Just a quick little announcement at the request of a friend.

Years ago, Steve Diamond decided to pitch a special edition product to his friend (and now podcast co-host and coauthor), Larry Correia. Larry has a particularly awesome series, which currently consists of a trilogy and some short stories, known as The Grimnoir Chronicles. The elevator pitch for that one is X-Men set in an alternate history 1930s. It’s historical fantasy where the magic operates like superpowers, with everyone who has magic having an innate ability for one particular kind of magic (though you find out that limitation isn’t all it appears to be). It’s an absolutely fantastic story in a high-action noir setting with an unforgettable cast of characters.

Well, Steve wanted to publish a special-edition, limited run version of the trilogy. He sourced extremely high-quality paper, got some awesome covers from the European editions not released in the US, and even got fancy cases to protect each novel. I even had a minor hand in helping to confirm the Japanese lettering was accurate, because I was working a few blocks from the Japanese consulate in DC at the time (which means that if there’s a problem with it after all, it’s my fault, not Steve’s).

There were two major setbacks, though. First, the printer went out of business . . . after Steve had already paid for the printing run. Then, as he was trying to source that high-quality paper again, the lockdowns hit. It took years to get back on track. I did get my first copy, though. Here’s proof:

Now, though, Steve is about to ship my copy of Spellbound, the second book in the trilogy, as the traycases for the books have arrived.

This project is still in the red for him, though, thanks to those two setbacks (and especially the first one). He’s hoping more people will buy the books. You can check them out using this grim and very noir link.

If my opinion holds anything for you, this series is absolutely worth having in a special edition, even if you just pick the less-expensive options. You can try them out in regular editions without awesome covers first if you want (please note this is an Amazon Affiliate link; but if you’re an ebook person I highly recommend buying direct from the publisher even though I won’t get the commission on those sales).

In addition, the audio for the series is truly excellent; I’m a narrator snob, so when I say I hear those character voices in my head when I read the printed word, it’s high praise. If you like audiobooks, you owe it to yourself to at least listen to the first book for Faye alone as she grows from an innocent farmgirl to the most cheerful assassin you’ll ever see take on a whole airship of ruthless killers. That’s not a spoiler, that’s incentive. It’s one of the best fight scenes I’ve ever read — or been read, because it’s even better in audio.

Larry Correia has some truly amazing novels, but the world of Grimnoir is my favorite of his settings and has my two top favorite characters he’s penned. I highly recommend picking up the fancy version.

I’ll close out with the pictures Steve posted of all three traycases and the two printed books (book three isn’t back from the printers). I’m looking forward to this. My fancy copy of Hard Magic looks very lonely all by itself.