[My home is a little bit like this, now…]
Featuring: Mitch Albom, David V. Barrett, D. Randall Blythe, Aliette de Bodard, Charles Bukowski, Umberto Eco, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Victor Gischler, Mark Hodder, Mitchell Hogan, Howard Andrew Jones, Stephen P. Kiernan, Ted Kosmatka, Stina Leicht, Shanna Mahin, George Mann, Ari Marmell, Rhonda Mason, Brian Panowich, Adam Rakunas, Andy Remic, Karin Slaughter, Paul Theroux, Simon Toyne, Tony Tulathimutte Continue reading
Redzone, the second novel in William C. Dietz’s new urban fantasy The Mutant Files series, is out tomorrow in the UK, published by Titan Books. Below you can find an excerpt from the novel. First, though, here’s the synopsis:
The year is 2065, almost thirty years since a bioterrorist attack decimated the population. The world has been divided, and new nations have formed. Those mutated from exposure inhabit the red zones, while “norms” live in the green zones.
In the nation of Pacifica, Los Angeles detective Cassandra Lee is in charge of investigating a disturbing case, tracking a cop killer dubbed the Bonebreaker. But strange new murders have occurred, falling outside the normal pattern and leaving Lee and her team wondering if the serial killer has become unpredictable — or if he’s no longer acting alone…
To make matters worse, Lee’s attention is diverted after she receives a letter from her long-lost mother. Now she must venture into the red zone, a lawless land where might makes right — and where the biggest danger may be her own family.
It is the sequel to Deadeye. Read on for the excerpt… Continue reading
A handful of titles forthcoming from Tor Books UK that I’m really interested in (and one published by Picador).
Zen Cho, SORCEROR TO THE CROWN (September 10th)THE FATE OF ENGLISH MAGIC LIES IN THEIR HANDS…
In Regency London, Zacharias Wythe is England’s first African Sorcerer Royal. He leads the eminent Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, but a malicious faction seeks to remove him by fair means or foul. Meanwhile, the Society is failing its vital duty — to keep stable the levels of magic within His Majesty’s lands. The Fairy Court is blocking its supply, straining England’s dangerously declining magical stores. And now the government is demanding to use this scarce resource in its war with France.
Ambitious orphan Prunella Gentleman is desperate to escape the school where she’s drudged all her life, and a visit by the beleaguered Sorcerer Royal seems the perfect opportunity. For Prunella has just stumbled upon English magic’s greatest discovery in centuries — and she intends to make the most of it. At his wits’ end, the last thing Zachariah needs is a female magical prodigy! But together, they might just change the nature of sorcery, in Britain and beyond.
To be published in the US by Ace Books on September 1st, 2015.
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Seth Dickinson, THE TRAITOR (September 24th)A mask can hide a thousand lies…
Baru Cormorant believes any price is worth paying to liberate her people — even her soul. When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, Baru vows to mask her hate, join the Empire’s civil service, and claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to put a stop to the Emperor’s influence and set her people free –whatever the price. A natural savant she is sent as an Imperial agent to distant Aurdwynn — a post she worries will never get her the position and power she craves.
But Baru soon discovers Aurdwynn is a complex and secretive country, seemingly on the brink of rebellion. All it would need is a match to the tinder… Drawn by the intriguing duchess Tain Hu into a circle of seditious dukes, Baru may be able to use her position to help create a revolution that will threaten the Empire’s hold on the country; an outcome, which if successful, could threaten to bring the Empire to its knees.
As she pursues a precarious balance between the rebels and a shadowy cabal within the Empire, she orchestrates a do-or-die gambit with freedom as the prize. But winning the long game of saving her people may be far more costly than Baru imagines.
Published in the US by Tor Books, as The Traitor Baru Cormorant.
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Seth Patrick, LOST SOULS (August 13th)JONAH MILLER, REVIVER.
Able to wake the recently dead for testimony that is accepted in courts worldwide, the use of revivers has long been a routine part of police investigation. But now those who consider it blasphemy are in resurgence — well-funded and gaining ground, they threaten the work of Jonah and his colleagues in the Forensic Revival Service. Jonah is still recovering from the injuries received after unearthing the existence of a creature bent on terrible destruction, a creature defeated at the cost of many lives.
Then the discovery of a bizarrely mutilated corpse makes Jonah suspect that the victory was not as complete as it seemed, and that not all the evil was destroyed. For in the darkness, shadows are waiting. And they are hungry…
The sequel to Reviver. Published in North America by Thomas Dunne Books in November 2015.
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Hanya Yanagihara, A LITTLE LIFE (August 13th, Picador)A masterful depiction of heartbreak, and a dark and haunting examination of the tyranny of experience and memory.
An epic about love and friendship in the twenty-first century that goes into some of the darkest places fiction has ever travelled and yet somehow improbably breaks through into the light.
When four graduates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome — but that will define his life forever.
Published in North America by Doubleday.
Here’s a selection of upcoming titles from Little, Brown UK that have caught my eye. (It’s a bit more of a mix than usual.)
Kelley Armstrong, DECEPTIONS (August 18th, Sphere)TRUST NO ONE
Olivia Jones is desperate for the truth. The daughter of convicted serial killers, she has begun to suspect that her parents are innocent of their crimes. But who can she trust, in a world where betrayal and deception hide in every shadow?
RISK EVERYTHING
Liv does have one secret weapon: a mysterious sixth sense that helps her to anticipate danger. The trouble is, this rare power comes with its own risks. There are dark forces that want to exploit Liv’s talents – and will stop at nothing to win her to their side.
FACE THE TRUTH
Now Liv must decide, before it’s too late. Who does she love? Who is really on her side? And can she save herself without burning down everything that matters most?
Book three in Armstrong’s Cainsville series — following Omens and Visions. All published in the US by Dutton.
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Stephen Aryan, BATTLEMAGE (September 24th, Orbit)An action-packed and magic-fuelled fantasy novel from a British debut author, Stephen Aryan’s Battlemage features mages fighting an empire-spanning war for a homeland that fears and despises them
‘I can command storms, summon fire and unmake stone,’ Balfruss growled. ‘It’s dangerous to meddle with things you don’t understand.’
BALFRUSS is a battlemage, sworn to fight and die for a country that fears his kind.
VARGUS is a common soldier – while mages shoot lightning from the walls of his city, he is down on the front line getting blood on his blade.
TALANDRA is a princess and spymaster, but the war will force her to risk everything, and make the greatest sacrifice of all.
Magic and mayhem collide in this explosive epic fantasy from a major new talent.
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Jonathan Aycliffe, THE LOST (October 1st, Constable)When a man is lost, who but his ghosts will find him?
British born Michael Feraru, scion of a long line of Romanian aristocrats, leaves his country of birth and his love, to reclaim his heritage — a Draculian castle deep in the heart of Transylvania. He plans to turn his inheritance into an orphanage in the new post-Ceausescu, post-communist country. There he enlists the help of a young local lawyer, Liliana Popescu, to search for the missing Feraru millions, and battle through the complex maze of old bureaucracy in the scam-rich, newly-born state.
Feraru describes his journey into the heart of the Romanian countryside, wasted by years of neglect and caught in a time-warp, as though the twentieth century had never reached it. When he eventually arrives at his inheritance, he finds the castle of the Ferarus, in a sunless valley in the Carpathian Mountains, is home to much more than memories…
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Jim Butcher, THE AERONAUT’S WINDLASS (September 29th, Orbit)A new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors…
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.
Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion-to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.
And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake.
Published by Orbit in both the UK and US. This is the first in a new series, The Cinder Spires.
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Monica Byrne, THE GIRL ON THE ROAD (September 3rd, PB, Blackfriars)In a world where global power has shifted east and revolution is brewing, a young woman sets out from her home in India on a desperate, profound journey of escape and discovery.
A young woman called Meena wakes up one morning covered in blood. There are mysterious snakebites across her chest. She knows she’s in danger but something has happened to her memory. All she can do is run — but why? And from whom?
As Meena plots her escape she hears of the Trail – an extraordinary, forbidden bridge that spans the Arabian sea, connecting India to Africa like a silver ribbon. Its purpose is to harness the power of the ocean — Blue Energy — but it also offers a subculture of travellers a chance for sanctuary and adventure.
Convinced the Trail is her salvation, Meena gathers supplies — GPS, a scroll reader, a sealable waterproof pod. And so begins her extraordinary journey — both physical and spiritual – from India to Ethiopia, the home of her birth. But as she runs away from the threat of violence she is also running towards a shocking revelation about her past and her family.
Still haven’t had the chance to read this, unfortunately. New paperback edition.
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Kate Elliott, COURT OF FIVES (August 27th, LB Young Readers)In this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott begins a new trilogy with her debut young adult novel, weaving an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege
Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners. But at night she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for The Fives, an intricate, multi-level athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom’s best competitors. Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an unlikely friendship between a girl of mixed race and a Patron boy causes heads to turn. When a scheming lord tears Jes’s family apart, she’ll have to test Kal’s loyalty and risk the vengeance of a powerful clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death.
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Joseph Fink & Jeffery Cranor, WELCOME TO THE NIGHT VALE (October 20th, Orbit)From the creators of the wildly popular Welcome to Night Vale podcast comes an imaginative mystery of appearances and disappearances that is also a poignant look at the ways in which we all struggle to find ourselves… no matter where we live. The Telegraph calls Night Vale a ‘cultural phenomenon’ and Time Out says it’s ‘as hilarious as it is macabre’. For fans of Stephen King, Serial, Twin Peaks and of course the number one iTunes podcast itself.
Located in a nameless desert somewhere in the great American Southwest, Night Vale is a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens and government conspiracies are all commonplace parts of everyday life. It is here that the lives of two women, with two mysteries, will converge.
Nineteen-year-old Night Vale pawn shop owner Jackie Fierro is given a paper marked ‘KING CITY’ by a mysterious man in a tan jacket. She can’t seem to get the paper to leave her hand, and no one who meets this man can remember anything about him. Jackie is determined to uncover the mystery of King City before she herself unravels.
Diane Crayton’s son, Josh, is moody and also a shape shifter. And lately Diane’s started to see her son’s father everywhere she goes, looking the same as the day he left years earlier. Josh, looking different every time Diane sees him, shows a stronger and stronger interest in his estranged father, leading to a disaster Diane can see coming, even as she is helpless to prevent it.
Diane’s search to reconnect with her son and Jackie’s search for her former routine life collide as they find themselves coming back to two words: ‘KING CITY’. It is King City that holds the key to both of their mysteries, and their futures . . . if they can ever find it.
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Robert Galbraith, CAREER OF EVIL (October 22nd, Sphere)When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.
Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.
With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…
A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives. You will not be able to put this book down.
I loved the first two novels in Galbraith’s series — The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm. Very much looking forward to Career of Evil. Oh, if you were somehow unaware of the fact, “Robert Galbraith” is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling.
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Kim Harrison, THE DRAFTER (September 1st, Piatkus)LIVE. DIE. REPEAT.
Detroit 2030: Double-crossed by the person she loved and betrayed by the covert government organization that trained her to use her body as a weapon, Peri Reed is a renegade on the run. Don’t forgive and never forget has always been Peri’s creed. But her day job makes it difficult: she is a drafter, possessed of a rare, invaluable skill for altering time, yet destined to forget both the history she changed and the history she rewrote.
When Peri discovers her name is on a list of corrupt operatives, she realizes that her own life has been manipulated by the agency. Her memory of the previous three years erased, she joins forces with a mysterious rogue soldier in a deadly race to piece together the truth about her fateful final task. With only her intuition to guide her, she’s on a vengeful mission to decide-who must she kill and who, including herself, can she trust?
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Julia Knight, SWORDS AND SCOUNDRELS (October 8th, Orbit)The first book in the Duellist’s trilogy — a fast-paced adventure from one of the most exciting new British talents in fantasy
Gold is for fools, and dying is for amateurs…
Vocho and Kacha are champion duellists: a brother and sister known for the finest swordplay in the city of Reyes. Or at least they used to be — until they were thrown out of the Duellist’s Guild.
Now all that’s left to them is to become reluctant highwaymen. Well — it’s a living, and for Vocho it’s a way to win back some form of notoriety. But when they pick the wrong carriage to rob, their simple plans to win back fame and fortune go south fast.
After facing down three armed men and barely besting a powerful magician, Vocho and Kacha make off with an immense locked chest. Vocho is convinced it must be worth a fortune, perhaps enough to buy him and his sister back the lives he lost for them when he inadvertently killed a priest.
But the contents of the chest will bring them much more than they’ve bargained for — when they soon find themselves embroiled in a dangerous plot to return an angry king to power…
Julia Knight is also known as Francis Knight, the author of the Rojan Dizon trilogy (which is very good). Details of the second book in the Duellists trilogy, Legends and Liars (November 5th), are here. The covers for all three novels in the series can be seen in all their glory here.
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Barry Lyga, Peter Facinelli & Robert DeFranco, AFTER THE RED RAIN (August 27th, LB Young Readers)A post-apocalyptic novel with a cinematic twist from New York Times bestseller Barry Lyga, actor Peter Facinelli, and producer Robert DeFranco.
On the ruined planet Earth, where 50 billion people are confined to mega-cities, and resources are scarce, Deedra has been handed a bleak and mundane existence by the Magistrate she works so hard for. But one day, she comes across a beautiful boy struggling to cross the river. A boy with a secretive past and special abilities, who is somehow able to find comfort and life from their dying planet. A boy with an unusual name… Rose.
But just as the two form a bond, it is quickly torn apart by the murder of the Magistrate’s son, and Rose becomes the prime suspect. Little do they know how much their relationship will affect the fate of everyone who lives on the planet.
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Catherine M. Valente, RADIANT (October 20th, Corsair)Severin Unck is the headstrong young daughter of a world famous film director. She has inherited her father’s love of the big screen but not his exuberant gothic style of filmmaking. Instead, Severin makes documentaries, artful and passionate and even rather brave – for she is a realist in a fantastic alternate universe, in which Hollywood occupies the moon, Mars is rife with lawless saloons, and the solar system contains all manner of creatures, cults and colonies.
For Severin’s latest project she leads her crew to the watery planet of Venus to investigate the disappearance of a diving colony there. But something goes wrong during the course of their investigations; and her crew limp home without her.
All that remains of Severin are fragments. Can these snippets of scenes and shots, voices and memories, pages and recordings be collected and pieced together to tell the story of her life – and shed light on the mystery of her vanishing?
Clever, dreamy, strange and beautifully written – Radiance is a novel about how stories give form to worlds.
Continuing my recently-reinstated series of Upcoming posts, here are a selection of the (many) interesting and anticipated upcoming releases from Gollancz and Orion. (This is just a selection, of course, as Gollancz and Orion publish so very many excellent novels. For more, check our their website.)
Bradley Beaulieu, TWELVE KINGS (September 3rd)An epic new fantasy series of mystery, prophecy and death within the ancient walled city of the Twelve Kings . . .
In the cramped west end of Sharakhai, the Amber Jewel of the Desert, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai, but she’s never been able to do anything about it. This all changes when she goes out on the night of Beht Zha’ir, the holy night when all are forbidden from walking the streets. It’s the night that the asirim, the powerful yet wretched creatures that protect the Kings from all who would stand against them, wander the city and take tribute. It is then that one of the asirim, a pitiful creature who wears a golden crown, stops Çeda and whispers long forgotten words into her ear. Çeda has heard those words before, in a book left to her by her mother, and it is through that one peculiar link that she begins to find hidden riddles left by her mother.
As Çeda begins to unlock the mysteries of that fateful night, she realizes that the very origin of the asirim and the dark bargain the Kings made with the gods of the desert to secure them may be the very key she needs to throw off the iron grip the Kings have had over Sharakhai. And yet the Kings are no fools-they’ve ruled the Shangazi for four hundred years for good reason, and they have not been idle. As Çeda digs into their past, and the Kings come closer and closer to unmasking her, Çeda must decide if she’s ready to face them once and for all.
I read and enjoyed Beaulieu’s debut novel, The Winds of Khalakovo in 2011 — for some reason, I never got around to finishing the series, but I think it was partly because I read the first book just before my year of living as something of a vagabond nomad… I’ll have to catch up at some point soon. Twelve Kinds is published in the US by DAW Books, on September 1st, 2015, as Twelve Kings in Sharakai.
Also on CR: Interview with Bradley Beaulieu (2011); Guest Post with Stephen Gaskell on “Co-Authoring Strata“
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Aliette de Bodard, THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS (August 20th)A superb murder mystery, on an epic scale, set against the fall out — literally — of a war in heaven
Paris in the aftermath of the Great Magicians War. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black, thick with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.
House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, now lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls.
Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. They may be Silverspires’ salvation; or the architects of its last, irreversible fall . . .
I’ve featured this a few times, but any excuse to highlight it again… I have an ARC already, so expect a review soon. Published in the US by Roc Books, on August 18th, 2015.
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Edward Cox, THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS (Date)In the end, all things are known. Return to the world of THE RELIC GUILD with this remarkable fantasy novel
Divided, hunted and short on resources, the surviving members of the Relic Guild are in real trouble. Their old enemy, the Genii, and their resurrected master have infiltrated Labrys Town and taken over the police force.
So the Relic Guild must flee their home, and set off on a dangerous journey across the worlds of the Aelfir. One that will lead them to a weapon which might destroy the Genii. Or the whole universe…
And forty years before all this, the war which led to the fall of the Genii continues. And what happens to the Relic Guild during that conflict will change the course of their desperate flight.
I really enjoyed The Relic Guild, so I’m eager to get my mitts on a copy of the follow-up.
Also on CR: Interview with Edward Cox; Guest Post on “Writes and Wrongs“
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Tom Grass, TWIST (August 27th, PB)Packed with action, love and betrayal, Tom Grass’s electrifying heist thriller is a gripping reinvention of the Dickens classic, OLIVER TWIST.
Eighteen-year-old Twist doesn’t have much. No money, no home and no family. All he has is his reputation as one of the most daring street artists in London — whose unique skills are matched only by his infamous talent as a climber and freerunner.
But when he finds himself on the run from the police, he knows that he could be about to lose the last thing he has left – his freedom. Until he is saved by the mysterious Dodge. When Dodge introduces him to con artist and art ‘collector’ Cornelius Faginescu, Twist realises that he finally has the chance to be part of something. All that he has to do is put aside his moral objections and learn to steal…
When this came out in hardcover, I don’t think I saw a single review or even mention on the various blogs I frequent or Twitter feeds I follow. Which is strange, as it sounds rather good. Maybe the paperback will get some more attention?
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John Hornor Jacobs, FOREIGN DEVILS (Date)Sequel to the critically acclaimed THE INCORRUPTIBLES — new lands, new wars, new dangers.
The world is on the brink of war.
Fisk and Shoe — mercenaries, very much not wanting to get caught in the middle of a political whirlwind — must deliver a very important message, and find a very dangerous man. They have caught the eye of the powerful men of the world, and now the stakes are higher than they like.
And the Emperor has decreed that Livia Cornelius, pregnant with Fisk’s child, must travel to the far lands of the Autumn Lords on a diplomatic mission. It will mean crossing half the world, and facing new dangers. And in the end, she will uncover the shocking truth at the heart of the Autumn Lords’ Empire.
A truth which will make the petty politics of war and peace unimportant, and will change the world.
I quite enjoyed The Incorruptibles — the writing and world-building were very well done, and I’m very eager to read this sequel.
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Ursula Le Guin, ALWAYS COMING HOME (October 8th)An unsung masterpiece from one of fantastic literature’s greatest writers.
A long, long time from now, in the valleys of what will no longer be called Northern California, might be going to have lived a people called the Kesh.
But Always Coming Home is not the story of the Kesh. Rather it is the stories of the Kesh — stories, poems, songs, recipes — Always Coming Home is no less than an anthropological account of a community that does not yet exist, a tour de force of imaginative fiction by one of modern literature’s great voices.
I have not read enough of Le Guin’s novels. I’m glad Gollancz are re-releasing so many of them.
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Scott Lynch, THE THORN OF EMBERLAIN (October 15th)Locke and Jean find themselves sucked into the horror of war. Will things ever be the same again?
With 50,000 copies sold of The Republic of Thieves and with praise from the likes of Joe Abercrombie and George RR Martin the saga of the Gentleman Bastard has become a favourite and key part of the fantasy landscape. And now Locke Lamora, thief, con-man, pirate, political deceiver must become a soldier.
A new chapter for Locke and Jean and finally the war that has been brewing in the Kingdom of the Marrows flares up and threatens to capture all in its flames.
And all the while Locke must try to deal with the disturbing rumours about his past revealed in The Republic of Thieves. Fighting a war when you don’t know the truth of right and wrong is one thing. Fighting a war when you don’t know the truth of yourself is quite another. Particularly when you’ve never been that good with a sword anyway…
I’m not sure there are many fantasy fans who aren’t eagerly awaiting this novel… I should probably get my skates on and read The Republic of Thieves ASAP — although, I would like to refresh on the first two… So many pages to get through before October… The first three novels in the series were published in the US by Del Rey, but their website doesn’t list this one, so not sure if this one’s theirs too.
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Ian McDonald, LUNA: NEW MOON (September 17th)The new novel from a multi-award-winning writer: a corporate SF thriller and the deepest evocation yet of the terrors and rigours of life on the moon.
Having woven intricate and gripping plots around thought provoking looks at the future of countries like India, Brazil and Turkey, Ian McDonald now turns his attention to the moon. Luna is a gripping thriller about five corporate families caught in a bitter battle for supremacy in the harsh environment of the moon. It’s very easy to die on the moon but with its vast mineral wealth its also easy to make your fortune. This is SF that will be perfect for fans of Kim Stanley Robinson and Ken Macleod alike.
Told over two volumes this will do for the moon what the award winning River of Gods did for India, the award-winning Brasyl for Brazil and the award winning The Dervish House for Turkey – it will give it a vibrant, extraordinary and believable future.
Published in the US by Tor Books, on September 22nd, 2015.
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Neil Oliver, MASTER OF SHADOWS (September 10th)From the lawless borderlands of Scotland to the crumbling majesty of Constantinople, the first novel from TV historian Neil Oliver is a sweeping, epic adventure and the story of a man all but forgotten by history.
In fifteenth-century Constantinople, Prince Constantine saves the life of a broken-hearted girl. But the price of his valour is high.
John Grant is a young man on the edge of the world. His unique abilities carry him from his home in Scotland to the heart of the Byzantine Empire in search of a girl and the chance to fulfil a death-bed promise.
Lena has remained hidden from the men who have been searching for her for many years. When she’s hunted down, at last she knows what she must do.
With an army amassing beyond the city’s ancient walls, the fates of these three will intertwine. As the Siege of Constantinople reaches its climax, each must make a choice between head and heart, duty and destiny.
The cover caught my attention, and the synopsis convinced me that I’d like to read this. (Also, I’m Scottish, and I lived in Istanbul — so… that’s another, weird, reason to be interested…)
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Anna Sheehan, SPINNING THORNS (December 10th)A superb new fairytale inspired novel from an award winning author. Once the fairy tale is told and the spell has been broken . . . what happens next . . . ?
Sleeping Beauty has woken.
The world has been renewed.
Everyone is living happily ever after . . .
Almost.
Sharp, blood-seeking thorns still surround the castle. A feud remains between those who wield magic and those who were subjected to it. And while the kingdom is divided against itself, nothing can thrive.
A rebellion may be needed — and that’s where Sleeping Beauty’s daughter comes in . . .
Don’t know anything about this novel save from the synopsis. And the cover, which is what drew my attention in the first place. There’s something akin to Into the Woods about the description, too, which could bode well.
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the wildly successful and beloved Back to the Future trilogy, just in time for the 30th anniversary
Long before Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled through time in a flying DeLorean, director Robert Zemeckis, and his friend and writing partner Bob Gale, worked tirelessly to break into the industry with a hit. During their journey to realize their dream, they encountered unprecedented challenges and regularly took the difficult way out.
For the first time ever, the story of how these two young filmmakers struck lightning is being told by those who witnessed it. We Don’t Need Roads includes original interviews with Zemeckis, Gale, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Huey Lewis, and over fifty others who contributed to one of the most popular and profitable film trilogies of all time.
With a focus not only on the movies, but also the lasting impact of the franchise and its fandom, We Don’t Need Roads is the ultimate read for anyone who has ever wanted to ride a Hoverboard, hang from the top of a clock tower, travel through the space-time continuum, or find out what really happened to Eric Stoltz after the first six weeks of filming. So, why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here – and start reading! We Don’t Need Roads is your density.
It’s always difficult writing reviews of histories like this (or many others), as one’s interest in the subject can often result in over-long recitations of what the author covers — thereby potentially negating the need for others to read it for themselves. That could very easily be the case with this book: there are so many great moments herein. Therefore, I’m going to keep this very short. First of all, We Don’t Need Roads is a very good book — it’s witty, exhaustive (despite its slim length), engaging, and clearly written from a place of affection. This is a must read for any fan of the franchise. Continue reading
The relationship between heroes and villains has always fascinated me, even before I became a writer. I remember growing up watching the Doctor battling his mortal enemies, The Daleks on TV (in the Baker/Davidson era), watching Kirk repelling Klingons from the starboard bow, and Bond doing battle with Blofeld (so nice to see him back this year in Spectre!). Blake had Servalan, Obi Wan and co. had Darth Vader, Sherlock Holmes had Moriarty, Batman the Joker, Judge Dredd – Judge Death and Robin had his Sheriff of Nottingham in my favourite take on the mythos, Richard Carpenter’s Robin of Sherwood from the ‘80s… but more on those guys later.
There was just something about it all, the two sides of the same coin thing, but also the notion that one can’t exist without the other – in fact in certain cases one creates the other. It’s the age-old struggle of good vs evil, and these characters symbolise it perfectly. Sometimes one side wins, sometimes the other: but it’s always entertaining to watch how things pan out. Continue reading
I’ve always been fascinated by aliens. From about the time I could talk, I’ve been obsessed with them. For a while, growing up, I was convinced I was one. Now, as an author, I love writing about them.
Over the course of my adult life, I’ve also had an unusual amount of exposure to the science of things alien. I studied artificial intelligence at university, married an astronomer, and recently worked as a researcher in Princeton’s biology department, doing research on abiogenesis. I’ve had the chance to talk to scientists studying exoplanets, researchers at SETI, exobiology, and other wonderful people working in a host of related fields.
Having that science under my belt makes me want to get extraterrestrials right in my novels. It makes me a little fussy about them. And because I care, I want you to get fussy too, dear reader. Continue reading
Action-packed space adventure!
IN SPACE, EVERY. SECOND. COUNTS.
Our planet is in ruins. Three hundred miles above its scarred surface orbits Outer Earth: a space station with a million souls on board. They are all that remain of the human race.
Darnell is the head of the station’s biotech lab. He’s also a man with dark secrets. And he has ambitions for Outer Earth that no one will see coming.
Prakesh is a scientist, and he has no idea what his boss Darnell is capable of. He’ll have to move fast if he doesn’t want to end up dead.
And then there’s Riley. She’s a tracer — a courier. For her, speed is everything. But with her latest cargo, she’s taken on more than she bargained for.
A chilling conspiracy connects them all.
The countdown has begun for Outer Earth — and for mankind.
This is one fast-paced novel. From the very beginning, Tracer maintains the an impressive momentum. We’re given a quick introduction to Outer Earth, and are easily located in this reality and the lives of his characters. In many ways, this is a mash-up of space station survival story and Hollywood space action movie. We frequently feel the characters’ sense of peril, as they career from one threatening situation into another. Riley’s an interesting protagonist and a good guide to Outer Earth and the life of a tracer (the couriers of the station). It’s well-crafted, interesting and engaging. Continue reading
Today, Barnes & Noble’s sci-fi/fantasy blog hosted a cover reveal (and guest post) for Tom Toner‘s upcoming debut, The Promise of the Child, which Night Shade Books will be publishing in September in the US. The novel, which is the first volume in the Amaranthine Sequence, is also due to be published in the UK by Gollancz. The two publishers have gone for similar cover designs, but taken different approaches to the synopsis. So, I thought I’d do another UK-vs.-US comparison posts.
First (because they revealed first a while ago), here’s the UK cover and synopsis:
In the far future man has spread out into the galaxy. And diversified. Some have evolved physically into strange new forms, some have become immortal. Some hark back to the old ways. We have built a glorious new future. One that stretches from the sleepy Old World, to new terraformed planets and Dyson spheres built around artificial suns. For as long as we can remember (and some have lived 12,000 years) we have delighted in a rich new existence. Yes there have been wars but we are content in our splendour. Art is revered, life is easy, death forgotten for many. But now there are rumours of a bid to oust the Emperor and a worrying story that our history is not as we remember it — not only man left Earth…
And here’s the more colourful US cover and more-descriptive/-detailed synopsis:
It is the 147th century.
In the radically advanced post-human worlds of the Amaranthine Firmament, there is a contender to the Immortal throne: Aaron the Long-Life, the Pretender, a man who is not quite a man.
In the barbarous hominid kingdoms of the Prism Investiture, where life is short, cheap, and dangerous, an invention is born that will become the Firmament’s most closely kept secret.
Lycaste, a lovesick recluse outcast for an unspeakable crime, must journey through the Provinces, braving the grotesques of an ancient, decadent world to find his salvation.
Sotiris, grieving the loss of his sister and awaiting the madness of old age, must relive his twelve thousand years of life to stop the man determined to become Emperor.
Ghaldezuel, knight of the stars, must plunder the rarest treasure in the Firmament — the object the Pretender will stop at nothing to obtain.
From medieval Prague to a lonely Mediterranean cove, and eventually far into the strange vastness of distant worlds, The Promise of the Child is a debut novel of gripping action and astounding ambition unfolding over hundreds of thousands of years, marking the arrival of a brilliant new talent in science fiction.
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