Subterranean Press has released the following:

We’re deep in production on Robert McCammon’s upcoming historical thriller, The Providence Rider, which means that praise is starting to roll in. We’re only too happy to share the good words with you.From Joe R. Lansdale:
Wow, McCammon is back with a vengeance, and he’s riding high with The Providence Rider. Historical, strange, creepy, and engaging as all of McCammon’s work is. I highly recommend it.

From William Browning Spencer:
I just finished reading The Providence Rider. It may be the best of the series so far. Beginning with Speaks the Nightbird, Robert McCammon’s only credible competition is Robert McCammon. As is the case, I suspect, with most lifetime readers, I’m somewhat jaded, less likely to be bowled over by a book. But reading The Providence Rider created a feeling akin to what I experienced reading Kidnapped or A Princess of Mars when I was a kid.

From Famous Monsters of Filmland:
The Providence Rider is an absolutely brilliant historical thriller that will keep you turning the pages at a feverish pace as Mr. McCammon takes you along on a grand adventure full of action, intrigue, violence, love and friendship [The Providence Rider] contains the best of what I liked about the first three books, while adding substance and depth to Matthew, and introducing us to some new and interesting characters that I will be looking forward to getting to know better in future tales.

From Horror Drive-In:
In The Providence Rider, Corbett is launched quite literally into his most exotic adventure yet. Already targeted by the nefarious Emperor of Crime, Professor Fell, Corbett is taken against his wishes to an island where the Doctor reigns supreme. Though Fell has previously marked Corbett for death, he now needs the young problem solver to help him with some of his own troubles What makes this series work so, other than McCammon’s flawless depiction of the past and the exquisite language he conjures it up with, is the basic decency of Matthew Corbett. The young detective is intelligent, tenacious, honorable, and simply a good human being. Yet no man can face the evils Corbett faces in these books and remain wholly innocent.

On the production end of things, we’re doing quite well. The signature pages are in hand, while Vincent Chong maintained the high marks he set with the art from Mister Slaughter. (You can see full color and black-and-white examples at The Providence Rider page). Rick McCammon is taking his final proofing pass through the book. We are set to publish, right on time, in May.

Posted on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 12:11 pm.

Subterranean Press has released the following: 

This is our big one for 2012. Robert McCammon’s latest Matthew Corbett historical thriller, The Providence Rider.For the first time in the Corbett novels, the signed, limited hardcover will feature a long additional story about Matthew, one that cannot be reprinted for two years following its debut in our edition. We’ll also have signed copies of the trade hardcover available, though not nearly so many as we did for his last novel, The Five.

Here are the full details:

The Providence Rider is the fourth standalone installment in the extraordinary series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett, professional problem solver. The narrative begins in the winter of 1703, with Matthew still haunted by his lethal encounter with notorious mass murderer Tyranthus Slaughter. When an unexplained series of explosions rocks his Manhattan neighborhood, Matthew finds himself forced to confront a new and unexpected problem. Someone is trying—and trying very hard—to get his attention. That someone is a shadowy figure from out of Matthew’s past: the elusive Professor Fell. The professor, it turns out, has a problem of his own, one that requires the exclusive services of Matthew Corbett.

The ensuing narrative moves swiftly and gracefully from the emerging metropolis of New York City to Pendulum Island in the remote Bermudas. In the course of his journey, Matthew encounters a truly Dickensian assortment of memorable, often grotesque, antagonists. These include Sirki, the giant, deceptively soft-spoken East Indian killer, Dr. Jonathan Gentry, an expert in exotic potions with a substance abuse problem of his own, the beautiful but murderous Aria Chillany, and, of course, the master manipulator and Emperor of Crime on two continents, Professor Fell himself. The result is both an exquisitely constructed novel of suspense and a meticulous recreation of a bygone era.

This signed, limited edition of this generous volume also contains a new, utterly compelling Matthew Corbett adventure, “Death Comes for the Rich Man.” This 11,500-word novella, which has never before been published and will not be reprinted anywhere else for at least two years, takes place between the events of Mister Slaughter and The Providence Rider. In the course of this startling tale, Matthew is approached by a wealthy, dying man with an urgent, if impossible, request: to keep Death itself at bay. Filled with danger, mystery, and an almost tangible sense of place, these superbly crafted narratives represent Robert McCammon at his best and historical fiction at its finest and most developed.

Important note: We had a great time hosting Rick McCammon here at the SubPress warehouse, where he signed the better part of 2000 copies of The Five. For The Providence Rider, we wanted to make signed copies available to his fans once again, but make it a bit easier on Rick, both travel- and wrist-wise. There will only be 1000 signed (uninscribed) trade copies of The Providence Rider available. Please get your order in early if you’d like to snag one.

Lettered: 26 signed, deluxe bound copies, housed in a custom traycase
Limited: 474 signed numbered copies, bound in leather, with the bonus novella, artwork not in the trade hardcover, and bound in a custom slipcase
Trade (unsigned): Fully cloth bound hardcover copies
Trade (signed): Fully cloth bound hardcover copies, signed by the author
  • The map that Robert McCammon references when he’s writing about Matthew Corbett’s adventures can be found on the new Maps page. A map of New England from 1708 can also be found there.

 

  • A larger version of the scan of a 1702 issue of The Earwig, recently unearthed by Subterranean Press, can be found on the Multimedia page.
  • Robert McCammon will be participating in this year’s Read Alabama! program at Bevill State Community College in Jasper, AL, along with other Alabama authors.Daily Mountain Eagle article about Read Alabama!On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 4 PM, Robert McCammon will give a brief talk and will sign copies of Mister Slaughter and his previous novels. The event will take place at Bevill Auditorium on the campus of Bevill State Community College. Admission is free to the presentation and to the preceding reception at 3:30 PM.
  • The first full-blown review of Robert McCammon’s Mister Slaughter has been posted by Mark Seiber at The Horror Drive-In. Mark loved it: 

    “But there’s more. Far more. McCammon provides numerous subplots and the criminal conspiracy Corbett encountered in The Queen of Bedlam is still afoot. There’s also a sinister bloody fingerprint on a playing card that still holds a dire portent for the young detective. Matthew’s relationship with young Berry is further explored and numerous other colorful characters that readers became acquainted with in The Queen of Bedlam are featured in Mister Slaughter.”To sum up this long, rambling piece short, Robert McCammon is back with a new book, a new publisher and the future looks good for him. As well as his readers. Don’t pass up Mister Slaughter and if you haven’t read Speaks the Nightbird and The Queen of Bedlam, you’d better start reading. Fiction doesn’t get any better than these books.”

    Other comments include:

     

    • Brian Keene via Twitter: “I finished Robert McCammon’s forthcoming @subpress book last night. Wonderful read! One of his 3 best novels.” 
    • Wayne C. Rogers via the McCammon Facebook page: 

      I got lucky. I just finished reading an advanced copy of Mister Slaughter and thought it was actually better than the first two “Matthew Corbett” novels, and I loved them. I really didn’t want this novel to end, knowing that it might… be two or more years before the fourth one in the series comes out.All I’m going to say right now is that if you like the character of Hannibal Lector in the Thomas Harris novels, then you’re going to love Mister Slaughter. Mister Slaughter is one of the most evil characters I’ve come across in fiction. To deal with him, Matthew will have to look deep within himself to find the strength to fight a battle that he may end up losing, the prize being his life. This book is definitely Robert McCammon at his best. This is also a novel that you will want to keep in hardcover and as a collector’s item.

       

    • Mark Justice (Pod of Horror) via Twitter: “Currently reading Mister Slaughter, and it’s the best thing I’ve read in months.”

     

  • Mark Justice’s full review of Mister Slaughter will soon be available on HorrorWorld. Here’s an excerpt from his review: 

    “Once again, McCammon manages to organically insert period detail without making the facts seem forced. And while delivering a thriller that could stand alongside any contemporary bestseller, the author slyly addresses many of the era’s social concerns, including slavery, poverty and health care.”For those readers who have yet to try one of the Corbett novels because they’re not exactly in the horror genre, I urge you to reconsider. Mister Slaughter is one of the most satisfying nail-biters you’ll read all year.”

     

  • Mister Slaughter is on schedule to be released in January 2010. Order it today from Subterranean Press!