Today we are welcoming Joe Nassise to ATUF! Joe is stopping here on his blog tour for his latest novel, BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES; book one of The Great Undead War series (available now from Harper Voyager). In my (Kristina’s) review, I described it as, “a creepy zombie apocalypse scenario with a dash of steampunk to make an action packed story full of heroism from a bygone era.” Today Joe is talking about that very important ‘dash’ that makes his (and some of the titles he recommends below) so exciting.

Steampunk

by

Joseph Nassise

Welcome to day seven of The Great Undead War Blog Tour. My thanks to Abigail for having me here.

My name’s Joe Nassise and this month kicks off the release of my latest novel, By the Blood of Heroes, book one in the Great Undead War series from Harper Voyager. On every stop of the tour I’m going to tell you something a little different about the series or the process I went through to write it. Today I want to talk a bit about steampunk.

When asked what my new novel is about, I often tell people it’s a cross genre mashup of horror and steampunk set in an alternate World War One. This is usually followed by a blank stare that gets accompanied by the inevitable, “Steampunk? What’s that?”

*This title will be released on May 1, 2012*

Title: By the Blood of Heroes Author:  Joseph Nassise Series: The Great Undead War #1 Cover Art: N/A Genre: Urban Fantasy, Steampunk Excerpt:No Source: Author Reviewed by: Kristina Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Harper Voyager; Original edition (May 1, 2012) ISBN-10: 0062048759 ISBN-13: 978-0062048752   Sexual Content: N/A Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Hi Guys, Abigail here. I’m filling in for Julia this week (although her comments are still included). We’re introducing some new changes to the Cover Art Coverage posts including an updated graphic, a new layout for the covers, and the Cover Submit form is linked at the bottom instead of being embedded (let us know in the comments if you’re not a fan of the changes).  There are two series that are featuring new looks, one of which I’m a big fan of, the other gets my pick for Worst this week.  We’ve also got several highly anticipated reveals including Kresley Cole’s first YA, and the first in Gail Carriger’s new series.  And the busiest man in paranormal romance adds yet another cover to his resume.  Can you spot model Paul Marron below?

This week we have another foray into animated eBook covers, UK readers will enjoy a glimpse of the anthology A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS.  For the good old fashioned covers, there are series starters, stand alones, and newest editions.  DARKEST KNIGHT has a completely different color palette than the first book of the series, but reminded me instantly of KNIGHT’S CURSE.  I like a little bit of an Easter egg hunt to tie covers together, how much in common do you like your series covers to have?

By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Nassise 

(Click to enlarge) Not Yet Available for Pre-Order.

Description: N/A “Cover art for the first book in the Burke’s Marauders series I’m doing with Harper Voyager , BY THE BLOOD OF HEROES, came in today and I think it captures the look and feel of the series quite nicely.  We pitched the series as an alternate history zombie steampunk mash-up, a Dirty Dozen meets Dawn of the Dead, and I think the artwork makes it pretty damn clear what you’re getting.” – Joseph Nassise

Series: The Great Undead War #1 Artist: N/A Goodreads: Link	Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher Release Date: May 1, 2012 Source: Author’s Blog
Julia’s Thoughts	Abigail’s Thoughts
I’m a fan of the “big head” cover when it involves dog fights and zombies.  The color palette seems very old school to me, I think it works well.	I love how clearly this cover expresses exactly what kind of book this is…very cool

Previous Covers in This Series

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Our Spooky Legends guest today is Joseph Nassise, author of the new Jeremiah Hunt urban fantasy series which debuted with EYES TO SEE (available now from Tor Books).  In her review, Julia said she “was captivated by this meticulously imagined ghost world.” Want to be captivated too?  Joseph is giveaway away a copy of the book and the first 3 Templar Chronicles books too!  See details below.

Click to see the Spooky Legends Master List with links to all the previous posts and giveaways

Jeremiah Hunt on the Wandering Bus
by
Joseph Nassise

 

I gave up my eyes in order to see more clearly and let me tell you, I’ve seen some pretty strange things since doing so. My ghostsight lets me see the realm between this world and the next and I’d wager to say that you’d be surprised to hear of the variety of things that haunt that twilight realm, just waiting for the chance to pierce the Veil and reach on into ours.

Take the Wandering Bus, for instance.

*This title will be released on October 11, 2011*

Title: Eyes to See Author: Joseph Nassise Series: Jeremiah Hunt #1 Cover Art: Cliff Nielsen  Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: No Source: Author Reviewed by: Julia Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Tor Books; October 11, 2011 ISBN-10: 076532718X ISBN-13: 978-0765327185 Sexual Content: None. Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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Description

In an urban fantasy that charts daring new territory in the field, Jeremiah Hunt has been broken by a malevolent force that has taken his young daughter and everything else of value in his life: his marriage, his career, his reputation. Desperate to reclaim what he has lost, Hunt finally turns to the supernatural for justice.

Abandoning all hope for a normal life, he enters the world of ghosts and even more dangerous entities from beyond the grave. Sacrificing his normal sight so that he can see the souls of the dead and the powers that stalk his worst nightmares, Hunt embarks upon a strange new career—a pariah among the living; a scourge among the dead; doomed to walk between the light of day and the deepest darkness beyond night.

His love for his departed daughter sustains him when all is most hopeless, but Hunt is cursed by something more evil than he can possibly imagine. As he descends into the maelstrom of his terrifying quest, he discovers that even his deepest fears are but prelude to yet darker deeds by a powerful entity from beyond the grave…that will not let him go until it has used him for its own nefarious purposes.

Review

The whys and wherefores of Jeremiah Hunt's world are fascinating, a mix of grim reality and arcane practicality.  As the chapters switch between the past and present, Hunt's growth from comfortable academic to iron-hard, isolated mystic unfolds page by page.  While I loved all of the chapters from Hunt's perspective, I could have done without the present-tense chapters from other characters' points of view.  They never reached Hunt's level of charisma and interest, and I found myself anxious to get back to our hero.

Hunt's personal magnetism is well established from page one. Riding along on an exorcism provides a front row seat for how ghosts and magic interact in his world, and so much action mixed with exposition gives the reader a lot of information in an interesting way.  I was captivated by this meticulously imagined ghost world, though I enjoyed Hunt's expertise more than the flashbacks of how he had come by it.

If I could have spent the whole book in the first half of Hunt's point of view, this book would be one of my favorites.  Unfortunately, while the world building never lost it's magic, by the last few chapters the plot comes un-spooled.  The exposition that was so interesting from a magical theory perspective becomes less natural when it's plot threads are being tied off one after another in haphazard fait accompli.  I enjoyed so much of EYES TO SEE, it was disappointing to have the ending feel so rushed and underdeveloped.  If nothing else, however, Nassise has piqued my interest in his other books, in hopes of finding more of those elements that were so captivating.

Previous Books in Series	Also Reviewed By:
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