A Lou Reed Song With a Knife to Your Throat: Daniel José Older’s Bone Street Rumba Trilogy
 |
 |
 |
The opening novel in Daniel José Older’s Bone Street Rumba trilogy, Half-Resurrection Blues, was selected as one of the Best Fantasy Books of 2015 by BuzzFeed, Barnes & Noble, and other sites. Portion of the second, Midnight Taxi Tango, were originally published at Tor.com as three original short stories: “Anyway: Angie,” “Kia and Gio,” and “Ginga.” All are still available for you to sample.
The novels follow the adventures of Carlos Delacruz, one of the New York Council of the Dead’s most unusual agents. Saladin Ahmed, Hugo-nominated author of Throne of the Crescent Moon, says “Simply put, Daniel José Older has one of the most refreshing voices in genre fiction today,” and Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim) calls Older “As real as fresh blood and as hard as its New York streets. A Lou Reed song sung with a knife to your throat.” The third novel in the series, Battle Hill Bolero, was finally released in paperback by Roc last month.
Read excerpts from all three novels at Tor.com.
Half-Resurrection Blues — Chapters One & Two
Midnight Taxi Tango — Chapters One & Two
Battle Hill Bolero — Chapters One & Two
Here’s the description for Battle Hill Bolero.
The time has come for the dead to rise up…
Trouble is brewing between the Council of the Dead and the ghostly, half-dead, spiritual, and supernatural community they claim to represent. One too many shady deals have gone down in New York City’s streets, and those caught in the crossfire have had enough. It’s time for the Council to be brought down — this time for good.
Carlos Delacruz is used to being caught in the middle of things: both as an inbetweener, trapped somewhere between life and death, and as a double agent for the Council. But as his friends begin preparing for an unnatural war against the ghouls in charge, he realizes that more is on the line than ever before — not only for the people he cares about, but for every single soul in Brooklyn, alive or otherwise…
Battle Hill Bolero was published by Roc Books on January 3, 2017. It is 317 pages, priced at $7.99 in paperback and digital formats. The cover is by Gene Mollica.
See all our recent coverage of Series Fantasy here.
Older. I still get miffed when I see this guy’s name.
Why?
He was one of the writers who spearheaded removing H.P. Lovecraft’s bust as the World Fantasy Award a year or so ago.
Yeah, I understand. But as a recent recipient of the World Fantasy Award, I’m glad he did. I dearly love Gahan Wilson’s Lovecraft bust… but if some of the finest writers in the field feel acutely uncomfortable being honored with a bust with Lovecraft’s visage, then it was past time to change it. I want an award that’s thrilling to all its recipients, not just those of us who are white.
By the way, have the new design for the World Fantasy Awards been decided yet?
And back on topic, I’m meaning to read Half- Resurrection Blues at some point in the next few months.
> By the way, have the new design for the World Fantasy Awards been decided yet?
Not that I’ve seen (although I’m told it’s been narrowed down to two.) Looking forward to seeing the final selection!
> And back on topic, I’m meaning to read Half- Resurrection Blues at some point in the next few months.
Let me know what you think. I’m intensely curious about this series.