Interview with TOM TONER

July 25, 2018June 1, 2018 Civilian Reader Interview Amaranthine Spectrum, Gollancz, Night Shade Books, Promise of the Child, Sci-Fi, Tom Toner, Tropic of Eternity, Weight of the World

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Tom Toner?

Hello again! Thanks for having me. Tom Toner is the author of the Amaranthine Spectrum, an epic space opera/science fantasy series set 12,500 years in the future.

Your next novel, The Tropic of Eternity, will be published in July. It’s the third novel in your Amaranthine Spectrum series. How would you introduce the series to a potential reader, and what can fans of the first books expect from this instalment?

Time to remember the old elevator pitch… The Amaranthine Spectrum — beginning with 2015’s The Promise of the Child — sets its tale in the 147th century Mediterranean, following the misadventures of Lycaste, a shy, giant species of evolved human and his journey into the Amaranthine Firmament, the 23 surrounding stars controlled by the last remnants of immortal humanity. In between we get to see all sorts of odd beasties and MacGuffins, from singing sea monsters to paper fortresses and tin spaceships. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THRAWN — ALLIANCES by Timothy Zahn (Century)

July 20, 2018July 22, 2018 Civilian Reader Upcoming Alliances, Arrow Books, Century, Del Rey, Penguin UK, Sci-Fi, Star Wars, Thrawn, Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn‘s Thrawn novels are considered many to be among the best (if not the best) of the original Expanded Universe (now “Legacy”) Star Wars novels. The author has brought this fan-favourite character into the new Star Wars canon in Thrawn, and now Thrawn: Alliances. Here’s the synopsis:

Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader team up against a threat to the Empire…

“I have sensed a disturbance in the Force.”

Ominous words under any circumstances, but all the more so when uttered by Emperor Palpatine. On Batuu, at the edges of the Unknown Regions, a threat to the Empire is taking root — its existence little more than a glimmer, its consequences as yet unknowable. But it is troubling enough to the Imperial leader to warrant investigation by his most powerful agents: ruthless enforcer Lord Darth Vader and brilliant strategist Grand Admiral Thrawn. Fierce rivals for the emperor’s favor, and outspoken adversaries on Imperial affairs — including the Death Star project — the formidable pair seem unlikely partners for such a crucial mission. But the Emperor knows it’s not the first time Vader and Thrawn have joined forces. And there’s more behind his royal command than either man suspects.

In what seems like a lifetime ago, General Anakin Skywalker of the Galactic Republic, and Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo, officer of the Chiss Ascendancy, crossed paths for the first time. One on a desperate personal quest, the other with motives unknown . . . and undisclosed. But facing a gauntlet of dangers on a far-flung world, they forged an uneasy alliance — neither remotely aware of what their futures held in store.

Now, thrust together once more, they find themselves bound again for the planet where they once fought side by side. There they will be doubly challenged — by a test of their allegiance to the Empire… and an enemy that threatens even their combined might.

Thrawn: Alliances is due to be published next week in the UK by Century and in North America by Del Rey.

The publisher is currently running a pre-order promotion, too! If you pre-order the novel, and fill out this form, then they will send you a replica-pin of Thrawn’s rank insignia (below). Which is rather nifty.

Follow the Author: Facebook, Goodreads

Interview with RICH LARSON

July 18, 2018April 22, 2018 Civilian Reader Interview Annex, Debut 2018, Most Anticipated 2018, Orbit Books, Rich Larson, Sci-Fi, Violet Wars

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Rich Larson?

I’m just a boy, standing in front of a girl–

No, wait. I’m the author of over a hundred short stories, most of them speculative fiction sold to magazines like Asimov’s, Analog, Clarkesworld, F&SF, Lightspeed and Tor.com. My work has been translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Polish, Czech, French and Italian. I was born in Galmi, Niger, to an American father and a Canadian mother. I like to travel and am obsessed by languages.

Your debut novel, Annex, will be published by Orbit. It looks really interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Annex is about kids fighting aliens — think Animorphs, but darker. It has complex characters but also terrific action set pieces. It’s the first book of The Violet Wars trilogy. Continue reading →

Interview with GAVIN G. SMITH

July 9, 2018January 27, 2021 Civilian Reader Interview, Uncategorized Bastard Legion, Friendly Fire, Gavin G Smith, Gollancz, Sci-Fi, War Criminals

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Gavin Smith?

Just some guy. (He’s a science fiction and fantasy writer with a track record for action oriented stories.)

Your third Bastard Legion novel, War Criminals, is due to be published in July. How would you introduce the series to a potential reader? And what can fans of the series expect from this instalment?

So the high concept pitch for Bastard Legion is the Dirty Dozen/Suicide Squad (depending on your age) meets Aliens. It’s about a mercenary penal legion recruited from the 6,000-strong convict population the Hangman’s Daughter (an interstellar prison barge). They are led by the cheerful, if possibly psychopathic, ex-black ops soldier Miska Corbin and the VR ghost of her dead dad.

War Criminals will see the Legion engaged in a full scale war for the first time! (Previously it’s been smaller-scale black ops.) Continue reading →

Interview with CHRISTOPHER RUOCCHIO

July 2, 2018May 18, 2018 Civilian Reader Interview, Uncategorized Christopher Ruocchio, DAW Books, Empire of Silence, Gollancz, Most Anticipated 2018, Sci-Fi, Sun Eater

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Christopher Ruocchio?

I am the author of Empire of Silence, a new space opera/epic fantasy out in July. I am also the Assistant Editor for Baen Books, where I have edited the military SF anthology Star Destroyers and the upcoming Space Pioneers. I sold my first novel — this novel — at age 22. I graduated from North Carolina State University, where I studied English Rhetoric and Classics. I am a boxer, and former fencer, and the owner of half a suit of replica first century Roman armor. I worked as a waiter for seven years, during which time I wrote and paid my way through college at the expense of any sort of social life. I remain an enthusiastic student, and am blessed with what I consider the world’s greatest family, a lovely girlfriend, and better friends than one of my stormy disposition perhaps deserves. Continue reading →

Excerpt: EXTINCT by R.R. Haywood (47North)

May 24, 2018May 22, 2018 Civilian Reader Excerpt 47North, Extinct, Extracted, RR Haywood, Sci-Fi

Today, we have an excerpt from R.R. Haywood‘s Extinct, the third novel in the author’s Extracted series. Published tomorrow by 47North, here’s the synopsis:

The end of the world has been avoided — for now. With Miri and her team of extracted heroes still on the run, Mother, the disgraced former head of the British Secret Service, has other ideas…

While Mother retreats to her bunker to plot her next move, Miri, Ben, Safa and Harry travel far into the future to ensure that they have prevented the apocalypse. But what they find just doesn’t make sense.

London in 2111 is on the brink of annihilation. What’s more, the timelines have been twisted. Folded in on each other. It’s hard to keep track of who is where. Or, more accurately, who is when.

The clock is ticking for them all. With nothing left to lose but life itself, our heroes must stop Mother — or die trying.

Continue reading →

Review: MURDERBOT DIARIES #1-3 by Martha Wells (Tor.com)

May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 Civilian Reader Review All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Martha Wells, Most Anticipated 2018, Murderbot Diaries, Must Read 2018, Rogue Protocol, Sci-Fi, Tor.com

An amusing, thoughtful series of novellas

These are a lot of fun. In the first three books in Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries — All Systems Red, Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol — we follow the adventures of a SecUnit who has hacked its governor module and, therefore, mostly autonomous. It’s a wonderful guide to this setting, and in each of these books we are given a little more detail on how the universe is set up and runs. All the while, the SecUnit (who does get a couple of personalized names in the books) struggles with its distaste and dislike of humans, and a stubborn urge to protect them. (They’re just so soft and feckless, after all…) Continue reading →

Upcoming: SALVATION by Peter F. Hamilton (Tor/Del Rey)

May 10, 2018 Civilian Reader Upcoming Del Rey, Peter F. Hamilton, Salvation, Salvation Sequence, Sci-Fi, Tor UK

This September, Tor (UK) and Del Rey (US) are due to publish the first novel in Peter F. Hamilton‘s new Salvation Sequence. One of the most acclaimed and successful British sci-fi authors writing today, it sounds like a pretty interesting series.

Here’s the synopsis for Salvation:

Know your enemy – or be defeated

AD 2204

An alien shipwreck is discovered on a planet at the very limits of human expansion – so Security Director Feriton Kayne selects a team to investigate. The ship’s sinister cargo not only raises bewildering questions, but could also foreshadow humanity’s extinction. It will be up to the team to bring back answers, and the consequences of this voyage will change everything.

Back on Earth, we can now make deserts bloom and extend lifespans indefinitely, so humanity seems invulnerable. We therefore welcomed the Olyix to Earth when they contacted us. They needed fuel for their pilgrimage across the galaxy — and in exchange they helped us advance our technology. But were the Olyix a blessing or a curse?

THE FAR FUTURE

Many lightyears from Earth, Dellian and his clan of genetically engineered soldiers are raised with one goal. They must confront and destroy their ancient adversary. The enemy caused mankind to flee across the galaxy and they hunt us still. If they aren’t stopped, we will be wiped out — and we’re running out of time.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Upcoming: THIN AIR and THIRTEEN by Richard Morgan (Gollancz/Del Rey)

May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 Civilian Reader Upcoming Crime, Del Rey, Gollancz, Most Anticipated 2018, Richard Morgan, Sci-Fi, Thin Air, Thirteen, Thriller

MorganR-ThinAirUK Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon was the first ‘proper’ sci-fi novel I read and loved. Its mix of science fiction, action and detective story was perfect for me, and I became a faithful (if uneven) follower of Morgan’s work. I bought and read the second Takeshi Kovacs novel, Broken Angels, as soon as it came out. Morgan’s grimdark fantasy series, A Land Fit for Heroes unfortunately didn’t work for me as well as his sci-fi, and I kind of wandered away from his work for a while. This past year, however, Netflix’s adaptation of Altered Carbon has re-ignited my interest in his work, so I was very happy to learn that Gollancz (UK) and Del Rey (North America) are due to release Thin Air in October. The author’s first sci-fi novel in eight years, here’s the brief synopsis:

An atmospheric tale of corruption and abduction set on Mars.

An ex-corporate enforcer, Hakan Veil, is forced to bodyguard Madison Madekwe, part of a colonial audit team investigating a disappeared lottery winner on Mars. But when Madekwe is abducted, and Hakan nearly killed, the investigation takes him farther and deeper than he had ever expected. And soon Hakan discovers the heavy price he may have to pay to learn the truth.

MorganR-ThirteenUK Gollancz is also due to re-release Morgan’s fourth novel, Thirteen, with a new cover and title (it was original called Black Man) in September, in the UK. Here’s the synopsis:

One hundred years from now, and against all the odds, Earth has found a new stability; the political order has reached some sort of balance, and the new colony on Mars is growing. But the fraught years of the 21st century have left an uneasy legacy…

Genetically engineered alpha males, designed to fight the century’s wars have no wars to fight and are surplus to requirements. And a man bred and designed to fight is a dangerous man to have around in peacetime. Many of them have left for Mars but now one has come back and killed everyone else on the shuttle he returned in.

Only one man, a genengineered ex-soldier himself, can hunt him down and so begins a frenetic man-hunt and a battle survival. And a search for the truth about what was really done with the world’s last soldiers.

BLACK MAN is an unstoppable SF thriller but it is also a novel about predjudice, about the ramifications of playing with our genetic blue-print. It is about our capacity for violence but more worrying, our capacity for deceit and corruption.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Interview K.R. RICHARDSON

May 4, 2018May 8, 2018 Civilian Reader Interview Blood Orbit, Crime, Detective, Gattis Files, KR Richardson, Mystery, Pyr Books, Sci-Fi

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is K.R. Richardson?

A cynical, slightly obnoxious ex-journalist with a taste for good bourbon or rye, big lazy dogs, noir mysteries, quirky science fiction, and ridiculous mechanical objects. And cheese.

Your new novel, Blood Orbit, will be published by Pyr in May. It looks really interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Gritty cop/crime noir, wearing science fiction clothes in the tradition of Blade Runner and Altered Carbon. It’s the first in the Gattis File series — the publisher and I are discussing Gattis File Book 2 right now. Continue reading →