Critiques en avant-première

Robert Arellano, author of the Edgar-nominated crime novel Havana Lunar, returns with another spine-tingling noir from Akashic Books. "In this unsettling mix of noir and paranormal obsession . . . Arellano displays a sly, Hitchcockian touch." --Publishers Weekly "Arellano pulls off the not-inconsiderable feat of making the disintegration of his hero more compelling than the end of the world as we know it." --Kirkus Reviews "Arellano's taut prose [is] a trip into the mind of a man on the edge of delirium, piecing together a puzzle at the expense of his marriage and his sanity." --AARP "Curse the Names reads like a top-notch thriller. Arellano is a master at mining the psychological landscape of his characters--the unique and in some cases downright eccentric subcultures of northern New Mexico: the dope-growing pariah ex-hippies, the brainy scientists of Los Alamos who've bartered their souls for big salaries, and the mercenary, self-medicating professionals who flock around them to feed off their scraps. Alternating between the hilarious and the dreamlike, the novel is imbued the sense of foreboding inherent to Los Alamos' infamous 'gift' to mankind." --George Mastras, author of Fidali's Way "The nightmare intensity to Arellano's prose gets under your skin. You won't want to turn the lights out after reading it." --Charles Ardai, Edgar Award winner HIGH ON A MESA IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NEW MEXICO, a small town hides a dreadful secret. On a morning very soon there will be an accident that triggers a terrible chain reaction, and the world we know will be wiped out. JAMES OBERHELM, A REPORTER at Los Alamos National Laboratory, already sees the devastation, like the skin torn off a moment that is yet to be. He believes he can prevent an apocalypse, but first James must escape the devices of a sensuous young blood tech, a lecherous old hippie, a predator in a waking nightmare, and a forsaken adobe house high away in the Sangre de Cristo mountains whose dark history entwines them all. A MASSIVE BOMB IS TICKING beneath the sands of the Southwest, and time is running out to send a warning. James has to find a way to pass along the message--even if it ruins him. ROBERT ARELLANO is the author of the Edgar-nominated noir Havana Lunar and two earlier novels, all published by Akashic Books. Writing as Eddy Arellano, he collaborated with three artists on the graphic novel Dead in Desemboque from Soft Skull Press, and as Bobby Rabyd he created the Web's first interactive novel, Sunshine '69. He lived for seven years in the small mountain town of Dixon, New Mexico, and he now teaches in the College of Arts & Sciences at Southern Oregon University. Critical Praise for Edgar Award finalist Havana Lunar by Robert Arellano: "Dr. Mano Rodriguez is caught up in intrigue in this thoughtful, lushly detailed neo-noir . . . Much Spanish dialogue, with prompts in English on more difficult words, deepens the sense of locale." --Publishers Weekly "A sad, surreal, beautiful tour of the hell that was Cuba in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The writing is hypnotic, the storytelling superb. Havana Lunar is perfect." --Tim McLoughlin, author of Heart of the Old Country, editor of Brooklyn Noir "Arellano engages the reader immediately by quickly developing his characters into unique individuals, both good and bad . . . Havana Lunar is not bashful in its presentation of Cuba and its seamy side: Arellano is savvy and able to show caring families while also introducing the reader to the grittier side . . . The detail is impressive . . . Arellano is masterful, weaving both the physical and emotional into a story everyone can relate to in some way . . ." --Multicultural Review "Written with passion and vision and with a clear, unflinching eye, Robert Arellano's Havana Lunar breaks new ground. It is not a Cuban American novel but a Cuban novel written in English. In it the Cuban underworld of chulos and jineteras is revealed and the uber-world of political bosses and apparatchiks unmasked. I am certain that Havana Lunar will find a wide and enthusiastic readership." --Pablo Medina, author of The Cigar Roller "A noir novel short enough to read on a two-hour airplane ride and sufficiently satisfying to make you feel glad you read it." --Albuquerque Journal