Showing posts with label Curtis Hox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curtis Hox. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 July 2013

BARGAIN BOOK : Versim by Curtis Hox

We are pleased to announce as a BARGAIN BOOK Versim by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download) Why not download a copy today?


BOOK DESCRIPTION
Harken Cole is a highly trained Entertainment Specialist. He immerses into rendered worlds called Rend-Vs to play the hero, the villain--whatever his bosses want. To fulfill a promise to a dead friend, Hark illegally jumps into Collides, a twenty-first century Rend-V, and realizes something's not right. The host of Collides is in danger, and Hark must protect her. Hark soon learns that controversial director Miesha Preston plans to flip peaceful Collides into a horror Rend-V. If Hark can't protect the host, while still fulfilling his promise, everyone immersed will die.

Friday, 28 June 2013

BARGAIN BOOK : Versim by Curtis Hox

We are pleased to announce as a BARGAIN BOOK Versim by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download) Why not download a copy today?


BOOK DESCRIPTION
Harken Cole is a highly trained Entertainment Specialist. He immerses into rendered worlds called Rend-Vs to play the hero, the villain--whatever his bosses want. To fulfill a promise to a dead friend, Hark illegally jumps into Collides, a twenty-first century Rend-V, and realizes something's not right. The host of Collides is in danger, and Hark must protect her. Hark soon learns that controversial director Miesha Preston plans to flip peaceful Collides into a horror Rend-V. If Hark can't protect the host, while still fulfilling his promise, everyone immersed will die.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

99 CENT BOOK FIND: Versim by Curtis Hox


Available for JUST 99 CENTS is Versim by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download) Why not download this Sci-Fi adventure before it goes back to full price?


BOOK DESCRIPTION
Harken Cole is a highly trained Entertainment Specialist. He immerses into rendered worlds called Rend-Vs to play the hero, the villain--whatever his bosses want. To fulfill a promise to a dead friend, Hark illegally jumps into Collides, a twenty-first century Rend-V, and realizes something's not right. The host of Collides is in danger, and Hark must protect her. Hark soon learns that controversial director Miesha Preston plans to flip peaceful Collides into a horror Rend-V. If Hark can't protect the host, while still fulfilling his promise, everyone immersed will die.

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

BOOK REVIEW: Bleedover by Curtis Hox

by Curtis Hox






RATING:  Five Stars

Part mystery, part thriller and part techno Sci-Fi, BLEEDOVER, the freshman offering from relative indie new-comer, Curtis Hox is a fabulous ride through the back halls of research academia and the monumental egos and fierce competition that can reside there.  Packed full of character development, Hox moves the complex plot quickly and seemingly effortlessly, propelling it with the various, sometimes conflicting, motivations that possess his multi-faceted ensemble cast.

The main character, Dr Hattie Sterling, is a researcher on a mission.  Her life's work:  To uncover the cause of a relatively new  phenomena, Bleedover.  Here, various pieces of social ephemera--artwork, billboard advertisements, movies and even centuries-old books left languishing in dusty library archives--are suddenly and inexplicably altered.  The K in the Manhattan DKNY mural mysteriously becomes reversed, despite millions of casual daily onlookers seeing no sign of vandals or pranksters.  The Mona Lisa, under constant surveillance in the Louvre, suddenly frowns instead of smiles.  It is a mystery, one Hattie is determined to solve.

In direct competition with her is multi-millionaire Corbin Lyell, old-friend turned bitter rival.  With a cutthroat approach in complete opposition to Hattie's, Corbin will stop at nothing to beat her to the solution and hopefully humiliate her in the process.

When Hattie is able, with the help of her research assistant (Masumi) and a strangely talented young man (Towns), to replicate Bleedover in her lab, the race is on and the stakes go through the roof.

The near-future world Hox creates is convincing and realistic.  The characters have real-life human flaws and their motivations are both understandable and complex.  Each is credible in his/her role.  Hox never gets caught up in the techno-jargon at the expense of the story or character development.  Instead, the emerging technology remains appropriately in the background, with the plot driven predominantly by the characters and their individual (often opposing) agendas. BLEEDOVER would make a great full-length motion picture!

Without giving away any spoilers, my only (very minor) complaint is that understanding the actions of one key character would be helped by at least a passing familiarity with the work of H.P. Lovecraft.  That said, the story can easily be followed by readers who have no such knowledge. 

If you are looking for a highly original and intelligent weekend escape to a near future Universe with lots of suspense, thrills, twists and turns, then BLEEDOVER is definitely the the book for you!

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

FREE BOOK FIND: Versim by Curtis Hox


FREE to download TODAY is Versim by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download) Why not download this Sci-Fi adventure before it goes back to full price?



BOOK DESCRIPTION
Harken Cole is a highly trained Entertainment Specialist. He immerses into rendered worlds called Rend-Vs to play the hero, the villain--whatever his bosses want. To fulfill a promise to a dead friend, Hark illegally jumps into Collides, a twenty-first century Rend-V, and realizes something's not right. The host of Collides is in danger, and Hark must protect her. Hark soon learns that controversial director Miesha Preston plans to flip peaceful Collides into a horror Rend-V. If Hark can't protect the host, while still fulfilling his promise, everyone immersed will die.

Thursday, 18 October 2012

FREE BOOK FIND: Husband Rehab by Curtis Hox


FREE to download TODAY is Husband Rehab  by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download)  .  Why not download it before it goes back to full price?







BOOK DESCRIPTION
Josie Bran has a great idea to keep her sister's husband from messing up the living room: Husband Rehab. She's a witch who can brew spells, but she never uses her craft in public. She takes matters into her own hands and offers marital therapy for a few lucky men. When her old crush, Lennox Cruz, comes asking for help, she can't imagine why. He's perfect. Josie falls for him again as she pretends to provide therapy. In the end she must make a fateful decision: help Lennox love his evil wife, or help him escape her.

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

FREE BOOK FIND: Versim by Curtis Hox


FREE to download TODAY is Versim by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download) Why not download this Sci-Fi adventure before it goes back to full price?





BOOK DESCRIPTION
Harken Cole is a highly trained Entertainment Specialist. He immerses into rendered worlds called Rend-Vs to play the hero, the villain--whatever his bosses want. To fulfill a promise to a dead friend, Hark illegally jumps into Collides, a twenty-first century Rend-V, and realizes something's not right. The host of Collides is in danger, and Hark must protect her. Hark soon learns that controversial director Miesha Preston plans to flip peaceful Collides into a horror Rend-V. If Hark can't protect the host, while still fulfilling his promise, everyone immersed will die.

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

FREE BOOK FIND: Versim by Curtis Hox

FREE to download TODAY is Versim by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download) Why not download this Sci-Fi adventure before it goes back to full price?





BOOK DESCRIPTION
Harken Cole is a highly trained Entertainment Specialist. He immerses into rendered worlds called Rend-Vs to play the hero, the villain--whatever his bosses want. To fulfill a promise to a dead friend, Hark illegally jumps into Collides, a twenty-first century Rend-V, and realizes something's not right. The host of Collides is in danger, and Hark must protect her. Hark soon learns that controversial director Miesha Preston plans to flip peaceful Collides into a horror Rend-V. If Hark can't protect the host, while still fulfilling his promise, everyone immersed will die.

Monday, 28 May 2012

FREE BOOK FIND: Rupture (The Transhuman Warrior Series, Book 1) by Curtis Hox


FREE to download TODAY is Rupture (The Transhuman Warrior Series, Book 1)  by Curtis Hox  (Click here for UK Download.  Why not download this before it goes back to full price?





BOOK DESCRIPTION
Simone Wellborn is a Transhuman with an attitude. She's been genetically engineered from birth to be super smart. The problem? All that tinkering her parents paid top dollar for provided a few unexpected results, like an annoying ability to blast telekinetic energy at the worst possible times. She also has another tricky issue: strange entities possess her and, worse, transform her into something dangerous. 

Simone's mother sends her to the Sterling School for reject Transhumans. While there, she meets a few other students with similar problems and dirty secrets. Heart throb Hutto Toth is a charming gladiator and a werebear. He annoys Simone from day one, and Simone can't stand how much she likes him. There's two-foot tall Wally Dorsey, who's determined to pilot a personalized mech. His best friend, Beasley Gardner, is a mountain of a young girl with the power and strength of a giant, and a rage disorder. Finally, Simone meets Kimberlee Newkirk, a sultry and dangerous Succubus who fears she'll kill the next boy she kisses. 

These defective transhumans find themselves at the center of a deadly conflict when computer-geek student Joss Beckwith is attacked by a Rogue Artificial Intelligence. 

The Transhuman Warrior Series tells the story of Simone and her friends as they're transformed into highly specialized human weapons. They must challenge the increasing power of the Rogues as these enemies push into Realspace with one goal in mind: total domination.

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Bleedover by Curtis Hox (an excerpt)









Here's a book that caught my eye. It's well known that I'm a sucker for all things R.E. Howard, so when I received a review request for Bleedover and saw the references to Howard and Lovecraft I had to take a closer look. I checked out the sample on Kindle and was impressed with the clarity and quality of the prose. Regrettably, I still don't have the time to review new books due to editing work and the huge IFR backlog, but the author has kindly agreed to share an excerpt. See what you think.


Excerpt from BLEEDOVER by Curtis Hox
Dr. Sterling answered only because she wanted to tell Corbin to stop calling. He had threatened her so many times before that she almost ignored him. But after hearing his message, she walked to the far end of the atrium to call him back and demand he stop. Masumi followed her, while Alice sat contentedly at the table, examining her ward, giddy over the privilege of looking through Dr. Sterling’s interpolations.
    Masumi said, “Are you really going to call him?”
    “Yes.” Masumi could see concern on Dr. Sterling’s face.
    “What is it?”
    Dr. Sterling lowered her phone and pointed. “What’s Alice doing?”
    Both women looked past Alice, at a dark, smoky substance pouring from under the stairwell door as if someone were pumping colored dry ice with a high-powered generator. In only a few seconds, the entire vestibule filled, and the stuff began pouring into the atrium in searching tendrils.
    Dr. Sterling said, “Alice . . . get up.”
    But Alice sat transfixed. They both heard her say, “Something’s coming . . . ”
    The material in the vestibule began to swirl, though it stayed mostly within the small space--except for the probing tendrils, which now swayed in Alice’s direction. Two clouds jetted out from the bulky thing and coalesced before the two emergency exits, where they hovered like swirling tornados of ash-filled gas. The sight of such malleable sentience froze Masumi and Dr. Sterling as if they were riveted to the floor. Alice finally rose from her chair in slow motion. Dr. Sterling grabbed Masumi as Alice tried to back up and bumped into a table.
    “Alice!” Dr. Sterling yelled.
    She began murmuring a prayer to Saint George, the actual saint. She wasn’t Catholic, but she had attended Mass before, mostly out of cultural interest that was now paying dividends. Masumi listened but didn’t register what was happening.
    “Alice, please, move!” Dr. Sterling heard herself say aloud.
    Alice began whimpering and stammered, “There’s . . . something in here,” as she watched, spellbound.
    The combined elements of Towns's lucid media projection began to coalesce before their eyes. This process was different from a full transition, mused the cool, emotionless, scientific part of Dr. Sterling’s mind. Hexcom’s manifestations wouldn’t fully incorporate, she knew. Corbin had only sent her a projection--not as real as the apple, but real enough. It struggled to make the full transition, becoming real for only a few moments before flickering out for a few seconds, only to return again. The thing that flashed into reality defied logic. How it operated within the laws of the world, she had no clue.
    You’ve sent us one of your nightmare pets, Corbin.
    A smoky tendril extended from the vestibule and became solid. It formed into a tentacle with dagger-like talons on one side and a serrated row of spines on the other. A misty bulk followed the tentacle through the doorway, then congealed at the last minute into the full monstrosity. A massive fifteen-foot creature in human form stood in the atrium. Articulated limbs ending in squid-like tentacles extended from its back. Thick mucus dripped from its sickly gray skin. A long maw of needle teeth extended from a plated, scaled face, whose deep-set obsidian eyes stared directly at Alice. Its appendages flared in unholy aggression. Then it stepped forward.
    The battle began and was over in seconds.
    “Look . . . ” Dr. Sterling said as two figures emerged between her and Masumi, and Alice.
    Alice stood alone, trembling, staring in shock at the horror before her. The next moment, a huge shape solidified out of the air behind her. She turned and saw a knight on horseback with a long steel lance. Lacquered plate armor filigreed with symbols of righteousness glinted in the electric light, and crimson pennons streamed behind it as if blown by a strong wind. The horse, in full panoply, reared once, then charged. At the same time, a man in black military gear formed behind Alice. Stepping to the side, he raised an automatic weapon and fired. The atrium filled with incongruous sounds of medieval and modern warfare.
    Corbin Lyell’s demon assassin reacted to the threats of the Saint George and Rick Bauman wards by roaring its annoyance. It batted aside the charging lance, snapping it in two. Then the thing struck with the powerful talons at the ends of three distinct tentacles, and horse and rider crumpled to the floor like smashed piñata pieces. Saint George tried to rise once, then disappeared in a flash and a muted bang. Alice’s sole protector strode forward, cursing behind a flame-spitting submachine gun.
    The rounds punched through the demon’s torso in sickening spouts of black ichor. The demon smashed two tables aside as if they were made of balsa. The weapon’s magazine had emptied. In two large strides, it reached the lone figure standing between it and Alice, swiped downward, and took the man’s head from his shoulders. The twin spurts of carotid blood that gushed into the air disappeared before blemishing the place, the body gone before it hit the ground.
    “Alice!” Dr. Sterling yelled. “Run!”
    But Alice remained rooted.
    The demon looked up and found the other targets. Alice just happened to be in the way. With a swat, it struck her in the side and sent her flying across the chamber. Like a flung rag doll, she bounced off a load-bearing pillar under the first-floor gallery.
    Masumi and Dr. Sterling watched it come for them.
    In the few seconds that passed as the demon-thing plowed a path of destruction through the reading tables, Dr. Sterling understood that her St. George ward had been defeated. She had no defense now. Her bag with the Bastard Buster ward lay on the table where Alice had sat only seconds ago. It didn’t matter--her personal ward would have no effect on this devil thing. Corbin had been right after all. His dream of constructing an actual monster and setting it loose in some contemporary American setting had come true.
    She shut her eyes as its bulk filled the atrium in front of them. Both women cowered in each other’s arms.
    Masumi had watched the events in silent acknowledgment; she would never be the same. She had been walking a thin line these past few weeks between the rational and something else. Something suprarational was happening, and she was privy to it. And now some creature torn from the pages of a hundred comic books was coming at her. And it was no apparition--it had just destroyed a heavy oak table. She didn’t, or wouldn’t, register what happened to Alice. Instead, her mind latched on to a single thought: I have dishes that need to be done. All this needed to stop, right now, so she could return to her apartment and get her life in order.
    Dr. Sterling’s ashen face triggered Masumi’s first wave of terror. Her knees buckled, and both of them fell to the floor. Neither could look up and face what was about to happen.





If you enjoyed the excerpt, why not continue reading the book:


Bleedover on Amazon




Curtis Hox's website (where you can also find links to all other formats)