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Subatomic books are available as FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS:
eBook, mp3 audiobook, podcast, or chapter by email. Buy the paper edition if you enjoy the book or prefer a hard copy.
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The long-awaited new series from the co-creator of The Secret World Chronicle (with Mercedes Lackey).
In the Portland area? Join the author and the Golden Greats for a funky book release party, November 10th.
Read an interview with the author.
Crixus Oraan is a water artesan, an engineer who builds aqueducts and piping for bathhouses and mansions in the empire of Rond (which bears a resemblance to our own Roman Empire). His guild has entrusted him with a large sum of gold to establish a branch in the up-and-coming coastal town of Restia. In a misguided effort to win enough gold to buy a lavish house for his new fiancé Kharrina, he loses the guild’s gold in a card game.
A shady sea captain present at the game—and possibly responsible for fleecing him—offers to sneak him off to the wild and mysterious continent of Minq. Afraid to lose his status in society for his crime, he agrees, hoping to gain back the gold he lost and compensate the guild back in Rond.
In this first volume in the bold new Aqua Pura Trilogy, Crixus finds employment with the Lamiae of Nistru, a cruel society where those at the top bathe in the lifeblood of those on the bottom. Will his conscience allow him to finish the job?
By turns dark, comedic, erotic and thrilling, The Bloodbaths is a book that transcends genre to stand on its own.
"Steve Libbey gives
the ‘sword-and-sandal’ epic
a kick in the tunic and propels it into
the gestalt of the 21st century, with an everyman
hero whose brains triumph over brawn."
—Mercedes Lackey
"The Bloodbaths is a journey to a place where both blood and water run sacred. Libbey’s writing is startling, inviting the reader to a world rife with brigands, pirates and civil engineers—a book destined to find a place in the common mythology."
—Sou MacMillan, author of Chrysanthemum and Shallow Empire
The Aqua Pura Trilogy was born out of my frustration at the state of fantastic literature. Much of it appeared to be driven by risk-adverse marketing departments and accountants, thus the preponderance of Tolkienesque and Star-Warsesque soap operas. None of this interested me as a reader, and eventually the game of "you know what would be cool?" coalesced into a book.
I'm intrigued by the struggles of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. In Crixus' case, he creates these circumstances himself by exercising poor judgment in a moment of weakness; how he hopes to overcome his dilemma provides me many opportunities to follow the path of an everyman through dire tests of character.
Some folks have asked, "why a plumber?" The answer is simple. Civil engineers were the cutting edge of science in ancient times, applying mathematics and physics in the real world under the sponsorship of egomaniacal ruling elites. And that right there makes for good stories.
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Meet the
author
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Read the complete novel as a printable, screen-friendly PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
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Read the complete novel as a Rich Text File suitable for mobile phones and devices.
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Subscribe to the podcast of The Bloodbaths through iTunes or another RSS reader.
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Share the wealth!
Subatomic Books releases novels under a Creative Commons license which permits you to share and distribute the novels to your friends and colleagues for free, as long as you give credit to the author (and a link to the website). Try before you buy is the wave of the future for the publishing industry, and we're excited to be able to participate in the revolution.
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