Slab City Blues

By Anthony Ryan

Welcome to the Slab. A vast orbiting slum where rats grow big and sweat falls in rain. There's a stranger in town, a stranger with claws and a penchant for killing assassins. Finding him is the job of Inspector Alex McLeod, detective, disfigured war veteran and reluctant widower. Some days are worse than others on the Slab but today is going to be a gem.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthony Ryan
• Release date: Apr 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458007612

Anthony Ryan

Anthony Ryan was born in Scotland in 1970 but spent much of his adult life living and working in London. After a long career in the British Civil Service he took up writing full time after the success of his first novel Blood Song, Book One of the Raven's Shadow trilogy. He has a degree in history, and his interests include art, science and the unending quest for the perfect pint of real ale.For news and general wittering about stuff he likes, check out Anthony's blog at: http://anthonystuff.wordpress.com.

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Slab City Blues Amazon Version

Slab City Blues

By

Anthony Ryan

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I was in the forest with Consuela when Father Bob patched the call through. We were having The Discussion and she was at the just throw the switch you selfish sonuvabitch! stage.

Inspector McLeod? Father Bob, terrific timing. He’s a great guy. I’d die for him.

Yes Father?

Consuela crossed her arms impatiently. Alex.

Superintendent Mordecai for you.

Alex!

Patch her through.

Consuela turned away and stomped off through the undergrowth, losing herself in the trees.

Alex? Sherry Mordecai, nervous, guilty. She hated calling me here.

Sherry. What’s kicking?

Got a flatline for you. Yang Thirteen, Quad Delta.

Yang Thirteen - Spliceville. What species?

Human.

Unusual.

Very. Get here. Sound-off click leaving staring after my wife, my hawk-faced Spanish wife who hated me for making her live in paradise.

Jack me out please, Father.

***

Father Bob pulled the leads from my temples and I straightened up with backache adding to post-immersion nausea and the added disorientation of the old face/new face swap-over. When I jacked in for the first time the war was six months over and I’d actually forgotten I had a new face. I’d left the old one behind when a spent-uranium tipped shell tore through our shuttle during the Langley Raid dust-off. Several centuries of surgery later and a stranger stared back at me from the mirror with a French woman’s idea of what Englishmen are supposed to look like. If they’d known I was the son of a Russian mother and Scottish father I’m sure I’d have come out as a cross between Rudolph Nureyev and Sean Connery. My new face was beautiful, no lines or scars. I hated it. Apparently, so did Consuela.

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Reviews for Slab City Blues

[MisterHeck · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully descriptive and fascinating world. Different from the Raven's Shadow Trilogy but highly enjoyable.