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Cover by Jade,
2006 jacket.
TIGER, TIGER
by Mel Keegan
135pp
cover by Jade
Price:
US$13.50(paperback)
US$23.99(hardcover)
US$4.95(eBook)
Buy the paperback here:
Buy the hardcover here:
 
Read the first
10% of this novel online!
READER ALERT / CAVEAT:
the sample readings offered here encompass about the first 10% of these works, and they're uncensored, unabridged. If you will be disturbed by candid descriptions of same-gender romance, or by realistic violence, please don't download! These samples are not intended for younger readers. By clicking to open these documents, you agree that you are of age in your local jurisdiction; you know what you are about to read; and the material will not disturb you ... 'nuff said.
Any "content warning" to readers?
Realistic violence, frank description
of same-gender relationships, some
coarse language.
First edition cover.
PUBLISHING HISTORY:
Two editions:
First edition: mid-2006
Lulu.com edition, January, 2008.
IN PRINT?
Yes.
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please see our notes on
distribution and supply. Please do contact us!
Inspired by TIGER, TIGER, our resident artist, Jade, produced a raft of
amazing artwork. More than 70 digital paintings flowed together: hot bods, big cats, steamy jungles ...
torsos, tigers and rainforest. We've taken 27 images and zipped them into a screensaver for
Windows PCs, and it's available for download right now, for a buck. Yep, that's right. One dollar!
The file size is about 2.5 megs; the 27 images are displayed at random, with scores of equally
random transition effects. You could watch this show for hours and never see the same thing
twice! You can also preview the screensaver in Flash-movie format, right from our shopping page.
(Check it out, see what we mean about the 'wow-factor'!) So when you're shopping for books, who could
resist a generous, healthy dose of eyecandy at a price like this?! Preview
and spend a buck right now?!
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TIGER, TIGER
In the world of 2073, the tiger is technically extinct in the wild, but as a species they’re flourishing ... they have been genetically redesigned. Their genes have been ‘tweaked’ to reduce their size to that of a large dog, and they’re popular ‘exotic pets.’
Few people care any longer that the wild tiger has vanished from the Earth. One of the only concerned individuals left is an eccentric, aged billionaire, Cass Vandermeer, who owns vast tracts of northwestern Tasmania ... and it’s here, in 'the Tarkine,' one of the last wildernesses in the world, that a handful of real, un-engineered tigers still live in the wild.
The ‘park’ is managed by specialists who have spent their whole lives with these animals. So, when a ‘gene smuggling’ racket is uncovered a ‘can of worms’ with far-reaching consequences is opened, and the result is sudden violence and action, in the true Mel Keegan tradition!
Meet Sonny Moran and Alec Finch, two of MK's most delicious heroes. They're ranger and copter pilot, respectively, and that's Sonny on the cover, in the painting which inspired the story (see below!).
And meet Poul Kolosimo and Andy Nardelli, the two VR-filmmakers whom almost everyone wants to strangle for one reason or another.
But who are the gene smugglers? How did they get into the Tarkine? And more importantly, how are Sonny and Alec going to keep the genetic materials of authentic, wild 'thoroughbred' tigers out of the hands of unscrupulous entrepreneurs, who are equally as vile as the drug lords of an earlier age.
Exotic near-future SF, with a twist of technology, and a spicy gay romance.
The dustjacket of the 2008 hardcover.
Pullquote:
Mel Keegan’s name is a byword for thrilling gay adventure in the past, present and future — MILLIVRES on Aquamarine.
 The SF List
Reader reviews of this title
Read the first segment online!
(Note: see our caveat.)
Reader reviews for this novel are online on our Review Page.
(You can post your own comments to this site via the Readers Review page.
Please note that this is a "moderated forum," where comments will be monitored,
and may be edited prior to posting to prevent burned fingers and trodden toes!)
MEL KEEGAN COMMENTS ON TIGER, TIGER
"This story was actually inspired by the painting, "The Jungle Book." How could you look at that picture and not catch a glimpse of the story behind it? TIGER, TIGER is the result, and the artist, Jade, is smiling ... the cover's already painted. Job done! ... However, there's an old saying. What goes around comes around. And in this case, the painting inspired the book, which inspired a PORTFOLIO which leaves one blinking. DreamCraft are making the collection of entirely original, digital paintings available as screensavers and calendars, and meanwhile I'll put a feather in my hat for being the inspiration!
The background research for TIGER, TIGER was both a pleasure and one heck of a job. The Tarkine is real place, and people are fighting every day to keep the loggers the hell out of there. Think about this: some element in the government wants to cut down the last pockets of primordial rainforest — for WOODCHIPS. Now, I understand the 'timber dollar.' I understand planks and boards, the masts of ships, and hand-crafted furniture made of the finest timbers. But what I can't get my head around is turning virgin forest into woodchips. That one's too weird for me.
Most of the research was done on the web; there are some good sites that are well worth a tour-around. In the weeks to come I'll list the best on the links page on-site here. The reality of Tasmania is a place like Middle Earth, regions with names like 'Styx' and 'Valhalla' and 'Cradle Mountain.' It's exotic even before you zip 70 years into the future and look at a world where global warming and overpopulation have changed the face of the planet. Then, when you add the new Tasman tigers to the picture, it gets interesting indeed. I enjoyed writing this one immensely, and I'm more than happy to acknowledge the source of the inspiration.
Mel's Links has been updated with a whole Tiger, Tiger segment, which will take you through to some very attractive and informative websites, providing a pictoral background for the novel ... and 'how to get there' info, for folks who have a yen to hike Fangorn...!
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