Check out the details here. Come out with me and celebrate the successful completion of the Predestination podcast, and also the launch of Seth Harwood’s Jack Wakes Up! ]]> http://jdsawyer.net/2009/05/06/predestination-wrap-party-pub-crawl/feed/ 0 http://jdsawyer.net/2009/05/05/bonus-content-jack-wakes-up-pdf/ http://jdsawyer.net/2009/05/05/bonus-content-jack-wakes-up-pdf/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 08:52:14 +0000 jdsawyer http://jdsawyer.net/?p=469 My friend Seth Harwood has his mainstream debut with his book Jack Wakes Up today, coming out from an imprint of Crown, the same publisher that picked up Scott Sigler. Some of you may not know his book, a modern-day noir thriller that is equal parts James M. Caine and Scott Turow, so I thought I’d introduce you with this PDF preview of the first three chapters of Jack Wakes Up.

Download it, read it, and then go to your local bookstore and buy a copy. It’s a fun read, and there’s enough in there to tickle your lit geek bones till you turn the final page. If you’re not convinced about it, check out my review of the book.

While Jim and Ali chase down their job on Mars, their employer, Mr. Douglas Reeves, lays his plans for the future of the Lunar resistance.

Philippa Ballantine, author of Weather Child, brings us the Story So Far. This week’s in-show promo is for her new book.

If you’re in the San Francisco Area, join myself, Chris Lester, Seth Harwood, and Scott Sigler at the House of Shields for drinks and discussion at 5pm on Sat the 21st. You can find more info and directions here.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Erin Balabanian as Alysaa Hartman

Brian Levy as Jim Hartman

George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves

Lorien Wheeler as Jade Orin

Percy Scott has some loose ends to tie up, which Joss Kyle has some plans to lay. Neither of them is aware of Bill Shelley’s plans, or how they’re about to make a splash in a big way. Then again, neither does his one-time friend and mentor, Douglas Reeves..

Christiana Ellis join our cast tonight as a pinch hitter. Kitty Nic’iaian, the co-producer of Antithesis also known as Hera Flea of The Polyschizmatic Reprobates Hour, brings us the Story So Far.

This week’s in-show promo is for Scott Sigler and Seth Harwood’s Author Boot Camp. Use the code “Scott1″ when registering to get over $100 off the registration price.

Cast this week (in order of appearance):

Steven H. Wilson as Percy Scott

Chris Lester as Greg Singh

George Chlentzos as Douglas Reeves

Lynx Crowe as Trent Alcock

Christianna Ellis as Charis Chandlay

Kitty Nic’Iaian as the Junior Senator from Massachusetts

Nathan Lowell as Senator Wilhelm Shelley

In Jack Wakes up, Harwood gives us a new twist on the old noir heist formula. Jack Palms, out of work actor, is tapped by a friend to play second fiddle on a giant drug dealer. He needs the money. He needs the distraction. He’s so amazingly bored that when bullets start flying and people start dying, he finds it exhilarating. In this, his first outing, Harwood combines the classic noir sensibilities of James M Cain with the quck-clipped plot movement that children of the nineties have come to expect from Tarantino films. He also gives Jack Wakes up an unusual but indispensable element: A sense of place. Not content to use just the familiar landmarks, Jack moves down in the older, decaying parts of San Francisco and other flavorful parts of the Bay Area.

In short, Jack Wakes Up is an excellent crime noir, and it keeps you on your toes with hundreds of little surprises, such as a trio of Czech gangsters who want nothing more than to tour the USA on Harleys bring a touch of the tragicomic (reminiscent of the gangsters in Ludlum’s “Road to Gandolfo” without descending into farce). Add to that the use of present tense narration (the last time the present tense used this well was in Scott Turow’s “Presumed Innocent”), and you’ve got the recipie for a novel that moves fast, keeps you on your toes, and has some delightful and moving twists that leave you sincerely caring about every one of the characters, from the buffoons to the monsters.

With the superb use of language, the far-above-par-writing, and the hopping story, Harwood’s debut is the start of a promising career. Highly recommended.

Find it on Amazon.com, or in podcast form at Harwood’s home page or Podiobooks.