Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Retrieval Artist novels are dangerous ones for me to work on. Dangerous, because of the amount of time it takes me to do anything with them.
You see, they are so compelling that I get sucked into the narrative and can lose vast parts of my day reading. It happens every time. The books are that good.
And obviously, I’m not alone in thinking that. This series is extremely popular with fans and reviewers alike.
And now it’s on sale in ebook for a limited time.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Retrieval Artist series, it all began with the Hugo Award-winning novella, The Retrieval Artist, about a future private investigator of sorts, working a case on the Moon. That one novella (which is actually set much later in Miles Flint’s career than the novels) sparked a series so richly developed that Miles Flint has been called one of “the top ten greatest science fiction detectives of all time” by io9 and one of “14 great sci-fi and fantasy detectives who out-Sherlock’d Holmes” and “a candidate for the title of greatest fictional detective of all time” by Blastr. Analog has said of the series, “The SF thriller is alive and well, and today’s leading practitioner is Kristine Kathryn Rusch.” And The Edge Boston says, “If there’s any such thing as a sci-fi CSI, the Retrieval Artist novels set the tone.”
The series has garnered much more acclaim, but you get the point.
For those of you who haven’t yet experienced this intriguing universe, you’ll want to start with The Disappeared, which is available for free for a limited time in ebook here.
Here’s the synopsis:
In a universe where humans and aliens have formed a loose government called the Earth Alliance, treaties guarantee that humans are subject to alien laws when on alien soil. But alien laws often make no sense, and the punishments vary from loss of life to loss of a first-born child.
Now three cases have collided: a stolen spaceyacht filled with dead bodies, two kidnapped human children, and a human woman on the run, trying to Disappear to avoid alien prosecution. Flint must enforce the law—giving the children to aliens, solving the murders, and arresting the woman for trying to save her own life. But how is a man supposed to enforce laws that are unjust? How can he sacrifice innocents to a system he’s not sure he believes in? How can Miles Flint do the right thing in a universe where the right thing is very, very wrong?
This Endeavor Award-winning novel is Flint’s first adventure, the story that turns him from a police detective in the Armstrong Dome on the Moon into a Retrieval Artist.
The rest of the novels in the series (all 14 of them) are $3.99 for the ebook (again, for a limited time). There are seven books in the original series and another eight books in the Anniversary Day Saga. You can read more about the series and find the complete reading order here.
Just remember that I warned you about these books—once you start reading, you’ll find it very hard to stop until you get to the very end. Now, that’s great writing!
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.