Noir Fatale

The silky note of a saxophone. The echoes of a woman’s high heels down a deserted asphalt street. Steam rising from city vents to cloud the street-lit air.  A man with a gun.  A dame with a problem . . . NOIR.  From the pulpy pages of Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s and 30s, through the film noir era of the 1940s, to today, noir fiction has lured many a reader and moviegoer away from the light and into the dark underbelly of society. Names such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain; titles like The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice . . . these have inhabited our collective consciousness for decades. Humanity, it seems, loves the dark. And within the dark, one figure stands out: that of the femme fatale. Here then Noir Fatale, an anthology containing the full spectrum of noir fiction, each incorporating the compelling femme fatale character archetype. From straightforward hardboiled detective story, to dark urban fantasy, to the dirty secrets of futuristic science fiction—all with a hard, gritty feel.   As Raymond Chandler said, “Down these mean streets, a man must walk who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” Because, as these stories prove, doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean you get the big bucks or the girl. But you do the right thing anyway. All new stories by Larry Correia Kacey Ezell Laurell K. Hamilton David Weber Sarah A. Hoyt Robert Buettner Alistair Kimble Griffin Barber MikeMassa Christopher L. Smith and Michael J. Ferguson Hinkley Correia Patrick M. Tracy Steve Diamond About Noir Fatale: "Marvelous is a good word to describe all of the stories in the book. . . . Noir Fatale is a book that will charm both noir fans, and general science fiction and fantasy readers. Correia and Ezell have created a captivating mix of stories."—The Galveston County Daily News “[A] wonderfully diverse collection of stories from a broad range of authors and it delivers in spades . . . It is a diverse and exciting slice of Noir and Fatale and a great read.”—SFRevu About Larry Correia and the Monster Hunter International series: “[E]verything I like in fantasy: intense action scenes, evil in...