Fantasy

Interview with PETER NEWMAN

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NewmanP-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Peter Newman? 

Peter Newman lives in Somerset with his wife and son. Growing up in and around London, Peter studied Drama and Education at the Central School of Speech and Drama, going on to work as a secondary school drama teacher. He now works as a trainer and Firewalking Instructor. He sometimes pretends to be a butler for the Tea and Jeopardy podcast, which he co-writes, and which has been shortlisted for a Hugo Award.

Your debut novel, The Vagrant, is due to be published this year by Voyager Books. How would you introduce it to a new reader? And is it part of a planned series?

A quick description would be: A silent figure wanders a far-future, post-demonic apocalypse, carrying humanity’s last hope. It features singing swords, demon knights, a baby and a goat.

It has been described recently (to my great delight) as: “A bit like China Mieville writing post-apocalyptic angelic knights.” A quote I’m sharing at every available opportunity!

The sequel will be out next year. [Possibly called The Malice – TBC] Continue reading →

Guest Post: On Magical Worldbuilding by Peter Orullian

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OrullianP-AuthorPicWorldbuilding is a big topic. Especially for epic fantasy. Or it can be, anyways. Writers and novels differ on approach, of course. With my series, The Vault of Heaven, I did spend time thinking through some things before I got deep into the writing. Glad I did.

Before I dive in, though, I should say that I also left lots of room for spontaneous creation. I don’t map my books out in infinite detail. I likes me some surprises along the way.

When it came to the worldbuilding, however, there were a few bits I locked in from the get go. And because worldbuilding is a ginormous topic, I want to focus on magic this time around.

I sat on a panel recently where the topic was basically: heavily rule-based magic vs. the more open approach. The examples thrown out by my co-panelists went something like: Brandon Sanderson on one end and Terry Brooks on the other, maybe Tolkien. You’ve likely heard this before. One side of the continuum has very precise rules for how the magic works — it reminds me, in fact, of Magic: The Gathering. Then, on the other side of that same continuum, you have magic that just works, and may even seems inexhaustible — with nearly no consequence for the wielder.

First off, for me, that last bit is a cardinal sin. If a character can wield something as super-awesome and powerful as magic and do so infinitely, he or she is pretty much a god. And gods don’t tend to lose many battles. To balance that out, the writer would need to give that super-awesome and powerful magic to both sides of the conflict. The escalation is endless. And silly. It might make for fun reading for a while. You know. Lots of cool visuals. Battles of epic proportions. Gods throwing mountains. The sky filled with lightning scorching entire countries. Time reversing itself. Suns exploding. And on. And on. Continue reading →

Mini-Review: MOON’S ARTIFICE by Tom Lloyd (Gollancz)

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LloydT-1-MoonsArtificePBThe start of an interesting new fantasy series

In a quiet corner of the Imperial City, Investigator Narin discovers the result of his first potentially lethal mistake. Minutes later he makes a second.

After an unremarkable career Narin finally has the chance of promotion to the hallowed ranks of the Lawbringers – guardians of the Emperor’s laws and bastions for justice in a world of brutal expediency. Joining that honoured body would be the culmination of a lifelong dream, but it couldn’t possibly have come at a worse time. A chance encounter drags Narin into a plot of gods and monsters, spies and assassins, accompanied by a grief-stricken young woman, an old man haunted by the ghosts of his past and an assassin with no past.

On the cusp of an industrial age that threatens the warrior caste’s rule, the Empire of a Hundred Houses awaits civil war between noble factions. Centuries of conquest has made the empire a brittle and bloated monster; constrained by tradition and crying out for change. To save his own life and those of untold thousands Narin must understand the key to it all – Moon’s Artifice, the poison that could destroy an empire.

This is the first novel by Tom Lloyd that I’ve read. I picked it up after I received Old Man’s Ghost for review and wanted to get caught up. Lloyd’s prose is very good — I’m not sure if I’ve read another author who writes so precisely. The novel starts very well, and Lloyd quickly gets us situated in the world. The characters are very well-drawn and varied. The East Asian-flavours of the world and society are well incorporated and tweaked for the author’s needs, multi-layered, rich, and don’t feel like appropriation. There’s plenty of politics and action to keep readers reading.

I had one major niggle, though, which did affect my experience with feelings for the novel: Lloyd front-loads the novel with a lot of what felt like info-dumping, over-explaining and over-describing. It’s good description and world-building, but it made the novel quite slow to begin with and I struggled to sink in to it to begin with. Perhaps this is a symptom of moving on to a whole new series after ending a larger, established five-book epic (The Twilight Reign). Those who persevere will be rewarded.

If you’re after an interesting new fantasy series set in an atypical (for Western authors) setting, then Moon’s Artifice will probably be for you. The sequel, Old Man’s Ghost is out now, too.

Also on CR: Interview with Tom Lloyd (2012); Catch-Up Interview (2013); Guest Post on Terry Pratchett

Excerpt: CITY OF STAIRS by Robert Jackson Bennett (Jo Fletcher Books)

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BennettRJ-CityOfStairsUKRobert Jackson Bennett‘s City of Stairs was one of my favourite novels from last year. Just released in paperback in the UK by Jo Fletcher Books, the publisher has provided and extract for me to share here. But first, the synopsis:

The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions — until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world’s new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself — first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it — stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy.

Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov’s oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country’s most accomplished spies, dispatched to catch a murderer. But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem — and that Bulikov’s cruel reign may not yet be over.

Read on for Chapter 1…
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Upcoming: THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS by Edward Cox (Gollancz)

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Gollancz unveiled the cover for Edward Cox‘s second Relic Guild novel today: The Cathedral of Known Things. Because I’m a fan of the first novel, as well as a friend of Ed’s (full disclosure), I’m sharing it here as well. It’s quite stunning, I think – shares the same aesthetic/style of the first novel’s cover (below). And that purple really pops… It’s due to be published in the UK in October 2015. I couldn’t find a synopsis, but I’m sure I’ll share it here when I do.

Also on CR: Interview with Edward Cox; Guest Post on “Writes & Wrongs”; Review of The Relic Guild

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Excerpt & Covers: TOMOE GOZEN Series by Jessica Amanda Salmonson (Open Road Media)

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SalmonsonJA-TG1-DisfavoredHeroOpen Road Media will be publishing Jessica Amanda Salmonson‘s Tomoe Gozen series in eBook for the first time this year. The three novels — The Disfavored Hero, The Golden Naginata and Thousand Shrine Warrior — will be available from April 7th, 2015. Here’s the synopsis for the first novel:

Forced to betray her lord, a disgraced samurai fights to regain her honor

In the fabled land of Naipon, there is no warrior more feared, no samurai more respected than the legendary Tomoe Gozen, whose twin blades can change the course of any battle. After years of service to Lord Shigeno, she is about to renew her oath of loyalty when the sky darkens and a cry of rebellion comes from the hills. Possessed by an evil wizard, the peasants are marching against their master. Tomoe holds off the wave of pitchfork-wielding farmers for as long as she can. Finally, the battle overwhelms her, and the greatest samurai in Naipon falls dead.

She awakes in hell, on a slope lined with bloody corpses. After an eternity of fighting, she reaches the summit and finds herself in the chamber of a wizard who restores her to life. She is alive — but now she must do his bidding. Her honor has been shattered, but Tomoe Gozen will do whatever it takes to win it back.

Read on for an excerpt from The Disfavored Hero. Continue reading →

Upcoming: HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS by Aliette de Bodard

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Above is the stunning cover for Aliette de Bodard‘s upcoming new novel, House of Shattered Wings, which was recently unveiled by Roc Books. I love all the details in the art — especially the smouldering feathers. I was luckily able to have a read of an early three chapters from the novel, thanks to Aliette’s agent, and I absolutely loved what I read. I really can’t wait to read the completed book. The novel is due to be published by Roc Books (a division of Penguin) in the US on August 20th, 2015. Gollancz have the UK rights, and will publish on September 1st, 2015. Both will also publish the sequel (I assume in 2016).

Here’s the synopsis:

In the late Twentieth Century, the streets of Paris are lined with haunted ruins. The Great Magicians’ War left a trail of devastation in its wake. The Grand Magasins have been reduced to piles of debris, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine has turned black with ashes and rubble and the remnants of the spells that tore the city apart. But those that survived still retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.

Once the most powerful and formidable, House Silverspires 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 angel; an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction; and a resentful young man wielding spells of unknown origin. They may be Silverspires’ salvation—or the architects of its last, irreversible fall. And if Silverspires falls, so may the city itself.

I’ll be sure to share the UK cover, when it finally becomes available.

UK Cover: WHEN THE HEAVENS FALL by Marc Turner (Titan Books)

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TurnerM-1-WhenTheHeavensFallUKI shared the US information about Marc Turner‘s upcoming debut fantasy novel, When the Heavens Fall, last month. Now, after the SciFi Now exclusive reveal, I can share the UK details and cover (right). The novel is due to be published in the UK by Titan Books on May 22nd, 2015. Here’s the synopsis:

Shroud is the Lord of the Dead.

Long ago he hid the Book of Lost Souls, a terrifying repository of unspeakable power, able to give its owner dominion over the fallen. For ages this perilous tome has been in the secret keeping of the mages of Erin Elal.

But when the renegade mage Mayot absconds with the Book and takes it deep into the haunted Forest of Sighs to decode its secrets, tendrils of death-magic snake out from its ancient pages. Spirits awaken. The dead rise. And the living face a war unlike any ever waged.

Into this dark vortex are swept four intrepid souls, each with their own agenda, their own cause, their own ghosts:

Luke, the betrayer and bitter former Guardian of Erin Elal, who is coerced into going after the book for his corrupt emperor; Romany, the high priestess of the goddess Spider, Shroud’s greatest rival, whose webs of deceit ensnared Mayot into stealing the Book in the first place; Ebon, heir to the throne of Galitia, who fights for his sanity and his realm against an onslaught of restless spirits; and Parolla, a deadly and resourceful young woman who seeks a direct confrontation with Shroud in order to settle an old debt.

Check back in mid-May for an interview with the author.

Upcoming: THE LIAR’S KEY by Mark Lawrence (Ace/Voyager)

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I’m a big fan of Mark Lawrence‘s novels. His debut, Prince of Thorns (published in 2011) blew me away, and I blitzed through it in just two sittings. King of Thorns, the sequel, was a heftier beast, but no less good. I haven’t managed to get around to Emperor of Thorns, just yet, but I do intend to do so ASAP. He has since completed his first trilogy and begun a second, parallel trilogy set in the same world and at the same time. The cover for the second novel in this new trilogy, The Liar’s Key now has UK (below) and US (above) covers.

After harrowing adventure and near-death, Prince Jalan Kendeth and the Viking Snorri ver Snagason find themselves in possession of Loki’s Key, an artefact capable of opening any door, and sought by the most dangerous beings in the Broken Empire — including The Dead King.

Jal wants only to return home to his wine, women, and song, but Snorri has his own purpose for the key: to find the very door into death, throw it wide, and bring his family back into the land of the living.

And as Snorri prepares for his quest to find death’s door, Jal’s grandmother, the Red Queen continues to manipulate kings and pawns towards an endgame of her own design…

The Broken Empire trilogy includes Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns and Emperor of Thorns.

The Red Queen’s War trilogy includes Prince of Fools, The Liar’s Key and The Wheel of Osheim (2016).

The Liar’s Key is published in the US by Ace Books, on June 2nd, 2015; and in the UK by Voyager, on June 18th, 2015.

Also on CR: Interview with Mark Lawrence

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Review: KNIGHT’S SHADOW by Sebastien de Castell (Jo Fletcher Books)

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deCastell-2-KnightsShadowUKThe highly-anticipated sequel to Traitor’s Blade

Tristia is a nation overcome by intrigue and corruption. The idealistic young King Paelis is dead and the Greatcoats – legendary travelling magistrates who brought justice to the Kingdom – have been branded as traitors. But just before his head was impaled on a spike, the King swore each of his hundred and forty-four Greatcoats to a different mission.

Falcio Val Mond, First Cantor, with the help of fellow Greatcoats Kest and Brasti, has completed his King’s final task: he has found his Charoites – well, one at least, and she was not quite what they expected. Now they must protect the girl from the many who would see her dead, and place her on the throne of a lawless kingdom. That would be simple enough, if it weren’t for the Daishini, an equally legendary band of assassins, getting in their way, not to forget the Dukes who are determined to hold on to their fractured Kingdoms, or the fact that the heir to the throne is only thirteen years old. Oh, and the poison that is slowly killing Falcio.

That’s not even mentioning the Greatcoat’s Lament…

Sebastien de Castell’s debut, Traitor’s Blade, is one of my favourite novels from 2014 — it was fast-paced, swashbuckling, interesting and well-written. It brought back some of the fun to fantasy, while remaining somewhat (grim)dark. It was with much anticipation, therefore, that I dove in to Knight’s Shadow very shortly after I got my hands on a copy. Right from the start, we learn that this is a far more substantial, ambitious novel.
Continue reading →