Bøger af Joe Clifford Faust

Based on 4 1/2 years Joe Clifford Faust spent working in Law Enforcement, The Mushroom Shift is a snapshot of a different world that isn't that far in the past. Yet while it comes from a time before political correctness, its theme of men struggling to hang on to their jobs is as relevant now as when the book was first written. It's also the most unusual police story you'll ever read, with no gunshots or car chases, where the mundane becomes a grind. Profane and darkly funny, it captures all the humor and horror, the triumphs and tragedies that are a part of daily life for those who wear a badge.It tells the story of Clarence Raymond Monmouth, a deputy with the Badlands County Sheriff's Department in Modern Times, Wyoming, who is finishing his third year on the despised Mushroom Shift - midnight to eight a.m. - in the final weeks of 1985.As the year draws to a close, Monmouth comes to realize that the county's aging Sheriff will soon be succeeded by the political enemy who put Monmouth on the Mushroom Shift to begin with. Survival mode kicks in and he begins to consider his options, interrupted by his crumbling marriage, his drinking, and the never-ending parade of drunk drivers, family fights and perverts that make up small town police work.As the year draws to a close, Monmouth comes to realize that the county's aging Sheriff will soon be succeeded by the political enemy who put Monmouth on the Mushroom Shift to begin with. Survival mode kicks in and he begins to consider his options, interrupted by his crumbling marriage, his drinking, and the never-ending parade of drunk drivers, family fights and perverts that make up small town police work.Along for the ride are Mona, Monmouth's wife, whose aspirations of taking her band to Nashville are putting pressure on their marriage; Al Renfew, Monmouth's colleague and best friend, whose keys to the family bar also makes him Monmouth's enabler-in-chief; Stan Braverman, a wet-behind-the-ears rookie with a knack for bringing out the worst in people; dispatchers Cody Sheridan, whose abusive husband is the bane of the Mushroom Shift's existence, and Cowboy, whose pnemonic devices drive everyone to distraction; The Sarge, the shift's long suffering commander, who desperately tries to keep their morale up; and William Howard Garland Tibbs, the County Sheriff, part legend and part accident waiting to happen.The Mushroom Shift is Faust's truest novel, based on 4 1/2 years he spent working in Law Enforcement. It's the most unusual police story you'll ever read, with no gunshots or car chases, and where the mundane becomes a grind. Profane and darkly funny, it captures all the humor and horror, the triumphs and tragedies that are a part of daily life for those who wear a badge.

No doubt about it, James May was more hard luck spacer than merchant. Still, after a run-in with the law, things were turning around. He had a new co-pilot and a cargo hold full of hot product. But when the co-pilot and the cargo both turn out to be a bust and the next payment to his loan shark falls due, May has to scramble to make ends meet. Even if it means hiring a motley crew of mercenaries and trying to pick the very pocket of the crime syndicate trying to repossess his spacecraft. May and crew might just come out of it alive, but if they do, they're going to need a lot more than regular luck..."A hell of a lot of fun... Faust has a better idea of what makes a good story than most." - Locus"An elaborate, high-tech version of a standard heist... the tale is brightened by Faust's wit, evinced in small but welcome doses." - Publisher's Weekly

THE GIRL WAS SPRAWLED OUT ON THE FLOOR IN THE LIVING ROOM OF HIS APARTMENT.So begins Joe Clifford Faust's classic science fiction thriller, which has entertained both SF and non-SF readers since its release nearly 25 years ago. Originally published as a paperback original by Del Rey Books, Honor was also a main selection of the Science Fiction Book Club, where it was given a generic cover and enjoyed crossover sales through the Mystery Guild Book Club. It was also chosen as a Recommended Read in the Crime and Punishment category by the Science Fiction Museum.The novel takes place in an alternate future where a crumbling United States is one of the few nations left to have fended off Soviet domination. It tells the story of seven days in the life of D.A. Payne, a bioengineer who finds the naked corpse of a woman in his apartment and is compelled to investigate her murder. As he digs deeper into the woman's identity and the cause of her death, he learns things about himself and his world that will conspire to change his life forever.The electronic editions of Honor also contain bonus material: the novel's original ending - a 2,000 word epilog that was cut before publication - along with an essay from the author telling how it came to be chopped.REVIEWS: "The science fiction mystery is an extremely difficult genre to handle well, and it's a delightful surprise when a first novelist pulls the trick off gracefully. Joe Clifford Faust has constructed a compelling mystery... Chillingly plausible."LOCUS"One of the most entertaining, well-thought-out SF/detective novels to come around in a long time... At the close, one feels one has seen a real world, met real people; certainly one has felt real suspense. This is meaty stuff; extremely satisfying."FANTASY REVIEW"Storytelling that will surely keep readers turning pages."BOOKLIST

James May and his crew of mercenaries had successfully rescued the fabled Essence Phials from the clutches of the Yueh-sheng crime syndicate. The bad news is they lost half their crew and their ship had been blown to space junk, leaving them adrift in space. So when rescue comes, the Angel's Luck survivors are happy to see it. Until it turns out their rescuer is May's ex-wife, complete with an asteroid-sized chip on her shoulder. And her ship is carrying a diplomatic delegation of Arcolians, aliens who have just ended a long, brutal war with humanity, bringing with them a hotbed of political intrigue. Add to that his copilot, who is carrying with him the skills - and xenophobic tendencies - of an Arcolian war hero, and the situation is ripe for catastrophe. If May ever needed a special kind of luck to survive, it was now...

Dink Stapleton is a two-bit hoodlum who lives in Wapakoneta, Ohio. All he wants to do is keep his nose clean and fly under the radar - something that's easier said than done. His less-smart half-brother keeps trying to suck him into a plan to counterfeit twenty dollar bills. He has run afoul of a local wannabe crime figure. And his employer wants him to track down a scandalous painting by a local artist.Unfortunately, Dink's boss isn't the only one who wants the painting. There's the stripper who posed for the painting; the loose cannon who is obsessed with the stripper; and the pretentious comic book illustrator turned pretentious artist who created the painting to begin with.Complicating matters are ten-grand worth of funny twenties that have gone walkabout, a missing car with the world's worst paint job, and a girlfriend who wants him to find Jesus. It's a lot to wade through if Dink is going to find the painting and figure out who gets it, but he should be able to work it out. After all, he's the smart one.The Smart One is vintage Faust, filled with wry humor, quirky characters, crackling dialogue, and a plot that keeps the pages turning.

Having survived the tumult of their rescue, James May and his crew of mercenaries have finally made planetfall at the home of the Essence Corporation - creators of the long-lost Essence Phials. Unfortunately, the crew's hopes of reward for returning them are dashed when the company's CEO steals them back while denying their authenticity. It looks like May is left without recourse until the CEO kidnaps both the crewman who sampled one of the phials and a visiting Arcolian ambassador - for the purpose of medical experimentation. For May, it's now no longer about the money. It's about friendship and loyalty ... and teaching a corrupt businessman a damned good lesson. But to rescue his friends and set the record straight, May is going to need a galaxy-sized portion of the luck that has been running in increasingly short supply..."For those of you who like space opera with a very dry wit, Faust has come up with a series that should tickle your fancy." - Locus

Andrew Birch is a Company Man - a spy, a soldier, a saboteur... a corporate terrorist by any other name. He is one of the top operatives for Astradyne, one of the giant corporations that now rule the irradiated world he lives in. Among his peers, his ruthless efficiency and his love for the company are legendary.Then, on a routine mission, a chance encounter puts an all-too-human face on the consequences of corporate rule. As Birch begins to question the world he has helped build, corporate war breaks out - and he now finds himself a pawn in a game that goes deeper than he ever imagined.And Birch begins to wonder if perhaps he has put his faith in the wrong thing..."What makes this a better book than most is the real growth in the characters... a book worth the attention of those who like spy thrillers with a little extra."LOCUS"On one level, The Company Man is a violent, exciting, snapping-good suspense yarn. On another, it's a worrying premonition of a future that doesn't seem all that far-fetched."MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE1989 Locus Award Nominee - SF NovelA Locus Recommended Novel

Cable TV personality Ricky Gold has problems. He's on the run from a bad relationship. He hasn't shown up for work in a week. His iPhone is at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.And now his life is about to be turned upside down...It starts when he meets Kada - as in Cicada - in the middle of West Texas, and finds himself intrigued by her name, her tattoo, and the way an angry redneck chases her out of a bar. When someone close to Kada turns up dead their flight begins, first from an assassin...then two...then from every law enforcement officer in a five-state area.Thoroughly unequipped for a life on the run, Ricky and Kada must depend on each other while struggling against their own mutual attraction - a factor that could prove fatal.Drawing Down the Moon is equal parts Hitchcockian thriller and romantic comedy, filled with memorable characters. It's a witty screwball noir thriller that follows Ricky and Kada as they fight to survive - and hope to find some really great Chinese food.