From beloved Cuban science fiction author Yoss comes a bitingly funny space-opera homage to Raymond Chandler, about a positronic robot detective on the hunt for some extra-dangerous extraterrestrial criminals.
On the intergalactic trading station William S. Burroughs, profit is king and aliens are the kingmakers. Earthlings have bowed to their superior power and weaponry, though the aliensâpraying-mantis-like Grodos with pheromonal speech and gargantuan Collosaurs with a limited sense of humorâkindly allow them to do business through properly controlled channels.
Thatâs where our hero comes in, name of Raymond. As part of the android police force, this positronic robot detective navigates both worlds, human and alien, keeping order and evaporating wrongdoers. But nothing in his centuries of experience prepares him for Makrow 34, a fugitive Cetian perp with psi powers. Meaning he can alter the shape of the Gaussian bell curve of statistical probabilityâmaking it rain indoors, say, or causing a would-be captor to shoot himself in the face. Raymond will need all his trainingâand all his careful study of Chandlerâs hardbitten copsâto outmaneuver his quarry.
As he did in his brilliantly funny and sharp science-fiction satires A Planet for Rent, Super Extra Grande, and Condomnauts, Yoss makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar in Red Dust, giving us an unforgettable half-human hero and a richly imagined universe where the bad guys are above the laws of physics.
Praise for Red Dust:
âCuban sf writer Yoss adds a dash of detective noir to his latest space operaâŠ. Yoss has created inventive and dimensional characters within a meticulously orchestrated, richly detailed, world-building mystery that will appeal to Terry Pratchett fans.â âAdrienne Cruz, Booklist
âA wild ride from the first page, Red Dust is a highly entertaining space opera indebted to classic detective fictionâŠ. Like Super Extra Grande, Red Dust showcases Yossâs talent for deadpan humor mixed with some of the most outrageous alien species youâll ever read aboutâŠ. You have to hand it to translator David Frye, who perfectly captured the pitch of this unusual space opera.â âRachel Cordasco, Speculative Fiction in Translation
âThis inventive novel is stuffed full of attitude and characters that leap off the pageâŠ. chock-full of clever twists and turns. Bonus at the end: I guarantee youâll close the book with a great big smile on your face.â âKay Wosewick, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)
From beloved Cuban science fiction author Yoss comes a bitingly funny space-opera homage to Raymond Chandler, about a positronic robot detective on the hunt for some extra-dangerous extraterrestrial criminals.
On the intergalactic trading station William S. Burroughs, profit is king and aliens are the kingmakers. Earthlings have bowed to their superior power and weaponry, though the aliensâpraying-mantis-like Grodos with pheromonal speech and gargantuan Collosaurs with a limited sense of humorâkindly allow them to do business through properly controlled channels.
Thatâs where our hero comes in, name of Raymond. As part of the android police force, this positronic robot detective navigates both worlds, human and alien, keeping order and evaporating wrongdoers. But nothing in his centuries of experience prepares him for Makrow 34, a fugitive Cetian perp with psi powers. Meaning he can alter the shape of the Gaussian bell curve of statistical probabilityâmaking it rain indoors, say, or causing a would-be captor to shoot himself in the face. Raymond will need all his trainingâand all his careful study of Chandlerâs hardbitten copsâto outmaneuver his quarry.
As he did in his brilliantly funny and sharp science-fiction satires A Planet for Rent, Super Extra Grande, and Condomnauts, Yoss makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar in Red Dust, giving us an unforgettable half-human hero and a richly imagined universe where the bad guys are above the laws of physics.
Praise for Red Dust:
âCuban sf writer Yoss adds a dash of detective noir to his latest space operaâŠ. Yoss has created inventive and dimensional characters within a meticulously orchestrated, richly detailed, world-building mystery that will appeal to Terry Pratchett fans.â âAdrienne Cruz, Booklist
âA wild ride from the first page, Red Dust is a highly entertaining space opera indebted to classic detective fictionâŠ. Like Super Extra Grande, Red Dust showcases Yossâs talent for deadpan humor mixed with some of the most outrageous alien species youâll ever read aboutâŠ. You have to hand it to translator David Frye, who perfectly captured the pitch of this unusual space opera.â âRachel Cordasco, Speculative Fiction in Translation
âThis inventive novel is stuffed full of attitude and characters that leap off the pageâŠ. chock-full of clever twists and turns. Bonus at the end: I guarantee youâll close the book with a great big smile on your face.â âKay Wosewick, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)