Upcoming
Upcoming: “A Matter Of Blood”, “Mayhem” & More by Sarah Pinborough (Ace/Gollancz/Jo Fletcher)
With a number of exciting releases on both sides of the Pond, it looks like 2013 is going to be a very good year for British author Sarah Pinborough.
First up, and already out in the UK for ages (published by Gollancz in 2010), we have the author’s critically-acclaimed A Matter of Blood will now be hitting shelves in the US.
In a world steeped in darkness, a new breed of evil has fallen…
London’s ruined economy has pushed everyone to the breaking point, and even the police rely on bribes and deals with criminals to survive. Detective Inspector Cass Jones struggles to keep integrity in the police force, but now, two gory cases will test his mettle. A gang hit goes wrong, leaving two schoolboys dead, and a serial killer calling himself the Man of Flies leaves a message on his victims saying “nothing is sacred.”
Then Cass’ brother murders his own family before committing suicide. Cass doesn’t believe his gentle brother did it. Yet when evidence emerges suggesting someone killed all three of them, a prime suspect is found – Cass himself.
Common links emerge in all three cases, but while Cass is finding more questions than answers, the Man of Flies continues to kill…
This is the first novel in Pinborough’s Forgotten Gods series (which I shamefully have not yet read). In the UK, the series title was The Dog-Faced Gods. A Matter of Blood is followed by The Shadow of the Soul (August 2013) and The Chosen Seed (December 2013). As a bonus, here are the three UK covers for the series:
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While North Americans will be able to finally get their hands on this trilogy in 2013, Brits will also be treated to Sarah’s latest novel, Mayhem (April 25th, published by Jo Fletcher Books)
When a rotting torso is discovered in the vault of New Scotland Yard, it doesn’t take Dr. Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, long to realise that there is a second killer at work in the city where, only a few days before, Jack the Ripper brutally murdered two women in one night.
Though just as gruesome, this is the hand of a colder killer, one who lacks Jack’s emotion.
And, as more headless and limbless torsos find their way into the Thames, Dr. Bond becomes obsessed with finding the killer. As his investigations lead him into an unholy alliance, he starts to wonder: is it a man who has brought mayhem to the streets of London, or a monster?
This sounds really cool, so I’m going to try to get a review done A.S.A.P.
And finally, Pinborough also has three novellas – Poison (April 18th), Charm (July 18th) and Beauty (October 17th) – coming out this year in the UK, to be published by Gollancz. Here are the complete covers for the three, which have been described as “absolutely superb, fun, mischievous novellas”:
Interview with DJANGO WEXLER
I’ve been trying to remember how I first came across the name Django Wexler. It was probably via Twitter or a publisher’s catalogue. Since finding out about his next novel, The Thousand Names, I’ve had the chance to chat with Mr Wexler a good deal about fiction and more on the Twitters. With just a couple of months to go before the novel hits shelves (one of my most-anticipated novels of 2013), I thought it would be a perfect time to shoot him some questions. He agreed, so here are his responses…
Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Django Wexler?
That sounds kind of existential. Is the correct answer “I am!”?
Excellent, well done. You’ve passed the first test…
So: I’m Django Wexler, fantasy author. Until fairly recently I was Django Wexler, programmer/writer for Microsoft. I grew up in Westchester, NY and went to school at Carnegie Mellon, in Pittsburgh, where I managed to get degrees in Computer Science and Creative Writing. I moved out to Seattle about five years ago to be where the tech jobs are, which is starting to seem a little ironic now that I no longer work in tech. Continue reading
Trailer: THE WOLVERINE
I am sooo looking forward to this movie. Love the character, love the way Hugh Jackman portrays him, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the movies. Roll on July!
Upcoming: “Steelheart” by Brandon Sanderson (Gollancz)
Spotted this on Amazon UK, while looking up info for any new Brandon Sanderson releases, and thought I’d share it on here:
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.
But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.
Nobody fights the Epics… nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.
And David wants in. He wants Steelheart — the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning — and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.
He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.
Disclaimer: I work for Brandon’s UK Agent
Steelheart will be published in the UK by Gollancz in September 2013. I was lucky to get my mitts on a copy, though, and I blitzed through the first quarter of the novel last night – it’s a lot of fun. I’ll do a quick sort-of-review on here when I’ve finished it. If you’re a fan of super-heroes, but always wondered what humans would do if the super-powered persons all used their abilities for evil… Well, this could be the novel for you.
I also hope it’ll open up the sub-genre of super-hero fiction, as I’d like to read more of it. (And I’m writing one myself, actually…)
Here’s the US artwork for the novel (to be published by Delacorte in September as well):
Upcoming: “Avengers: Endless Wartime” (Marvel)
This is just a badass image. One of my favourite, recent pieces
In October 2013, Marvel will be releasing the first in a new series of original graphic novels. For those of us who tend to wait for collected editions of the monthly series, this is a great development. We’ll get a decent, “movie-length epic” (according to the press release). Here’s the premise for the first book, Avengers: Endless Wartime:
An abomination, long thought buried, has resurfaced in a war-torn land – but now it wears an American flag. Faced with another nightmare reborn, Captain America will not stand for yet more death at the hands of a ghost from his past. Haunted by his greatest shame, Thor must renew the hunt for a familiar beast. Side by side with the great Super Heroes the world has seen, united to end the threats no one of them could face alone, the Avengers will stare down the greatest threat the team has ever faced. But is even their combined might enough to overcome a force of pure evil?
So, that’s a little vague, but couple this synopsis, the title, the fact that it’s written by Warren Ellis, and also the cover (below), and I think this is going to be pretty awesome. “Chart-topping” artist Mike McKone is providing the illustrations and, while I don’t recall reading any of his work previously, the preview pages suggest an interesting, attractive and clean art-style for the book.
Warren Ellis, whose recent novel Gun Machine has received rave reviews for all corners of the reviewing public, had this to say on the project:
“When Marvel asked me to help re-launch their original graphic novel line, I had to say yes. Their total commitment, from story to design, made it a project I wanted to be part of.”
The graphic novel is bookended by an introduction from Clark Gregg, better known as fan-favourite character Agent Phil Coulson from The Avengers (and other Marvel Studios movies). There will also be an afterword from Stan Lee, who is one of the co-creators of the Avengers.
There’s something about Captain America’s character that really
lends itself to moody, cinematic shots.
Avengers: Endless Wartime will also be released simultaneously worldwide in North America, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Brazil, Finland and Turkey. Every international edition will be translated into each their respective nation’s primary language. Which is a pretty cool initiative, and something that should be encouraged. (This is apparently the first time this will be done.)
And, finally, and as-normal-for-Marvel, the graphic novel will also include a free code for a bonus, digital edition of the book, redeemable through the Marvel Comics App and online in the Marvel Digital Comics Shop.
I’m really looking forward to trying this out. Roll on October.
Upcoming: “The Eidolon” by Libby McGugan (Solaris)
I stumbled across this book completely by accident, but it looked kind of interesting (which makes me wonder why it hasn’t been mentioned more often, elsewhere…). The Eidolon is Libby McGugan’s debut novel, and here is the synopsis:
When physicist Robert Strong loses his job at the Dark Matter research lab and his relationship falls apart, he returns home to Scotland. Then the dead start appearing to him, and Robert begins to question his own sanity.
Vincent Amos, an enigmatic businessman, arrives and recruits Robert to sabotage CERN’S Large Hadron Collider, convincing him the next step in the collider’s research will bring about disaster. Everything Robert once understood about reality, and the boundaries between life and death, is about to change forever. And the biggest change will be to Robert himself…
The Eidolon will be published by Solaris Books in October 2013.
Upcoming: “Blood Song” by Anthony Ryan (Ace)
Anthony Ryan’s Blood Song was originally self-published, but Penguin snapped it up in 2012. I know a few other reviewers have already read the novel, and general consensus seems to be that it’s one to watch.
An epic fantasy exploring themes of conflict, loyalty and religious faith.
We have fought battles that left more than a hundred corpses on the ground and not a word of it has ever been set down. The Order fights, but often it fights in shadow, without glory or reward. We have no banners.
Vaelin Al Sorna’s life changes forever the day his father abandons him at the gates of the Sixth Order, a secretive military arm of the Faith. Together with his fellow initiates, Vaelin undertakes a brutal training regime – where the price of failure is often death. Under the tutelage of the Order’s masters, he learns how to forge a blade, survive the wilds and kill a man quickly and quietly.
Now his new skills will be put to the test. War is coming. Vaelin is the Sixth Order’s deadliest weapon and the Realm’s only hope. He must draw upon the very essence of his strength and cunning if he is to survive the coming conflict. Yet as the world teeters on the edge of chaos, Vaelin will learn that the truth can cut deeper than any sword.
Blood Song, the first book in Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow series, will be published by Ace Books in July 2013 in the US.
UPDATE: Rather quietly, it was announced that Orbit has bought publishing rights for the UK. The novel will be released as an eBook in April, and a Hardcover later in July. The UK artwork has been added to the top of the post, on the right.
Art: “Be My Enemy” by Ian McDonald (Jo Fletcher/Pyr)
The Everness series is one I will be checking out very soon, I just wanted to share the newly-released artwork for Ian McDonald’s Be My Enemy (published by Jo Fletcher in June 2013):
And second, the synopsis followed by the US edition (published by Pyr):
Everett Singh has escaped from his enemies with the Infundibulum – the key to all the parallel worlds. But his freedom has come at a price: the loss of his father to one of the billions of parallel universes in the Panopoly.
E1 was the first Earth to create the Heisenberg Gate, the means to jump between worlds, but it was quarantined long ago. No one goes in… and nothing comes out. But E1 has something that Everett needs: the means to find his father.
It’s lucky that he has the support of Captain Anastasia Sixsmyth, her daughter Sen and the unique crew of the airship Everness, because Everett is about to discover the horrifying secret of E1 and, with it, his deadliest enemy.
Disturbing New Marvel Cover Art…
There’s something wrong with this cover. Cyclops looks real bad-ass, sure, but part of me wants to make inappropriate jokes at “Daddy’s Home.” The other part of me thinks it’s a really sinister piece of art…
This is the cover of Cable & X-Force #7, which will be published April 17th 2013. The issue is written by Dennis Hopeless, with the cover and internal artwork by Salvador Larroca.
Civilian Reader 
