The Artemis Files, a new SF fiction series

[sabredog]

The Files

Book 1 - Elysium

Bradley Warnes

The 43rd Century

“What happens in Bacchus, stays in Bacchus … the vice capital of the Hinterlands.”

Thrust into a dangerous game of intrigue in a race against time, a disgraced naval officer must save the girl, find the traitor, and halt damaging secrets from being sold to enemies of the realm. As an Artemis Operative, alone on his starship, his duty is to serve the kingdom and preserve it at all costs. Out of his depth, without knowing where to turn for help, he discovers trust is a word without meaning, on a planet where no crime or sin is forbidden.

Ruled by the Stromon Cartel, Elysium is infamous in the 43rd Century as a world managed by organised crime. Nothing is sacred on Elysium, a world where every sin, pleasure, and vice is provided for by the cartel, drawing in tourists and participants to the bacchanalian revelries from across the sector.

When Bren Montclare, merchant, rogue and contract mercenary, arrives at Elysium, he discovers more than he expected after responding to a distress message from a diplomatic mission in the city of Bacchus.

The Artemis Files recount the activities of an on-going intelligence operation amidst the war torn worlds of the 43rd Century. From the Britannic Kingdom to the Independent States of America, Artemis Operatives defend against incursions by enemies in a region with no law, rules, or humanity.

Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/242102

Coupon for checkout: KD88H
Amount: 30% off
Valid Until: Sunday October 14th 2012

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Elysium-The-Ar...9344851&sr=1-1

Brad and I go way back, back to when we were both at school. As teenagers we discovered a role playing game called Traveller, which has stayed with both of us all our lives. Over thirty years later Brad has created the first of a series of books set in that imagined future first created so long ago.

Recommended!

[Penforhire]

Something about that cover makes me feel like an angry Scotsman. 'nnnngry!

Maybe just too busy and the red stripes are waving at me? Maybe because the protagonist is a dude and that's (hopefully) not him on the cover? Maybe the whole "Artemis Files: 1" is a bit arrogant (How many multiple-book series announce themselves that blatantly? If it is good we clamor for follow-up).

Description feels too jingly. Overly melodramatic, cliche, and pop culture ("What stays in..." Really? Tell him to fire his editor, if he used one).

Did you read this book and now recommend it as a fellow reader of SF, not just as the author's friend? Did you like most the characters, the twisty plot, the novel SF ideas, the strange aliens, or... what makes this one special?

[sabredog]

No, I have read it, actually, about 4 times now. Proofed others in the series many times. He will have three in the series released by Jan 2013, so there is no arrogance with these novels, nor any in the author.

Instead of asking questions, I do recommend you try the sample and decide if it is worth paying for. That is the approach I take these days and not many times have I paid for a book that is truly rubbish.

The story might not be to your taste or it may be.

[piperclassique]

Instead of asking questions, I do recommend you try the sample and decide if it is worth paying for. That is the approach I take these days and not many times have I paid for a book that is truly rubbish.

Maybe, maybe not. You don't exactly come across as giving a disinterested reccomendation. What's wrong with asking questions?

[carpetmojo]

Just out of interest, is the series title deliberately very, very similar to the well known & successful Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer ?

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by sabredog

discovers trust is a word without meaning, on a planet where no crime or sin is forbidden.

Ruled by the Stromon Cartel, Elysium is infamous in the 43rd Century as a world managed by organised crime. Nothing is sacred on Elysium, a world where every sin, pleasure, and vice is provided for by the cartel, drawing in tourists and participants to the bacchanalian revelries from across the sector.

I have ported in a few places like that.

[Xanthe]

It's the 43rd Century and yet the girl on the cover is carrying an object that is recognizable as a gun?

Sorry, but the third and fourth paragraphs of the prologue sample just caused me to roll my eyes.

Nudging the weapon lower to aim casually between his legs, she begrudged him a smile when the thin lips separated. Straight, white teeth contrasted the lipstick coloured to match her nails. The lips were shining with gloss and moisture while a long tongue sinuously swept over them in a display designed to encourage a reaction. They were soft and succulent, ripe with the invitation to be touched again by his lips. The fresh minty taste of her mouth hung in his memory from when she had greeted him with a hungry embrace only hours ago, before everything had turned sour.

Tearing his eyes away from the muzzle, he slid them over the clinging curves of the body stocking. It covered her frame like a second luxurious skin, promising a sensual delight to the senses at the slightest touch. The fine black mesh stretched taut from ankles and curving calves to thin waist and the outward press of her breasts, leaving no doubt of the fit, athletic body contained within its smoothing confines. The scent of lavender and berries bounced between them, promising delightful nights in her company. Each slow and calculated movement, shared a soft ‘whoosh’ as the material stretching across the skin brushed against itself, hypnotising him in its effect.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

It's the 43rd Century and yet the girl on the cover is carrying an object that is recognizable as a gun?

Sorry, but the third and fourth paragraphs of the prologue sample just caused me to roll my eyes.

My god... Not for me, to say the least.

[DrNefario]

Why would you change the design of a gun, just because it's the 43rd century? It's a thing you point that kills people. I don't see why any other shape is going to be better.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Why would you change the design of a gun, just because it's the 43rd century? It's a thing you point that kills people. I don't see why any other shape is going to be better.

Agreed. As long as it's a single-handed weapon that needs to be aimed in some way and shoots something (be it matter or energy of some sort) it will probably be recognizable as a 'gun'.

[Penforhire]

The author can be forgiven for continuing the use of a gun form factor. An awful lot of SF carries that even into the far future.

I do think we'd see more integrated aiming, shoot where your eyes point, and it might as well be a beanie-cap weapon (or Predator-style shoulder-mount) because space combat encourages non-kinetic anti-personnel weapons. It might even be more likely we'd depend on separate personal defense drones (ala Iain Banks Culture novels) or dog-like weapon constructs. Taken in another direction, if nanotechnology grows we might 'wear' an adaptable field of microscopic devices or simply release the stopper on a tube to release them.

No comment on Xanthe's quoted text. It, um, speaks for itself.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

It's the 43rd Century and yet the girl on the cover is carrying an object that is recognizable as a gun?

Sorry, but the third and fourth paragraphs of the prologue sample just caused me to roll my eyes.

Reminds me of the book "I the Jury" which I found in my grand dad's cache of "adult" books and read out in the yard behind the tractor shed.

As I remember, he blew that babe away with a 45 and she said "How could you?"

[M T McGuire]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

I have ported in a few places like that.

Sounds like Portsmouth. ;-)

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Why would you change the design of a gun, just because it's the 43rd century? It's a thing you point that kills people. I don't see why any other shape is going to be better.

Well, think 2000 years in the past and the weapons in use then, which is roughly the equivalent to the time difference between present-day and and the time period of the book. How likely is it that any type of weapon in the future is going to resemble (or function) like a present-day one? The prologue actually refers to a "pistol". You're assuming that the handgun is the pinnacle of personal weaponry - which it might not be at that point in time.

A lot of scifi novels are set several hundred years in the future, when it is still likely that recognizable hand guns would exist, though their ammunition types might differ, given the fact that current projectile ammunition wouldn't be wise to use on spacecraft. But this book is setting the story 2,200 years in future.

[sabredog]

Brad has based his writing within the framework of the Traveller SF RPG. In that scope weapons range from swords right up to man portable fusion guns, depending on what tech level the planet an adventure is set on.

I run a Traveller campaign even today and the players characters are mostly armed with gauss pistols and advanced combat rifles. Energy weapons exist, but are expensive and often quite illegal.

A slug throwing weapon is still the best way to stop an opponent. That might mean gauss, gravitic or chemical.