World Fantasy Award winner Tobias S. Buckell and Dave Klecha’s “unlikely mash-up, but it works” (Publishers Weekly), THE RUNES OF ENGAGEMENT is now available from all finer booksellers or direct from Tachyon.

If you’re in/near the Miami Valley, OH, stop by Jay and Mary’s Book Center in Troy at 7PM tonight for a special release event with Tobias S. Buckell, Dave Klecha, and superstar/moderator John Scalzi!

Fun, action-packed, occasionally gritty, and full of jokes for geeks and Marines alike.

Jim C. Hines, author of Terminal Alliance

The Lord of the Rings meets Slaughterhouse-Five by way of World of Warcraft in this delirious mashup pitting the U. S. military against legendary monsters from fantasy novels and roleplaying games. From a science fiction award-winner and an author, former Marine, and extreme amateur-landscaper comes a riotous fantasy/military science fiction adventure that will delight fans of Terry Pratchett, J. R. R. Tolkien, and John Scalzi.

[STARRED REVIEW] Will be catnip to readers who love this combination of military SF, alternate history, and fantasy.

Library Journal

No one could have been prepared for the day when orcs, trolls, and dragons fell from portals in the sky. But now a very tough but not-quite-prepared platoon of Marines is trapped on the wrong side. The enchanting world looks like Middle Earth, but to the dismay of even the geekiest soldiers, is nothing like it.

While the Marines fend off dangerous, improbable, and very rude assailants, their mission is to escort a Very Important Princess who could broker a crucial strategic alliance between worlds. What could possibly go wrong?

Buckell and Klecha tell their story with so much humour and gusto and so much nerd JOY. It has that Aliens vibe, but with a LOTR twist. The whole idea ‘what happens if marines/soldiers end up fighting fantasy monsters’ is handled so well here. I had a blast reading this book, and would not mind reading a sequel.

Maria Haskins, author of Wolves and Girls