I remember having my first TV crush when I was 10. It was 1983, and a new show called Automan hit the air. The show followed the adventures of a police officer and computer programmer who had created an artificially intelligent crime fighting program that generated a hologram (“Automan”) which could leave the computer world at night and fight crime.
I was in love: with the concept, the plot, the futuristic sf/superhero world the show created, and, of course, with Automan himself, Chuck Wagner.
As these were the days before we had a VCR, it was appointment viewing in my household, at my insistence. I remember taking a two-minute shower once because my mother wouldn’t let me watch it until I’d showered. I think I showed up in the living room in a towel, but I didn’t miss a minute of the show.
Unfortunately, my relationship with Automan was short-lived. The show only lasted 12 episodes.
That was 35 years ago. And I still remember it.
Those fantastic detectives really stick with you.
And while none can ever compare with your first love, there are plenty more fantastic detectives in the world of fiction. And Dean Wesley Smith has curated a Storybundle full of them.
The Fantasy Detectives Storybundle offers ten titles sure to light your interest: Fiction River: Fantastic Detectives, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch; They’re Back: A Poker Boy Adventure by Dean Wesley Smith; Five Fantastic Tales by Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Slimy Chicken Zomnibus Edition by Kevin J. Anderson; Modern Sorcery by Gary Jonas; The Greatest Sin: Books 1-2 by Erik Kort and Lee French; Searching for Sanctuary by Chrissy Wissler; Devil’s Shoestring by Stefon Mears; Earthshaker by Robert Jeschonek; and The Shredded Veil Mysteries by Leah Cutter.
You can name your price, but if you pay at least $15, you get all ten fantastic mysteries.
Find out more about the bundle here.
But you’d better hurry. Like Automan, this bundle won’t be around for long.
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.