Most Popular Books by Richard Paul Russo

Home to generations of humans, the starship Argonos has wandered aimlessly throughout the galaxy for hundreds of years, desperately searching for other signs of life. Now, a steady, unidentified transmission lures them toward a nearby planet, where the grisly remains of a former colony await the crew. Haunted by what they have seen, the crew has no choice but to follow when another signal beckons the Argonos into deep space—and into the dark heart of an alien mystery... “[Russo] is not afraid to take on the question of evil in a divinely ordered universe...This is an ambitious novel of ideas that generates considerable suspense while respecting its sources, its characters, and most important, the reader.”—The New York Times “A tale of high adventure and personal drama in the far future.”—Library Journal “Relentlessly suspenseful...full of mystery...very exciting.”—Science Fiction Chronicle

"Truly gripping . . . a lot more realistic than most near-future SF, as well as being just plain better written than most of it." — Science Fiction Chronicle In the crumbling San Francisco of tomorrow, a former narcotics-squad cop is reluctantly drawn into the investigation of a serial killer's return. Louis Tanner recognizes the ugly work of the Chain Killer, a maniac who dispatches his victims two at a time, welding the corpses together in a grotesque embrace and dumping them into a body of water. Tanner's troubled conscience from a previous case compels him to reunite with his former colleague, Frank Carlucci. Together, they enter the city's notorious red-light district, chasing a vicious drug dealer who forces them even deeper into the underworld — where police are powerless and the foulest criminals live in contempt of the law. Author Richard Paul Russo twice received the Philip K. Dick Award: in 1989, for his second novel, Subterranean Gallery, and in 2001 for Ship of Fools. This hard-boiled thriller is the first volume of the critically acclaimed Carlucci Trilogy, consisting of Destroying Angel, Carlucci's Edge, and Carlucci's Heart. All three works offer a gripping combination of classic noir mystery and futuristic cyberpunk fiction.

"One of the best blends of SF and mystery yet written." — Science Fiction Chronicle "Russo's San Francisco is very Bladerunner, though clearly written by somebody who knows that city well … The characters in this book are strong, the writing is solid." — SF Site In the San Francisco of the not-too-distant future, detective Frank Carlucci agrees to look into the disappearance of his daughter's friend. His investigations reveal layer upon layer of corruption and decay, culminating in the discovery of "Cancer Cell," a mysterious renegade medical group. Operating out of the city's anarchistic free-zone, these terrorists possess a bioengineered form of hemorrhagic fever — a modern-day plague with the potential to kill millions — that they're ready to turn loose on the world. Author Richard Paul Russo twice received the Philip K. Dick Award: in 1989, for his second novel, Subterranean Gallery, and in 2001 for Ship of Fools. This hard-boiled thriller is the third volume of the critically acclaimed Carlucci Trilogy, consisting of Destroying Angel, Carlucci's Edge, and Carlucci's Heart. All three works offer a gripping combination of classic noir mystery and futuristic cyberpunk fiction.

"Russo has an excellent eye for the urban landscape [and] the crime writer's well-tuned ear for vernacular … from street punks right up to the high-level officials." — Asimov's Science Fiction In the San Francisco of the future, technology advances while society declines. Against a vividly realized urban backdrop, one of the police force's last honest cops is trying to trace the connection between a series of seemingly unrelated murders. Detective Frank Carlucci manages to thwart his crooked department's efforts to block his investigations — only to discover an even deeper pit of corruption in the form of a black market run by political officials. Author Richard Paul Russo twice received the Philip K. Dick Award: in 1989, for his second novel, Subterranean Gallery, and in 2001 for Ship of Fools. This hard-boiled thriller is the second volume of the critically acclaimed Carlucci Trilogy, consisting of Destroying Angel, Carlucci's Edge, and Carlucci's Heart. All three works offer a gripping combination of classic noir mystery and futuristic cyberpunk fiction. "One of the best blends of SF and mystery yet written." — Science Fiction Chronicle "Russo's latest SF crime novel is mean streets, callous megacorps, venal politicians, and ordinary lowlifes in a jam … Russo's characters succeed in stirring our empathy, but their strangeness is what holds our attention." — Analog

Cale Alexandros was five years old when the path of his life was irrevocably altered. As the scion of a wealthy and powerful family, he enjoyed a privileged existence—until his family’s starship was attacked en route to Morningstar, the lone outpost of civilization on a savage planet known as Conrad’s World. In an escape ship, Cale crash-landed in the wilds, and was picked from the wreckage by nomads. For years, Cale is forced to endure life as a slave, sold and shuffled from one group of brutish thugs to another—until a trader recognizes a glimmer of promise in Cale’s eyes, and frees him. Cale travels far and wide, but he never forgets what happened long ago, in the desert wastes . . . when, in a strange, ancient temple, he found a book with pages made of a strange metal, and writings he could not identify. When he finally reaches Morningstar, he comes to realize that the book is a key to understanding a language never heard by mankind, an alien dialect. It also holds a secret that some people want to learn, a treasure that some want for themselves, and a revelation that some will do anything to control.

A collection of fourteen short stories includes science fiction themes from gritty alien encounters to the ultimate road story.

L'Argonos est un monstre de métal. Un vaisseau démesuré qui nourrit en son sein des milliers d'êtres humains depuis des générations. Nul ne sait plus dans quel but, nul ne sait plus pour quelle destination. L'Argonos erre d'étoile en étoile, mais pour y trouver quoi ? Bartolomeo Aguilera est un monstre de chair. Contrefait, sans bras, enferré dans un exosquelette, mais doté d'une intelligence hors du commun. Conseiller du capitaine Nikos Costa, il sera ses yeux au sein de l'équipe d'exploration d'Antioche, une planète depuis laquelle l'Argonos a capté une transmission probablement humaine. Une colonie ? Sans doute. Mais aussi un carnage, des centaines de corps pendus à des crochets comme de vulgaires morceaux de viande.Que s'est-il passé sur Antioche ? Pourquoi une telle atrocité ? Et surtout, commise par qui ?

A cinq ans, esclave sur une planète prison...Il a cinq ans, et il a tout perdu. Ceux qu'il aimait, son monde d'origine, et jusqu'à son identité.Parce que le vaisseau de son père a été attaqué en approche du Monde de Conrad, Cal est désormais seul, égaré au coeur d'un continent hostile, à la merci des pillards et des marchands d'esclaves. Pour survivre, il lui faudra non seulement s'adapter, mais surtout découvrir le secret millénaire du Monde de Conrad, un secret qui pourrait bien lui redonner sa vie passée, mais surtout changer la face de l'univers humain.Un secret qui porte un nom : Jaaprana, quelque part dans le mystérieux Cimetière des Saints...

Hace mucho tiempo, en un antiguo templo, Cale encontró un volumen con páginas hechas de un raro metal y escrito en un idioma indescifrable. Tras soportar muchos años de esclavitud, un mercader ha decidido ponerlo en libertad. Solo al llegar al Mundo de Conrad, un planeta lejano de habitantes cultos, se dará cuenta de la importancia del descubrimiento: el libro es la clave para comprender un dialecto alienígena que ningún humano ha escuchado jamás. Pero sus páginas también guardan un secreto que algunos desean eliminar a cualquier precio... mientras otros lo buscan con la misma desesperación.