Vionna Valis and Mary Jane Kelly are back! The two most adventurous ladies in author Chuck Miller’s Psychedelic Pulp universe set off on a wild adventure, as they travel to the beginning of time in pursuit of thenefarious White Centipede!The villain is intent on remaking the universe in his own ghastly image, and it’s up to Vionna and Mary to put a stop to his dreadful scheme. And they aren’t alone.This installment features guest stars galore, including Bloody Mary Jane Gallows, Baron Samedi, and the Black Centipede. And we finally learn the truth about the mysterious Blue Candiru!All of this and more comes your way as you follow Vionna and Mary INTO THE VOID! Written by the creator of The Black Centipede and one of Psychedelic Pulp’s best. From Pro Se Productions.
The Black Centipede and related characters are part of a grand concept I came up with myself and started writing and publishing on the web.
They had actually been festering in my skull for more than 20 years-- a proposed comic book that never made it off the ground-- and it seemed about time to let them out.
I realized I wasn't getting any younger. So I started cranking out prose like a man possessed. Well, the Black Centipede Press web project caught the eye of Tommy Hancock at Pro Se Press, and they have now published the first Black Centipede novel, "Creeping Dawn: The Rise of the Black Centipede." (Order it now from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Creeping-Dawn-R...)
The Black Centipede is a traditional pulp action hero who refuses to behave like one. He casually breaks every rule in the book. Then he writes new rules. Then he breaks those. He is the world's greatest action hero. He is a dangerous madman. He is both criminal and crimefighter, pursuing an agenda that he himself has yet to fully define.
His career has spanned 80 years (so far), and he has become involved with some of the most famous and infamous individuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. "Creeping Dawn" takes up his story in the pivotal period between 1927 and 1933.
In his fictional world, the Centipede is both a real-life crime fighter and the star of a successful pulp adventure magazine, which presents highly-fictionalized accounts of his adventures. The series explores, among other things, the disparity between the public image and the man himself. We also learn the "shocking truth" about several well-known historical people and events. In the world of the Black Centipede, absolutely nothing is what it seems to be.
THE CITY OF ZENITH, home of the Black Centipede, is a living example of the uncertainty principle. It is on the East or West Coast, or one of the Great Lakes, or the Mississippi River. Everyone has lived there at one time or another, including you.
Zenith is one of the most versatile cities in the United States. It is as large or as small as it needs to be for whatever story I happen to be writing at a given time. I did not, however, discover it myself. The city was founded by Sinclair Lewis. According to WIKIPEDIA, "Winnemac is a fictional U.S. state invented by the writer Sinclair Lewis. His novel Babbitt takes place in Zenith, its largest city (population 361,000, according to a sketch-map Lewis made to guide his writing). Winnemac is also the setting for ‘Gideon Planish,’ ‘Arrowsmith,’ ‘Elmer Gantry,’ and ‘Dodsworth.’"
Inspired by the work of the late Philip Jose Farmer, I have developed the habit of treating fictional characters as though they actually lived, and people who actually lived as though they were fictional characters. The Centipede has an elaborate history, for which I have created artifacts. Amelia Earhart, Frank Nitti, and William Randolph Hearst have prominent roles in the saga.
This is a book which reads like a roller coaster--the kind where you laugh as you hang on rather than being terrified. And hang on you must as returning heroines Vionna Valis and Mary Jane Kelly take on a complicated case which only takes them to the begining of time (with multiple stops along the way).
Appearances by Amelia Earhart, Sherlock Holmes, The Lord of the Undead, the White Centipede (to mention only a few) round out this exciting and humorous action adventure.
My favorite in the series so far (maybe because I, too, am addicted to the Professor Conundrum show).
If you enjoy time travel, female heroines, action, adventure, pulp, sci fi, fantasy, humor or just want to escape for a few hours this is the book for you.
Timey-wimey extravaganza and homage to all things Dr. Who, this entry in the ongoing tales of Zephyr, has Vionna Valis (our pure-hearted but rather dim narrator) and Mary Jane Kelly hired by Mary Jane Gallows to try to set the entire timeline back in order and undo the murder of The Black Centipede.
Once again, it would've been nice of Chuck Miller to provide a spoiler-free timeline of the reading order of his fiction. This novel follows The Return of Little Precious, but also you probably want to read the Pro Se One Shot short story, "White Chapel Vigilance Committee: Close Encounters of a Kind We'd Rather Not Talk About or Maybe We Should Just Let The Truth STAY Out There." The dangling plot threads here demand another novel dealing with the White Centipede problem in 2112. Hopefully, that will be out soon? Get to writing Mr. Miller!