, with a slice of good old fashioned Pulp in the mix, shaken and served in a dystopian deiselpunk glass. Just as you like it.

And your barman - Bard Constantine - has done an excellent job. This smoke hazed, rain drenched tale of Mick Trubble's trouble is one very well crafted story, from the deftly witty voice of the protagonist through to the non-stop action. It's simply a delight to read such a well crafted piece of dieselpunk goodness.

Mick Trubble's narrative voice is fantastic, the author revelling in the sly cadence of the private eyes of old but not overdoing it and falling into cliche the way many a previous author has done. His unique 'perspective' steeps the story in the dieselpunk world that Constantine has created, provoking memories of every classic line of noir cinema you've ever seen or every classic detective pulp you've ever read. The world is rich in detail, the characters fantastically outlandish and it all blends together effortlessly as we follow Mick's out of control 'bad day' to a soundtrack of his own dry, slang-soaked point of view. It's a pleasure to read.

And the action doesn't stop. New Haven is a rollercoaster ride of fantastic genre mash ups that Mick careers through at a blistering pace. From two fisted brawls to verbal knife fights between sharp tongued opponents who are all trying to hide something the story is pacy and explosive in the best traditions of pulp. And it's all handled deftly and succinctly by the author's great writing style. An author who clearly has a love for all things that the genre has to offer.

If you're after a fantastic fun romp through a dystopian dieselpunk world then I highly recommend this story. It's well worth the $4 cover charge, if just to enjoy Mick Trubble himself in full song. Throw in the story's quirky mix of genre bending sci fi and pulp and the tale is worth even more. Well done.

Permalink Reply by Bard Constantine on July 6, 2012 at 1:23am

Thanks so much for checking out the novel and taking time for such a thoughtful review. There's always a bit of trepidation with a new novel, and as an author it's always great to know that you pulled off what you tried to achieve with your writing. Greatly appreciated, my friend.
 

Permalink Reply by Grant Gardiner on July 6, 2012 at 9:14am

No worries. It was a fun read that deserved a fun review.