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Tag: wild west

The Wanderer speaks: Audiobook coming soon!

Listen up, partner: I’m excited to announce an upcoming audiobook edition of my award-winning Dystopian Western novel, The Wanderer and the New West. The audio version will be performed by voice actor James Sasser and produced by Findaway Voices.

Yessir, I’ve heard the growl of the Wanderer and can report Mr. Sasser’s take on the voice is dead-on. You’re going to want to hear this!

Recording is now in progress. This modern-day “book on tape” will be digitally available through Audible, Apple, Google Play and many other stores where audiobooks are sold. I can’t give you a set release date just yet, but keep your ears attuned to this blog (or subscribe to my newsletter) for an update in the coming months.

This will be my first audiobook, and I’m thrilled to reach a new audience with my words. There are many who primarily listen to books, so it’s great to be able to make my novel more accessible. For those who have already read the book, I hope the audio version will make a cool complement.

The cover for The Wanderer and the New West

The Wanderer and the New West follows a rogue vigilante who seeks redemption in a lawless, near-future America that fully protects the rights of armed citizens to stand their ground. When a marksman known as the Wanderer opens war against injustice in the state of Arizona, his violent actions attract the attention of journalist Rosa Veras, writer of a subversive blog about America’s return to the Wild West.

Named to Kirkus Reviews‘ Best Books of 2018The Wanderer and the New West won gold for Dystopia in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Awards and best Western Fiction in the 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards.

Click here for a free (written-word) preview of The Wanderer and the New West.

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Kirkus Lauds ‘First-Rate Action Narrative’ in Adam Bender’s The Wanderer and the New West

The venerable Kirkus Reviews acclaimed The Wanderer and the New West as a “tight, thoughtful work” with “first-rate action narrative” in a starred review of my new novel (paperback available here).

The Kirkus Star is reserved for “books of exceptional merit,” so this is a big honor! The star also means my book will be considered for the Kirkus 2018 prize.

Here’s an excerpt from Kirkus Reviews:

The author’s new novel might be summed up by a line from Rosa’s editorial: “Sometimes it feels like America is spinning in an opposite direction from the planet Earth.” As real-life America spins out of alignment with other nations’ gun-control laws, he critiques its obsession with the Second Amendment and shows how it could threaten to shred the nation’s true founding principles. For example, a mayor replies to a sheriff’s complaints of lawlessness with “the government hasn’t made laws for years!” Ironically, Bender packages his message in a first-rate action narrative, filled with the sort of violence that has attracted gun lovers to pop-culture icons like Rambo and Dirty Harry for decades. In one cinematic scene, for instance, a gang member meets his end when “thunder cracked, and blood burst out the back of his skull.” Such indulgent moments of machismo are balanced by superior characterization, particularly of the Wanderer’s sidekick, Kid Hunter, and 12-year-old bandit Lindsay. The fact that the Wanderer still wears his wedding band and is haunted by the ghost of a woman named Helen connects to a complex, satisfying origin story that includes Breck Ammunition itself. Throughout, Bender proves to be an instructive novelist, challenging American readers with basic scenarios that could very well come to pass: “when you leave the house, you’re checking for your wallet, your keys, your phone, and your gun. Like these are equally essential things for the day ahead.”

A tight, thoughtful work that has much to offer readers on both sides of the gun control debate.

Kirkus previously raved about my first two novels, We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. However, The Wanderer is my first book to earn the coveted Kirkus Star.

But I really want to know what you think! So, to celebrate the Kirkus review and five-star reviews from Readers’ Favorite critics, I’ve decided to let loose the Wanderer a little early!

You can order the paperback right now on Amazon. You can also get the eBook edition (EPUB) from Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, Scribd and Smashwords. A Kindle version will be available in a few days.

When you’re finished, please leave your own review at the store where you purchased the book and on Goodreads. Thanks for your support!

 

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The Wanderer’s Cover Revealed! Gunning for Unlawful Readers in February 2018

The Wanderer is coming to bring New West justice to a town near you! My trigger finger has been itchin’ to get this fine dystopian-western novel into readers’ hands. Well, that time’s almost here, and I have the first evidence!

Allow me to present a staggering shot to the senses, the cover for The Wanderer and the New West by artist Ben Mcleod!

The cover for The Wanderer and the New West
The Wanderer and the New West — Cover by Ben McLeod.

This ain’t your grandfather’s Western. With elected leaders rushing to loosen laws and get more guns into Americans’ hands, this adventure need not take place in the past because the Wild West is coming back! In the way that We, The Watched and Divided We Fall analyzed the real issue of government surveillance, The Wanderer and the New West takes on gun culture in the United States and where things could be heading.

But enough of my peddling! When can you read it?

The Wanderer and the New West will be released February 4, 2018 in paperback and eBook editions.

But wait! You can pre-order the digital eBook version today on Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, Smashwords and more fine online retail establishments! Keep your eyes peeled for more information soon on how you can order the hard copy.

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