Sci-Fi

Review: THE MASTER OF MANKIND by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (Black Library)

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dembskibowdena-hh41-masterofmankindThe battle for the Webway

While Horus’ rebellion burns across the galaxy, a very different kind of war rages beneath the Imperial Palace. The ‘Ten Thousand’ Custodian Guard, along with the Sisters of Silence and the Mechanicum forces of Fabricator General Kane, fight to control the nexus points of the ancient eldar webway that lie closest to Terra, infested by daemonic entities after Magnus the Red’s intrusion. But with traitor legionaries and corrupted Battle Titans now counted among the forces of Chaos, the noose around the Throneworld is tightening, and none but the Emperor Himself can hope to prevail.

This was probably one of my most-anticipated novels of the year. Each of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s contributions to the ever-expanding Horus Heresy mythos to date has been superb: The First Heretic and Betrayer are particularly stand-out novels in an overall-excellent series. So, when it was first announced that Mr. D-B would be taking on the story of the Emperor himself…? Well, how could I not be excited? Unfortunately, this novel didn’t work for me on almost every level. Continue reading →

Review: FABIUS BILE — PRIMOGENITOR by Josh Reynolds (Black Library)

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reynoldsj-fabiusbile1-primogenitorThe Clone Lord steps into the spotlight…

He is known by many names — Clonelord, Manflayer, Primogenitor. He is the epitome of deceit and perversion, and feared by man and monster alike. Once the Chief Apothecary of the Emperor’s Children, the madman known as Fabius Bile possesses a knowledge of genetic manipulation second to none. Now a renegade among renegades, he is loathed by those he once called brother, and even the most degraded of Chaos Space Marines fear his name. Exiled for his dark experiments, Bile has retreated deep into the Eye of Terror, leaving a trail of twisted abominations in his wake. But when a former student brings word of the ultimate prize for the taking, Bile is unable to resist being drawn once more into the cauldron of war. For in seizing this prize, Fabius Bile might yet discover the one secret his has been unable to unlock… the secret which will prevent his inevitable doom.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel. I’ve been a fan of Reynolds’s for quite some time, but have predominantly read his shorter fiction. In this, the third series from Black Library to tackle a renegade marine hero, Reynolds turns his attention to the Fabius Bile, former lieutenant commander and chief apothecary of the Emperor’s Children. As it turned out, Primogenitor is an excellent science fiction novel. Continue reading →

Interview with JOE M. McDERMOTT

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mcdermottjm-authorpicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Joe M. McDermott?

That’s who I am when I write fantasy novels. I’m going by Joe M. McDermott, these days, in part because I am tired of people I have known for years calling me “Jim.”

Your new novella, The Fortress at the End of Time, will be published by Tor.com in January 2017. It looks really interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Larry Nolen, of OF Blog of the Fallen, recommended a book to me, that I loved, and which led me to another book, which I also loved. The first book was The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati, an old Italian Surrealist anti-war book. On the Amazon recommended page, there was also a fascinating book called The Opposing Shore by Julian Gracq, a French classic of SF. I loved them both, and thought about how they were better military fiction than the military fiction I was reading, because it was more about dealing with the idea of the military, the way the bureaucracy and culture press down on the soul and psyche, than about any great acts of violence. In fact, what little violence occurs is often absurd, abrupt, and misinterpreted by everyone in power. I thought about taking some of those ideas into deep space, not just imaginary cities. The isolation of space, and the way a deep space colony would push down on everyone’s mind, would be, I thought, an interesting update to the ideas presented by these old European classics of the early and mid twentieth century. Continue reading →

Interview with BRADLEY BEAULIEU and ROB ZIEGLER

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Let’s start with an introduction: Who are Brad Beaulieu and Rob Ziegler?

BeaulieuB-AuthorPicCropBrad Beaulieu: I’m the author of Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, an epic fantasy with a strong Arabian Nights feel to it, and The Lays of Anuskaya, another epic, but with windships and elemental magic that was inspired by Muscovite Russia and Ottoman Turkey. Until recently, I was an IT guy, selling and configuring enterprise software for Big Blue. But I’ve recently taken the leap to full-time writing. So I’m also a very scared man. But this is an exciting time. Along with writing a collaborative project here and there (cough cough, The Burning Light, cough), I’m hard at work on the third book in The Song of the Shattered Sands.

zieglerr-authorpic2Rob Ziegler: I’m the author of the novel Seed. It’s the story of young scavenger-cum-highwayman trying to save his younger brother from a giant agri-corp in a southwest ravaged by climate change. It has the feel of a western by way of The Road Warrior. I write full time. Currently I’m working on my second novel, Angel City, as well as the occasional side project like The Burning Light. Over the years I’ve basically done everything — landscape design, IT, bartending, real estate management. My wife and I live a mostly chill life in western Colorado. We hike a lot. Continue reading →

Guest Post: “On Worldbuilding” by Rhonda Mason

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masonr-authorpicIn the beginning, there was the protagonist, and the author saw that it was good.

My worldbuilding process starts after the creation of the protagonist, never before. I write novels to tell the story of a person, not the story of a world, and all of my novels have sprung from a first impression of the main character. For The Empress Game trilogy it was an image of Kayla holding a kris dagger in each hand, fighting another woman in a pit while criminals cheered her on.

Once I have that first impression of a character, the worldbuilding begins. Who is she? (The exiled princess from a rival planet) Where is she? (Hidden on the slum side of her hated enemy’s border planet) Why is she there? (Trying to raise credits to buy passage back to her homeworld) And, most importantly, why is she special? Why are we telling her story, and not someone else’s? Continue reading →

Guest Post: “If We Met Aliens Tomorrow, Would We Notice?” by D. Nolan Clark

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ClarkDN-1-ForsakenSkiesEver since we realized there were other stars out there — and other planets — we’ve been obsessed with the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Stories of meeting beings from other worlds fill up the box office and the bestseller lists, and pretty much everyone on Earth agrees, there must be life out there somewhere. As years go by with no contact, however, some are starting to wonder why it’s taking so long.

The answer may simply be that like anything involving the huge distances and faint signals of space, meeting aliens is hard. In fact, it’s quite possible we’ve already been contacted — and we didn’t notice. Here are four scenarios that could lead to us missing out on the greatest moment in human history. Continue reading →

Excerpt: DARK MADE DAWN by J.P. Smythe (Hodder)

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smythejp-a3-darkmadedawnTo celebrate the release of J.P. Smythe‘s Dark Made Dawn, the third novel in the Australia trilogy, Hodder has provided an excerpt for CR to share. First, the synopsis:

There was one truth on Australia, the derelict ship on which Chan was born and raised: you fight or you die. Usually both.

But everything on Australia was a lie. Abandoned and alone, Chan was forced to live a terrible existence on the fringes of society, Australia’s only survivor after a terrible crash-landing on Earth.

But Chan discovered she was not alone. Together with the unlikeliest of allies, Chan carved out a place for herself on Earth. And now the time has come: she’s finally found a reason to keep going. But friends have become enemies, and enemies have become something worse. It’s time for Chan to create her own truths, and discover a life beyond fighting and death. 

A life beyond Australia.

Dark Made Dawn is published tomorrow in the UK by Hodder. Now, on with the excerpt…

Continue reading →

Interview with BENNETT R. COLES

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colesbr-authorpic2Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Bennett R. Coles?

Thanks for having me on the site. Who am I? Well, for starters I’m a military SF author who’s been lucky enough to have a shot at the writing big leagues. I served fifteen years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy and got to do a whole bunch of cool things – driving ships, firing missiles, leading boarding parties – that served as rich inspiration for writing. I live in Victoria, Canada, with my wife and two sons, and when I’m not writing I run a small publishing house called Promontory Press.

Your next novel, Ghosts of War, was recently published by Titan. As the sequel to Virtues of War, how would you introduce it to a potential new reader? And what can fans of the first expect from the sequel?

Ghosts of War is a stand-alone novel that picks up the tale of our heroes from Virtues of War and primarily explores this question: what happens to young men and women when they come home from war for the first time? How do they reintegrate into “regular” society, and how do they deal with their own emotional trauma amongst people who can’t possibly understand? Ghosts of War is a character-driven story with a plot that is propelled forward primarily by drama and intrigue. It still has military action and loads of suspense, but fans of Virtues of War shouldn’t expect a carbon-copy repeat of the relentless pacing of Book I. Continue reading →

Interview with K.B. WAGERS

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wagerskb-authorpicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is K.B. Wagers?

I have no idea. *laughs* “I am a writer stitched together with ink and dreams” would be the fanciful answer. I’m a native Coloradan, a pretty stubborn Taurus, a lover of coffee and cats (though I prefer if my cats stay out of my coffee), a fan of explosions, and a hopeless optimist.

Your debut novel, Behind the Throne, was recently published by Orbit. It looks interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader?

I am honestly so awful at this! It’s been awesome to have reviews for the book because my words tend to fail me when I’m asked to talk about my work. Behind the Throne is a story about a woman coming to grips with her past and her family, something that’s challenging enough on its own; but when people are trying to kill you it adds a whole other level of difficulty. When Hail finds out that her sisters have been murdered and she’s the only person left to help her empire, she trades in her gunrunning life for a crown and discovers that life in a palace is even more dangerous than the underside of the galaxy. Continue reading →