Sci-Fi

Interview with DAVID WALTON

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WaltonD-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is David Walton?

As well as a science fiction author, I’m an engineer, a Christian, and the father of seven children. My oldest child is fourteen, and my youngest is only one and a half, so my home is a riotous place, full of love, adventure, and chaos. During the day, I work for Lockheed Martin, a satisfying career that makes use of my interests in math and algorithms. On my blog, I’ve written about how my Christian faith interacts with my love for science and science fiction.

Your next novel, Superposition, will be published by Pyr in the US, in April 2015. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a new series?

As a quantum physics murder mystery! Superposition is a fast-paced thriller, with high-stakes danger and a race to the finish. It starts when a former colleague shows up at Jacob Kelley’s door full of unbelievable tales and fires a gun at Jacob’s wife. When the colleague shows up dead, Jacob is accused of murder. Soon he and his teenage daughter are on the run, pursued by the police and by a quantum intelligence unconstrained by the normal limits of space and matter. Father and daughter have to pick up the pieces, following multiple paths of possibility to get to the truth and put their lives back together again. Continue reading →

Excerpt: EDGE OF DARK by Brenda Cooper (Pyr)

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CooperB-GE1-EdgeOfDarkEDGE OF DARK is the latest science fiction novel from Brenda Cooper. It is the first in the Glittering Edge Duology, and is published next month by Pyr Books. Here’s the synopsis:

What if a society banished its worst nightmare to the far edge of the solar system, destined to sip only dregs of light and struggle for the barest living. And yet, that life thrived? It grew and learned and became far more than you ever expected, and it wanted to return to the sun. What if it didn’t share your moral compass in any way?

The Glittering Edge duology describes the clash of forces when an advanced society that has filled a solar system with flesh and blood life meets the near-AI’s that it banished long ago. This is a story of love for the wild and natural life on a colony planet, complex adventure set in powerful space stations, and the desire to live completely whether you are made of flesh and bone or silicon and carbon fiber.

In Edge of Dark, meet ranger Charlie Windar and his adopted wild predator, and explore their home on a planet that has been raped and restored more than once. Meet Nona Hall, child of power and privilege from the greatest station in the system, the Diamond Deep. Meet Nona’s best friend, a young woman named Chrystal who awakens in a robotic body….

Now, on with the excerpt… Continue reading →

Book Trailer: TOUCH by Claire North (Redhook/Orbit)

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I am a huge fan of Claire North‘s novels – The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is probably one of my favourite novels, and Touch (out next week) is also brilliant. Published by Redhook/Orbit Books (US/UK), both of these novels are absolute must-reads for all. To celebrate the release of Touch, Orbit has commissioned a trailer:

Here’s the novel’s synopsis and cover:

NorthC-TouchKepler had never meant to die this way — viciously beaten to death by a stinking vagrant in a dark back alley. But when reaching out to the murderer for salvation in those last dying moments, a sudden switch takes place.

Now Kepler is looking out through the eyes of the killer himself, staring down at a broken and ruined body lying in the dirt of the alley.

Instead of dying, Kepler has gained the ability to roam from one body to another, to jump into another person’s skin and see through their eyes, live their life — be it for a few minutes, a few months or a lifetime.

Kepler means these host bodies no harm — and even comes to cherish them intimately like lovers. But when one host, Josephine Cebula, is brutally assassinated, Kepler embarks on a mission to seek the truth — and avenge Josephine’s death.

In related news, gleaned from Hachette US’s website, in November Orbit is publishing three new titles by North: The Serpent of Venice, The Master of the House and The Thief of Bangkok. (I’m guessing novellas, as there’s scant information available at this time.)

New Books (February #1)

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Featuring: Joe Abercrombie, Mark Alder, Michel Bussi, Michael Christie, John Clarkson, Toby Clements, Myke Cole, Rowena Cory Daniells, William Dietz, Cecilia Ekbäck, Christopher Fowler, John French, Steven Harper, Lee Kelly, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Ursula le Guin, Stephen Marche, Marshall Ryan Maresca, George R.R. Martin, Paul McAuley, Ben Mezrich, Michael Moorcock, Michael Alan Nelson, Peter Orullian, Den Patrick, Justina Robson, Andrzej Sapkowski, Joe Schreiber, Harry Turtledove, Nicolle Wallace Continue reading →

Review: BLADES OF THE TRAITOR (Black Library)

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Various-HH-BladesOfTheTraitorThe latest Horus Heresy anthology from Black Library

Across the war-torn galaxy, those sworn to Horus’s cause shake the Imperium to its very foundations. Before the traitors’ relentless onslaught, the wisdom of ages past is lost and forgotten, daemons hide amongst the common people and the warp’s corrupting influence can be seen in almost every facet of the Heresy. For those who would become champions of the new order, there can surely be no redemption – only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods…

This book collects five short stories set in the Horus Heresy age. Two of them I’ve already read and reviewed: the excellent Daemonology by Chris Wraight, and the very-short-but-also-very-good Black Oculus by John French. These three new stories are excellent. While not the longest anthology BL has done, this may be their best in terms of quality in a long while. Very highly recommended for fans of the series. The collection probably has more to offer fans who have read the novels that sowed the seeds for these stories, but they are also five examples of excellent, dark science fiction. Continue reading →

Upcoming: LUNA – NEW MOON by Ian McDonald (Tor)

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McDonaldI-Luna1-NewMoonUSI haven’t read as much of Ian McDonald‘s work as I think I should have. After spotting the cover reveal for this on Twitter, though, I think I’ll be making sure to read at least one of his novels this year. Luna: New Moon is the first in a duology from multi-award-winning British author. I’ve spoken to someone who’s read it, and they say it’s amazing. Here’s the synopsis:

The scions of a falling house must navigate a world of corporate warfare to maintain their family’s status in the Moon’s vicious political atmosphere

The Moon wants to kill you. Whether it’s being unable to pay your per diem for your allotted food, water, and air, or you just get caught up in a fight between the Moon’s ruling corporations, the Five Dragons. You must fight for every inch you want to gain in the Moon’s near feudal society. And that is just what Adriana Corta did.

As the leader of the Moon’s newest “dragon,” Adriana has wrested control of the Moon’s Helium­3 industry from the Mackenzie Metal corporation and fought to earn her family’s new status. Now, at the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation, Corta Helio, surrounded by the many enemies she made during her meteoric rise. If the Corta family is to survive, Adriana’s five children must defend their mother’s empire from her many enemies… and each other.

Luna: New Moon is published in the US by Tor Books, and in the UK by Gollancz.

UPDATE (2/10): This morning, Gollancz unveiled their cover for Luna. It’s a wonderfully sharp image (I hope it comes through in the image below). I also really like that the letters in “Luna” have their own moons:

McDonaldI-Luna1-NewMoonUK

Excerpt: TAMARUQ by E.J. Swift (Del Rey)

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SwiftEJ-AuthorPic3Tamaruq is the final volume in E.J. Swift‘s well-received Osiris Project science fiction trilogy. As part of the blog tour to celebrate it’s release, Del Rey UK have given me this excerpt to share with you. But first, the novel’s synopsis:

Fleeing from her family and the elitist oppression of the Osiris government, Adelaide Rechnov has become the thing she once feared, a revolutionary.

But with the discovery of a radio signal comes the stark realization that there is life outside their small island existence. Adelaide’s worries are about to become much bigger.

Meanwhile, as rumour spreads on the mainland, many head to the lost city of Osiris with their own devious objectives. But in a world where war is king and only the most powerful survive, there can only be one victor…

Tamaruq is out now in the UK. The first two novels in the series, Osiris and Cataveiro are also published in the UK by Del Rey.

Also on CR: Interview with E.J. Swift; Inspiration in Translation Guest Post Continue reading →

Quick Chat with DAVE BARA

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BaraDave-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Dave Bara?

Honestly, I’m a just guy who was pretty much born to write science fiction. My earliest memories are of watching the Gemini and Apollo missions on TV, plus Star Trek, Lost In Space, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone. I was always fascinated with space and science fiction, so it seems like it was my destiny to write it.

Your debut, IMPULSE, will be published by DAW Books in February in the US. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

It is part of a series, of which Starbound will be the second volume in early 2016 and Defiant will be the third. If I was introducing it I’d say it’s character-driven SF/action-adventure, the kind of thing I like to read. If you’re into space opera and military SF, you’ll probably love Impulse. Continue reading →

Guest Post: “Thinking Like A Monkey” by Gareth L. Powell

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PowellGarethL-AuthorPicOne of the largest challenges I faced while writing my ‘Macaque’ trilogy (Ack-Ack Macaque, Hive Monkey and Macaque Attack – all published by Solaris Books) was in writing chapters and scenes from the point of view of my main character.

Ack-Ack Macaque really is a monkey. He’s not a guy in a rubber suit. So, I felt duty bound to make him act like one. I had to imagine how a monkey (even a monkey whose intelligence has been boosted to human-like levels by artificial implants) would react in given situations and interact with the other characters in the book.

For instance, early in the first book, he warns somebody he’s just met not to smile at him, as, to a monkey, baring one’s teeth can be a challenge, as can sustained eye contact.

“Don’t take it personally,” he says. “It’s a primate thing.” Continue reading →

Review: DEATH AND DEFIANCE by Various (Black Library)

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Various-Death&Defiance(HH)A collection of Horus Heresy novellas

Words alone can no longer convey the horrors of the war that now grips the Imperium. In what should have been an age of enlightenment and glorious triumph, instead warriors on both sides reel from the twin agonies of betrayal and bloodshed. The hatred of a sworn foe, the ire of a primarch, or the unholy wrath of a daemon-lord – none but the mighty Space Marines can hope to weather such torments unscathed…

Death and Defiance is the latest anthology from Black Library – originally, it was only available as a hardcover (possibly at the Black Library Weekender?). The short stories it contained were recently made available through the publisher’s website as individual eBooks. Naturally, given my addiction to Horus Heresy fiction, I snapped them up right away. On the whole, it’s a very good collection. Surprisingly, though, my favourite author featured did not deliver the best story (in fact, it was by far the weakest). Continue reading →