Fantasy

Upcoming: THE WHITE CITY by Simon Morden (Gollancz)

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MordenS-TheWhiteCityUKHot damn, that’s a nice cover. The sequel to Simon Morden‘s Down Station, The White City is due to be published in the UK by Gollancz October 27th, 2016. Here’s the synopsis:

LET’S FACE IT, NONE OF US DESERVE TO BE SAVED.

Since escaping London’s inferno, Mary and Dalip have fought monsters and won – though in the magical world of Down, the most frightening monsters come from within. 

Now they hold the greatest of treasures: maps that reveal the way to the White City, where they can find the answers they’re looking for, and learn the secrets of Down. 

But to get there they must rely on Crows, who has already betrayed them at every turn. As they battle their way towards the one place in all of Down without magic, they must ask themselves how far they will go to find their way home. 

After all, if there’s one thing the White City offers those brave enough to enter, it’s more than they bargained for.

It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t get into Down Station — the design and artwork for both of these books is superb. C’est la vie.

Interview with COL BUCHANAN

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BuchananC-AuthorPicWelcome back to CR! For the benefit of new readers, let’s start with an introduction: Who is Col Buchanan?

Thanks Stefan. A full author bio, including details of my Fantasy series, Farlander/The Heart of The World, can be found at my author site.

Think Irish rebel; a lover of trailblazers, truth-seekers and controversy.

Your next novel, Fierce Gods, will be published by Tor. It’s the fourth novel in your excellent Heart of the World series. How would you introduce the series to a potential reader? What can fans expect from the fourth book?

In the first book of the series, Farlander, the adventure starts with an ageing assassin and failed revolutionary, Ash, having to take on a young apprentice before he dies — just as he sets off on his most dangerous mission of all…

In books two and three, Stands a Shadow and The Black Dream, we follow this dynamic through an adventure of shocks and revelations.

With book four, Fierce Gods, we reach the climax of the series, along with the climax of the ten-year-long siege that has been happening throughout the previous books. It’s where everything and everyone finally collide. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS by Aliette de Bodard

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Tor.com unveiled the US cover for Aliette de Bodard‘s next novel, today: The House of Binding Thorns, the sequel to The House of Shattered Wings. I think it’s a pretty striking cover. Here’s the synopsis:

The multi-award winning author of The House of Shattered Wings continues her Dominion of the Fallen saga as Paris endures the aftermath of a devastating arcane war…

As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the Great Houses of Paris, ruled by fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital.

House Silverspires was once the most powerful, but just as it sought to rise again, an ancient evil brought it low. Philippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal — to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic may be more than he can bear.

In House Hawthorn, Madeleine the alchemist has had her addiction to angel essence savagely broken. Struggling to live on, she is forced on a perilous diplomatic mission to the underwater Dragon Kingdom — and finds herself in the midst of intrigues that have already caused one previous emissary to mysteriously disappear…

As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those caught between new fears and old hatreds must find strength — or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will.

The House of Shattered Wings is published in April 2017, in North America by Roc Books, and in the UK by Gollancz. The UK cover is below. I’m quite looking forward to it.

Also on CR: Guest Post & Excerpt The House of Shattered Wings; Review of The House of Shattered Wings

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Interview with MARK DE JAGER

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deJagerM-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Mark de Jager?

He’s a long time fantasy fanboy who wishes he had more time to play games and spends his downtime re-reading dog eared paperbacks. The constraints of reality mean I work full time in the City and write whenever I can around that.

Your debut novel, Infernal, will be published in August by Del Rey UK. It looks rather interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Thanks. I did try come up with the classic ‘elevator pitch’ for Infernal; I always liked ‘It’s Jason Bourne meets Lord of the Rings, except Jason Bourne is the Balrog’. Of course, that only works if the person I’m talking to knows the references!

If not, I’d say its a character driven fantasy thriller following the story of a demon with a fractured mind who’s only certain of one thing: that he’s being hunted. Continue reading →

Quick Review: COLD-FORGED FLAME by Marie Brennan (Tor.com)

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BrennanM-ColdForgedFlameAn interesting fantasy novella with room for expansion

The sound of the horn pierces the apeiron, shattering the stillness of that realm. Its clarion call creates ripples, substance, something more. It is a summons, a command. There is will. There is need.

And so, in reply, there is a woman.

At the beginning — no — at the end — she appears, full of fury and bound by chains of prophecy.

Setting off on an unexplained quest from which she is compelled to complete, and facing unnatural challenges in a land that doesn’t seem to exist, she will discover the secrets of herself, or die trying. But along the way, the obstacles will grow to a seemingly insurmountable point, and the final choice will be the biggest sacrifice yet.

This is the story of a woman’s struggle against her very existence, an epic tale of the adventure and emotional upheaval on the way to face an ancient enigmatic foe. This could only spun from the imagination of Marie Brennan, award-winning author and beloved fantasist, beginning a new series about the consequences of war — and of fate.

I enjoyed this novella. The story opens with our protagonist waking in the middle of a ritual — one centred around her. She has no memories, is warned off trying to remember who and what she is. She is given a task, an order she cannot resist. It seems like it could be a straight-forward quest to acquire something. However, when has a Quest ever been easy…? In Cold-Forged Flame, Brennan gives readers a selection of difficulties that can befall a hero. A quick-paced, enjoyable novella. Continue reading →

A Quick Chat with RJURIK DAVIDSON

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Welcome back to CR! For new readers, let’s start with an introduction: Who is Rjurik Davidson?

An Australian writer who spends a lot of time in Europe. A person who moves from place to place, from forest to desert, across all sorts of levels of society, from lawyers to party animals, from politicians to workers, from the ancient to the modern. Someone who knows that the most interesting things happen on the fault lines between worlds.

Your new novel, The Stars Askew, has recently been published by Tor. It looks fantastic: How would you introduce the series to a potential reader? And what can fans of the first novel expect from this new book?

First of all, The Stars Askew is an epic story about a revolution. As with all revolutions, it’s filled with dramatic events. The city of Caeli-Amur is in flux. Revolutionaries are in control, but enemies lurk in the shadows. One of the leaders is found murdered in the city’s baths with two thaumaturgists, also killed. Why were they killed? Kata, a former philosopher-assassin sets out to find the killer. That’s the start of the novel. From there stakes rise and rise. The novel features prison camps and Gorgons, lost towers in the wilderness and betrayal. Continue reading →

Guest Post: “Writing Games vs. Novels” by Brian Hastings

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HastingsB-AuthorPicFor some reason, back in college, I had the audacity to think I could become an author. As if that was just one of the options available in the career center. It turned out finding any job at all was a lot trickier than I expected. But I knew how to program computers, so I ended up joining a startup video game company that we would later name Insomniac Games (because of how little we slept back in those days.) And Twenty-Two years later I’m still making video games.

But for the first time in my life, I can now say that I’m an author.

Song of the Deep is both a game and a novel, and each reveals different parts of a mysterious world. But creating a novel in conjunction with a game ended up being a challenging journey in itself. Continue reading →

Excerpt: VIGIL by Angela Slatter (Jo Fletcher Books)

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SlatterA-VigilAngela Slatter‘s Vigil is the first novel in the author’s Verity Fassbinder series, published by Jo Fletcher Books. To celebrate its recent release in the UK, the publisher has provided CR with the following excerpt, as part of an extensive blog tour (details of other stops at end). First, though, here’s the synopsis:

Verity Fassbinder has her feet in two worlds.

The daughter of one human and one Weyrd parent, she has very little power herself, but does claim unusual strength — and the ability to walk between us and the other — as a couple of her talents. As such a rarity, she is charged with keeping the peace between both races, and ensuring the Weyrd remain hidden from us.

But now Sirens are dying, illegal wine made from the tears of human children is for sale — and in the hands of those Weyrd who hold with the old ways — and someone has released an unknown and terrifyingly destructive force on the streets of Brisbane.

And Verity must investigate — or risk ancient forces carving our world apart.

Read on for the excerpt… Continue reading →

Upcoming: FIERCE GODS by Col Buchanan (Tor)

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Earlier this week, Tor UK unveiled the cover for Col Buchanan‘s fourth Heart of the World novel, Fierce Gods. If you’ve been reading CR for a while, you may have spotted that I really enjoyed the first two novels in the series, Farlander and Stands a Shadow. I haven’t yet had the chance to catch up with the third book, The Black Dream, but I hope to do so very soon. In the meantime, here’s the synopsis for Fierce Gods:

A time of reckoning has begun.

For ten years the Free Ports held their own against the despotic empire of Mann – but the empire is now poised to destroy them. The crucial fortress city of Bar-Khos is under attack and its freedom depends on a few unsteady hands.

Betrayal could come from any side, at any moment. While chaos reigns, Nico will search for his captive mother and attempt to defend his people. And Shard the Dreamer will hunt for legendary charts, which could yet save the city.  However, a Red Guard officer with gone rogue could bring about the end, 
and a visitor from another world has a hidden agenda.

With the war entering its darkest hours, will any of them survive?

Fierce Gods is due to be published by Tor UK on February 23rd, 2017.

Also on CR: Interview with Col Buchanan (2011); Reviews of Farlander and Stands A Shadow

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Upcoming: THE BEAR AND THE SERPENT by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor)

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A few days ago, Adrian Tchaikovsky revealed the cover for his next fantasy novel, The Bear and the Serpent, due to be published in the UK by Tor Books, on February 9th, 2017. It’s the second novel in the author’s Echoes of the Fall series. Here’s the synopsis:

Maniye, child of Wolf and Tiger, has a new soul and a new shape. But as Champion of the Crown of the World, does she represent an opportunity for the North — or a threat? Travelling as a bodyguard to the Southern prince, with her warband of outcasts, she hopes to finally discover her true place in the world.

But if only it was that simple. Tensions rise, and new allies face up to old enemies as civil war threatens to tear the South apart. Royal twins can’t share a throne, so one must be chosen. And whoever rules the southern Sun River Nation will hold the fate of the world in their hands. As the protector of one potential heir, Maniye soon finds herself at the eye of a political storm. Yet all the while, an enemy from the most ancient of times prepares for conquest, and could destroy everything in their path…

It is the sequel to The Tiger and the Wolf, which was also published by Tor in the UK (and is out now). Tchaikovsky is also the author of the critically-acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, Guns of the Dawn, Children of Time and the upcoming Spiderlight.

Also on CR: Interview with Adrian Tchaikovsky (2012); Guest Posts on “Nine Books, Six Years, One Stenwold Maker”, “The Art of Gunsmithing — Writing Guns of the Dawn”, “Looking for God in Melnibone Places: Fantasy & Religion” and “Eye of the Spider”; Excerpt from Guns of the Dawn; Reviews of Empire in Black & Gold and Guns of the Dawn