Tag: books by Robert Chazz Chute

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Guess which apocalypse will kill you

There is an apocalypse coming no one talks about. Try to guess which end of the world scenario I’m not writing about before you get to the end of this post. My books will help you with the process of elimination.

  • Endemic (coming soon) is a nerdy and neurotic person combatting sociopaths while trying to survive a viral apocalypse.
  • Citizen Second Class is about poverty and starvation amid a climate catastrophe and greed.
  • AFTER Life is about artificial intelligence weaponizing medical technology to take over the world.
  • This Plague of Days is a zombie apocalypse (and other species evolving to take over the world).
  • The Night Man is about PTSD, societal failure, family drama, war, poverty, and regret.
  • Wallflower is a time travel novel about second chances after a lot of bad decisions.
  • The Dimension War Series is a coming-of-age story amid a war story.
  • Amid Mortal Words is about the loss of control and taking chances on a better future.
  • Brooklyn in the Mean Time is about vengeance, absolution, and redemption.
  • Robot Planet is about technological revolution and failure versus the human spirit.
  • The Hit Man Series is about violence, vengeance, and escape amid a broken America.
  • All Empires Fall is an anthology of five end-of-the-world stories and the common denominator is dealing with other people while everything falls apart.

Have you guessed the missing apocalypse yet?

Climate wars are a big deal, but I touched on that in Citizen Second Class. We could talk about the Misinformation War or new civil war scenarios, but Endemic has that covered. I dealt with extinction by killer asteroid in All Empires Fall. If you guessed the nuclear threat, Amid Mortal Words has that, too. You might have guessed the looming threat of antibiotic resistance. But, no, I’m thinking of something utterly devastating to the future of humanity. It’s close and almost no one ever talks about even beginning to deal with this extinction-level event.

The apocalypse that haunts me is this: In 60 years, Earth will have insufficient viable topsoil to grow 95% of all crops.

Read that last sentence again and ponder its significance. My kids will be alive for this. Coffee, bananas, and almonds will disappear first. Then everything else.

Sixty years and we aren’t dealing with the threat. There are no massive contingency plans. Unless helpful aliens are waiting to swoop in, no one is coming to rescue us. We’ll probably run out of soil before we run out of usable water, but it feels like it’s all a race to the end, doesn’t it?

So…call me Mr. Sunshine and read my books now, while you still can.

COMING THIS MONTH!

What happens when a pandemic never ends? Find out in Endemic.

Neurotic and nerdy, former book editor Ovid Fairweather is trapped in New York as everything falls apart.

All her life, she’s been a nail. To survive the viral apocalypse, she’ll have to become a hammer.

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The Voice in My Head

For reasons foreign and domestic, last year was my time off from publishing. However, I didn’t stop writing completely. My focus now is bringing Ovid Fairweather to the world stage. Who’s that, you ask? Ovid was an introverted, somewhat neurotic book editor in New York, in therapy but feeling stuck. In the rat race of life, she’d crashed against the wall. Then the virus came and kept on coming. As an evolving virus decimates New York, Ovid finds herself in Hell’s Kitchen on a collision course with a small group of privileged survivors determined to control everyone else. Hounded by regrets and quietly seething with anger, she’s certain she has no future. To deal with dictators, Ovid Fairweather is going to have to learn how to get tough, and quickly.

She’s among the unlikeliest of heroines, but if you know my work, you know I love unlikely protagonists. From This Plague of Days and The Dimension War to The Night Man and the Jesus Diaz series, no matter the genre, none of my main characters are what they seem at first glance. They aren’t born heroes. They stumble, fall, get up, and grow into their roles. If you loved Jaimie Spencer, the mute kid on the spectrum in This Plague of Days, you’ll love Ovid. As a book editor, she shares his obsession with words, but the angle on this new book is a little different. Ovid has a voice in her head that chains her to the regrets and pains of the past.

Like Ovid, the voice in my head is unkind. Many writers have an inner critic that thwarts their progress. The voice in my head swears a lot and constantly reminds me of every mistake, every insult, every time anyone underestimated me. That’s what I share with Ms. Fairweather: an eidetic memory for pain. For me, it’s an albatross. For Ovid, that voice might prove to be the source of her power. I’m working on the novel now. It’s called Endemic and it should be ready in a couple of months.

In the meantime, I have a book recommendation for you. An author friend of mine writes a blog I love called Skeptophilia. Today (Jan 26, 2020) Gordon Bonnet penned a piece that hit me between the eyes and scalded my brainpan. The Cost of Regret is a blog post about the science of the road not taken.

Gordon gives you a view of the mindscape: That voice in your head obsessed with regrets and alternative paths? That’s called counterfactual curiosity, and there’s a paper on that in the journal Psychological Science. If you could know what would have happened had you made different choices, are you sure you’d want to know? Even better, there’s a new book about that voice in our heads. Chatter, by Ethan Kross, analyzes the inner voice, but also delves into how to manage it, quiet it, or even harness it to better ends. I can’t wait to read it! (Thanks for the recommendation, Gordon!)

If you purchase Chatter through the link on Skeptophilia.com, you’ll also support a very worthy voice of reason in a chaotic world. Don’t forget to subscribe to Skeptophilia while you’re there.

Gordon Bonnet has written 17 books. Check out his fiction on his Amazon page here.

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My Top Five Books

Never ask a writer which is the best book they’ve written. That’s like demanding they choose their favorite child. It’s mean. However, gun to my head, here are my personal top five (and why):

This Plague of Days

The global pandemic begins with a killer flu that brings down civilization as we know it. You’re shown how our systems collapse in a very real-world scenario. (This is also my most popular series.)

It’s a slow burn as the virus continues to evolve. New species rise and things get weird. The supernatural toys with the survivors of the cull and our champion, Jaimie Spencer, is a radical departure from the usual heroes in the genre. He’s a selective mute on the spectrum whose special interest in dictionaries and Latin proverbs.

As battles between Good and Evil go, this is genre-bending. TPOD is complex and expansive. No red shirts!

The Night Man

Everyone who reads this prodigal son story loves it (but many haven’t read it). On a medical discharge from the Army, Ernest “Easy” Jack returns home to rural Michigan to train German Shepherds with his father. His high school sweetheart needs help. His dad’s on the shady side of a conspiracy involving dirty cops and a murderous real estate mogul.

The Night Man‘s plot is packed with action, but it’s Easy’s complex issues with war wounds, PTSD, and a checkered family history with his hometown which makes the story work on every level. If suspenseful thrillers are your thing, please do read this next.

Citizen Second Class

This makes my top five now because, though it’s set in a near-future dystopia, the story feels too relevant to what’s going on in the United States today. Kismet Beatriz comes from a military family but her nation has forgotten them. Democracy has collapsed and the hyper-wealthy (AKA the Select Few) have turned the Atlanta into a fortress.

Against a backdrop of food shortages, unemployment, secret police, and massive income disparity, Kismet must journey to New Atlanta. All she wants to do is feed her family, but fate has bigger plans for her.

Despite the grim premise, Citizen Second Class has funny and hopeful notes. The book I’m writing now is in the same world, earlier in the timeline. The next novel is darker, more like Crime and Punishment set at the end of the world. I’m often cynical and paranoid. Given the events of 2020, I wasn’t cynical and paranoid enough.

Amid Mortal Words

Man, this was fun to write, and it’s fun to read! A powerful book falls into the hands of an Air Force officer. Passages from the book can punish the guilty and work wonders for the innocent. This one book could set the world right. It might also condemn humanity to destruction.

This is twisty and fun, but readers often find it thought-provoking. If you’ve ever dreamed of being king or queen for a day, Amid Mortal Words is your next binge read.

AFTER Life

Readers often identify me as a zombie writer, but I only have two zombie trilogies. This Plague of Days was the first. After TPOD, I thought I’d done everything I could do in the genre that would feel fresh. Then along came AFTER, and I received new inspiration.

Artificial Facilitation Therapy for Enhanced Response was supposed to be a medical miracle based in nanotechnology. Weaponized, we get zombies.

The twist: The AI infecting our brains is evolving and wants to understand and improve humans. The action is non-stop, but underneath it all the infected are still conscious humans, horrified at what they are forced to do.

This Plague of Days is a supernatural horror epic. AFTER Life is the journey where science fiction curves right as humanity goes awry. It ends up in a fascinating place at the end of the trilogy. Love it! I hope you will, too.

~ I am Robert Chazz Chute. I write killer crime thrillers and suspenseful apocalyptic epics. My faves might not be identical to yours and that’s okay. I’m proud of all my work.

Also, I must add that I love my children equally and that fact drives them both crazy.

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What to Read in the Apocalypse

THE NIGHT MAN COVER

As we get through this pandemic together (and apart), I anticipated a bump in sales of my apocalyptic stuff. I write crime thrillers, too, but I’m better known for the sci-fi about our world’s end. AFTER Life is about a weaponized plague. In This Plague of Days, the first book is about where we are now: governments struggling to cope, systems breaking down, and people sheltering in place.


Though apocalyptical stories strike a chord with many readers, having “plague” in my titles has not boosted sales as expected. Those in isolation have more time to read, but perhaps they’re doing other things. Maybe they’re sleeping and eating more,  bingeing Netflix or focusing on feel-good stories. A startling number of people seem to have taken up baking bread. Sure beats watching the news until depression kicks in. 

I totally understand the impulse to retreat into comfort food and comfort media. When my kids were little and I was a stay-at-home dad, we watched iCarly together. I have a rather dark worldview. iCarly was a kids’ show with low stakes in which everything would always work out just fine. No threats, no death, no worries. Silliness can be an antidote to bad moods in tough times. A couple of nights ago, we watched Nailed It. It’s a show where amateur bakers are set up to fail with sometimes hilarious results. The show titled “Failure” was great for a laugh. I needed that.

With my palate thus cleansed, I went back to reading Weep by Eoin Brady, a zombie novel set in Ireland. I bought it because (a) I find the disaster genre interesting, and (b) Contagion, the prequel to This Plague of Days I’m writing, is also set in Ireland. Weep is clever. Mr. Brady writes well, with an elegant descriptive power that isn’t overdone. I suspect he’s worked in the hospitality industry for the little details that give his novel such an authentic context. One of the main characters reminds me of a prepper friend of mine, too. If zombies are your thing, I highly recommend Weep.

I wouldn’t enjoy stories of such doom and gloom as a steady diet, of course. (People who know me well would say, “Even Rob wouldn’t enjoy stories of such doom and gloom as a steady diet.”) Variety in all we consume makes for better nutrition for the body and mind.


That’s one of the reasons AFTER Life, Citizen Second Class, Amid Mortal Words and This Plague of Days contain hopeful notes (to varying degrees). I’m not interested in false hope or happily-ever-afters that don’t ring true. I prefer satisfying endings that linger with readers. And jokes. Surprise and defying mundane expectations is key to a good plot. It’s also required for a solid joke. In the brain tickle business, it’s fun to make your reader’s mind bounce around its bone case. Even amid utter mayhem, well-placed wit can take a story up to the next level. That’s a roller coaster ride readers want.

People read what they read for many reasons. Those reasons are often opaque to us. We simply like what we like. Recently, a kind reviewer included this note to her review of This Plague of Days, Season One:

One might ask why am I reading this book at this time. It’s like when I watched the “Exorcist” before going in for a job interview. My reality might have been scary had I not been prepared by scaring myself worse than a job interview. The series I know will be scarier than what I’m prepared to live through, should I survive this pandemic. Stay safe everyone.

If you feel the need to vary your media diet, please do so. It’s okay to protect your psyche and forego the news, for instance. Many of us finally have the time to get to our To-Be-Read piles. There’s plenty of room to enjoy all kinds of inky adventures. If you aren’t into end-of-the-world stories right now, check out The Night Man. Scary cover, sure. However, though it is not an unserious book, I packed a lot of jokes in there, too. Want a funny romp set in New York’s underworld in the ’90s? Try Brooklyn in the Mean TIme. There’s fun to be had in all kinds of escapes and we all need a break from existential dread, right?

Escapism comes in many forms. Enjoy what you enjoy.

Stay inside if you can.

Read what you want.

Love as much as possible.

~ Robert Chazz Chute writes science fiction, horror, and killer crime thrillers. cropped-Photo-Credit-to-David-Redding.jpg

 

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In the Works

Darkness Visible - High resolution

Holly Pop and I wrote three books together: Haunting Lessons, Death Lessons, and Fierce Lessons. I penned a fourth book in the series, Dream’s Dark Flight. Darkness Visible will complete the series. I’m looking forward to seeing how Tamara Smythe saves the world from monsters from another dimension.

That WIP is on the docket. First up will be This Plague of Days: Contagion. It’s a prequel to the TPOD trilogy that is set entirely in Ireland. I’m also working on a three-book paranormal series with author and podcast king Armand Rosamilia.

Crime thriller recommendation

Armand reached out this week to say how much he’s enjoying “Jesus 4” AKA Resurrection, particularly since there’s an appearance by his protagonist from his hit crime series, Dirty Deeds. It just occurred to me that Armand’s other huge series is Dying Days.  Dirty Deeds and Dying Days. Hm. Armand enjoys double Ds in his titles. That sounds on-brand.

If you dig crime novels, check out Dirty Deeds. The premise for his hitman is fresh and interesting. Think Dexter…with more kids and a whole lot of baseball cards.

Links:

Resurrection

Dirty Deeds

Dying Days

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Wanna see my blanket fort?

IMG_2103

The coffee shop (AKA the coffice) is no longer an option, of course. Freedom awaits, but relief shall not come until at least two full weeks after that longed-for goal: Vaccination Day!

I’m writing fiction and working on audiobooks in the blanket bunker. If you can manage it, I highly recommend a similar retreat. Failing that, pull blankets over your head and breathe through a hose. Crawl under the bed to cry. Hide under a friendly dog and whisper your deepest sins into his big floppy ears.

Then? Wait.

Then wait some more.

Patience.

Don’t binge on bad news all the time. Stay sane. Perform a kindness. Poke your head out a window and curse the distant, uncaring stars. Have a cookie. Have another cookie. Exercise by pounding a pillow and cursing. Works for me.

Today’s message is:

You will feel fear. You will feel grief. As the pandemic rages on, anger may grip you. I hope we live to feel gratitude for being spared.

Whatever you’re feeling, it’s valid.

Much love,

Robert