The Bookstore

War has finally become corporate …

There is a significant difference between waging a war and winning it. Technology will automate the former while the latter will remain the responsibility of humans, making it easier for corporations to direct their will throughout the universe while the price, as usual, will be paid by the pitiful foot soldier.

Angus…

Faraway in a distant future, a dead dirt planet is home to thousands of human clone soldiers fighting an endless war in fully mechanized, armored atmosphere suits. Damage sustained to one Angus’ communication system during battle renders him invisible to his comrades. Unrecognizable, Angus is on his own.

Monica…

Angus finds Monica buried under debris and he engages her to help him. Alienated from their fellow soldiers, they are free for the first time in their lives to question the relentless automation that has driven them. As they learn the truth behind the war and their forsaken world, their dormant humanity finally awakens.

“This is a daringly inventive dystopian vision of a future era of complete planetary colonizations, organized by (surprise!) corporations rather than states. Amid wars that are systemic and endless, one soldier finds himself partly disconnected from the program, and the novel follows his gradual realization of what has happened, as well as his discoveries, here and there, of fragments of pre-corporatized humanity within himself. Allegorically, it’s a powerful warning of the forces released by the convergence of capitalism, militarism, and data-driven systems of control. It also reminds us, in nicely nuanced ways, that the hunger for freedom is not extinguishable.”

— David Robbins

“Sharply written and deeply felt.
“I really liked this! A quick read that knows how to savor while sprinting (and speckled with classic sci-fi and Americana references), Oxygen Wars gives form and personality to an elemental landscape that affronts and absorbs the characters and their actions toward self-determination.”

— Jada W.

“Awesome book!!!
“If you are a science fiction fan or not this is a must read! Makes you really think about what we take for granted! It’s a great read and it took me on a wonderful journey! Loved it!”

— Naida Medeiros

“Melton Cartes’ Oxygen Wars has all the earmarks of a classic. Mr. Cartes has been able to combine the human emotions of wonder and the search for peace with the all too prevalent human lust for war in a way that can be understood by every generation. Though Oxygen Wars is set in a time that is centuries in our future, then as now, war rages on. And although Cartes’ warriors are genetically created, the soul of man is with them. This is a sleeper that will wake your heart and imagination. It is a must read for science fiction buffs and also those of us who enjoy reading of the triumph of the human spirit.”

— Jeanne M. Evans

“Angus 7873 begins simply as another soldier in another war in another place. The author does a masterful job in transforming this human clone soldier into a quite believable character. I read few science fiction books because I often get lost in the details of the numerous gadgets, plot twists and similar matters that are possible with that genre. Oxygen Wars, however, has a crisp plot, few characters and was a good three sitting read for me.”

— D. R. Smith

“…the strength of this book is in the themes the author has selected. Specifically, rather than going with the typical good v. evil plotline so common in science fiction, the author chose to explore something much deeper: are we objective thinkers or merely doing as we’re told; do we live to work or work to live; the power of questioning society to assert our personal freedom. Although there’s plenty of combat and action in the book, it’s these solid themes that the average person will relate to.”

— M. Rozmarin

“Captivating dystopian novel, makes you feel like you are there!
“The author, Melton Cartes, has a gift of writing which makes you forget that you are reading a novel and feel like you are there, you are on the colony, you are part of the action. I was so gripped that I barely put the book down, and chowed through it in just three days (which is very unlike me).”

— Salman Naqvi

He just wanted his hands back…

In an alternate present day where human body parts are commodities, survival depends on credit limits and current medicals. For Maltex Faloon, a disgraced pool champion, time has run out. His “welfare hands”—a cheap mismatch he was forced to take after a lost wager—are degenerating into gnarled, useless flesh. Unable to afford enough T-Butoxilina to dull the excruciating pain, or buy a new pair, Maltex is desperate. His life depends on the next case he takes as a donor fraud bounty hunter.

His latest assignment: track down a charismatic con man who has sold the same body parts—balls to eyeballs—to multiple pitiful buyers. Maltex is pulled into the brutal, underground economy and the orbit of Flexibee Bold, a stunning woman with a voice box ravaged by “Latent Degeneracy,” who may be his only link to the fraudster. As the truth about the suspect—and Flexibee’s own connection—unravels, Maltex finds himself with a decision to make.

Control Home is a dive into a chilling world where the cost of a new body is measured in betrayal, violence, and the loss of what makes you human. Maltex must confront a chance at a new beginning. In a city where everything is for sale, the ultimate question is:

What would you sacrifice for a new set of hands?

It’s hard enough to solve a murder…

It’s even more challenging when your own brother arrives at the scene with a version of reality undermining everything you know to be true.

1946: Chicago Homicide Detective Dalton Stahl and his partner, Hollis Trent, are called to another gruesome scene: a male corpse, skin completely blue, cleanly sliced throat, and the brain missing. Pressure is added when Dalton’s younger brother Carson, reappearing after ten years away, raves delusionally—yet specifically—about the “Blue Bodies” case. And details about the crime scene suddenly point to Leopold Galtieri, a notorious Chicago gangster and Dalton and Carson’s long-lost older brother; fostered by different parents.

As Dalton tries fitting all of the pieces, Carson’s volatility makes him more suspicious: How does Carson know baffling details about the case? Why does he think Dalton’s wife, Darlanne, is a “Shock Trooper?” Is this a sick murder spree or failed experiments, as he claims?

Stahl, a detective whose reality is anchored in truth and objective facts, is challenged…

…to solve a case that could shatter everything.