Thursday, October 18, 2018

Rick or Treat (The Fae Killers, Book 3) by Jaxon Reed

Release date: October 2, 2018
Subgenre: Urban Fantasy

About Rick or Treat:

 

Rick Strickland hasn't flown a plane since he died over three centuries ago. But after being sucked into the vortex during a fae attack on Headquarters, he lands in the back of a doomed airliner bound for London crowded with helpless passengers and a poisoned crew.

He soon discovers this world is strangely different from the one he's used to. The American Revolution failed and territory east of the Mississippi remains colonized. The Republic of Texas controls land to the west and is the dominant hemispheric power. Nazi Germany controls most of Europe, but despite the date there has been no Second World War . . . yet.

Now, a plot by the Nazis on All Hallows' Eve appears imminent. Rick is alone with no outside help, and fae influence on this alternate is increasingly obvious. The Texans are locked and loaded, but they've never faced a fae before. Then, a coded message from their rarely used embassy in New York City arrives . . . and it's addressed to Rick. Can he foil the Nazi plot and turn their Halloween trick against them?

 

Excerpt:

 

An hour later, Rick stopped for breath. He gazed out at the table where the ambassador, Angela Dorn, and half a dozen top embassy personnel stared at him. Albert Einstein sat at the other end of the table, gazing calmly back.

Rick had explained everything as best he could. There were thousands of universes, he said, and his team travelled among them. Thanks to an attack on the group’s headquarters, several people were sent scattered among the alternates. That was how Rick got here, “falling into” the ambassador’s airplane. He also had no way of contacting anyone back home.

Each world deviated somewhat from Original Earth, some more than others. This world, Rick explained, deviated considerably without a United States, no Second World War (yet, at least), and a successful Nazi empire.

As he paused, he looked around the table. Angela stared back with a dubious expression on her face.

She said, “You’re asking us to believe a lot, Mr. Strickland.”

Rick raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement and said, “I know. And, I’ve got no proof to offer, either, other than my word. But, I can almost guarantee that your world is headed toward disaster. You’re way overdue for the Second World War.”

“We managed to dodge another war,” MacGraw said, “Thanks to Prime Minister Chamberlain.”

Rick said, “That just delayed the inevitable. And by letting Germany marshal its resources, the coming conflagration is likely to be worse than it would have been otherwise.”

The Texans shifted in their seats, uncomfortably. Rick suspected he hit a nerve. Perhaps it was a heated topic of conversation among them.

MacGraw turned to look at the other end of the table. He said, “What about you, Dr. Einstein? Does this notion of parallel worlds hold any scientific water?”

Einstein nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving Rick. He said, “Haf you met my doppelganger on another world, Herr Strickland? My doppelganger?”

Rick said, “Yes sir, I have.”

Und, vat vas he like?”

“Well, I didn’t really get to know him. I was too busy trying to help save him and my world’s Oppenheimer from an attempt on their lives.”

The mention of Oppenheimer raised some eyebrows around the table.

Und, vat vere ve doing, Herr Doktor Oppenheimer und myself?”

“Well, uh, Dr. Oppenheimer was deeply involved in developing our nuclear bomb program. You see, the United States won the race in developing the bomb, beating out Germany. With it, we were able to end the war in the Pacific and maintain peace in Europe for quite a while.

“As for you, you had written a letter to our President, Franklin Roosevelt, explaining that splitting an atom would indeed result in a gigantic release of energy. You assured him the research was worth pursing for military purposes. You weren’t really involved in the Manhattan Project. That’s what we called the program developing the atomic bomb. But, you were instrumental in convincing people that it was a feasible pursuit.”

A long silence followed. Finally, MacGraw cleared his throat. He pointed to a man on the other side of the table, a handsome young fellow with dark brown hair and an angular face. He wore a white lab coat with a pocket protector guarding several pens and mechanical pencils.

“Smitty, what do you think? Is this guy from another world similar to our own?”

Smitty nodded and said, “He either is, or he’s a German spy who knows everything about our most secret programs.”

“If he’s a Nazi,” MacGraw said, “why would he save me? It seems foiling a plot to take down mah flight would not be the thing for him to do.”

Smitty shrugged. “Gain our trust, I guess.”

“But you don’t really think that?”

Smitty said, “Nah. If Dr. Einstein says it’s possible, then I say he really is from a parallel world. Even though it’s hard to believe that in his world Texas would just be one state among many instead of an entire country. I find that the least believable part of his story.”

Rick said, “Texas was its own country on my world, for about seven years.”

Smitty smiled. The comment seemed to make him feel better.

 

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About Jaxon Reed:

Jaxon Reed is a science fiction and fantasy author. Amazon's digital imprint, Kindle Press, selected his book The Empathic Detective for publication through Kindle Scout. Recently the sequel, Ghostsuit, was also awarded a publishing contract through Kindle Scout. He is the author of Thieves & Wizards, an epic fantasy, and The Redwood Trilogy, a science fiction series. Jaxon is an Aggie, living in Texas on a ranch with his wife and boys, several cats, and one pound dog.

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