UNITED STATES AUTHOR · FICTION · SCIENCE FICTION
Jack Campbell
Also known as: John G. Hemry
Pseudonym for John G. Hemry.
I don't know if I will live to finish this.
— from Borrowed Time, 1995
Most acclaimed
The Dragons of Dorcastle
Dematr is a world ruled by the diametrically opposed Mage and Mechanic Guilds. For centuries, the two Great Guilds have been bitter rivals. But now a Storm approaches, one that could sweep away everything that humans have built. Only one person has any chance of uniting enough of the world behind to stop the Storm. Mari is a brilliant young Mechanic, just out of the Guild Halls, where she has spent most of her life learning how to run the steam locomotives and other devices of her Guild. Alain is the youngest Mage ever to learn how to change the world he sees with the power of his mind. Each has been taught that the works of the other's Guild are frauds. But when their caravan is destroyed, they must join forces. Their union could save the world from the approaching Storm, but it could also upend the Great Guilds who will stop at nothing to preserve their power. Mari and Alain will have to choose between protecting their lives and their Guilds, or risking everything to protect Dematr from the coming Storm.
Borrowed Time
1995
The new novel by the most compulsive storyteller of them all.It is a golden evening of high summer in July 1990. Robin Timariot has set out that morning on what he has planned as a six-day tramp along part of Offa's Dyke. At the close of his first day's walk he encounters an elegant middle-aged woman who seems strangely out of place among the sheep and gorse of Hergest Ridge. They exchange only a few words of conversation, but their talk is enigmatic - and unforgettable. A few days later, at the end of his walk, Timariot returns home to learn from the newspapers that, just a few hours after their meeting, the woman, whose name was Louise Paxton, was raped and then murdered, along with an artist, Oscar Bantock, who lived near by.A man is swiftly charged and convicted of the crime, but a string of inexplicable events begins to convince Timariot - and others - that all is not what it seems. Timariot, fascinated by Louise Paxton's memory, is drawn irresistibly into the complex motives and relationships of her family and friends, searching against his better judgement for the secret of what really happened on the day she died.The closer he gets to the truth, the more hideous and uncertain it seems to be. And far too late he realizes that it may threaten many powerful people. So much so that anybody who uncovers it is unlikely to be allowed to live.
Relentless
1994
A fun weekend at a friend’s wedding in Denver takes a bizarre twist for Anna Scott when her rental car is pulled over due to an “anonymous tip.” In her trunk…a dead man linked to warring crime families in Denver and New York. It should be easy for an innocent woman to be cleared for an simple mix-up. But was it a mistake? The police aren’t so sure, and neither is the crime boss who wants vengeance for his son-in-law’s death. Suddenly appearing on the radar means that now Anna Scott is in real trouble. Two years ago, Anna Scott didn’t exist. The police think she knows way too much about criminal procedures and they’re determined to find out her secret. Their attention forces Anna to play a deadly game of cat and mouse with both the mafia and the police. This twist of fate could not only expose her, but place her, and anyone close to her in jeopardy. Jake Griffin is playing a deadly game. He’s spent the last few months undercover in the Moretti crime family. The mysterious and beautiful Anna Scott is a big problem. Moretti assigns him to find out who she is and what she’s after, and to kill her if she becomes a problem. Jake needs to focus on taking down Moretti, not risking his life and career protecting a sexy woman who is a complete mystery. Unfortunately, he can’t stop wondering about her. He knows she’s lying, but his gut instincts, and the bone deep desire he feels every time he sees her, won’t allow him to walk away. He discovers that he’s willing to go to war with the whole world for one alluring, yet vulnerable woman. He can’t seem to stop taking desperate gambles where she’s concerned. The most dangerous of all might be trusting her with the truth.