David Agranoff

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About David Agranoff
David Agranoff lives and writes in San Diego California. He is an award-nominated author of Horror, bizarro, and Science Fiction mostly. His short story collection Screams from a Dying World was nominated for a wonderland award for best collection. His debut novel The Vegan Revolution With Zombies is a hilarious satire that received rave reviews and was even featured in the Journal of Animal Studies. He has a novella called "Punkupine Moshers of the Apocalypse" was featured in the Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade edited by Cameron Pierce. His novels have been published by several publishers include the Splatterpunk award-nominated eco-Apoclayse novel Ring of Fire, Punk Rock Ghost Story, and Flesh Trade co-written with Edward R. Morris. His most recent release is Goddamn Killing Machines from Clash Books.
He grew up in Bloomington Indiana while spending a few years in Syracuse NY, Portland Oregon he is back home in San Diego. Agranoff has been vegan for over twenty-five years and Straight Edge for even longer. He is co-host of the PKDickheads podcast that is focused on the work of author Philip K Dick and other classic new wave Science Fiction.
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Blog postThe World Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld
Hardcover, 524 pages Published May 2005 by Cambridge University Press I should have read this book a long time ago. The author Gavriel Rosenfeld is a former interview guest of Dickheads and when I had him on I didn’t have time to read this book first. He is a specialist in the history of the Third Reich. He also grew up in my hometown, our parents knew each othYesterday Read more -
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For a book written in 1963, this is a really interesting time for the life of this masterpiece. Sometimes the terms masterpiece or classic get thrown around and they don't apply, this book I think wou
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Audiobook, 304 pages
Published August 2019 by Simon Schuster Audio
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Length: 11 hrs and 34
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Blog postHow High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia NagamatsuHardcover, 304 pages Published January 18th 2022 by William Morrow
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Published February 2022 by Tor Nightfire In the sweet spot for my age, the first movie that I remember being a huge controversy upon release was The Last Temptation of Christ. If you were not witness to the media shit storm then you may not understand what the hell was the big deal? Certainly, as an adult, I understand how it happened, even if the why escapes me. Doesn’t matter the genre every once
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Blog postNoor by Nnedi OkoraforHardcover, 214 pages Published November 9th 2021 by Daw Books I have long been a fan of Nnedi Okorafor and have read several works at this point. While not as epic and sweeping as some of the other books in her canon, this is probably my favorite. Noor is a book of balance, simple in construction, but elaborate in theme. Meditative at times, and profound, but also filled with propulsive action. A novel of ideas and excellent chara
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Blog postStrange Adventures Written by Tom King
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Published December 2021 by DC Comics I am not a huge comic reader but at some point on Twitter, I saw the cover art for this graphic novel and was intrigued. I knew it was DC comics but they were invoking golden age sci-fi. I was curious I assumed He was a new character and not in the full DC universe. I have no idea the history of1 month ago Read more -
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Blog postBook Review: Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi
Hardcover, 336 pages Published January 2022 by Tordotcom
Why do you read Science Fiction? What is it that really draws you in? I could list many things that attract me. When I was a super young reader I was here for the spaceships, as an adult, my favorite thing in speculative fiction is the political stuff that challenges society. That is one reason why my favorite era of SF in the 20th century is from the New W
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A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events
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Blog postThou Good and Faithful by John Brunner. (as John Loxsmith)
First published in the march 1953 issue of Astounding magazine.
re-published here in the Now Then! 1965 collection that I have had unopened on my bookshelf for decades. I decided to read this after reading two books about Brunner and his work – The Modern Masters of Science Fiction biography by Jad Smith and the Happening worlds of John Brunner. It was my understanding after reading this it was John Brunner’s2 months ago Read more -
Blog postNight Terrors & Other Tales by Lisa Morton
Paperback, First, 281 pages Published September 2020 by Omnium Gatherum Lisa Morton is an important and beloved figure in the horror community, besides being the president of the Horror Writer’s Association for many years she is one of the world’s most knowledgeable Halloween experts. A pretty cool thing to be an expert in if you ask me. Those two things already make her cool, but ad to that she has written a bo
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Paperback, 50th Anniversary Edition, 193 pages Published November 14th 2017 by Penguin Classics (first published 1967) There are some books that are classics of the Science Fiction genre that transcend the era they were written in and feel timeless. Amazing works of fiction retain all the power they were written with even as decades passed. Oft
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Blog postThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, #759 Jan/Feb 2022
edited by Sheree Renée Thomas
Look I am not going to go super deep into each issue, but let me say how stoked to get these in the mail and you should too.
My favorite novelettes were Bone Broth by Karen Heulers and Prison Colony Optimization by Auston Habershaw. So let us start with Bone Broth, the Off-beat vibe hooked from the first moment. The story had a lived-in feel. The prose2 months ago Read more -
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Paperback, 168 pages Published September 28th 2021 by ECW Press
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Blog postThe Secret Skin by Wendy N. Wagner
Paperback, 102 pages
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Blog postKiss of Life: The Untold Saga of America's Last Outlaws by Gene O'Neill, Gord Rollo
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Published March 2021 by Omnium Gatherum
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Blog postAnthem by Noah Hawley
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Blog postBergdorf & Associates by Thomas C. Mavroudis
Paperback, 112 pages
Omnium Gatherumedia May 2021 I am sorta out of the business of reviewing books I know nothing about. For several years I wrote reviews for Monster librarian and I enjoyed getting random books by authors I knew nothing about. Many were first-time first authors and a few were not ready for prime time. Kate at Omnium Gatherum whose work I greatly respect sent me a couple of books, a few autho3 months ago Read more -
Blog postThe Feverish Stars by John Shirley
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Published March 3rd 2021
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Blog postCelestial Empire: The Emergence of Chinese Science Fiction by Nathaniel Isaacson
Paperback, 240 pages Published February 7th 2017 by Wesleyan University Press So the non-fiction reviews are always a little shorter, but I wanted to highlight some cool things about this book, which appears to be a repurposed Ph.D. paper by author Nathaniel Isaacson. He was a guest on Dickheads once so link at the bottom of this review. I really think that is a great epi
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Blog postOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin TarantinoMass Market Paperback, 400 pages Published June 29th 2021 by Harper Perennial
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Blog postFar from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson
Paperback, 384 pages Published October 26th 2021 by Orbit Tade Thompson has been on my reading list for a long time. I follow him on Twitter and generally meant to get here soon. As it so happens this novel was nominated for The PKD award just as I was starting to read it. I am sure months ago I saw what it was about and put a hold on it at the library. Thankfully I had no idea what the plot was when I sta
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Blog postThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November/December 2021 (F&SF #758) Edited by Sheree Renée Thomas
258 pages Published November 2021 by Spilogale, Inc.
Kinda decided against writing a full review. I just want to quickly write a note about why I am so happy to be a subscriber and my favorite things in this issue. I have read this magazine all my life off and on. Picking it up at the rack when stories by certain authors caught my intere3 months ago Read more -
Blog postThe Big Jump by Leigh BrackettPaperback, 128 pages Published 1967 by Ace Books (first Ace edition 1955, serialized in 1953) The legend goes that Hollywood director Howard Hawks read No from a Corpse a hard-boiled crime mystery and said “Get me this Brackett guy.” He was looking for a screenwriter to work on his Humphry Bogart movie The Big Sleep. That Brackett guy as it happens was a woman who was already publishing
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Titles By David Agranoff
Would you risk control of your mind and soul?
Would you scour the darkest gutters on an alien world?
Andall Shellton is a politically-savvy governor on one of humankind's most populated colonies, and a rising star on the scene, married to one of the most famous actresses in all the worlds. Their ideal life is thrown into turmoil when their youngest daughter, Liv, is kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery on a hell-world beyond the Red Line of human expansion. Using all of the resources of his position, Andall follows the traffickers who stole his little girl - to the colony of NewKok, a pleasure planet beyond the rule of law, except for the law of the jungle.
Flesh Trade is a politically-charged story of 24th century crime, taking place on a lawless world where our humble protagonist quickly learns that military tactics and political power are meaningless. He resorts to a mind-fuse to upload the memory and skills of a dead war hero, Col. John Stack, and fights his way through the city to save his daughter. The fuse only lasts for one night on NewKok before the uploaded pattern takes over the host. With this clock counting down, Andall must battle genetically modified gangsters, dirty cops, sex slavers, underground surgeons, mercenaries, cannibals and aliens, while struggling to control his own mind, with only the night left to save his daughter.
For fans of Neal Asher and Phililip K Dick, this novel is a magnum opus of action, world-building and mind-bending speculative noir. Agranoff and Morris have plotted a terrifying path into a dangerous vision of the future. Come along for the ride, if you dare.
"Edward Morris is a fearless writer, expanding the boundaries of what is possible with the weird. Read him." ---Jeff VanderMeer author of Authority
"David Agranoff is a razor sharp writer, a storyteller with a hard rock pacing, a magician of ideas." - John Shirley Author of A Splendid Chaos
"It is that effortless switch from socio-political worldbuilding to sci-fi noir that makes this novel work so well... It is also an edge-of-your-seat adventure novel reeking in crime noir, mercenary action, and underworld decadence. What is impressive is how well they both come together and how we never lose the humanity of the main characters throughout all the double-dealing and violence. If you have any love for science fiction, I highly recommend this as your next read." - Marvin Vernon of the Novel Pursuit blog
"This epic tome takes the very real and harrowing threat of the modern sexual slave trade and layered it into a rich and diverse world of futuristic humanity mixing with various imaginative alien species...incredibly imaginative and action-packed with great characters and a breakneck pace, despite its epic size." - Desmond Reddick host of the Dread Media Podcast
"David Agranoff is a razor sharp writer, a storyteller with a hard rock pacing, a magician of ideas, an adventurer in subcultures, an expert in underground music scenes." --John Shirley, author of Wetbones
"Agranoff puts you on tour with one of punk's great mysteries in this stunning and unflinching dive into the blood, sweat, and vitality that helped punk rock change the world and destroyed one of its legendary bands." --James Chambers, author of Three Chords of Chaos
In the Reagan 80s, at the height of hardcore punk, bands eager to make it big crisscrossed the United States in beat-up tour vans with little more than DIY passion and boxes of handmade records. Basements, warehouses and dive bars were alive with the raw energy of the underground scene. But in the summer of 1982, legendary Indianapolis hardcore band, The F*ckers, became the victim of a mysterious tragedy.
They returned home without their vocalist and the band disappeared. A single record sought by collectors, a band nearly forgotten, and an urban legend passed from punk to punk. What happened to The F*ckers on that tour? Why was their singer never seen again? No one has been able to say. Until now...
For the first time, the truth behind Indiana's lost hardcore legend THE F*CKERS, is revealed. And the most shocking secret is that it could happen again.
From the author of Amazing Punk Stories and Boot of the Wolf Reich, David Agranoff, Punk Rock Ghost Story is a one of a kind supernatural horror set against two very different eras of punk rock history.
Driven back and badly beaten, the local Nazi contingent finds the strangest of allies - The last survivor of a cult of Nazi werewolf assassins. A war criminal on the run, the old monster has come to America and dreams of starting a Fourth Reich. An army of neo-Nazi werewolves are just what he needs. But first, they have some payback for all those meddling Anti-racist SHARPs...
From David Agranoff, the author of The Vegan Revolution...with Zombies, comes another punk horror epic of growing up, black magic, and kicking Nazi-werewolf ass!
“Buckle up because this is a wild ride! SDHP takes readers along some crazy back roads in this collection of original and very creepy tales.” –Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of Patient Zero
“There's no fat in this tight and terror-filled anthology of dark fiction from a place where it's always sunny!" - Desmond Reddick, Dread Media podcast
Mother Nature is angry. Really angry.
San Diego is known for being one of the most beautiful cities in America.There is trouble in paradise. Illness is rampant and people are starting to notice. A series of wild fires is popping up and threatening to surrounded the city. The air is becoming unbreathable, the water supply is contaminated, and the survivors are losing their sanity and grip on their humanity. For the millions of people stuck, the city has turned into a death trap.
From the homeless on the streets, to City Hall, from the fire fighters on the front lines, to media covering the crisis, Ring of Fire is a kaleidoscopic look at ecological collapse in the first world.
Humans have ravaged the planet for too long, now Mother Nature is going to get her revenge.
Now, underground fiction's most talented fiends have created a series of tales inspired by the Misfits. In these pages, an astro zombie contemplates the life she left behind as she goes into flesh-ripping battle. A team of organ harvesters shows just how violent the world can be. A wannabe true crime reporter goes on a grisly road trip that takes him a little too close to his subject matter. A mysterious set of skulls pushes a young woman to create a collection of her very own. A teenager from mars excavates the fetid product of his earthly lust.
These new twists on the songs you love are sure to surprise, startle, sicken and force you to see this timeless horror punk in a completely different light.
Animal suffering is a thing of the past. Hipsters can now enjoy bacon without guilt. Thanks to a new miracle drug the cute little pig no longer feels a thing as she is led to the slaughter.
The only problem? Once the drug enters the food supply anyone who eats it is infected. From fast food burgers to free-range organic eggs, eating animal products turns people into shambling brain-dead zombies - not even vegetarians are safe!
In Portland, Oregon, vegans, freegans, abolitionists, hardliners and raw fooders have holed up in Food Fight, one of the country's premier vegan grocery stores at the vegan mini-mall. There they must prepare for their final battle to take back the city from the hordes of roaming undead. Will vegans filet the flesh-eaters or will they become zombie chow?
When there's no more meat in hell, the vegans will walk the earth.
San Diego Horror Professionals, Volume 2 is the second in a unique series highlighting the best of America’s Finest City.
"Original and very creepy tales!" - Jonathan Maberry, author of Patient Zero
- John Shirley from his introduction
Gasp in horror at redneck cannibals who eat a steady diet of bands!
Tour the underground music scenes at the edge of the universe!
Behold the insanity of mosh pits at the end of the world!
From the frontiers of deep space to a punk rock village in the wasteland of a world nuked by Ronald Reagan. Amazing Punk Stories will take you to a punk scene in the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. A punk scene both familiar and utterly bizarro.
Riffing off themes from the genres of mystery, western, cosmic horror and science fiction; Amazing Punk Stories contains thirteen studded and spiked tributes to classic pulp fiction.