Ben H Winters – författare

IN ONE L.A. MOTEL ROOM, A COSMIC QUEST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN . . .More than just a writer, more than just a science-fiction icon, Benjamin J. Carp was a cultural revolutionary. Over the course of 44 novels and hundreds of short stories—including the counterculture classic The Man They Couldn’t Erase—Carp pushed the boundaries of literary respectability for the sci-fi genre and his readers’ perception of reality itself . . . until decades of amphetamine abuse and Southern California excess finally ended a mind-bending career that always just escaped mainstream success. He died in 1982.Until 2025 . . . when Benjamin J. Carp awakens, alive, in a burned-out motel on the fringes of Los Angeles. He remembers dying. He knows he shouldn’t exist. Is he a dream? A robot? A ghost? A clone? A simulation? In his own time, Carp pondered all of these scenarios through his fiction—and now, as he treks from Studio City to Venice Beach and onward into the paranoid sprawl of 21st-century Los Angeles, he will be called to investigate his greatest mystery yet: himself.From Edgar Award nominee and Philip K. Dick Award winner Ben H. Winters (EC’s Cruel Universe, The Last Policeman trilogy) and rising star Leomacs (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss, Ghostlore) comes a uniquely fascinating and hilariously deranged excursion into the metatextual nexus where existence and oblivion, past and future, genius and madness, and glitter and grim reality all meet just beyond Hollywood Boulevard.

Young audience Characters: 3 male, 3 female With help from Uncle Pirate and his faithful talking penguin, maybe, just maybe, Wilson can survive the fourth grade. Wilson is just your average kid. Then one day he finds out his uncle is a pirate...like, a REAL pirate! Grab yer eye patches and pirate hats, mateys! The adventure begins now! "At heart Uncle Pirate proves more of a Boy Scout than a buccaneer, but that won't distress theatergoers under 12, this diverting and often funny musical's ideal audience...Theatergoers at a recent performance particularly enjoyed a classroom duel in which Uncle Pirate bravely wields first a pointer, then a ruler and finally a book. Education, it seems, really is the way to win life's battles." -New York Times. "There's a talking penguin and plenty of 'arrrs!' for the young'uns, while elementary schoolers and their parents will appreciate the sarcastic dialogue and clever songs...a whimsical adaptation of the eponymous kids book is Jolly Roger fun." -Time Out New York

New York Times bestsellerAn uproarious tale of romance, heartbreak, and tentacled mayhem inspired by the classic Jane Austen novel—from the publisher of Pride and Prejudice and ZombiesSense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels?This masterful portrait of Regency England blends Jane Austen’s biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. It’s survival of the fittest—and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!

Leo Tolstoy meets robots in this “creepy, thrilling, and highly enjoyable” sci-fi mashup of the classic Russian novel Anna Karenina (Library Journal).“ . . . lives up to its promise to make Tolstoy ‘awesomer.’”—The Onion AV ClubIt’s been called the greatest novel ever written. Now, Tolstoy’s timeless saga of love and betrayal is transported to an awesomer version of 19th-century Russia. It is a world humming with high-powered groznium engines: where debutantes dance the 3D waltz in midair, mechanical wolves charge into battle alongside brave young soldiers, and robots—miraculous, beloved robots!—are the faithful companions of everyone who’s anyone.Restless to forge her own destiny in this fantastic modern life, the bold noblewoman Anna and her enigmatic Android Karenina abandon a loveless marriage to seize passion with the daring, handsome Count Vronsky. But when their scandalous affair gets mixed up with dangerous futuristic villainy, the ensuing chaos threatens to rip apart their lives, their families, and—just maybe—all of planet Earth.

“A genre-defying blend of crime writing and science fiction.”—Alexandra Alter, The New York TimesDetective Hank Palace returns in the second in the speculative mystery trilogy set on the brink of the apocalypse.There are just 77 days before a deadly asteroid collides with Earth, and Detective Palace is out of a job. With the Concord police force operating under the auspices of the U.S. Justice Department, Hank's days of solving crimes are over...until a woman from his past begs for help finding her missing husband. Brett Cavatone disappeared without a trace—an easy feat in a world with no phones, no cars, and no way to tell whether someone’s gone “bucket list” or just gone. With society falling to shambles, Hank pieces together what few clues he can, on a search that leads him from a college-campus-turned-anarchist-encampment to a crumbling coastal landscape where anti-immigrant militia fend off “impact zone” refugees. Countdown City presents another fascinating mystery set on brink of an apocalypse--and once again, Hank Palace confronts questions way beyond "whodunit." What do we as human beings owe to one another? And what does it mean to be civilized when civilization is collapsing all around you?

As Seen on Today with Hoda & Jenna“A genre-defying blend of crime writing and science fiction.” –Alexandra Alter, The New York TimesWinner of the 2013 Edgar® Award for Best Paperback Original!What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares. The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond “whodunit.” What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?

“A genre-defying blend of crime writing and science fiction.”—Alexandra Alter, The New York Times The explosive final installment in the Edgar® Award winning Last Policeman series. With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank’s safety is only relative, and his only relative—his sister Nico—isn’t safe. Soon, it’s clear that there’s more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it’s up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out...for everyone.

Compelled to OBLIVION, driven to ENTROPY, all life in our cosmos can only end in one place: COMPLETE ANNIHILATION! For the first time in 70 years, the limitless fury of EC Comics rages back to life to shred the very fabric of the universe itself—and wrench bizarre tales of time and space into our dimensional plane!Our guides across this riveting introduction to a cosmic maelstrom of strange extraterrestrial entities, malevolent scientists, and terrifying technological catastrophe? Learn to fear the void with the irradiated imaginations of writers Corinna Bechko (Invisible Republic, The Space Between), Christopher Cantwell (Thanos), Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), Stephanie Phillips (Phoenix), Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman), and more as they collide with the wondrously destructive visions of artists Jonathan Case (Green River Killer), Kano (Gotham Central), David Lapham (Stray Bullets), Alison Sampson (Department of Truth), Artyom Topilin (I Hate This Place), Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer: Reborn) and many more!The unpredictable return of EC Comics continues here with the quantum comics event of the millennium! Galaxies will collapse. Space-time will be distorted. And your very will to exist, too, shall be broken. . . . Just remember: It's all in the name of SCIENCE!Collecting Cruel Universe #1–5.

From New York Times best-selling and Edgar Award-winning author Ben H. Winters, this supernatural page-turner about a real-estate nightmare will make you think twice about your dream home. Susan and Alex Wendt have found their dream apartment in a gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric. And the elderly handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the basement. But the rent is so low, it s too good to pass up. Big mistake. Susan awakens every morning with fresh bug bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter, Emma, has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists her building is clean. Susan fears she s going mad until she makes a chilling discovery in the bonus room. Filled with Hitchcockian suspense, The Bonus Room is a horrifying tale of a dream home that becomes a nightmare. Previously published in 2011 as Bedbugs. Susan and Alex Wendt have found their dream apartment in a gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric. And the elderly handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the basement. But the rent is so low, it s too good to pass up. Big mistake. Susan awakens every morning with fresh bug bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter, Emma, has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists her building is clean. Susan fears she s going mad until she makes a chilling discovery in the bonus room. Filled with Hitchcockian suspense, The Bonus Room is a horrifying tale of a dream home that becomes a nightmare. Previously published in 2011 as Bedbugs.

Steer clear of car trouble with this funny pocket-sized gift book from the best-selling Worst-Case Scenario® series.Getting into a car is the most dangerous thing most of us do every day. Learn expert advice for handling scary scenarios behind the wheel:How to drive down a flight of stairsHow to pee in the car while stuck in trafficHow to bail out of a car at high speeds. . . and more survival strategies that fit in your glove compartment.