David Gunn

David Gunn is a writer whose first book, The Poor Man's Ray Gun (Deadly Rays), is a guide to building a functioning ray gun capable of setting fire to a piece of plywood at 500 feet. Gunn's first novel, the adventure combat tale titled Death's Head, received numerous favorable reviews.The story in Death's Head takes place far into the future when the Earth is just a distant memory. The novel revolves around the antihero Sven Tveskoeg, an ex-sergeant who has been demoted for insubordination and sentenced to death. Tveskoeg is 98.2 percent human in genetic makeup with the other 1.8 percent of his genes of unknown origin. He heals almost immediately from injuries and can communicate telepathically with the Ferox, a group of fierce alien savages who cannot be subdued even by the most advanced technology. Tveskoeg was able to learn the Ferox language after his fort was overrun by the Ferox and he was captured by them. In Tveskoeg's world, the technologically supreme United Free civilization rules over most of the known universe. Where the United Free do not rule, two other empires vie for control, one led by a tyrant, OctoV, who appears to be a teenage boy but isn't; the other is made up of the Uplifted, machinelike intelligences served by cyborgs called the Enlightened. Eventually, Tveskoeg comes to the attention of OctoV, who drafts him into his elite group of enforcers known as Death's Head. However, before Tveskoeg is allowed to join, he is sent by Death's Head General Jaxx to Paradise, a frozen planet for prisoners. Once there, Tveskoeg proves his worth by organizing a successful rebellion against the guards who oversee the planet. Joining Death's Head, Tveskoeg soon finds himself on assignments to planets throughout the universe as OctoV battles the Uplifted and the Enlightened for control.