Earlier this week was the 5th birthday of the middle book in my space opera trilogy. All 3 books came out in the second half of 2015: The Dangerous Type in July, Kill By Numbers in September, and No More Heroes in November. My publisher called it the Netflix Effect, like when you discover a new TV show and binge-watch ’til you’re done.
Unfortunately, they didn’t do even minimal advertising around the fact that all three books would be out within months of each other. There’s no ad in the back of any of the books. There’s not even a list of books in the series anywhere inside the trilogy. No one realized binge-reading was a possibility.
It’s frustrating now, but I’m still happy with how Kill By Numbers turned out. It’s a different animal from the first book. Where The Dangerous Type was a Hong Kong-style revenge story dressed up in space opera, Kill By Numbers is a Philip K. Dick mindwarp, complete with conspiracy, evil corporations, and reality as a fluid the main character is swimming in.
Horror Addicts wrote one of my favorite reviews of the book. Here’s a taste: “It’s tough to be a human in space. Other races look down on humans because they think of them as violent sociopaths. With the human empire disbanded, they are spread out across the galaxy trying to make a living. This brings us to former assassin Raena who is trying to get a new start on board the alien space ship, the Veracity. Raena has a complicated past, she was a prisoner as the Templars were wiped out by a genetic plague and the situation has created some bad psychological effects.”
Geek Dad also had nice things to say: “I do like a good science fiction tale that revolves around questionable characters. That’s probably why I’m so crazy about Loren Rhoads ‘In the Wake of the Templars’ trilogy of books. There’s not an upstanding citizen to be found, but there are plenty of shades of gray. Raena and her crew are quickly becoming some of my favorite scoundrels, and I cannot wait to see where this story goes!”
The Book Faerie liked the Veracity’s crew: “The airship Raena’s on has all kinds of aliens making up the crew. I enjoyed reading about how they looked, how they talked and what their positions were for work. There’s a lizard, octopus, and a cat-like creature among the crew. There’s even a human captain. Raena knows these people and likes them but she’s a weapon.”
I dedicated the book to Brian Thomas, my co-writer on the succubus/angel books. Brian was driving the only time I’ve hidden from the cops. I told the story here, if you’re curious: https://lorenrhoads.com/2016/03/23/why-i-dedicated-kill-by-numbers-to-brian/
If you’d like to read an excerpt: https://lorenrhoads.com/writing/the-dangerous-type/excerpt-from-kill-by-numbers/
I have all three books of the trilogy sitting in my garage right now. I would be so glad to set you up with some fast-paced space opera entertainment — and I’d be thrilled to autograph them for you, if you’d like. You can buy each book individually, or pick up a special set of all three. (Unfortunately, they won’t be slipcased like this sexy image on the right. Haven’t figured out how to make a box set yet.)
Anyway, please check out my bookstore here: https://lorenrhoads.com/shop/ There are all kinds of goodies there, including some books that are out of print elsewhere.
