LoneFire

by Stephen Deas

From Stephen Deas, bestselling author of The Adamantine Palace and The Royalist , comes LoneFire , a new foray into the many worlds of cyberpunk sci-fi.

Constantine is a veteran freelance corporate spy. Time was he was the best of the best with a rep to open any doors, but that all stopped a year ago when Victor Longthorne, the richest man in the galaxy, blew up in his face – literally.

Now he takes what work he can get – dirty, murky, whatever pays the bills; and that's why he's about to wake up in a system that doesn't welcome visitors with no idea how he got there.

Not only that, but he's got an Artificial Intelligence system peering over his shoulder, manipulating his every move and why, like it or not, he's about to find himself sucked into a galaxy-spanning conspiracy, desperate to find out why Victor Longthorne's empire is turning on itself before the galaxy's most lethal cult of religious fanatics catch up with him.
The dead messiah in a box, though? Mostly that one's on him.

Part space-opera, part cyberpunk, LoneFire is a frantic science fiction ride through a broken future with a bad attitude.



‘....a busy, fast-paced narrative.’ - Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES

‘The plot moves along briskly and surprises occur. Promising enough and neatly set up for a sequel.’ - Jonathan Wright SFX

‘The tale rattles along at a nifty pace with action and intrigue.’ - Peter Ingham THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘[Deas] puts on a good show. The story runs like a whippet, […] good fun.’ - Francis Smallfield DEATHRAY

‘… fast, furious and entertaining book that grabs hold of the reader and whisks them off like a rollercoaster.’ - THE WERTZONE

‘Giving the book its edgier, more contemporary look meanwhile, are the characters and plot. […] Stephen does a great job of constantly surprising the reader. It's a fun and entertaining debut that will appeal to fans of both classic and contemporary fantasy. In short, […] another winner.’ - FANTASY BOOK CRITIC

‘In dragons, intrigue, poison, mercenaries and a Big Dark History. If you like that sort of thing then this is definitely worth a look.’ - SANDSTORM REVIEWS

‘Deas ramps things up to a completely different level with awesome displays of draconic power and cunning.’ - GRAEME'S FANTASY BOOK REVIEW

‘It is a difficult thing to write a novel that uses many of the icons of High Fantasy and make it enjoyable; this is something though that Stephen has done here. The book is an entertaining mix of Pern and Westeros, with the knowing characterisation of Abercrombie and the endearment of Novik.’ - SFF WORLD

‘Roll over McCaffrey, there's a new Dragon Lord in town.’ - Gareth Wilson FALCATTA TIMES



Stephen Deas is a prolific author of fantasy, historical fiction and science fiction under various pseuodnyms. Deas was brought up in a quiet town populated by retired colonels, which most likely informed his passion for historical fiction. As a child living in a small town he dreamed up fantasy characters and worlds. He now enjoys family life in South-East England with his wife and two children, writing as a full-time career and still attending fantasy conventions.

Genres: Science Fiction

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2015

About the author

Stephen Deas is an engineer in the aerospace industry, working on communications and imaging technology in the defence sector. He is married with two children and lives near Writtle in Essex.

Also writes as Nathan Hawke and S.J. Deas.

Reviews

[Crittermom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lonefire is no ordinary sci-fi novel. It is an amazing adventure combining fast paced, cinematic action sequences and speculation on the nature of mind and artificial intelligence. At first, I was shocked by the amount of expletives, but as I read, I realized they fit. It wasn’t just used for shock value, it was integral. These individuals are living life on the fringe, and staying alive in a wired world where everyone is expendable, alliances are constantly shifting, and even the simplest job may kill you isn’t easy.

Constantine is an attractive enigma. His specialty is negotiation, getting into people’s heads and figuring out what they want and how to turn it to his advantage. But he isn’t the only one inside his head. Constantine has amassed numerous identities, slipping between them as effortlessly as some change clothing. It is a great skill for a corporate spy to have, but it also makes knowing yourself a challenge.

It should have been obvious that the job was a set up, it was too easy, too pat. Now, his team is dead and Constantine is on the run with a prophet in a box. Somehow, the mind of Leonard Ortov, the long dead prophet of the Bratstva is alive. Constantine is drawn into a galaxy-spanning conspiracy, hunted by religious fanatics and uncertain of who to trust. His lover/handler is willing to help him disappear, but first she wants him to discover who is trying to destroy the company and all that Victor Longthorne built.

Lonefire is an impressive blend of classic space opera and speculative cyber-punk. The novel is a thrilling ride that takes the reader unexpected places. Exciting, irreverent, and undeniably one-of-a-kind, Lonefire is just the ticket for those wanting something other than the standard sci-fi fare.

5/5

I received a copy of Lonefire from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

—Crittermom

http://muttcafe.com/2015/12/lonefire/

[Shane Kiely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't take itself too seriously and gloriously expletive laden with a central character and supporting cast of characters that I wouldn't describe as likeable per se but definitely compelling. The plot itself was a little bit overly complicated and involves a lot of travelling around and finding people which can be a tad bit repetitive. The structure of the story was a little frustrating as potentially interesting sections essentially get skipped over. These niggles aside it's a solidly developed world and be curious to see how it plays out in any potential follow ups.

[Venture Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is published by Venture Press.