Literary works by Steven-Elliot Altman
SEVERED WINGS from WordFire Press
"Altman (Deprivers) combines the divine and the profane in this erotically charged urban fantasy." -- Publishers Weekly
Imagine Leaving Las Vegas meets City of Angels and American Gods, and you can imagine the power of Severed Wings.Brandon Jones, a handsome, hopeful young actor, stands on the verge of fame and fortune-when a car accident shatters his life, bringing his career to a screeching halt. Isolating himself, he cuts off his friends and family, turns to booze for companionship, and withdraws to a small apartment on Sunset Boulevard. Now, the only people he interacts with are a drag queen and a student working her way through college as an escort.Brandon has nothing to live for...until a startlingly beautiful young couple moves in across the hall. Spying through the peephole in his door, he grows increasingly obsessed with his new neighbors-and the parade of damaged strangers who visit them at all hours.Then something seemingly impossible happens that convinces him that this mysterious couple can help restore all he lost.
THE IRREGULARS from Dark Horse Comics
A madman stalks the streets of London's Whitechapel slum, leaving a trail of grisly murders in his wake. The police have only one suspect: a prominent and respected physician named John Watson! The master detective Sherlock Holmes, in order to solve the most fantastic mystery of his career and save his greatest friend from the gallows, employs a band of young street urchins to infiltrate the alleys of Whitechapel. They can go everywhere, see everything, overhear everyone. They are the Baker Street Irregulars! Join the Irregulars in the most fantastic and terrifying adventure of their lives, as they uncover an evil unlike anything Sherlock Holmes has ever faced!
Praise for Steve’s graphic novel The Irregulars (Dark Horse Comics)
“As all-ages appealing as a Spielberg adventure flick.”
— Ray Olson, Booklist
DEPRIVERS from Ace/Penguin
Imagine never touching another human being... Robert Luxley has a biological problem that he does not understand and cannot control: one touch from his bare skin and you're paralyzed for fifteen minutes. Lonely and isolated, he's turned his "special trick" into a lucrative career as an assassin. He thinks he's one of a kind - until one day he's confronted by a young girl named Cassandra, who tells him that he's not alone. She has it too, and the two of them are not the only carriers of Sensory Deprivation Syndrome (SDS). SDS is a medical condition so dangerous that carriers can render anyone they touch blind or deaf, or otherwise senseless, in seconds.
Fearing discovery, Luxley follows Cassandra through a dark underground network of "Deprivers" in a desperate hunt for her missing brother Nicholas, taken hostage by a radical group of carriers with a terrifying agenda.
Praise for Steve’s bestselling novel DEPRIVERS (Ace/Penguin)
“In the tradition of King and Koontz...a timely, thought-provoking and unfortunately, relevant story.”
— Alan Cabal, New York Press
“A book that gets under your skin and on your nerves. The science is impressive; the fiction is haunting.”
— Mark Frost, bestselling author of The Greatest Game Ever Played and co-creator of Twin Peaks
“Intelligent and thought-provoking, Deprivers is one of those rare novels that will haunt the reader’s subconscious for a long time.”
— Paul Goat Allen, The Barnes & Noble Review
“Deprivers is the ultimate paranoia thriller — emphasis on the word thriller. Fans of everything from The Hot Zone to The X-Files take note, this book is going to blow you away!”
— Rockne S. O'Bannon, creator of Alien Nation and Farscape
ZEN IN THE ART OF SLAYING VAMPIRES from WordFire Press
No vampire has ever refused to partake in the ritual...until now. Death deals no mercy to one man who rises in a SoHo alleyway to find his lover dead and his own body ghastly transformed...
Straining to overcome his murderous instincts through zen meditation and blood deprivation he is reclaimed by The Ministry, an underground society waging war with the undead. Again and again he will find his will to resist tested by the killers who demand his allegiance and the zen masters who will burn him down at his first missed step as he strives to walk a tightrope between the living and the dead... to master himself and the way of the wooden stake.
THE TOUCH from ibooks/Simon&Schuster
A Depriver is someone who, for reasons still under scientific investigation, possesses and employs a defense mechanism that can drastically incapacitate other human beings. They are prohibited by law from touching anyone due to the inherent adverse effects of their touch.
Some people, unfortunately, don't know they're Deprivers. Therefore, a brush with someone on a bus could have life-threatening consequences.If you have come into direct physical contact with a person suffering from this syndrome, you can be deprived of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, memory, pain, balance, or sense of direction...indefinitely.
The Touch documents over twenty cases of Deprivers Syndrome outbreaks which will keep you in suspense until the final shocking page. This anthology includes contributions from science fiction luminaries William F. Nolan, Dr. Janet Asimov, Harry Turtledove, Steven-Elliot Altman, Katherine Dunn, Maggie Estep and others.
Praise for Steve’s starred review anthology The Touch (ibooks/Simon & Schuster)
“Intriguing... stinging, mournful, pointed writing of consistently high quality... the cumulative effect is profound and frighteningly possible.”
—Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)
SHADOWS OVER BAKER STREET from Random House/Del Rey Books
Here's a real treat for fans of Sherlock Holmes, H. P. Lovecraft, and everyone in between: 20 original stories by writers of horror and fantasy. Neil Gaiman is here, along with Barbara Hambly, Richard Lupoff, Brian Stableford, Poppy Z. Brite, and Steven-Elliot Altman.
The premise is engaging: What if the world of Holmes, the world's most logical and rational detective, intersected with the world of Lovecraft, where logic and rationality have little meaning? These are stories about strange beasts, men cursed to death, and the walking un-dead. One stars Irene Adler and takes place nearly a decade before the events recounted in the classic Conan Doyle story, "A Scandal in Bohemia." Another is narrated by H. G. Wells.
The stories, set between 1881 and 1915, are uniformly excellent, and the book, authorized by the Doyle estate, is a welcome addition to the Holmes canon.
-- David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association.
BATMAN: FEAR ITSELF from DC Comics/Del Rey Books
Batman strikes fear in the hearts of criminals, but there’s a killer stalking Gotham who’s even better at inspiring fright–and his method just might be unbeatable . . . because it’s invisible.
Unbeknownst to the general public, a powerful new designer drug has hit the streets of Gotham, courtesy of an evil genius determined to turn the expression “scared to death” into lethal reality. Unlike the Caped Crusader, who petrifies only villains, this mastermind is targeting decent citizens–and he’s come up with the ultimate delivery system. After all, the public can’t refuse something they can’t see, hear, or smell. That’s the beauty of a terror toxin that is undetectable by the human senses. And with all of Gotham’s super-villains incarcerated, Batman must hunt down a mystery madman about whom he knows nothing.
Maybe the Dark Knight should be afraid . . . because there’s plenty to fear when you go head-to-head with fear itself.
9DRAGONS from Acclaim Games
This is a story of a land you know...and a land you do not know. The Land where Martial arts chivalry was born. A story of Nine Clans… Nine lost Heroes… and Nine Heroes yet to be found. This is the Ming Dynasty — The Era of Nine Dragons. This Land holds many adventures, many wonders, and many secrets, some horrible and others beyond belief. Acts of heroism, romance, and fierce combat will unfold before you, like lotus petals, to nourish…
The seeds of The Dragon within you.
CAPTAIN AMERICA IS DEAD from Jabberwocky Press
Captain America is killed on the mean streets of New York City. And no one seems to care. Apathy has overwhelmed the nation, to the point where super heroes are dropping like flies and super villains aren’t interested enough to seize the day. But enter Larry, a twelve-year-old boy from California who is so outraged by these ominous events that he hitchhikes across the country to avenge Captain America’s death.
BLONDES IN TROUBLE by Intrigue Press
A tribute to the blonde protagonist, this collection of short stories, from the editor of the acclaimed Unholy Orders, focuses on the unique challenges that confront the fair-haired. Contributors include: Steven-Elliot Altman, Anne Perry, Malachi Saxon, Sophie Dunbar, Serita Stevens, John Vourlis, Kris Neri, Libby Hellman, Meg Chittenden, Joyce Holland, Joan Boswell, Vicki Cameron, Denise Dietz, L. L. Thrasher, Brenda Witchger, E. J. Glenski, Mary V. Welk, and Babs Lakey.
Dedicated to the memory of Sophie Dunbar, and featuring the final two stories she wrote, the contributors and editor will donate all proceeds to Hugs and Hopes Romania, a nonprofit organization helping support Romanian orphans.
THE KILLSWITCH REVIEW from Yard Dog Press
In the tradition of Blade Runnerand Brave New World comes aterrifying postmodern vision...
By the year 2156, stem cell therapy has triumphed over aging and disease, extending the human lifespan indefinitely. But only for those who have achieved Conscientious Citizen Status. To combat overpopulation, the U.S. has sealed her borders, instituted compulsory contraception, and made technology-assisted suicide readily available. But in a world where the old can remain vital forever, America’s youth have little hope of prosperity.
Jason Haggerty is an investigator for the government agency responsible for dispensing personal handheld devices that record a citizen’s dying moments. When three teens stage an illegal public suicide, Haggerty suspects their deaths may have been murders. Now his race is on to uncover proof and prevent a nationwide epidemic of copycat suicides. Trouble is, for the first time in history, an entire generation might just decide they’re better off dead.
Watch the kick ass 30 second video trailer or get a discount on the book at www.killswitchreview.com
Praise for Steve’s latest novel The Killswitch Review (Yard Dog Press)
“Action superbly underscores the psychological toll of society-shifting technology in a manner reminiscent of Philip K. Dick’s The Minority Report and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
— Winston Engle, Editor & Publisher, Thrilling Wonder Stories
“I’ve always considered Steven-Elliot Altman one of the most provocative voices in modern fiction, and Killswitch, his collaboration with Diane DeKelb-Rittenhouse, once again confirms this conviction.”
— Stephen Susco, screenwriter of The Grudge
I SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN OZ from Yard Dog Press
No place like home. Really!
Dorothy is an old woman who keeps digging up her yard looking for her silver slippers. She is working as a second story woman. The Kansas girl is an online sex chat operator forced to wear gingham from head to toe to satisfy her twisted clientele. Dorothy finds herself in the funny farm because she won’t quit insisting Oz is a really, real place. Her evil doppelganger is trying to destroy all worlds. Toto has made himself sick eating silver slippers. Dorothy Gale finds herself freeing flying monkey from a freak show…These are just a few of the stories that make Dorothy wish she’d stayed in Oz.
STINY NAD BAKER STREET from Jota (Chekoslavakian)
Doyleův Sherlock Holmes patří po víc než sto let mezi nejznámější literární postavy. Po téměř stejnou dobu jitří makabrózní příběhy a horory Howarda Phillipse Lovecrafta (1870-1937) čtenářskou představivost děsivými pohledy do prostorů kosmického chaosu a nehynoucího zla. Co kdyby… se Doyleův nedostižný Velký Detektiv a jeho spojenci setkali tváří v tvář se záhadami, jejichž řešení se vymyká nejen logickému uchopení, ale popírá i zdravý rozum?
V osmnácti povídkách od dvaceti předních a uznávaných autorů žánru hororu, detektivky, fantasy a science-fiction se v různých lokacích setkávají fiktivní světy Doyleova mistra racionální dedukce - Sherlocka Holmese - se surreálným universem hrůzných entit z Lovecraftova cyklu Mýtu Cthulhu. Přestože autoři byli limitováni tématem, jejich příběhy dosahují kvalit svých vzorů. Dokazuje to i fakt, že úvodní „Studie ve smaragdové“ od Neila Gaimana získala roku 2004 prestižní cenu Hugo za nejlepší SF povídku. Antologie Stíny nad Baker Street obsahuje podivné, ale úspěšné hybridy - potěší nejen čtenáře a znalce tradičních příběhů Sherlocka Holmese a makabrózních hororů z cyklu Mýtu Cthulhu, ale i ty, kteří si takový průnik nedokáží přestavit. Leč pozor - hluboko v R´lyeh se pohnul Velký Cthulhu… a profesor James Moriarty musí být určitě nablízku.
https://www.databazeknih.cz/knihy/stiny-nad-baker-street-60127
SCHATTEN UBER BAKER STREET from Bastei Lubbe (German)
Die Helden von Sir Arthur Conan Doyle und H.P. Lovecraft auf Mörderjagd Einer der schönsten und interessantesten Sherlock-Holmes-Bände: Die surreale, makabere Welt des H.P. Lovecraft bricht mit gewaltiger Macht in das rationale, logische Universum des größten Detektivs aller Zeiten. Bisher ist es Sherlock Holmes noch immer gelungen, selbst die unerklärlichsten Mordfälle mit Hilfe seines klaren Verstandes zu lösen. Doch wie sieht es aus, wenn der Wahnsinn droht? Wenn Dinge geschehen, deren Urspung außerhalb der Realität zu liegen scheint? Dieser Frage widmen sich 20 der Topautoren des Genres. In dieser Anthologie gibt es brandneue Geschichten von Neil Gaiman, Steve Perry, Brian Stableford, Poppy Z. Brite und vielen anderen mehr.
SOMBRAS SOBRE BAKER STREET from La Factoria De Ideas (Spanish)
Sombras sobre Baker Street es una osada propuesta que mezcla dos de los universos más famosos y dispares de la historia de la literatura de misterio. Los relatos de este libro sitúan frente a frente al maestro de la deducción racional y los seres de pesadilla que habitan en los mitos de Cthulhu. Todo un reto que han aceptado autores de la talla de Neil Gaiman y Poppy Z. Brite, entre otros grandes nombres del género.