Under the Amoral Bridge: A Cyberpunk Novel

HaemishM · 07-22-2010, 05:28 PM

I'd like to introduce my debut cyberpunk novel to you. Titled Under the Amoral Bridge, it is set in near-future Los Angeles, a city ruled by the velvet-covered iron fist of the Chronosoft Corporation. Artemis Bridge is the go-to, know-who guy - the amoral fixer with the hookup for any illicit desire that can be imagined. If you need it, he can get it, no matter how illegal, depraved or immoral. He prides himself on a distant neutrality, untouched by the corruption he traffics. When a young hacker dies in his arms, he is enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy involving the upcoming mayoral election. With only days to the election, Bridge must avoid assassination while trying to sell a career-ending video of the mayor that can't be given away.

The book has gotten nothing but positive reviews so far. The latest is a 5-star review from SciFi Mafia.com. Heather at BookObsessed gave a mini-review that was also glowing, and Mihir at Fantasy Book Critics loved it as well.

The book is available on the Kindle at the links above as well as on Smashwords.com for only $.99 cents. Enjoy!

banjobama · 07-22-2010, 11:15 PM

Wow, that looks cool. Thanks for sharing!

HaemishM · 08-18-2010, 04:03 PM

David Wisehart posted a great interview with me today about my cyberpunk novels on his Kindle Author blog:

http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/20...y-ballard.html

Donnageddon · 08-18-2010, 08:20 PM

Read the first few sample chapters and it's looking right up my alley. I'll be buying the 2 book Bridge Chronicles at smashwords later tonight.

jaxx6166 · 08-18-2010, 10:21 PM

Oh my god. I think I just messed myself.

Gary, you're the man. I need to put this one on my shelf.

Seriously, I read the first two pages of your sample at Smashwords and got this big sh*t-eatting grin on my face.

I hate you right now. I've got more work to do on my stuff and now I just want to read Bridge.

Who did your cover? It's great.

Donnageddon · 08-19-2010, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

Oh my god. I think I just messed myself.

Sounds like a perfect blurb for the next edition!

After purchase, I have read further and I am really digging this series.

HaemishM · 08-20-2010, 10:49 AM

Thanks for the purchase, Donnageddon!

As for the cover, I did it myself. The photo was taken with my Blackberry's camera, and then I Photoshopped the design. Thanks for the compliments! I'm a web site designer by day, and got an art degree in college, so I have some skills as a graphics designer. It's served me well in self-publishing. Glad you guys like my work.

HaemishM · 08-25-2010, 03:54 PM

David Alexander, author and owner of the InkSplashD blog, just gave an excellent review for Under the Amoral Bridge!

Quote:

I downloaded the ePub version of the file from Smashwords and shuttled it to the top of my TBR pile. That was like a week ago. Off and on, over the course of the next few days, I managed to finish all 51,000 words.

And let me tell you, I need Book 2. *The book was well written, dialog was sharp, and descriptions were pretty much on-point. Ballard doesn’t hit you over the head with pretty prose or pages upon pages of description. There’s nothing pretty in 2028 Los Angeles. His prose comes off sharp, the characters acerbic.

HaemishM · 09-03-2010, 01:41 PM

Red Adept Reviews, one of the more well-known Kindle eBook reviewers, just gave Under the Amoral Bridge a fantastic review! 4 3/4 stars overall! You can read the whole thing at http://redadeptreviews.com/?p=2994 but here's just one excerpt:

"Artemis, the main character, was really fun to read about. I loved his style. While I couldn’t agree with his politics, or lack thereof, or his moral reasonings, he still remained sympathetic in my eyes. He wasn’t particularly likable, yet I still found myself cheering him on."

The book is on sale in the Amazon Kindle store right now for only $.89 cents and the paperback is available for $10.80.

jhempel24 · 09-03-2010, 01:53 PM

*sigh* I've got enough crap to read....add another to the list! LOL. First book from somewhere other than a major publisher or Scott Sigler I've bought, seems really damn good!

HaemishM · 09-10-2010, 10:57 AM

Thanks for the purchase, I hope it lives up to your expectations!

I received another good review the other day, from A.F. Stewart, who writes in the Canada Sci-Fi Examiner:

Quote:

The characters are well-rounded, with the focal character neither heroic nor completely indifferent; he is just a guy trying to get himself out of a bad situation in one piece. Also, the author does do a splendid job of painting his future world, a gritty, dark place full of people turned jaded, corrupt or apathetic.

geniodiabolico · 09-12-2010, 08:43 AM

OK, sold. I just bought it for the Kindle. You had me at "velvet-covered iron fist".

gtriever · 09-12-2010, 09:22 AM

Just bought the Chronicles version for NOOK, will add it to my ever-growing list of TBR. I figure, as of right now, I'm good through about March 2015 or so... damn you, smashwords!

jaxx6166 · 09-12-2010, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HaemishM

David Alexander, author and owner of the InkSplashD blog, just gave an excellent review for Under the Amoral Bridge!

You're welcome

HaemishM · 09-21-2010, 11:47 AM

Fans of this science fiction series will be interested to know that I have some free, short fiction starring the main character of that series available on the web at The SciFried.com. The short story, called The New Transfer Protocol, takes place before Under the Amoral Bridge and is available here:

http://www.thescifried.com/features/...nsfer-protocol

There is also a compilation of the first two books in the series called The Bridge Chronicles, Books 1 & 2, available on the Kindle and in other formats on Smashwords.

Enjoy!

07-22-2010, 05:28 PM	#1
HaemishM Author Posts: 60 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Jackson, MS Device: Motorola Xoom	Under the Amoral Bridge: A Cyberpunk Novel I'd like to introduce my debut cyberpunk novel to you. Titled Under the Amoral Bridge, it is set in near-future Los Angeles, a city ruled by the velvet-covered iron fist of the Chronosoft Corporation. Artemis Bridge is the go-to, know-who guy - the amoral fixer with the hookup for any illicit desire that can be imagined. If you need it, he can get it, no matter how illegal, depraved or immoral. He prides himself on a distant neutrality, untouched by the corruption he traffics. When a young hacker dies in his arms, he is enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy involving the upcoming mayoral election. With only days to the election, Bridge must avoid assassination while trying to sell a career-ending video of the mayor that can't be given away. The book has gotten nothing but positive reviews so far. The latest is a 5-star review from SciFi Mafia.com. Heather at BookObsessed gave a mini-review that was also glowing, and Mihir at Fantasy Book Critics loved it as well. The book is available on the Kindle at the links above as well as on Smashwords.com for only $.99 cents. Enjoy!

08-18-2010, 10:21 PM	#5
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	Oh my god. I think I just messed myself. Gary, you're the man. I need to put this one on my shelf. Seriously, I read the first two pages of your sample at Smashwords and got this big sht-eatting grin on my face. I hate you right now. I've got more work to do on my stuff and now I just want to read Bridge. Who did your cover? It's great. Last edited by jaxx6166; 08-18-2010 at 10:27 PM.*

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
3g bridge like device?	queshaw	Amazon Kindle	7	09-21-2010 06:12 PM
Machete Girl Cyberpunk Ezine Free	comwedge	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	2	05-14-2010 05:28 AM
Looking for The Affinity Bridge in ebook format	MsAstoria	Lounge	1	01-29-2009 07:50 PM
Free cyberpunk ebook from Richard Kadrey	kacir	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	7	01-25-2007 07:35 AM

07-22-2010, 11:15 PM	#2
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	Wow, that looks cool. Thanks for sharing!

08-18-2010, 04:03 PM	#3
HaemishM Author Posts: 60 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Jackson, MS Device: Motorola Xoom	David Wisehart posted a great interview with me today about my cyberpunk novels on his Kindle Author blog: http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/20...y-ballard.html

08-18-2010, 08:20 PM	#4
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	Read the first few sample chapters and it's looking right up my alley. I'll be buying the 2 book Bridge Chronicles at smashwords later tonight.

08-20-2010, 10:49 AM	#7
HaemishM Author Posts: 60 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Jackson, MS Device: Motorola Xoom	Thanks for the purchase, Donnageddon! As for the cover, I did it myself. The photo was taken with my Blackberry's camera, and then I Photoshopped the design. Thanks for the compliments! I'm a web site designer by day, and got an art degree in college, so I have some skills as a graphics designer. It's served me well in self-publishing. Glad you guys like my work.

09-03-2010, 01:41 PM	#9
HaemishM Author Posts: 60 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Jackson, MS Device: Motorola Xoom	Red Adept Reviews, one of the more well-known Kindle eBook reviewers, just gave Under the Amoral Bridge a fantastic review! 4 3/4 stars overall! You can read the whole thing at http://redadeptreviews.com/?p=2994 but here's just one excerpt: "Artemis, the main character, was really fun to read about. I loved his style. While I couldn’t agree with his politics, or lack thereof, or his moral reasonings, he still remained sympathetic in my eyes. He wasn’t particularly likable, yet I still found myself cheering him on." The book is on sale in the Amazon Kindle store right now for only $.89 cents and the paperback is available for $10.80.

09-03-2010, 01:53 PM	#10
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	sigh I've got enough crap to read....add another to the list! LOL. First book from somewhere other than a major publisher or Scott Sigler I've bought, seems really damn good!

09-12-2010, 08:43 AM	#12
geniodiabolico Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Conway SC Device: Kindle 2	OK, sold. I just bought it for the Kindle. You had me at "velvet-covered iron fist".

09-12-2010, 09:22 AM	#13
gtriever Addict Posts: 282 Karma: 2125576 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Forma	Just bought the Chronicles version for NOOK, will add it to my ever-growing list of TBR. I figure, as of right now, I'm good through about March 2015 or so... damn you, smashwords!

09-21-2010, 11:47 AM	#15
HaemishM Author Posts: 60 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Jackson, MS Device: Motorola Xoom	Fans of this science fiction series will be interested to know that I have some free, short fiction starring the main character of that series available on the web at The SciFried.com. The short story, called The New Transfer Protocol, takes place before Under the Amoral Bridge and is available here: http://www.thescifried.com/features/...nsfer-protocol There is also a compilation of the first two books in the series called The Bridge Chronicles, Books 1 & 2, available on the Kindle and in other formats on Smashwords. Enjoy!