Life is Hard

It's been nearly two years since we've been able to savor a new Allan Guthrie novel. With the forthcoming publication of Hard Man, the drought is finally at an end. American readers will have to wait until June to snag a copy, but those lucky fucks in the UK will have the Polygon edition in their hands within a few weeks. (Even luckier fucks, such as Secret Dead Blog, were able to score an advance edition.)

Along with Hard Man, of course, comes a sweet little media blitz for Al. You've got Sunshine on all fronts, such as...

Audio: Namely, the latest installment of Behind the Black Mask: Mysery Writers Revealed. That's right: Clute and Edwards strap Sunshine to their operating table of the mind, and, with their usual surgeon-like precision, they dig beneath the skin to unearth many gems. (Including: "Somebody actually described the book [Hard Man] as being a love story between a man and a dog.")

Print: Dig today's Evening News in Edinburgh, which reveals what we've suspected all along--Sunshine's a softy.

Video: Now I haven't been able to access this, but if you go to Meet the Author you'll be able to watch Sunshine in glorious Quicktime. (Or Real Player, if that's your thing, you pinko bastard.)

Coming soon: Allan Guthrie breakfast cereals, action figures, plush lovies and low-fat yogurt. And if they aren't coming soon, they damn well should be.

Seriously, though, all of the hoopla wouldn't be worth a bowl of lukewarm haggis if Hard Man didn't bring the goods. Let me tell you right now: Al's delivered the most finely-muscled, shock-filled, page-turning thriller I've read in years. About halfway through this sucker (and I refuse to spoil it, so don't ask), you're going to be begging Jesus for mercy. Quite literally. Order a copy now, or Secret Dead Blog will be very displeased.