Jeff Gerke has recently announced the three novels he hopes to launch his fantasy/SF/speculative publishing house Marcher Lord Press. Negotiations are still underway with the authors, but here's a rundown on what we can look forward to soon in Jeff's words:- The first novel is an "intellectual fantasy" by seasoned novelist Theodore Beale. Theo has written a trilogy of spiritual warfare novels for Pocket Books--a secular publisher. His novel for Marcher Lord Press, Summa Elvetica, is an exploration of a wonderful speculative premise: what if something oddly similar to the medieval Catholic church existed in a fantasy world and they had to decide whether or not elves (and orcs and more) have souls? Like I said, intellectual fantasy.
- The second novel I'll be launching with is by R. E. Bartlett, the New Zealander behind the awesome Christian SF The Personifid Project. For Marcher Lord Press she'll be writing the standalone sequel, The Personifid Invasion. In the first one, we entered a far-future world in which humans can trade out their old bodies for artificial ones--personifids--and thus live forever. In this one, science finally finds verifiable proof of spiritual entities--and the entities find that personifid bodies will house them quite well, too. It's intense SF action with quirky characters and a strong undercurrent of thoughtful spirituality.
- The third novel that will launch the publishing company is one I found through the acquisitions portal at www.marcherlordpress.com. It's a fantasy, but that's about all it has in common with Summa Elvetica. This one is called Hero, Second Class, and it's by newcomer Mitchell Bonds. Mitch is a young man (he's stinkin' 19, for crying out loud) who has more voice and craftsmanship than he has any right to at his (or any) age. His story is a lampoon of fantasy stories. Think Spaceballs meets Lord of the Rings. Get ready to have your most beloved fantasy conventions skewered. Quest forth with Cyrus, our young hero, as he encounters the world of professional Heroes and Villains (complete with their own rule-setting governing bodies, of course), and strives to complete his first Quest and earn the title of Hero, Second Class. Along the way you'll meet kindhearted golems, droll zombies, and a fearsome mercenary band who dares utter trigger words such as "inerrant," "witch," and "retarded." Oh, and you'll meet Cyrus's true love, who also happens to be kind of a cat.
Marcher Lord Press is the premier publisher of Christian speculative fiction.
Whether it's fantasy you love, or science fiction, time travel, chillers, supernatural thrillers, alternate history, spiritual warfare, superhero, vampire, or technothriller—if it's speculative and it comes from the Christian worldview, Marcher Lord Press is your publisher.
Marcher Lord Press is a small, independent press that bypasses the traditional Christian publishing industry to get Christian speculative fiction directly into the hands of the fans who devour it.
For more information, visit the Marcher Lord Press website here.
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