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Upcoming: “Your Brother’s Blood” by David Towsey (Jo Fletcher)

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I kind of stumbled across this by accident, but it sounds pretty great. So, here’s some information about David Towsey’s debut novel, Your Brother’s Blood, coming from Jo Fletcher Books in September 2013… The publisher’s blog included the following comment, “Think The Road – but also think Warm Bodies, this book is going to stir up a storm.” This sounds right up my alley, then. Here’s the synopsis…

Thomas is thirty-two. He comes from the small town of Barkley. He has a wife there, Sarah, and a child, Mary; good solid names from the Good Book. And he is on his way home from the war, where he has been serving as a conscripted soldier. Thomas is also dead – he is one of the Walkin’. And Barkley does not suffer the wicked to live.

Book Trailer: “The Bone Season” by Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury)

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I mentioned a few days back that a copy of The Bone Season had arrived unexpectedly. I’m looking forward to reading the novel, and may also host an interview with the author, closer to the release date. Check out the trailer (above), and the synopsis (below)…

Welcome to Scion, no safer place.

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, kidnapped and drugged, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite creature with dark honey skin and heavy-lidded yellow eyes. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

The Bone Season will be published in the UK by Bloomsbury, on August 20th 2013.

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Upcoming: “Felix & Gotrek: City of the Damned” by David Guymer (Black Library)

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Guymer-G&F-CityOfTheDamnedI’ve been reading the Felix & Gotrek series ever since the very early Games Workshop Warhammer anthologies (the first I bought was Wolf Riders). When Black Library was formed, and William King started releasing regular novels, I was very happy. Then Nathan Long took over the series, and he maintained the quality very well, taking it to the next level. Now the series seems to be more of a team-effort, with multiple short stories by different authors, and now novels by different people – this latest one by David Guymer, and also Josh Reynold’s Road of Skulls (which I really need to read… Maybe I’ll read it this coming week).

It’ll be interesting to see how these new installments add to the expanding Gotrek & Felix canon. Especially as they seem to be diverging from the timeline set out by King and Long…

Gotrek and Felix: unsung heroes of the Empire, or nothing more than common thieves and murderers? The truth perhaps lies somewhere in between, and depends entirely upon whom you ask… Legend tells of the City of the Damned – a dark and forbidding place destroyed in a previous age by the wrath of Sigmar. Long have its fallen towers remained undisturbed by the people of Ostermark, but now an ancient evil stirs in the depths, gathering its strength once more. Gotrek and Felix are swept up in the crusade of Baron Gotz von Kiel to cleanse the city, and as the ruins are torn from the passage of time itself, the Slayer’s doom appears to be approaching more quickly than either of them would like.

City of the Damned will be published in September 2013.

Upcoming: “The Warmaster” by Dan Abnett (Black Library)

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Abnett-WarmasterDan Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts is one of the best sci-fi series, in my opinion. Not only has it been running for so long, but it has (with but one wobble) maintained a very high quality. Each novel has built on the last, the characters develop naturally. A good number of them have died. I just love it.

Alongside the Horus Heresy and the Gotrek & Felix series, Abnett’s was one of the only Black Library series I rushed out to buy on day one (or read ASAP, if I got a review copy).

Anyway, it’s been a couple of years since Abnett’s last Ghosts-related fiction (the novel Salvation’s Reach and a short-story), so I am very much looking forward to getting reacquainted with the characters.

Here’s the synopsis for the 14th book in the series, The Warmaster…

After the success of their desperate mission to Salvation’s Reach, Colonel-Commisar Gaunt and the Tanith First race to the strategically vital forge world of Urdesh, besieged by the brutal armies of Anarch Sek. However, there may be more at stake than just a planet. The Imperial forces have made an attempt to divide and conquer their enemy, but with Warmaster Macaroth himself commanding the Urdesh campaign, it is possible that the Archenemy assault has a different purpose – to decapitate the Imperial command structure with a single blow. Has the Warmaster allowed himself to become an unwitting target? And can Gaunt’s Ghosts possibly defend him against the assembled killers and war machines of Chaos?

The Warmaster will be published by Black Library in December 2013.

Upcoming: “The Prince of Lies” by Anne Lyle (Angry Robot)

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This was unveiled earlier today on Fantasy Faction (curses for beating me to the scoop! Curses, I say!!). But, as a fan of Anne Lyle’s writing, I wanted to share it here again. The new, very green cover for the author’s third Night’s Masque novel…

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I have been remiss, to be honest, as I have not yet read the second novel in the series, The Merchant of Venice. BUT I WILL! (Oh, those fateful words of mine…) Here’s the synopsis for book three, to be published in October (US) and November (UK) 2013…

Elizabethan spy Mal Catlyn has everything he ever wanted – his twin brother Sandy restored to health, his family estate reclaimed and a son to inherit it – but his work is far from over. The renegade skraylings, the guisers, are still plotting – their leader, Jathekkil, has reincarnated as the young Prince Henry Tudor. But while he is still young, Mal has a slim chance of eliminating his enemies whilst they are at their weakest.

With Sandy’s help, Mal learns to harness his own magic in the fight against the guisers, but it may be too late to save England. Schemes set in motion decades ago are at last coming to fruition, and the barrier between the dreamlands and the waking world is wearing thin…

File Under: Fantasy [ Princes in the Tower | Revenger’s Tragedy | Much Ado | Boys Will Be Boys ]

The Sixth Gun, Vol.3 – “Bound” & Vol.4 – “A Town Call Penance” (Oni Press)

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Volume Three. Still awesome.

Writer: Cullen Bunn | Artist: Brian Hurtt (#12-13, 15-17) & Tyler Crook (#14, #23) | Colors: Bill Crabtree

Traveling by secret railroad, Becky and Drake accompany an order of mysterious monks on a quest to bury General Hume’s body on holy ground. But malevolent forces spurred by a sinister necromancer stage a terrifying attack on the train. Drake vanishes without a trace. Alone, Becky continues her journey to a secluded mountain fortress where she discovers how deeply her fate is entwined with that of The Sixth Gun. Meanwhile, Gord revisits a haunted mansion from his past hoping to discover a means to destroy the Six, but the ghosts he stirs have no intention of letting his quest continue.

Vol.3 Collects: The Sixth Gun #12-17
Vol.4 Collects: The Sixth Gun #18-23

Ah, The Sixth Gun. Without a doubt, this is one of my favourite comics series. It blends Wild Western adventure with some supernatural shenanigans. There’s action, humour, spooky stuff, and a plot that will hook you from the very start. I loved both of these books.

In “Bound”, Drake, Becky and the fellas from the Sword of Abraham are taking the Six and the body of the dead evil general, via train… somewhere safer. Naturally, nothing can go smoothly, as a necromancer raises an undead posse to retrieve the guns and the body of Evil General Hume (he’s someone you just have to always include the “Evil” when you mention him…). We’re introduced to Asher Cobb – a big, fuck-off mummy. Sent by the same necromancer to retrieve the evil body, while the surprisingly-spritely undead posse take care of the living. However, Cobb has a history with Drake… We get his story in #14 – a really cool extra.

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The story then moves forward a few days, as Gord heads home to collect the books on the Six from his former owner, who was in league with the Evil General. This was a nice diversion, and added a lot more to the whole spooky-supernatural side of the story. Not that the, you know, mummies, undead and magic guns weren’t already pretty obviously in the Weird Stuff arena…

With Drake missing, Becky is taken to the Sword of Abraham’s keep, and told she can never leave. But, an old friend is at hand to help, and she learns more of the power of the Sixth Gun.

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In “A Town Called Penance”, we re-join Drake after his short-lived disappearance from the train assault. He’s been captured by the Knights of Solomon, who he joined after the war – they are also the enemies of the Sword of Abraham, before attempting (unsuccessfully) to prevent her from going to Drake’s aid. The Knights of Solomon want Drake back working with them. As well as the Six, of course. Becky comes to rescue him, but there’s something not right with the town called Penance…

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As with the previous two books, I zipped through these two books, unable to put them down. The story is gripping, fast-paced, and very well written. And the artwork is great, too – atmospheric, consistent and just all-round excellent. I particularly loved the “silent” chapter – Becky’s near an explosion, and bursts her eardrums. Then she goes on a bit of a rampage through the underground lair of the Knights of Solomon. She’s joined by Drake. They kill a LOT of people…

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There is a really interesting revelation at the end of chapter five in this second book. It bodes very well for the future, so I will definitely be coming back for more of this series. Final chapter of Volume 4 features Kirby Hale, who we first briefly met in Volume 2, when he seduced Becky. We’re caught up on his story, and there’s a really nice parallel between his new trajectory and Drake’s in issue #1. A nice bit of writing, I thought.

Both of these books expand and build on the series superbly. We get more character development and also more world-building. I can’t recommend The Sixth Gun highly enough. Love this series. An absolute must read series for fans of comics, Westerns, and speculative/genre fiction of all stripes. Superb.

Review: RED MOON by Benjamin Percy (Hodder/Grand Central)

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PercyB-RedMoonUKA superb literary horror novel

Every teenage girl thinks she’s different. When government agents kick down Claire Forrester’s front door and murder her parents, Claire realises just how different she is.

Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and, hours later, stepped off it, the only passenger left alive. A hero.

President Chase Williams has sworn to eradicate the menace. Unknown to the electorate, however, he is becoming the very thing he has sworn to destroy.

Each of them is caught up in a war that so far has been controlled with laws and violence and drugs. But an uprising is about to leave them damaged, lost, and tied to one another for ever.

The night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge, and the battle for humanity will begin.

Red Moon is one of the best novels I’ve read this year. It’s long, but never felt like it dragged. I savoured every chapter. A near-perfect literary horror novel. Continue reading →

Upcoming: “The Detainee” by Peter Liney (Jo Fletcher)

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MOAR upcoming Jo Fletcher Books titles?! Why yes. And it looks like a doozy. (No, I do not work for them, I just really like what they publish.) This time, it’s a sci-fi debut I only learned about today – not sure how it slipped by, actually, as it sounds really interesting – Peter Liney’s The Detainee. Here’s the synopsis…

When the fog comes down and the drums start to beat, the inhabitants of the island tremble: for the punishment satellites – which keep the tyrannical Wastelords at bay – are blind in the darkness, and the islanders become prey.

The inhabitants are the old, the sick, the poor: the detritus of Society, dumped on the island with the rest of Society’s waste. There is no point trying to escape, for the satellites – the invisible eyes of the law – mete out instant judgement from the sky.

The island is the end of all hope – until ‘Big Guy’ Clancy finds a blind woman living in a secret underground warren, and discovers a reason to fight.

Colour me intrigued. The Detainee will be published on July 4th 2013 in the UK by Jo Fletcher Books. Expect more about The Detainee and Peter Liney on the blog in the near future…

Upcoming: “The Tower Broken” by Mazarkis Williams (Jo Fletcher)

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I just caught this over on BookSworn, and thought I’d share it on here as well. I’ve only read the first novel in Williams’ series, The Emperor’s Knife, and do intend to get to the second, Knife Sworn, as soon as time permits.

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Is it just me, or does the fellow on the cover have a bit of a cheeky smile on his face…?

The only synopsis I could find of the novel was this single-sentence from Rising Shadow:

“Cerana faces down its historical enemy while a greater threat creeps through the desert towards the capitol city of Nooria.”

And over at the above-linked BookSworn page, Mazarkis Williams had this to say about the plot:

“Govnan gets a point of view in this final book, and the Tower is the focus of the story. When faced with the prospect of its utter ruin and the destruction of Nooria, Govnan must make some tough choices.”

I’ll keep my eyes open for a proper synopsis, and update this post as-and-when something more concrete becomes available.

UPDATE! [May 10] Here is the publisher’s synopsis for the book:

Nooria is at breaking point. The nothing bleeds out the very essence of all, of stone, silk – and souls. Sarmin thought he had stopped it, but it is spreading towards Cerana – and he is powerless to halt the destruction.

Even as Cerana fills with refugees, the Yrkmen armies arrive, offering to spare Sarmin’s people if they will convert to the Mogyrk faith.

Time is running out for Sarmin and Mesema: the Mage’s Tower is cracked; the last mage, sent to find a mysterious pattern-worker in the desert, has vanished; and Sarmin believes his kidnapped brother Daveed still has a part to play.

The walls are crumbling around them…

The Tower Broken will be available in “Late 2013”, published by Jo Fletcher books in the UK on November 7th 2013. (US details still pending confirmation.)

Upcoming: “Swords of Good Men” by Snorri Kristjansson (Jo Fletcher)

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Another book that turned up without any foreknowledge, Snorri Kristjansson’s Swords of Good Men sounds pretty awesome:

To Ulfar Thormodsson, the Viking town of Stenvik is the penultimate stop on a long journey in his riveting adventure of clashing Viking powers. Tasked with looking after his cousin after disgracing his father, he has traveled the world and now only wants to go home.

Stenvik is different: it contains the beautiful and tragic Lilja, who immediately captures Ulfar’s heart – but Stenvik is also home to some very deadly men, who could break Ulfar in an instant.

King Olav is marching on Stenvik from the East, determined to bring the White Christ to the masses at the point of his sword, and a host of bloodthirsty raiders led by a mysterious woman are sailing from the north.

But Ulfar is about to learn that his enemies are not all outside the walls.

I’ve been bad about keeping up-to-date with Jo Fletcher Books releases (Bad Stef!). I’m hoping to get to this ASAP. Swords of Good Men will be published in the UK and the US(?) in August 2013.