The next instalment in the fantastic world of VIRULENTBLURB has been announced – and will be published by rEvolution SF, an imprint of SpectralPress.

Kneel Downe’s successful mind-melding world has been thrilling readers for several years (you can read reviews of previous books here) and with VIRELLAS, there will be more information and clues to what has occurred in the fractured universe of the ‘Blurb, and hints at what is to come…

A collection of short stories, VIRULENTBLURB: VIRELLAS will contain a number of tales:

EMILY. England, 1974 – Glam Rock rules the airwaves. The summer is in full bloom but the girl with the mousey hair is troubled. Why is there a spaceman in her wardrobe and a wolf under her bed? Who is the mysterious STARMAN who whispers to her at night through the old radio, teaching her the songs? ALL the songs. And who is the girl in the mirror, the one with bright red hair and purple eyes? The girl who says her name is Amelia?

QUANTUM. Captain Sirius Quantum is in charge of the SS Shardsong, the last of the great VEILSHIPS, cast adrift for a thousand years, and maintained by a crew who cannot remember who they were before coming aboard. All they know is that they are searching for something important, something that can change all creation. But they are not alone: a darkness is chasing them. A hungry darkness. And why, when he tries to sleep, is Sirius haunted by a single phrase – the EVERLANDS?

DELIVERANCE. Hidden deep within the city in solitary confinement inside THE COPPER CASCADE holding facility sits the greatest of this world’s super beings. He is remembering the Purge, when they came for his kind, as well as the days before and after THE FALL. He alone knows how his kindred came to be born, how the world was broken, and just what is yet to come. A storm is coming – a great storm.

GESTALT. Within the timeless fluidity of the VEIL the FIVE WHO WOULD BE FLESH are searching for the reality that broke the ALL. Eradicating each timeline one by one, and rewriting history. But there is a traitor in their midst – one of them is beginning to question if mankind truly deserves to be exterminated.

LOBO. Another day, another drink and another case for DETECTIVE KURT LOBO the WOLF-SPLICED cop. Just who or what is the BONE EATER and why does the case foreshadow worse things to come? If there’s one thing Kurt hates more than technology and poets it’s an unsolved case.

PHOBOS. PHOBOS has been known by many names: THE KING OF THE RUINED CROWN, THE DARK ONE, THE MIRROR LORD, amongst many others. He has been trapped for eternity in reflective glass. But all mirrors are linked and PHOBOS has been to the very end of the ALL. He has even seen how it ends. Now he is trying to save humanity and mould history to his own ends. Tell me, can there ever be sympathy for the Devil?

VIOLET. For the last eighty years VIOLET SUICIDE’S MODSHOP has been the place to get your ANIMAL SPLICE, your LIVING INK TATTOO or your JACKPORTS of any size and material. However, Violet has a secret, hidden safely for decades in her basement. Now it’s time for them to come back for it. Knock, knock, Violet. Someone’s at the door.

JOSHUA. Joshua Knight is credited as being the father of the New Age. DEADBOXES, DREAMCAGES, NEEDLEMASKS and NOONIAN SPHERES all bear his mark. The wonder drug REGEN and advanced DROID intelligence were created with his estranged wife. And of course, The VEIL… that cursed, immersive, alternate reality. On the morning of THE FALL Joshua went missing. He has remained missing for fifty years.

All these stories, and possibly more, will be featured in VIRULENTBLURB: VIRELLAS.

The VIRULENTBLURB: VIRELLAS novella will mark Downe’s debut from a major publisher and points to bigger and more exciting times ahead. There’s never been a better time to catch up with this fascinating and twisted universe than now. You can purchase the earlier books here or in Kindle format here.

You can find him at @kneeldowne on Twitter and his universe at virulentblurb.com and read more about the upcoming book at http://spectralpress.co.uk/ and http://spectrralpress.wordpress.com/