Tor UK

Interview with RJURIK DAVIDSON

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALet’s start with an introduction: Who is Rjurik Davidson?

That sounds like an existential question. The kind of thing that Jean Paul Sartre would spend his time contemplating. We are what we do, Sartre would have responded. As for me, I’ve always tried to live a varied life, and have done many jobs. One of my qualities is curiosity. I love learning new things. There’s too much to know in this world. My interests include from quantum physics, ancient history, political theory, psychology and psychoanalysis. I’ve lived around the world (Australia, the US, Europe), worked as a cook, clerk, lecturer, and builder. I speak French, though unevenly. I love to see things I’ve never seen before. I love to meet unusual people. I’m very loyal but don’t often forgive people who have treated me poorly.

Your debut, Unwrapped Sky, will be published in paperback by Tor in the UK, in March 2015. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader?

Unwrapped Sky sits somewhere between fantasy and science fiction, in a little subgenre sometimes called the New Weird. It’s set in the fantastic city of Caeli-Amur, which is something like an industrial version of Ancient Rome. Steam trams chug along the streets. A ruined forum lies close to a huge arena. Three dictatorial Houses rule the city. It’s filled with strange wonders. Ancient Minotaurs arrive for the traditional Festival of the Sun and New-Men bring wondrous technology from their homeland. Hideously disfigured Wastelanders stream into the city and strikes break out in the factory district. Continue reading →

New Books (February #2)

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BooksReceived-20150228

Featuring: Nick Aires, Jesse Armstrong, David Baldacci, Adam Christopher, Sebastien de Castell, David Downing, Mark Andrew Ferguson, Matthew Glass, Daryl Gregory, Austin Grossman, Randy Henderson, Antonia Honeywell, Kameron Hurley, Ben Kane, Dennis Lehane, Evie Manieri, D.J. Molles, Benjamin Percy, Tamora Pierce, Christopher Reich, Loren Rhoads, Anthony Ryan, V.E. Schwab, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Simon K. Unsworth, Jen Williams, Jonathan Wood Continue reading →

Excerpt: GUNS OF THE DAWN by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor)

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TchaikovskyA-GunsOfTheDawnToday I have a short extract from Adrian Tchaikovsky‘s Guns of the Dawn, one of my top 5 Most Anticipated novels of 2015. Published this month by Tor UK, I can’t wait to read it. Tchaikovsky recently wrote a guest blog for CR about the genesis of the novel – “The Art of Gunsmithing – Writing Guns of the Dawn“. First up, here’s the synopsis:

Denland and Lascanne have been allies for generations, but now the Denlanders have assassinated their king, overthrown the monarchy and marched on their northern neighbour. At the border, the war rages; Lascanne’s brave redcoats against the revolutionaries of Denland.

Emily Marshwic has watched the war take her brother-in-law and now her young brother. Then comes the call for more soldiers, to a land already drained of husbands, fathers and sons. Every household must give up one woman to the army and Emily has no choice but to join the ranks of young women marching to the front.

In the midst of warfare, with just enough training to hold a musket, Emily comes face to face with the reality: the senseless slaughter; the weary cynicism of the Survivor’s Club; the swamp’s own natives hiding from the conflict.

As the war worsens, and Emily begins to have doubts about the justice of Lascanne’s cause, she finds herself in a position where her choices will make or destroy both her own future and that of her nation.

Now, on with the extract! Continue reading →

Guest Post: “The Art of Gunsmithing – Writing GUNS OF THE DAWN” by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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TchaikovskyA-AuthorPicWell, it’s out February 12th this year, and I started writing Guns of the Dawn in… it must have been the late 1990’s.

I mean, obviously there were some distractions along the way. I seem to recall something to do with a ten-book series about insect-people. It’s amazing what just slips in when your attention’s on other things.

Seriously, though, way back when, after the insect-kinden were conceived as an RPG setting in university – but not that long after – and long before I actually scored a hit with this writing lark, I had the idea for a book about a woman who goes to war, following in the footsteps of her brother. She wouldn’t go dressed up as a man, but on her own merits. The setting was decidedly regency-y. Some of the current plot was certainly vaguely planned out. Back then, it didn’t get very far.

I was going through a very choppy period in my writing about then. I’d finished about seven complete manuscripts over the years, and each one had been slapped down by publishers and agents, or just vanished into the void, because that’s my thing, as far as “How did you get to become a writer”; to wit, the long way, the traditional, painstaking and slowly soul-destroying way of writing things and not getting anywhere. It’s a varied and gallant siblinghood. There are a lot of us out there. Continue reading →

Review: THE PROVIDENCE OF FIRE by Brian Staveley (Tor)

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StaveleyB-CUT2-ProvidenceOfFireUKAn excellent sequel to The Emperor’s Blades

War is coming, secrets multiply and betrayal waits in the wings…

The Annurian Empire’s ruling family must be vigilant, as the conspiracy against them deepens. Having discovered her father’s assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies. But few trust her, until she seems marked by the people’s goddess in an ordeal of flame.

As Adare struggles to unite Annur, unrest breeds rival armies – then barbarian hordes threaten to invade. And unknown to Adare, her brother Valyn has fallen in with forces mustering at the empire’s borders. The terrible choices they face could make war between them inevitable.

Fighting his own battles is their brother Kaden, rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the Annurian capital with two strange companions. While imperial forces prepare to defend a far-distant front, Kaden’s actions could save the empire, or destroy it.

Coming so soon after my review for the first book in the series, it’s a little tricky to think of how to write this review. Most of what I loved about The Emperor’s Blades is true for The Providence of Fire: Staveley’s writing and storytelling are great, his characters interesting and nuance. However, all of these elements have improved for this second novel. If you haven’t read Staveley yet, then you are missing out. This is a must read series. Continue reading →

Excerpt: THE PROVIDENCE OF FIRE by Brian Staveley (Tor)

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As I prep this post, I’m in the middle of reading Brian Staveley‘s debut, The Emperor’s Blades – the first novels in the author’s Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series. It’s certainly very good. It’s sequel, The Providence of Fire is now out in the UK and North America, published by Tor Books. To whet your appetites, Tor has allowed me to share this excerpt from the first chapter. But first, here’s the synopsis:

War is coming, secrets multiply and betrayal waits in the wings…

The Annurian Empire’s ruling family must be vigilant, as the conspiracy against them deepens. Having discovered her father’s assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies. But few trust her, until she seems marked by the people’s goddess in an ordeal of flame.

As Adare struggles to unite Annur, unrest breeds rival armies – then barbarian hordes threaten to invade. And unknown to Adare, her brother Valyn has fallen in with forces mustering at the empire’s borders. The terrible choices they face could make war between them inevitable.

Fighting his own battles is their brother Kaden, rightful heir to the Unhewn Throne, who has infiltrated the Annurian capital with two strange companions. While imperial forces prepare to defend a far-distant front, Kaden’s actions could save the empire, or destroy it.

Now, on to the excerpt! Continue reading →

Review: THE EMPEROR’S BLADES by Brian Staveley (Tor)

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Staveley-1-TheEmperorsBladesUKA superb, must-read debut epic fantasy

The circle is closing. The stakes are high. And old truths will live again…

The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must prepare to unmask a conspiracy. His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. And after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can act, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation.

The Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. Lastly Kaden, heir to the empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways, which Kaden must master to unlock ancient powers. But when an imperial delegation arrives, has he learnt enough to keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?

There was much hype around The Emperor’s Blades when it was released last year. Naturally, being the ornery and difficult fellow, I decided to wait. And wait. As the weeks passed, I became distracted by other things and other new books. Then I moved to Canada. After the arrival of the sequel, The Providence of Fire, I decided I had waited long enough, and started reading The Emperor’s Blades (wow, that was one long, convoluted tale that was utterly unimportant and uninteresting…). And then I kept reading. Well into the night, multiple times. With only a couple of niggles, I can sum things up thus: Believe the hype. This is a great novel and the beginning of something special. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE BLACK DREAM by Col Buchanan (Tor UK)

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BuchananC-HotW3-BlackDreamIf you have been reading CR for a while, you may have caught my reviews of the first two novels in Col Buchanan‘s Heart of the World series, Farlander (2010) and Stands a Shadow (2011). The short version of both of my reviews is, “I love this series.” It is with quite some measure of excitement, therefore, that I learned a little while ago that the third volume in the series, The Black Dream, is finally coming out! Tor UK will be publishing the novel on March 12th, 2015. The cover was unveiled earlier today, alongside new covers for the first two in the series (at end). First, here’s the synopsis:

As the empire of Mann threatens the world with enslavement, only a single island nation continues to stand in its way – the Free Ports of the democras. For ten years they have held their own, but now the empire draws its noose even tighter over them.

Rallying to its defence are those from the secretive network known as the Few, including the cripple and troubleshooter Coya Zeziké. Coya has hopes of enlisting the forest contrarè in the aid of the besieged city of Bar-Khos. With him is Shard, the only Dreamer of the Free Ports, a woman capable of manipulating waking reality or the strange dimensions of the Black Dream.

The Roshun order of assassins have also engaged in the war at last. But Ash, their ailing farlander, has more urgent business to overcome. Facing him is a skyship voyage into the Great Hush, then further journeying to the fabled Isles of Sky, where he hopes bring his dead apprentice Nico back to life. Yet, his voyage into the unknown may save more than just Nico… it may save the Free Ports themselves.

Can’t wait to read this. Here are the new (top) and original covers for Farlander and Stands a Shadow:

Buchanan-1&2-New&Old

Also on CR: Interview with Col Buchanan

Upcoming: GUNS OF THE DAWN by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK)

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TchaikovskyA-GunsOfTheDawnThis is easily one of my most anticipated novels of 2015 — I am a big fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky‘s writing, despite being woefully behind on his truly epic Shadows of the Apt fantasy series. I mentioned this novel before on the blog, but Tor unveiled the final cover artwork, so I get to share it again. Guns of the Dawn is a stand-alone fantasy, and it sounds really interesting:

Denland and Lascanne have been allies for generations, but now the Denlanders have assassinated their king, overthrown the monarchy and marched on their northern neighbour. At the border, the war rages; Lascanne’s brave redcoats against the revolutionaries of Denland.

Emily Marshwic has watched the war take her brother-in-law and now her young brother. Then comes the call for more soldiers, to a land already drained of husbands, fathers and sons. Every household must give up one woman to the army and Emily has no choice but to join the ranks of young women marching to the front. 

In the midst of warfare, with just enough training to hold a musket, Emily comes face to face with the reality: the senseless slaughter; the weary cynicism of the Survivor’s Club; the swamp’s own natives hiding from the conflict. 

As the war worsens, and Emily begins to have doubts about the justice of Lascanne’s cause, she finds herself in a position where her choices will make or destroy both her own future and that of her nation.

Guns of the Dawn is published in the UK by Tor Books, on February 12th, 2015. I can’t wait to get my mitts on it.

In the same post (linked above), Tor shared information about Adrian’s other two 2015 releases, Children of Time and The Tiger and the Wolf. Here’s what they had to say about the novels: Children of Time (publication date unconfirmed at the moment) is

“Adrian’s first science fiction novel – and it’s epic. The last remnants of humanity left a dying earth behind, desperate to find a new home. Then when they finally find it, terror is waiting. Think Battlestar Galactica meets Alien – dramatic, stirring and a story with big themes. People seeking a sense of wonder will find everything they need here.”

The Tiger and the Wolf (due to be published November 19th, 2015) is the start of a new epic fantasy series:

“[T]he story of a young girl who is able to shift into the two forms – that of a wolf of her own clan – but also that of their mortal enemies – the tiger. It’s a coming-of-age story about the choices she has to make to decide where she belongs set against a backdrop of warfare and politics. Fantastically-written and a rip roaring read.”

So yeah: 2015 could become the Year of Adrian Tchaikovsky…

EXTINCTION GAME by Gary Gibson (Tor)

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GibsonG-ExtinctionGameSolid parallel-universe disaster science fiction

Jerry Beche should be dead. But instead of dying alone, he’s been rescued from a desolated earth where he was the last man alive. He’s then trained for the toughest conditions imaginable and placed with a crack team of specialists.  Each one also a survivor, as each one survived the violent ending of their own versions of earth. And their specialism – to retrieve weapons and data in missions to other dying worlds. But who is the shadowy organization that rescued them? How do they access other timelines and why do they need these instruments of death?

As Jerry struggles to obey his new masters, he starts distrusting his new companions. A strange bunch, their motivations are less than clear, and accidents start plaguing their missions. Jerry suspects that organisation is lying to them, and team members are spying on him.  As a dangerous situation spirals into fatal, who is an enemy and who can he really trust?

This is the first novel of Gary Gibson’s that I’ve read. I’d been meaning to try out his work for years, but for some reason always got distracted. Luckily, Extinction Game arrived in the mail, and I happily dove right in. I was not disappointed. This is a good novel. Continue reading →