Atmosphere [Hardcover]

Michael Laimo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

Frank Ballaro, police detective, is retiring shortly. Or is he? A trail of blood on the curb outside his apartment leads to an alley where two young men have been severely mutilated. But they're not dead. Something keeps them alive. In the hands of one is a strange object, something he holds onto for dear life. Something he calls...atmosphere.

Laimo's very first novel is sure to be a collector's item as this edition is signed by Laimo and numbered, limited to only 300 copies. Includes a full color dust jacket with cover artwork by Jason Just. Michael's popularity is rising as he has just signed a mass market contract with Leisure Books and just finished his second novel. Order early on this one before they're all sold out!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Michael Laimo is a writer on the rise. his stories are filled with effective intensity and oddity." -- Tom Piccirilli, author of Hexes and The Deceased

"Michael Laimo is able to draw out the tension and suspense until it is almost unbearable" -- Edo van Belkom, author of Death Drives a Semi, and Writing Horror

"Michael Laimo, in my mind, is the Alpha Male in the pack of new horror/dark suspense writers." -- P.D. Cacek, author of Canyons

About the Author

Michael Laimo is a 36 year-old author from Melville, New York. He has authored over 100 short stories in the horror genre, all of which have seen print in a variety of magazines and anthologies, including The Book Of All Flesh, Dark Whispers, Whispers And Shadows, The Asylum 2, Darkness Rising, Redsine, Unnatural Selection, and many others. Two collections, both published in hardcover formats, brought together a selection of these stories, Demons, Freaks, and Other Abnormalities, published by Delirium Books, and Dregs Of Society, published by Prime Books. He has completed his second novel, Sleepwalker, and is currently working on a third, entitled Deep In The Darkness, based on his cult-favorite Golden-Eyes Trilogy published by Flesh & Blood Press. His third collection, as yet untitled, will be released by Delirium Books in the near future. Michael also edited the hardcore horror anthology Bloodtype, published by Lone Wolf Publications, and co-edits Space & Time Magazine. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Delirium Books; Limited edition (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929653352
• ISBN-13: 978-1929653355
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,698,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My name is Michael Laimo and I am the author of the horror novels FIRS RISING, DEAD SOULS, THE DEMONOLOGIST, DEEP IN THE DARKNESS, and ATMOSPHERE, all published by Leisure Books.

MY BOOKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. Please check out RARE CUTS, my newest (and fourth) short story collection.

Visit my website at www.laimo.com, or my facebook page, Michael Laimo. Also on Twitter: MLAIMO.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stellar debut, September 21, 2002

By 

FloozyFlapper1926 (Somewhere in the 20's) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atmosphere (Mass Market Paperback)

As a fan of the Leisure Books line, I always pick up the new ones each month. So I picked this up and wasn't sure what to expect. "Atmosphere" is one of the best new sci-fi books from the last few years and it was never boring. When Detective Frank Ballaro steps in a stream of blood, he investigates and finds a mutiliated man. From there, he finds another body and realizes something very horrible and strange is going on. The only clue to the abnormal is the sight of a strange black object and the whispered word "atmosphere" from the dying man.

From there, its a race to find the killers and the two detectives realize that there is more than just murder. A strange cult of techno obsessed bald men in black begins to reek havoc in New York City. When Frank's daughter is kidnapped, the story begins.

This is one of the best premises for an alien invasion story I've read in a long time. With the added mix of intrigue and the great plot, this one will keep you turning pages until the very end. This has conspiracy theories, murder and aliens which mix to become a satisfying read. Its exciting and extremely well-written. A definite A+ read.

Take a chance on a new author and pick up "Atmosphere". You'll never think of bald men and techno music the same!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary Stuff!, October 7, 2005

By 

J. L. Comeau (Fairfax, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atmosphere (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel was my introduction to Mr. Laimo's beguiling literary talents and, I must tell you, I was left breathless by this debut novel. It combines my favorite types of midnight reading delights, a hybrid of horror, science fiction, mystery and police procedural. This novel hits the ground running, opening with short-timer Detective Frank Ballaro's accidental discovery of a horribly mutilated young man who sprints past the shocked detective and directly into the path of a speeding taxicab. As the young man lay dying, he clutches a bizarre object in his torn hands and whispers his last word into Detective Ballaro's ear: "Atmosphere". And the game is afoot. Detective Ballaro finds himself investigating a string of grisly deaths suddenly plaguing his town, New York City. What he uncovers is far more dangerous to mankind than a bloodthirsty serial killer, although the killings are as brutal as anything he could imagine. Mr. Laimo has constructed an intense, visceral rollercoaster ride of terror and violence that doesn't let up until the last page. An absolutely stunning first novel from a writer from whom I have come to expect, and have received, great horror fiction. Nominated for a Bram Stoker Award!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Atmosphere didn't exactly leave me breathless!, January 1, 2004

By 

coachtim (Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atmosphere (Mass Market Paperback)

In his debut novel, Michael Laimo, has created a bizarre world filled with the unexplained murders of young males in New York City. As lead protagonist, Detective Frank Ballaro, and his friend and former partner, Police Captain Hector Rodrequez, try and sort out the reason(s) for these grisly murders, they soon find themselves with clues that lead them to believe that the killers might not be from this planet. The plot thickens when Frank's only child, daughter Jaime, is kidnapped by one of the many "bald men with sunglasses" that are under the control of the aliens.

Sounds pretty bizarre doesn't it? Laimo somehow tries it all together at the end of the book, but between a few great opening pages and the expected climax, there's a lot of repetition and downtime throughout the body of the novel. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's a quick read and there's plenty of violence and descriptive scenes of blood and gore, it's just that there's not enough character development and plot setting for my liking. I would have liked to know more about the Ballaro family and certainly would have liked a little more about why the aliens landed in NYC in the first place.

For a first novel, however, it's not bad. If I could, I'd give it 2 and one-half stars, but that's not part of the Amazon grading system. Fans of Richard Laymon, David Lozell Martin, Rex Miller, and Michael Slade will probably enjoy "Atmosphere", they just shouldn't go into it with a lot of expectations.