Excerpt: STARBOUND by Dave Bara (DAW)

December 28, 2015November 19, 2015 Civilian Reader Excerpt Dave Bara, DAW Books, Del Rey UK, Impulse, Lightship Chronicles, Sci-Fi, Starbound

Dave Bara‘s Starbound is the sequel to the author’s debut science fiction novel, Impulse. The author was one of the many hotly-tipped new science fiction authors of the past 12 months, and the novel seems to have clicked for a good number of SF fans. (There were so many interesting new series and SF novels published this past year.) I’ve not had a chance to read Impulse, yet (I do own it, though), but I’m certainly intrigued in the series. Here’s the synopsis for Starbound:

THE FIRST EMPIRE HAS RETURNED.

THE NEW GALACTIC UNION HANGS IN THE BALANCE…

The Lightship Impulse is gone, sacrificed while defeating First Empire ships the fragile new galactic alliance hoped it would never see again.

For Peter Cochrane, serving as third officer on the Starbound and tasked with investigating a mysterious space station in a newly re-discovered system, the wounds of battle may have healed, but the battle is far from over.

Due to be published in North America by DAW Books in January 2016, the publisher has sent me this following excerpt to share. Continue reading →

Happy Holidays

December 24, 2015 Civilian Reader Random Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas

PussnBootsXmas

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Book-Giving Day… And all others.

Hope you all have a great pile of books to keep you company and entertained during the break (feel free to share what you’ll be reading, in the comments).

Back next week.

Catch-Up Interview with EDWARD COX

December 23, 2015December 21, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Catch-Up, Cathedral of Known Things, Edward Cox, Fantasy, Gollancz, Must Read 2015, Relic Guild, Watcher of Dead Time

Your second novel, The Cathedral of Known Things, is out now, published by Gollancz. What can fans of The Relic Guild expect from the second novel?

The boundaries that were set up in the first book are broken down, and the universe is expanded. We see the Houses of the Aelfir for the first time, along with the Genii War. More of the secrets that were kept from the agents of the Relic Guild, and those they had to keep from each other, are revealed. There are some new characters, some new weapons, and one or two surprises along the way. All mixed in with the usual monsters, magic and mayhem, of course.

How did you find the writing process the second time around? Any particular challenges?

The old challenges were still there. The Relic Guild is a single story told over three books. It’s divided into two timeframes, separated by forty years. Planning the past and the present across three books could be hideously complicated at times. Having now finished the third book, The Watcher of Dead Time, I can honestly say that The Cathedral of Known Things was the hardest to write. Continue reading →

Excerpt: THE GALAXY GAME by Karen Lord (Jo Fletcher Books)

December 22, 2015December 20, 2015 Civilian Reader Excerpt, Upcoming Best of All Possible Worlds, Galaxy Game, Jo Fletcher Books, Karen Lord, Must Read 2015, Sci-Fi

LordK-2-GalaxyGamesUKPB Jo Fletcher Books publishes Karen Lord‘s critically-acclaimed novel The Galaxy Game in paperback on January 7th, 2016. It is the sequel to the equally-acclaimed The Best of All Possible Worlds. In advance of it hitting shelves, JFB have sent me this short extract to share here, to whet readers’ appetites for the novel. First up, the synopsis:

For years, Rafi Delarua saw his family suffer under his father’s unethical use of psionic power. Now the government has Rafi under close watch but, hating their crude attempts to analyse his brain, he escapes to the planet Punartam, where his abilities are the norm, not the exception. Punartam is also the centre for his favourite sport, wallrunning – and thanks to his best friend, he has found a way to train with the elite.

But Rafi soon realises he’s playing quite a different game, for the galaxy is changing; unrest is spreading and the Zhinuvian cartels are plotting, making the stars a far more dangerous place to aim. There may yet be one solution — involving interstellar travel, galactic power and the love of a beautiful game.

And now, read on for the prologue… Continue reading →

Interview with GUY HALEY

December 21, 2015December 20, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Beast Arises, Black Library, Champion of Mars, Crash, Dreaming Cities, Dystopia, Emperor's Railroad, Guy Haley, Post-Apocalypse, Sci-Fi, Solaris, Tor.com, Zombies

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Guy Haley?

I am British, from Yorkshire to be precise. I have a kid, a big dog, a fierce wife and lots of brothers. I’m fine, how are you?

Your new novella, The Emperor’s Railroad, will be published by Tor.com in April 2016. It looks really cool: How would you introduce it to a potential reader?

Global war devastated the environment, a plague of the living dead wiped out much of humanity, and civilization as we once understood it came to a standstill. That was a thousand years ago, and the world is now a very different place. Conflict between city states is constant, the dead are an ever-present danger. Superstition is rife, and machine relics, mutant creatures and resurrected prehistoric beasts trouble the land. Watching over all are the silent Dreaming Cities. Homes of the angels, bastion outposts of heaven on Earth. Or so the church claims. Very few go in, and nobody ever comes out. Until now…

That’s the blurb. It’s an SF/fantasy/horror/western hybrid, where advanced technology, primitive cities and strange creatures exist alongside knights in armour, and there are zombies. Did I mention the zombies? Sounds complicated? It’s not, actually. I have an underlying history for the whole thing, and it’s sweet as a nut, if I say so myself. The protagonist is a knight of the angels named Quinn, he’s got a gun, two swords, a quest, and a whole lot of secrets besides. Continue reading →

New Books! (December, Pre-Xmas)

December 20, 2015August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books A.F.E. Smith, Alison Gaylin, Andrew Marr, Andy Remic, Anna Smaill, Catherynne M Valente, Charles McCarry, Charlotte Silver, Clifford Beal, Constable, Cristina Alger, Dan Fesperman, Daniel Polansky, Eric Brown, Fourth Estate, Harper, Head of Zeus, Helen Lowe, Hester Young, Hodder, Ian Graham, Ilija Trojanow, Jamie Doward, Jamie Sawyer, Jean Stein, Jo Walton, Joe R Lansdale, KJ Parker, Knopf, Mary Robinette Kowal, Matt Carter, Melville House, Michael Cobley, Michael Ebner, Michael Thomas, Mulholland Books, Oneworld, Pen & Picture, Random House, Robin Burcell, Ros Barber, Samantha Hunt, Sarah Cain, Simon & Schuster, Solaris, Stefan Ahnhem, Stephen Birmingham, Stephen S. Power, Steven Gore, Talos, Terry Pratchett, Toby Clements, Tricia Sullivan, Verso, Victoria Schwab, Voyager, William Morrow

PageTurnLettersFallOut

Featuring: Stefan Ahnhem, Cristina Alger, Ros Barber, Clifford Beal, Stephen Birmingham, Eric Brown, Robin Burcell, Sarah Cain, Matt Carter, Toby Clements, Michael Cobley, Jamie Doward, Michael Ebner, Dan Fesperman, Alison Gaylin, Steven Gore, Ian Graham, Samantha Hunt, Mary Robinette Kowal, Joe R. Lansdale, Helen Lowe, Andrew Marr, Charles McCarry, Peter Newman, K.J. Parker, Daniel Polansky, Stephen S. Power, Terry Pratchett, Jamie Sawyer, Victoria Schwab, Charlotte Silver, Anna Small, A.F.E. Smith, Jean Stein, Tricia Sullivan, Michael Thomas, Ilija Trojanow, Catherynne M. Valente, Jo Walton, Hester Young

FireflyCurseInevitableBetrayal

Continue reading →

Interview with PETER McLEAN

December 20, 2015December 9, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Angry Robot Books, Burned Man Series, Crime, Drake, Magic, Peter McLean, Supernatural, Thriller, Urban Fantasy

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Peter McLean?

I’m a married man and grandfather in my 40s, who has been writing for over twenty years, and actually taking it seriously for perhaps the last five years or so. Over the years I’ve also been a kung fu teacher, a Wiccan priest, a Unix technician and a chaos magician, and I am now an IT account manager at a multinational outsourcing corporation.

Your debut novel, Drake, will be published by Angry Robot. It looks pretty cool: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Thank you! I guess I’d describe it as “a Guy Ritchie movie with demons in it” – Drake is set in the ganglands of South London, but instead of a cheap gangster my central character is a cheap magician, a hitman who uses his magical abilities and the power of an enslaved Archdemon to summon demons and set them on people. Of course it all goes horribly wrong for him in fairly short order, and that’s when things start to get interesting. Continue reading →

Trailer: WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT (Paramount)

December 17, 2015 Civilian Reader Video Anchor Books, Kim Barker, Movie, Paramount Pictures, Taliban Shuffle, Trailer, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

BarkerK-TalibanShuffle I think this looks pretty great. I learned that the movie is based on Kim Barker’s biography, The Taliban Shuffle (Anchor), which I’ve picked up. Here’s the synopsis…

When Kim Barker first arrived in Kabul as a journalist in 2002, she barely owned a passport, spoke only English and had little idea how to do the “Taliban Shuffle” between Afghanistan and Pakistan. No matter — her stories about Islamic militants and shaky reconstruction were soon overshadowed by the bigger news in Iraq. But as she delved deeper into Pakistan and Afghanistan, her love for the hapless countries grew, along with her fear for their future stability. In this darkly comic and unsparing memoir, Barker uses her wry, incisive voice to expose the absurdities and tragedies of the “forgotten war,” finding humor and humanity amid the rubble and heartbreak.

The movie is released by Paramount Pictures in March 2016.

Upcoming: MOSKVA by Jack Grimwood (Penguin)

December 17, 2015 Civilian Reader Upcoming Crime, Jack Grimwood, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Michael Joseph, Moscow, Moskva, Most Anticipated 2016, Penguin, Serial Killers, Thriller

GrimwoodJ-MoskvaUK Jack Grimwood is a pseudonym for Jon Courtenay Grimwood, the extremely talented author of, among others, The Fallen Blade, End of the World Blues and The Last Banquet. Now, he adds Moskva, a serial killer thriller set in Cold War Moscow. Here’s the synopsis:

Christmas Eve, 1985. The shaved, exsanguinated body of a young man is found in Red Square, frozen solid — like marble to the touch — missing the little finger of his right hand.

A week later, Alex Masterton, the 15-year-old stepdaughter of the British ambassador, goes missing. Army Intelligence officer, Tom Fox, posted to Moscow, is asked to help find her. It’s a shot at redemption.

Fox’s investigation drags him ever deeper towards the dark heart of a Soviet establishment determined to protect its own…

Moskva is due to be published by Michael Joseph/Penguin, on May 6th, 2016. It looks fantastic, and I can’t wait to read it.

Also on CR: Interview with Jon Courtenay Grimwood; Guest Posts on “We Know Goblins Don’t Exist” and group-post “Should You Write What You Read?”; Review of The Fallen Blade

Excerpt: THE 8TH CIRCLE by Sarah Cain (Crooked Lane)

December 16, 2015 Civilian Reader Excerpt, Upcoming 8th Circle, Crime, Crooked Lane Books, Politics, Sarah Cain, Thriller

CainS-1-8thCircle Sarah Cain‘s debut thriller, The 8th Circle is published by Crooked Lane Books on January 12th, 2016. Here’s the synopsis:

A year ago, Danny Ryan lost his wife and son in a car accident. He’s still reeling from the tragedy when Michael Cohen, his friend and fellow journalist, drives into the pond in front of his house with a bullet through his gut.

With Michael’s death ruled a murder, Danny must work to get his name crossed off the list of suspects, and that means digging into Michael’s last article, an expose of the twisted side of Philadelphia politics and nightlife. But powerful people are ready to kill to protect what Michael was about to uncover, and if Danny’s not careful, he’ll be next.

Crooked Lane Books have allowed me to share the first two chapters from the book. Continue reading →

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Year: 2015