NEW YORK, NY – September 13, 2023— Author collective Crazy 8 Press announced today that Blunt Force Rising, the fourth novel in the Angela Hardwicke sci-fi noir series from Russ Colchamiro, is now for sale. Set entirely on a galaxy cruise ship, Blunt Force Rising is the most intense, nail-biting novel in the series to date.
Featuring hardboiled private eye Angela Hardwicke, who Colchamiro describes as part Blade Runner, part Doctor Who, part Sarah Connor, the future-set series has received high acclaim from award-winning sci-fi, crime, and horror authors and film directors.
“Russ Colchamiro has staked out a territory of sci-fi mystery uniquely his own,” says Nicholas Meyer, writer/director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. “With Angela Hardwicke, he mines a vein of pulp fiction gold.”
In this latest sci-fi mystery featuring the titular heroine, Hardwicke, and her protégé Eric Whistler are hired by Ther’eda Ranadyne, the realm’s sole creator of androids, to provide extra security during an industry conference aboard a galaxy cruise ship.
Isolated millions of miles from home, the event quickly devolves into heated arguments between the pro-android community and its detractors, while a murder sets off a harrowing chain of events, the likes of which even Hardwicke has never faced.
“With Blunt Force Rising, I challenged myself in ways I’ve never done before,” Colchamiro says. “Androids serve as surrogates for the various marginalized communities we see today, who are under constant assault simply for being who they are, with their attackers extolling a violent, irrational hatred they themselves don’t seem to understand, nor ones they can calmly articulate.”
Yet with Blunt Force Rising, Colchamiro promises more of his Hardwicke sci-fi noir escapism.
“Set in a near-future weird-science, cosmic techno-noir, and featuring my new favorite hardboiled sleuth, Colchamiro’s latest mystery, Blunt Force Rising, pits organics against androids and friends against one another in a breakneck thriller,” says Lee Murray, five-time Bram Stoker Award®-winner, and co-author of the Path of Ra series. “Deadly sharp social commentary delivered through hi-tech lenses. I love it!”
Colchamiro also notes that each novel in the series—which includes Crackle and Fire, Fractured Lives, Hot Ash, and Blunt Force Rising—is a stand-alone mystery. They can be read in any order, as in each mystery, he re-introduces the setting and characters for new readers.
Blunt Force Rising is on sale now in print and eBook formats.
ISBN: 978-0998364193
AISN: B0C9MWSPPK
MORE PRAISE FOR ANGELA HARDWICKE:
“I wanted to be Angela Hardwicke!” —Linda D. Addison, Bram Stoker-award-winning author of How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend
“Colchamiro’s Fractured Lives is a fun house mirror of a compelling read.” —Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of Sleepless City
“Angela Hardwicke is a wisecracking, tough, and tenacious PI worthy of unraveling a complicated investigation set in a fascinating universe without ever losing sight of the traits that make her—and by extension, us—human.” —Colorado Book Award-Winning author M.E. Browning
“[With Hot Ash], Colchamiro has created a fast-paced, action-packed sci-fi mystery. The gritty crime is well-crafted and unexpected, with punchy dialogue and graphic fight scenes that will appeal to genre fans.” —The BookLife Prize
ABOUT RUSS COLCHAMIRO
Russ Colchamiro is the author of the ongoing sci-fi noir series featuring hardboiled private eye Angela Hardwicke. He is currently working on the fifth Hardwicke novel.
A member of Crazy 8 Press, Private Eye Writers of America, and board member of the Mystery Writers of America NY Chapter, Russ is also the co-author and editor of the noir novella collection Murder in Montague Falls, has contributed short stories to more than fifteen anthologies, including various Hardwicke mysteries, and is the author of the sci-fi adventure novels Crossline, Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza.
Russ also hosts his popular Russ’s Rockin’ Rollercoaster podcast, interviewing a who’s who of science fiction, crime, mystery, and horror authors.
He lives in Northern New Jersey with his wife, two ninjas, a black lab, Jinx, and precocious kitten, Callie, who both may be aliens as well.
Social Media:
Instagram, Twitter/X, Threads: @AuthorDudeRuss
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@authorduderuss/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/russ.colchamiro