Hard Luck Hank: Robot Farts


Book Description

Sometimes it's not easy being a mutant thug. The space station Belvaille, once the center of civilization, is nearly deserted because of the new government's policies. Hank makes do by working odd jobs, but he isn't sure how long those, or the city, can last.However, there are still some people trying to scratch out a (dis)honest living on Belvaille. Hank concocts a plan to save the city: steal from the countless transports and freighters that pass through the System.In the meantime, Hank falls in with a tough crowd of freedom fighters who seem determined to overthrow the government. The team goes on exceedingly dangerous assignments, with Hank taking the brunt of the danger. As if things weren't bad enough, the Navy set up residence in the System, a powerful alien dignitary is scheduled to arrive, and Hank's absurdly-competent butler states that his robotic species may declare war on Hank's home. It's up to Hank to fix the problems, find out who is doing what and why, and to try and earn a little cash in the process.




Hard Luck Hank


Book Description

Hank is getting married!The space station Belvaille has become home to a species of actors. The newest edition to the Post Colmarian Confederation Colmarian Confederation are the Damakan race. As a species they are capable of "broadcast empathy." Their acting skills are so powerful they are able to make people believe their portrayals are literally happening-even over remote transmission.Belvaille, with its access to powerful radio telescopes, becomes an entertainment powerhouse, cranking out Damakan dramas and tragedies across the empire. As the city modifies is resources to accommodate the new cash cow, Hank is hired to protect important actors by the city's premier talent agent: his butler Cliston.But the good times don't last as Damakans start getting murdered and whole productions are sabotaged and even outright attacked. The Navy threatens to get involved as their favorite tele programs are interrupted and Garm, the Adjunct Overwatch of the city, enlists Hank to find the source of the violence and put an end to it.Hank fears his own betrothed is in danger as the city gets dragged into a gang war of which no one knows the cause.




Hard Luck Hank


Book Description

Hank is fairly happy that his uncle was murdered. The man had been nothing but a source of endless sorrow and hardships since they first met. Nevertheless, Hank is forced to investigate the killing and comes to realize it is connected to a much larger collection of miseries than even his uncle could manage. This episode marks a huge shift for Hank as he ventures into unknown regions of the cosmos and is confronted with the harsh truths of his reality. Hard Luck Hank is the ongoing series that is a mixture of classic pulp genres. It has science fiction, detective noir, superhero, and comedy.




Hard Luck Hank


Book Description

Life on the space station Belvaille was hard. Not for the rich aristocrats who called it home, but for the poor slobs like Hank. Hank was considered a "renowned cutthroat" and was the oldest living person in the city. His job was to do the dirty work of people who didn't want to get their hands dirty but still want dirty things done. Hank was a mutant who was bulletproof and weighed thousands of pounds, both effective attributes in his line of work. When the wife of a City Councilman approaches Hank about spying on her husband, Hank worries he might be flying too close to the flames for his own safety. When the man is assassinated, Hank is sure he is. Hank has to try and keep himself from getting framed for the murder as he is simultaneously dragged deeper and deeper into the machinations of the powerful City Council. NOTE: sequel to Hard Luck Hank - Screw the Galaxy, Hard Luck Hank - Basketful of Crap, and Hard Luck Hank - Prince of Suck




Hard Luck Hank


Book Description

Hank is a thug. He knows he's a thug. He has no problem with that realization. In his view the galaxy has given him a gift: a mutation that allows him to withstand great deals of physical trauma. He puts his abilities to the best use possible and that isn't by being a scientist.Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn't need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person's locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there. Unless you are a criminal.Because of its location, Belvaille is populated with nothing but crooks. Every day is a series of power struggles between the crime bosses.Hank is an intrinsic part of this community as a premier gang negotiator. Not because he is eloquent or brilliant or an expert combatant, but because if you shoot him in the face he keeps on talking.Hank believes he has it pretty good until a beautiful and mysterious blue woman enters his life with a compelling job offer.Hank and Belvaille, so long out of public scrutiny, suddenly find themselves at the epicenter of the galaxy with a lot of very unwelcome attention.




Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town


Book Description

Cory Doctorow's miraculous novel of family history, Internet connectivity, and magical secrets Alan is a middle-aged entrepeneur who moves to a bohemian neighborhood of Toronto. Living next door is a young woman who reveals to him that she has wings—which grow back after each attempt to cut them off. Alan understands. He himself has a secret or two. His father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine, and among his brothers are sets of Russian nesting dolls. Now two of the three dolls are on his doorstep, starving, because their innermost member has vanished. It appears that Davey, another brother who Alan and his siblings killed years ago, may have returned, bent on revenge. Under the circumstances it seems only reasonable for Alan to join a scheme to blanket Toronto with free wireless Internet, spearheaded by a brilliant technopunk who builds miracles from scavenged parts. But Alan's past won't leave him alone—and Davey isn't the only one gunning for him and his friends. Whipsawing between the preposterous, the amazing, and the deeply felt, Cory Doctorow's Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is unlike any novel you have ever read. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.




Hard Luck Hank


Book Description

Belvaille has cemented its place as the most important System in the galaxy and Hank is working as an official Factotum, negotiating deals between gangs and noblemen under the watchful eye of the Arch Minister. When his ever-capable butler, Cliston, is approached to become the general manager of a Super Class glocken team, Hank is hired not only as protection, but as a player. Hank finds himself thrown into the most grueling bloodsport in the galaxy and he is tasked with finding out how and why players are being abducted. The friendly rivalries turn into full-scale conflict and Hank unravels a far more insidious plot than the fixing of gambling results. In the process, Hank learns a lot about his history that he never even dreamed had existed. Many of Hank's friends and enemies return in this action-packed and humorous take on the professional sporting world.




A Year with Swollen Appendices


Book Description

The diary and essays of Brian Eno republished twenty-five years on with a new introduction by the artist in a beautiful hardback edition.'One of the seminal books about music . . . an invaluable insight into the mind and working practices of one of the industry's undeniable geniuses.'GUARDIANAt the end of 1994, Brian Eno resolved to keep a diary. His plans to go to the cinema, theatre and galleries fell quickly to the wayside. What he did do - and write - however, was astonishing: ruminations on his collaborative work with David Bowie, U2, James and Jah Wobble, interspersed with correspondence and essays dating back to 1978. These 'appendices' covered topics from the generative and ambient music Eno pioneered to what he believed the role of an artist and their art to be, alongside adroit commentary on quotidian tribulations and happenings around the world.This beautiful 25th-anniversary hardcover edition has been redesigned in the same size as the diary that eventually became this book. It features two ribbons, pink paper delineating the appendices (matching the original edition) and a two-tone paper-over-board cover, which pays homage to the original design.An intimate insight into one of the most influential creative artists of our time, A Year with Swollen Appendices is an essential classic.




Zombies vs. Unicorns


Book Description

It’s the epic battle of brains against manes. Which side are you on? It’s a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? This all-original anthology edited by Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie) makes strong arguments for both sides in the form of spectacular short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths—for good and evil—of unicorns, and half show the good (and really, really badass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?




It


Book Description

It: Chapter Two—now a major motion picture! Stephen King’s terrifying, classic #1 New York Times bestseller, “a landmark in American literature” (Chicago Sun-Times)—about seven adults who return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they had first stumbled on as teenagers…an evil without a name: It. Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real. They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers. Readers of Stephen King know that Derry, Maine, is a place with a deep, dark hold on the author. It reappears in many of his books, including Bag of Bones, Hearts in Atlantis, and 11/22/63. But it all starts with It. “Stephen King’s most mature work” (St. Petersburg Times), “It will overwhelm you…to be read in a well-lit room only” (Los Angeles Times).