Month: April 2014

A Fantastic RIVERS OF LONDON Music Video!

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I must shamefully admit that I haven’t read any of Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant novels. Despite owning all of them. Nevertheless, and in advance of my eventual (inevitable) reading of the series, here is a recently-created music video, inspired by the novels…

How cool is that? I saw this performed in a basement pub at the UK launch of Broken Homes, the fourth book in the series. Other titles include Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho, Whispers Underground – all are published in the UK by Gollancz. (In the US, the first three books are published by Del Rey, and the fourth and yet-to-be-released fifth and sixth books are published by DAW Books).

Charles Cumming’s A COLDER WAR Mole Hunt

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CummingC-ColderWarMoleHuntBannerSo, Harper Collins are running a special competition to celebrate the release of Charles Cumming’s latest international spy thriller, A COLDER WAR. For those of you who don’t know who he is or haven’t read his work (shame on you!), he is an absolutely fantastic author, and one of my favourites (of any genre).

The competition involves a mole hunt. The name of the mole has been hidden amongst blog posts around the internet (see the banner, right).

In each post, there are a couple of questions (mine are below). The first letter in each answer is in the name of the mole. Collect all the answers, and email your answer to killerreads[at]harpercollins.com. The winner gets a Kindle!

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So, let us get on. Here are the two videos, and their corresponding questions…

1. Who does America have a so-called “Special Relationship” with?

Most Anticipated 2014: THE GETAWAY GOD by Richard Kadrey (Voyager US & UK)

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If you’ve been following Civilian Reader for the past couple of years, you may have come across a review or two (actually, six) of Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim series. This is because they are awesome. In fact, along with Stacia Kane, I think Kadrey is one my favourite Urban Fantasy/Horror author. This year, Voyager will be publishing the sixth novel in the series, THE GETAWAY GOD. I can not wait to read it! Here are the details…

Sandman Slim must save himself – and the entire world – from the wrath of some enraged and vengeful ancient gods…

Being a half-human, half-angel nephilim with a bad rep and a worse attitude – not to mention temporarily playing Lucifer – James Stark aka Sandman Slim has made a few enemies. None, though, are as fearsome as the vindictive Angra Om Ya – the old gods. But their imminent invasion is only one of Stark’s problems right now. LA is descending into chaos, and a new evil – the Wildfire Ripper – is stalking the city.

No ordinary killer, The Ripper takes Stark deep into a conspiracy that stretches from Earth to Heaven and Hell. He’s also the only person alive who may know how to keep the world from going extinct. The trouble is, he’s also Stark’s worst enemy… the only man in existence Stark would enjoy killing twice.

The Getaway God is due to be published in August (US) and October (UK) 2014, by Harper Voyager.

Also on CR: Reviews of Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha from Hell, Devil in the Dollhouse (novella), Devil Said Bang, Kill City Blues

Kadrey-MetrophageUS2014Speaking of Richard Kadrey: Voyager is also going to be re-issuing the author’s early cyberpunk novel, METROPHAGE this November (originally published in 1988), in both the US and UK. Here are the details:

Welcome to the near future: Los Angeles in the late 21st century – a segregated city of haves and have nots, where morality is dead and technology rules. Here, a small group of wealthy seclude themselves in gilded cages. Beyond their high security compounds, far from their pretty comforts, lies a lawless wasteland where the angry masses battle hunger, rampant disease, and their own despair to survive.

Jonny was born into this Hobbesian paradise. A street-wise hustler who deals drugs on the black market – narcotics that heal the body and cool the mind – he looks out for nobody but himself. Until a terrifying plague sweeps through L.A., wreaking death and panic. And no one, not even a clever operator like Jonny, is safe.

His own life hanging in the balance, Jonny must risk everything to find the cure – if there is one.

Check out the original cover for Metrophage (published as part of the New Ace Science Fiction Specials range)…

Kadrey-MetrophageUS1988

Artwork & Upcoming: A.A. Aguirre’s APPARATUS INFERNUM (Titan Books)

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I somehow managed to miss these novels entirely – at least, the first in Aguirre’s Apparatus Infernum steampunk series, Bronze Gods (which was published in the UK in October 2013). With the second novel’s publication fast approaching (May 23rd, 2014), I thought it would be nice to showcase the covers in a quick post. Because I rather like them.

AguirreAA-AI1-BronzeGodsUKBRONZE GODS

Across the water lay the land of Hy Breasil, inhabited by the immortal Ferishers. Though they were few, they were divided, and when the mortal conquerors came they did not stand together. They had magic but the invaders were many, and after a bitter war, peace was only made through marriage. And thus the ten great houses grew, and the city of Dorstaad rose, and the Ferisher bloodlines grew thin. But there were some who still wielded the ancient magic…

Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko work all hours in the Criminal Investigation Division, keeping the citizens of Dorstaad safe. He’s a charming rogue with an uncanny sixth sense; she’s all logic – and the first female inspector. Between his instincts and her brains, they collar more criminals than any other partnership in the CID.

Then they’re assigned a potentially volatile case where one misstep could end their careers. At first, the search for the daughter of one of the great houses seems straightforward, but when the girl is found murdered – her body charred to cinders by an intricate and deadly device – Mikani and Ritsuko will be challenged as never before. A ruthless killer is stalking the gaslit streets, weaving blood and magic in a lethal ritual that could mean the end of everything they hold dear…

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AguirreAA-AI2-SilverMirrorsUKSILVER MIRRORS

As powerful magic comes creeping back, dangerous days are dawning…

Criminal Investigation Division inspectors Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko were lucky to make it out of their last mission alive. Since then, strange troubles have plagued the city of steam and shadows, apparently as a result of magic released during the CID inspectors’ desperate interruption of an ancient ritual. The fabric of the world has been unsettled, and the Council has assigned Mikani and Ritsuko to investigate.

They soon discover that matters are worse than they imagined. Machines have developed minds of their own, cragger pirates are raiding the seas with relentless aggression, and mad elementals are running amok. As the chaos builds to a crescendo, Mikani and Ritsuko must fight a war on two fronts – and this time, they may not be able to turn the deadly tide…

Find out more about Aguirre’s Apparatus Infernum series by visiting the author’s website, following her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. The novels are published in the US by Ace Books. Here are the American covers:

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These aren’t bad, either. Although, in that first one, Janus looks like Matt Smith’s version/incarnation of Doctor Who. And, in the second he looks like Malcolm McDowell’s ‘Alex’, from A Clockwork Orange, ready to dish out some ultraviolence of a Victorian-steampunk variety…

Mini-Review: Sex Criminals, Vol.1 – “One Weird Trick” (Image)

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PrintWriter: Matt Fraction | Artist: Chip Zdarsky

Suzie’s just a regular gal with an irregular gift: when she has sex, she stops time. One day she meets Jon and it turns out he has the same ability. And sooner or later they get around to using their gifts to do what we’d ALL do: rob a couple banks. A bawdy and brazen sex comedy for comics begins here!

This is a very unconventional, amusing and even ground-breaking book. It is also one I’m not entirely sure how best to review. Is it funny? Absolutely. And not just because it’s sex-related, and because that can often be very funny – especially when it’s about weird stuff, or people’s anxieties about it. This is a great book, and it’s no wonder that it has been taking critics and comic fans by storm.

Fraction’s story is multi-layered – it looks at sex, and how young people’s experiences can be varied, great, uncomfortable, misunderstood, and complicated. It is not preachy, nor is it flippant. It also has some great moments that are about reading and the imagination. And our protagonists are plotting a bank heist (in order to save a library). There is some pretty weird stuff near the end – which diminished the impact for me just a little, but by no means completely. I will absolutely be back for volume two.

The book is filled with some great background gags, and there were plenty that had be giggling for pages to follow (and also a couple that resurfaced in my mind at odd moments, setting me off giggling again). Sex Criminals is a series that really needs to be read and experienced for yourself – to review it at length would kind of ruin its magic, I think.

Zdarsky’s artwork is great throughout – and I love the way he’s added all the details and background stuff, without clobbering the reader with it. The sex-time graphics are really interesting and well-done, too.

With its great storytelling and superb artwork, not to mention its interesting and welcome message, and colourful well-drawn characters, this is a very highly recommended collection.

An Interview with MARIANNE DE PIERRES

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dePierresM-AuthorPicSmallLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Marianne de Pierres?

I’m an Australian speculative fiction author who loves cake, sport and good stories. That’s the short version! But if you check out my websites you’ll find out a whole lot more!

www.mariannedepierres.com
www.burnbright.com.au
www.tarasharp.com.au

Your debut novel, Peacemaker, is due to be published by Angry Robot Books in May. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader? Is it part of a series?

Peacemaker is a genre blend Urban Fantasy, SF, Western set in Australia. The intimate story is about a woman (Virgin Jackson) who will do anything to save the last natural habitat in the world. The deeper level story is about the power of mythology in human social architecture. At the moment, I’m working on the sequel, but I’m hoping there might be more books after that.

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What inspired you to write the novel? And where do you draw your inspiration from in general?

I grew up on a diet of pulp Westerns, and I have an enduring love of the Australian landscape. Those two concepts collided and a novel was born. I also created an online comic version of the story which you can preview here. So far, only one issue is out, but the second issue is written, ready to be illustrated. I love this world and had to see it drawn. Brigitte Sutherland, the artist, did a wonderful job of capturing my vision.

DePierresM-Peacemaker-01Comic

How were you introduced to reading and genre fiction?

I didn’t start consciously reading genre fiction until I was in my early twenties when I discovered science fiction by way of Arthur C. Clarke. However, I was a Doctor Who and Avengers fan from the age of ten (I wasn’t allowed to watch the latter, but I managed to sneak peeks by pretending to be asleep in front of the TV – and, yes, it used to give me nightmares!).

How do you enjoy being a writer and working within the publishing industry?

I love being a writer, but the truth is that the publishing industry is such a state of change at the moment that it’s hard to get my head around it. I try not to dwell too much on the future. Keep creating; keep trying to get better. That’s my mantra.

What’s it like, being a published author? Is it what you expected? Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?

This is my sixteenth novel – so I’m not totally new to the experience. I’m fairly disciplined in my approach and write daily, preferring mornings to evenings. I’m also not a quick writer, so I find that consistency is the key. Research tends to be on an as needs basis because I work in other jobs and am always budgeting time. I love the research side of writing, but I always feel guilty when I do it. It feels like stolen time.

When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?

I wanted to be a writer from a very young age (ten), but, of course, the reality of that was something else. It took me until I was in my early thirties to learn the self-discipline required to finish a novel. Since then, I’ve been committed and … well … obsessed …

What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?

I work across genres, and often write genre blend fiction, so I don’t know where I fit it in. My regular readers know to expect the unexpected from me! I particularly love where genre TV is going, and how so many more people are being wooed by it.

What other projects are you working on, and what do you have currently in the pipeline?

SO many things in the pipeline. Have a glance over this – two crime series, a YA series and a stand-alone, SF novel. Not. Enough. Hours.

What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?

I coach junior basketball and I love hip hop.

STORM Gets Her Own Series! (Marvel)

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By far one of the most popular of Marvel’s X-Men, Storm is finally get her own series! The comics will be written by Greg Pak, and the first issue is due out in July 2014. First up, some background on the character:

From a thief on the streets of Cairo to the Headmistress of the Jean Grey School to the Queen of Wakanda and everything in between, Ororo Monroe has always defied a single title. Her desire to better the world was never limited to just her own kind. On a mission to foster goodwill and safeguard her fellow mutants in her own way, Storm will embark on a new journey.

And, the pitch for the series (at least, the one from the press release):

You cannot stop a force of nature. She is Storm, a hero with no equal… and the skies will tremble at the sight of their namesake!

To repeat Marvel’s Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso: “It’s about time.”

The art at the top – by Victor Ibanez – will grace the cover of Storm #1 (Ibanez also handles interior art duties). Below is the Simone Bianchi Variant artwork.

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Review: MAYHEM by Sarah Pinborough (Jo Fletcher Books)

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Pinborough-MayhemDr. Bond, I presume…

A new killer is stalking the streets of London’s East End. Though newspapers have dubbed him ‘the Torso Killer’, this murderer’s work is overshadowed by the hysteria surrounding Jack the Ripper’s Whitechapel crimes.

The victims are women too, but their dismembered bodies, wrapped in rags and tied up with string, are pulled out of the Thames – and the heads are missing. The murderer likes to keep them.

Mayhem is a masterwork of narrative suspense: a supernatural thriller set in a shadowy, gaslit London, where monsters stalk the cobbled streets and hide in plain sight.

This is the first of Pinborough’s novels that I’ve read, and I rather enjoyed it. It has all of the elements that I look for in fiction, in one tightly-written package: crime, investigation, mystery, a dash of the supernatural and horror. It’s an excellent mix, well-executed. And it’s the first in a series. Continue reading →

Guest Post: “Why Female Leads in TRUE FIRE?” by Gary Meehan

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Meehan-AuthorPicWhy did I choose to write a story with two female lead characters? Because someone thought that question worth asking is the glib answer – would anyone have questioned two male leads? I wanted a story where girls and women had their own needs, their own desires, which weren’t secondary or subservient to those of the men. And if that marks the book out as unusual, well, what writer doesn’t want to be a bit different?

Megan was always a girl, but I didn’t want her to be the prize, pursued and protected by boys, nor an honorary man. She has more pressing concerns than who she’s going to hook up with. Enter Eleanor. The glamorous big sister, the wise mentor, the fierce ally – but, exiled to the mountains since birth, she is in some ways as much as a young adult as Megan. And she’s not just here to help Megan find her sister; she has a title to reclaim, a family house to restore, a legacy to live up to.

It’s something of a truism female friendships are closer, more intense than male ones and it was fascinating to explore that and contrast it with the relationship the two of them have with the third member of the trio: Damon, a most un-blokish bloke. You don’t know how the characters are going to work out when you start writing, but the Megan/Eleanor relationship is one of my favourite things about the book. It’s born of mutual need and dark motivations but after being tested to destruction becomes one of love and respect and support and absolute dedication.

They’d tried to kill each other, but they’d saved each other. They’d distrusted each other, but they’d been there for each other. They’d sought out others, but in the end there was only them.

Coming up in True Dark: a third female lead. Is this daring? I hope not.

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MeehanG-TrueFireGary Meehan’s True Fire was published by Quercus in the UK on April 24th. Here is the synopsis…

THE MISSION.

Her sister stolen. Her grandfather murdered. Her home burned to the ground. At just 16, her life destroyed. Now, Megan wants revenge.

THE ENEMY.

But the men who took Megan’s precious twin are no ordinary soldiers. The brutal witches, armour-clad and branded with the mark of the True, will stop at nothing to take back the power they once had.

THE DECEPTION.

Desperate for a way to destroy them, Megan uncovers a terrifying lie.

A lie that will cast doubt on everything she has ever known, and everyone she has ever trusted. A lie that will put Megan at the heart of the greatest war her world has ever seen…

In addition, Quercus is running a competition via Twitter. The competition is pretty simple. For your chance to win £50 of ASOS vouchers, all you have to do is tweet the following line:

“I want to read TRUE FIRE the awesome new YA series to @quercuskids & @garypmeehan #TrueFire”

The competition closes on Tuesday 6th May, at 4pm.

Here’s the blog tour banner, so you know where else to go for more reviews, blog posts, and more…

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Star Wars Expanded Universe To Be Relaunched (and Some Upcoming Novels)

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On April 25th, 2014, and following Lucasfilm’s “new unified storytelling approach”,* Disney Publishing Worldwide was “proud to announce their first step into that larger world”, one “closely connected to the cinematic entertainment currently in development at Lucasfilm”. They are doing this by relaunching their adult line of Star Wars fiction (adult as in “Not YA”, rather than, you know… Star Wars Porn, or Fifty Shades of Hutt). Two interesting quotations from the press release…

“The future Star Wars novels from Disney Publishing Worldwide and Del Rey Books will now be part of the official Star Wars canon as reflected on upcoming TV and movie screens.”

And also…

“We’re extremely proud of the hundreds of amazing Star Wars books we’ve published at Del Rey,” said Scott Shannon, SVP, publisher, Del Rey and Digital Content, “And now we’re excited to finally be able to call our upcoming novels true canon – a single, cohesive Star Wars storyline – all while keeping the amazing backlist of Star Wars Legends content in print.”

In other words, all of those sanctioned-by-George Lucas novels you’ve been reading for the past few decades? Apparently, they are no longer part of the official canon. This is… a little disappointing.

Before I pose some of my own thoughts, here’s a video from the Stars Wars YouTube channel, which looks back over the Extended Universe line (published on April 25th 2014):

Some of the earliest Star Wars novels set post-Return of the Jedi were fantastic, and many remain amongst my favourite sci-fi novels – especially Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy, Roger MacBride Allen’s Corellian Trilogy, and also Dave Wolverton’s The Courtship of Princess Leia (to name but a handful).

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But, now, they do not count. Instead, they seem to be a kind of splinter alternate-reality-timeline for Star Wars. A bit like Marvel’s Ultimate Comics line, perhaps?

SW-Crucible(Denning)I guess this means that Troy Denning’s Crucible must be the final novel in the original (true!) Expanded Universe line?

I’m not sure about the logic behind retconning such a wealth of fictional output, but at least this way they can keep Chewbacca alive… (George Lucas explicitly told the editors that the core characters were not to be killed off, but they nevertheless went and crushed Chewie with a moon…)

A second announcement clarified the future of the original Expanded Universe fiction (novels and, I assume, comics):

“In order to give maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience, Star Wars Episodes VII-IX will not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe. While the universe that readers knew is changing, it is not being discarded. Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe. For example, elements of the EU are included in Star Wars Rebels. The Inquisitor, the Imperial Security Bureau, and Sienar Fleet Systems are story elements in the new animated series, and all these ideas find their origins in roleplaying game material published in the 1980s.”

While it is unfortunate and a little disappointing that the original EU (now to be published under the “Legends” banner) is technically defunct, there are two things to be thankful for. First, the novels are going to remain in print, thanks to considerable, continuing high demand for them. Hurrah! (I need to replace some of my battered old editions… Perhaps UK-available eBook editions should be made available?) So, should anyone have a more strong reaction than disappointment, they can always just keep re-reading this great novels. Personally, I’d very much like to go back to the ‘start’, although given the decades between when I first started reading SW fiction and now, I do worry that my rosy memories will be destroyed…

Secondly, this means we’re still going to be getting new Star Wars novels each year – multiple times per year, actually. This is not a bad thing, despite how disappointed I’ve been with the line recently (maybe the planning for the shift drew attention away from the current/commissioned novels, which could explain some of the dip in quality and focus). Three of the new titles announced, in particular, caught my attention. Minimal information by way of synopses available at the moment, so here are the titles, release dates, and very brief ‘pitches’:

James Luceno, Tarkin (November 2014)

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Bestselling Star Wars veteran James Luceno gives Tarkin the Darth Plagueis treatment, bringing a legendary character from A New Hope to full, fascinating life.

Kevin Hearne, Heir to the Jedi (January 2015)

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A thrilling new adventure set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and – for the first time ever – written entirely from Luke Skywalker’s first-person point of view.

Paul S. Kemp, Lords of the Sith (March 2015)

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When the Emperor and his notorious apprentice, Darth Vader, find themselves stranded in the middle of insurgent action on an inhospitable planet, they must rely solely on each other, the Force, and their awesome martial skills to prevail.