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Front cover by Jade,
New 2008 jacket.
NARC: EQUINOX
by Mel Keegan
ISBN: 0-9750884-0-8.
348pp
cover by Jade
Price:
US$23.99
US$9.95(eBook)
 
Read the first 10% of this novel online!
READER ALERT / CAVEAT: the sample readings offered here encompass about the first 10% of these works, and they're uncensored, unabridged. If you will be disturbed by candid descriptions of same-gender romance, or by realistic violence, please don't download! These samples are not intended for younger readers. By clicking to open these documents, you agree that you are of age in your local jurisdiction; you know what you are about to read; and the material will not disturb you ... 'nuff said.
Any "content warning" to readers?
Anti-drug war, related themes, realistic violence, frank description of same-gender relationships.
PUBLISHING HISTORY:
Cover art by Nicholas Hoare
1992/2000 GMP Edition
Three editions:
gmp printing: May 1993, ISBN: 0-85449-200-3; Dream-Craft edition: May 2003.
Lulu.com issue, 2008.
IN PRINT?
The GMP original and Millivres reprint - no. The DreamCraft Unabridged edition - yes.
(The GMP and Millivres editions might be availble on eBay for ridiculous prices. Please don't pay US$400 for the original version! It was so heavily cut, once you've read the 'real' one, from DreamCraft, you'll never go back.)
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The second NARC book, direct sequel to DEATH'S HEAD.
Angel — a lethal synthetic drug so pervasive and deadly that it has built empires and torn down worlds. Equinox Industries — the commercial monopoly mining the gas giant, Zeus — is challenged by a growing faction for its environmental record, and suspected of manufacturing Angel. Enter Kevin Jarrat and Jerry Stone, joint captains in the paramilitary NARC force which is at war with the Angel syndicates, and lovers whose minds have been bonded together. In their second action-packed adventure, the heroes of DEATH'S HEAD need their empathic powers as well as the [23rd] Century's tchnological wizardry to outwit their corporate enemies
 The NARC page
Reader reviews of this title
Read the opening segment online!
(Note: see our caveat.)
PRAISE FOR DEATH'S HEAD:
"A powerful futuristic thriller" — Capital Gay.
"Unputdownable" — Him.
Reader reviews for this novel are online at Amazon, and of course on the site here (visit our Reader Reviews page. (You can post your own comments to this site via the Readers Review page. Please note that this is a "moderated forum," where comments will be monitored, and may be edited prior to posting to prevent burned fingers and trodden toes!)
SEE ALSO
   
Mel Keegan comments on EQUINOX
Here I am back in one of my favourite universes, with a whole new world to explore. This one was massive fun — much more so than the first book, because since the characters and background had already been establisheed the year before I was able to launch right into the plot. When this one was written the intention was for the NARC books to become a series. I had ideas for at least four more! Unfortunely, GMP's troubles were about to begin, and Jarrat and Stone went back on the shelf along with so many other projects (HELLGATE among them). I'd always hoped GMP's situation would improve over time, but in fact the reverse came to pass, and at this point (April '03), if not for my relationship with the South Aussie multimedia studio DreamCraft, I'd be looking for a publisher, like the majority of the writers who have found themselves left behind as GMP winds down. The good news is that DreamCraft came to the rescue — and Jarrat and Stone books are once again in the offing, just as surely as the HELLGATE series! I confess, I love Jarrat and Stone unconditionally. Once or twice I've been asked, which is my favorite of the two characters. Please. Don't make me choose. I can't. EQUINOX and FORTUNES OF WAR were on simultaneous contracts, and both contracts were signed and sealed on the basis of the synposes for these two books ... this situation shows in the way I left EQUINOX at the end of the book. It's open ended, not tied off in any way. I expected to be coming back for a third waltz around this particular galaxy! However, it looks like being about eleven years "between drinks" ... which is to say, yes, there is a third NARC book and it could be a reality in 2004. Much depends on the success encountered by DreamCraft along the rocky road of promoting my work. (Hint hint: guys, pass the word along!)
If you have the original GMP edition, do you need this one?
Only if you're a "purist" about your literature, or a completionist regarding your collection. Both the text and the cover are different, though the text of EQUINOX has merely been updated in two ways, both fairly subtle.
First, the DreamCraft edition is much more error-free than the GMP edition. Numerous typographical errors which were missed in the old issue have been remedied here, and the result is a smoother narrative. (GMP did not have a spotless track record when it came to copy editing, this is no secret. However, DreamCraft has the resources to be more thorough).
Second (and more importantly), Mel Keegan has reviewed the prior, published copy, and has "tweaked" the text where necessary to update the technology. The NARC books were written over a decade ago and some terms are now obsolete; also, various high-tech which was borderline science fiction in 1990 is now common on the street, and the book needed a subtle revision. This has been done, rendering the DreamCraft edition of EQUINOX superior, textually, to the 1991/92 original (published in '93).
Also, it is our intention to "pick up" the reprints of the Mel Keegan books as the old titles go out of print at GMP, so DEATH'S HEAD will eventually be reissued in series-volume with EQUINOX and the forthcoming SCORPIO. Purists and completionists may like to h
ave their collections in-volume ... and remember, books shipped from DreamCraft are all signed by Mel!
THE NARC BACKSTORY (from the jacket of the first (GMP) edition of DEATH'S HEAD):
On the high-tech worlds of the 24th Century, the lethal designer drug Angel has become an epidemic disease. Kevin Jarrat and Jerry Stone are joint captains in the paramilitary NARC force sent to combat the Death's Head drug syndicate that controls the vast spaceport city of Chell. Under the NARC code of non-involvement each of the two friends hides his deeper desire for the other. When Stone is captured on the urban battlefield and forced into Angel addiction, Jarrat's love for him is his only chance for survival ... but the price is that their minds will remain permanently linked in an empathic bonding.
   
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