Noir Fatale – eARC

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NEW SCIENCE FICTION, URBAN FANTASY, AND MYSTERY STORIES WITH A NOIR THEME FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHORS LAURELL K. HAMILTON delivering an Anita Blake series story, LARRY CORREIA, penning a Grimnoir series adventure, an original Honor Harrington series tale from DAVID WEBER, AND MORE.

The silky note of a saxophone. The echoes of a woman’s high heels down a deserted asphalt street. Steam rising from city vents to cloud the street-lit air. A man with a gun. A dame with a problem . . .

NOIR.

From the pulpy pages of Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s and 30s, through the film noir era of the 1940s, to today, noir fiction has lured many a reader and movie-goer away from the light and into the dark underbelly of society. Names such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain; titles like The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice. . . these have inhabited our collective consciousness for decades. Humanity, it seems, loves the dark. And within the dark, one figure stands out: that of the femme fatale.

Here then, Noir Fatale an anthology containing the full spectrum of noir fiction, each incorporating the compelling femme fatale character archetype. From straightforward hardboiled detective story to dark urban fantasy to the dirty secrets of futuristic science fiction—all with a hard, gritty feel.

As Raymond Chandler said, “Down these mean streets, a man must walk who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” Because, as these stories prove, doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean you get the big bucks or the girl. But you do the right thing anyway.

All new stories by

Larry Correia
Kacey Ezell
Laurell K. Hamilton
David Weber
Sarah A. Hoyt
Robert Buettner
Alistair Kimble
Griffin Barber
Michael Massa
Christopher L. Smith and Michael Ferguson
Hinkley Correia
Patrick Tracy
Steve Diamond

Cover Art by Dominic Harman

Hardcover

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

Look for the final version on May 7, 2019

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN-13: 978-1-4814-8397-1

Copyright © 2019 by Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell
Additional copyright acknowledgments: “Kacey’s Introduction” copyright ©2019 by Kacey Ezell; “Larry’s Introduction” copyright ©2019 by Larry Correia; “Ain’t No Sunshine” copyright ©2019 by Christopher L. Smith and Michael J. Ferguson; “Recruiting Exercise” copyright ©2019 by Words of Weber, Inc.; “Spoils of War” copyright ©2019 by Kacey Ezell; “The Privileges of Violence” copyright ©2019 by Steve Diamond; “A Goddess in Red” copyright ©2019 by Griffin Barber; “Kuro” copyright ©2019 by Hinkley Correia; “Sweet Seduction” copyright ©2019 by Laurell K. Hamilton; “String of Pearls” copyright ©2019 by Alistair Kimble; “Honey Fall” copyright ©2019 by Sarah A. Hoyt; “Three Kates” copyright ©2019 by Mike Massa; “Worth the Scars of Dying” copyright ©2019 by Patrick Tracy; “The Frost Queen” copyright ©2019 by Robert Buettner; “Bombshell” copyright ©2019 by Larry Correia.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
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Electronic version by Baen Books
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