The Ultra Big Sleep
NEW! Author preferred definitive edition.
BOOK 2 of the “UNION OF WORLDS” Trilogy …
Sequel to The Ultra Thin Man, this SF noir thriller features two detectives battling aliens and underworld drug lords in a showdown for control of the Union of Worlds amidst a search against all odds for lost family.
Dave Crowell is a hero of the eight worlds of the Union, but he doesn’t want fame or fortune. These days he just wants to run his private detective business with his alien partner Tem Forno and forget about the Ultras, the mysterious aliens that attacked the Union, then vanished.
But when a client’s husband turns up dead under mysterious circumstances, Crowell knows the Ultras have not gone away. With the help of an alien who shows him the concept of shared memory, he uncovers fragments of his past life that might lead to his missing father. When it becomes clear that Crowell’s past also contains the information he needs to save the Union, he and his partner are caught up in a conspiracy beyond understanding and pulled into an underworld drug war spanning multiple worlds.
With the crisis deepening, Crowell must learn the answer to the biggest question of all: Where are the Ultras?
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“Science-fiction mysteries are hardly new (Isaac Asimov was writing them years ago), nor are detective stories set in exotic earthly locales all that rare anymore either. But Patrick Swenson’s interplanetary Ultra novels with their eight worlds, their alien Helks and Memors, and their vast cataclysmic stakes in the hands, here, of a fallible human-Helk duo, raise the ante in the long SF mystery story in astonishing, fully satisfying ways. Pick up THE ULTRA BIG SLEEP and hold on to your molecules; they’re about to be shaken and stirred in ways you can never imagine: a light-speed, stand-alone noir follow-up to Swenson’s admirable debut novel, THE ULTRA THIN MAN.” —Michael Bishop, author of BRITTLE INNINGS.
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“THE ULTRA BIG SLEEP combines ultra big world building with an ultra fast moving plot. Sleep will be the last thing on your mind. An impressive sequel.” —Ted Kosmatka, author of THE FLICKER MEN
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“Patrick Swenson’s deft touch with complex themes of interstellar noir resonate in THE ULTRA BIG SLEEP. With mystery, danger, and intrigue on every shore, detective Dave Crowell is back and faced with new challenges. THE ULTRA BIG SLEEP again showcases Swenson’s skills with pacing that reveal those dark corners that exist when everyone thinks they’re safe. A great ride!” —Fran Wilde, author of UPDRAFT.
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“The alien Ultras were driven off in the first book in this series, or were they? One of the protagonists this time suspects that their influence lingers on Earth and that they have not abandoned their plans. Another is still trying to recover his lost memories, which might hold vital clues. And a third is off to another planet to try to gain further intelligence. Collectively they stumble on a secret so big it cannot be contained in a single universe. This is a blend of noir detective with futuristic conspiracy, and while I thought the first book was somewhat better, this was pretty good as well.” —Don D’Ammassa, CRITICAL MASS
Original Fairwood cover from 2016:
