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Debut Author Collection Sweepstakes

Debut author prize pack

We’re offering a chance to win a prize pack of five books by Tor debut authors, including: Three Princes by Ramona Wheeler, The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson, A Darkling Sea by James L. Cambias, The Waking Engine by David Edison, and Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson!

Comment below to enter for a chance to win.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment here beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) October 13, 2014. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET October 17, 2014. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

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The Cool Idea

The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson

Written by Patrick Swenson

I’m supposed to avoid “how I got my idea” topics for this post, but I’m still going to mention ideas. I’m mentioning ideas because the heart of science fiction is the idea. Science fiction is the genre of cool ideas. It’s all about the awe and sense of wonder.

That’s what brought me into science fiction. As a young boy, it was Victor Appleton’s Tom Swift and His [Insert Cool Idea Here], and it was Star Trek and Twilight Zone. In junior high, it was Frank Herbert’s Dune. In high school it was Ursula K. LeGuin, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. It was Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In college, it was Philip K. Dick and Joan Vinge, and a hundred other writers. I read all the Hugo Winners collections, and I was awed, and I wondered…

The Ultra Thin Man is my first published novel, but I’ve been writing a long time. By the time I read Dune, my love of SF had me believing I couldn’t write anything else. When I read SF, I explored the writers of the Golden Age, the inward journeys of the New Wave, and I was taken in. You know the phrase the willing suspension of disbelief? Yeah. I was totally willing.

I found out that the willing suspension of disbelief meant that as a writer of SF I was allowed a few “gimmees.” You know what I mean: Warp speed and faster-than-light travel. Blasters and diabolical galaxy-shattering weapons. Indeed, The Ultra Thin Man has some gimmees. My main character carries a blaster that’s never described. Humans and aliens alike get from one colony world to another via the “jump slot,” and I don’t describe it in any great detail, other than one instance from a pilot’s point of view, prepping a shuttle for departure. The Ultra Thin Man pays homage to the days of the pulp novel. When people ask me what kind of book The Ultra Thin Man is, I tell them it’s an SF noir mystery thriller Golden Age space opera. Well, kinda.

When I started the book, I was in the dark. I had a title. I had characters unraveling mysteries for a living. I put gigantic obstacles in their way. I introduced a galaxy-shattering threat, with very few leads, and I told them, “You’re the detectives. You figure it out.” When I wrote the book, I experienced the same awe and sense of wonder I felt when I read SF, because I was along for the ride, enjoying the plot twists and nodding in appreciation at the cool ideas. Eventually I discovered the truths these characters were searching for amidst the backdrop of the Union of Worlds.

Some science fiction is magic, really, and that’s okay, because I like story. I don’t need to analyze it. I want to find out what characters will do when antagonists bar their way. I want to learn something worth knowing. I want to explore the interrelationships between humans and technology. I’m not much of a science geek, but some of what I read about new or future science makes my head spin (in a good way). SF opens new horizons for my thinking. Suggests possibilities. I become better acquainted with my own world and culture.

But. I also read for pure entertainment and escapism. Story is king, characters are in charge, but sometimes, I just want to be wowed by cool ideas.

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From the Tor/Forge August newsletter. Sign up to receive our newsletter via email.

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More from the August Tor/Forge newsletter:

On the Road: Tor/Forge Author Events in August

Deadout by Jon McGoranLock In by John ScalziThe Ultra Thin Man by Patrick SwensonCopper Magic by Julia Mary Gibson

Tor/Forge authors are on the road in August! Once a month, we’re collecting info about all of our upcoming author events. Check and see who’ll be coming to a city near you:

Saturday, August 2

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magiczz
Horizon Books
Traverse City, MI
1:00 PM

John Scalzi, The Human Division
Barnes & Noble
Beavercreek, OH
2:00 PM

Glen Hirshberg, Motherless Child
Borderlands Books
San Francisco, CA
3:00 PM

Brian Herbert, The Little Green Book of Chairman Rahma
Writers’ Workshoppe
Port Townsend, WA
7:00 PM

Wednesday, August 6

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Launch Party at the Morris Arboretum
Books provided by Big Blue Marble Books
Flourtown, PA
6:00 PM

Thursday, August 7

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Saturn Books
Gaylord, MI
6:30 PM

Brian Herbert, The Little Green Book of Chairman Rahma
Eagle Harbor Book Co.
Bainbridge Island, WA
7:30 PM

Friday, August 8

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Between the Covers
Harbor Springs, MI
2:00 PM

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Barnes & Noble
Willow Grove, PA
6:00 PM

Saturday, August 9

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Farley’s Bookshop
New Hope, PA
1:00 PM

A.M. Dellamonica, Child of a Hidden Sea
Barnes & Noble
Amherst, NY
2:00 PM

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
McLean and Eakin Bookstore
Petoskey, MI
2:00 PM

Terry Goodkind, Severed Souls
Barnes & Noble
Henderson, NV
5:00 PM

Sunday, August 10

A.M. Dellamonica, Child of a Hidden Sea
Barnes & Noble
Rochester, NY
2:00 PM

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Moravian Bookshop
Bethlehem, PA
2:00 PM

Monday, August 11

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Main Point Books
Bryn Mawr, PA
7:00 PM

Tuesday, August 12

Patrick Swenson, The Ultra Thin Man
University Bookstore
Seattle, WA
7:00 PM

Wednesday, August 13

Tracy and Laura Hickman, Unwept
Indy Reads
Indianapolis, IN
3:00 PM

Thursday, August 14

Patrick Swenson, The Ultra Thin Man
Third Place Books
Lake Forest Park, WA
7:00 PM

Friday, August 15

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Edgartown Books
Edgartown, MA
7:00 PM

Tuesday, August 19

L. A. Campbell, Cartboy Goes to Camp
Books of Wonder
New York, NY
5:00 PM

Wednesday, August 20

Patrick Swenson, The Ultra Thin Man
Powell’s Books
Beaverton, OR
7:00 PM

Thursday, August 21

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Elk Rapids Historical Society
Elk Rapids, MI
7:00 PM

Thursday, August 21-24

Kevin J. Anderson, The Dark Between the Stars
Chicago Comic Con
Chicago, IL

Saturday, August 23

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Island Bookstore
Mackinac Island, MI
1:00 PM

Gary Kriss, The Zodiac Deception
Barnes & Noble
Norwalk, CT
2:00 PM

Sunday, August 24

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Island Books & Crafts
Sault Ste. Marie, MI
2:00 PM

Tuesday, August 26

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Sault Ste. Marie Library
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
2:00 PM

John Scalzi, Lock In
Brazos Bookstore
Houston, TX
7:00 PM

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Mystery on Main Street
Brattleboro, VT
7:00 PM

Wednesday, August 27

Stephen Baker, The Boost
Bank Square Books
Author Luncheon
Mystic, CT
12:00 PM

Julia Mary Gibson, Copper Magic
Snowbound Books
Marquette, MI
1:00 PM

John Scalzi, Lock In
Book People
Austin, TX
7:00 PM

Thursday, August 28

Patrick Swenson, The Ultra Thin Man
Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA
7:00 PM

John Scalzi, Lock In
Quail Ridge Books & Music
Raleigh, NC
7:30 PM

Friday, August 29

John Scalzi, Lock In
Flyleaf Books
Chapel Hill, NC
7:00 PM

Friday, August 29-September 1

Kevin J. Anderson, The Dark Between the Stars
Dragoncon
Atlanta, GA

Saturday, August 30

Jon McGoran, Deadout
Buffalo Street Books
Ithaca, NY
2:00 PM

Patrick Swenson, The Ultra Thin Man
Brian Herbert, The Little Green Book of Chairman Rahma
Borderlands Books
San Francisco, CA
3:00 PM

John Scalzi, Lock In
Decatur Book Festival
Decatur, GA

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Starred Review: The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson

The Ultra Thin Man by Patrick Swenson“Pig Latin, an exotic drug, a comic strip, and a retractable penis add colorful detail to a showdown that puts love and sacrifice at the heart of the self.”

Patrick Swenson’s The Ultra Thin Man got a starred review in Publishers Weekly!

Here’s the full review, from the June 2 issue:

Poster Placeholder of - 7 This splendidly lively SF debut alternates between the narrations of Alan Brindos and Dave Crowell, two irreverent gumshoes who work for the Network Intelligence Organization of the eight-world Union in the year 2113. Crowell sends Brindos to the planet Ribon, the site of a devastating antimatter attack, to investigate the apparent suicide of human Dorie Senall, who was possibly affiliated with Terl Plenko, an alien and terrorist. Swenson provides Shakespearean riffs on identity as Brindos is transformed into a Plenko clone and becomes a target for the NIO. The race for a key that nobody can identify pits Brindos, Crowell, and friends against alien manipulators of identity seeking to control the Union by substituting copy “thin men” for genuine individuals. Pig Latin, an exotic drug, a comic strip, and a retractable penis add colorful detail to a showdown that puts love and sacrifice at the heart of the self.

The Ultra Thin Man will be published on August 12.

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