Peter Clines’ Ex-Communication just hit shelves. It’s the spectacular third adventure in the genre-smashing Ex-Heroes series. In this volume a powerful ally the heroes had thought to be long dead returns…but might just turn out to be the greatest threat they’ve ever faced.
This book is not just for horror fans! There’s plenty of fun here for zombie aficionados, but in terms of tone, this is much more Joss Whedon’s “Avengers” movie than it is “Saw.” The focus is less on the scary and gross, much more on great twisty plotting, big inventive action scenes, and fun, quirky character interactions. Think Ready Player One – awesome adventure fiction with a nerdy, genre-busting flair.
It’s superheroes vs. zombies …What more needs to be said? This is an original and clever genre mashup, with corresponding appeal both to zombie fans and those who like blockbuster superhero movies and comics.
So we’re happy to say that we got a letter written by Mr. Clines to librarians about why he appreciates libraries and a few reasons why you should check out his amazing series.
Letter from Peter Clines to Librarians
Hullo, there,
Okay, let’s be honest. You’re expecting this letter to say tons of stuff about how much I love libraries and how great I think they are. That’s what these things always do, right?
Well, I am going to say all that, but I want to assure you it’s true.
Y’see, I grew up in this little tourist town in Maine called Cape Neddick, right on the coast. At the time, the York Library was a huge building (well, to a ten year old) made of mismatched stones. It was pretty much the template for every small town library you’ve ever pictured. I spent hours after school there every week, searching the shelves for appealing stories. It’s where I discovered Encyclopedia Brown, the Three Investigators, the many teenage superhumans of Alexander Key, and the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. There were even a few early forays into Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov.
I guess it’s not that much of a surprise that I ended up telling stories myself, or that they reflected the books that influenced me so much as a kid. Stories with a sense of wonder and excitement. Maybe a few thrills and a neat twist or two. Like my first novel, Ex-Heroes. It’s a story of flawed-but-classic superheroes helping survivors in Los Angeles after a zombie outbreak decimates the world. I was thrilled when it got picked up in 2010 by Permuted Press, a niche publisher, and became an underground hit with horror and sci-fi fans. And eventually it became a big enough hit that it caught the attention of Broadway Books, where it found a new home, along with its sequels—Ex-Patriots and this summer’s Ex-Communication.
And one of the neatest things about being with a big publisher is seeing bookstores and libraries perk up and show interest in your books. Again, I’m sure that kind of thing is par for the course in these letters, but it’s still pretty amazing to me.
I moved away from Maine years ago, and since then the library’s moved down the street into a much more modern building. And today, as an adult in Los Angeles, I’m still going to the library to catch up on the latest Jack Reacher adventure or maybe a Preston & Child book (a guilty pleasure). Libraries are cool to me. Always have been, always will be.
Anyway, I’ve blabbed on and taken up enough of your time. I just wanted to say thanks.
Cheers,
Pete Clines
To keep up with Peter Clines follow his blog.
And check out the amazing Ex-Heroes cartoon our friends Bill and Gene over at Unshelved did. Super fun.
Click cartoon to enlarge.