News and reviews Round-up
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Kaaron Warren certainly seems to be getting the attention she deserves. As well as being shortlisted for the Aurealis Award for Best Horror novel, her debut novel – Slights – is in the preliminary ballot round for Superior Achievement in a First Novel in this year’s Stoker Awards. Don’t forget that Kaaron’s second novel – Walking the Tree – is out now!
Now we discover that she’s one of the authors in a new book of short fiction – Tails of Wonder and Imagination (Night Shade, edited by Ellen Datlow). Pretty impressive, when you consider that co-contributors include Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, George R R Martin, Graham Joyce, Michael Marshall Smith and Tanith Lee!
Guy Adams’ debut for Angry Robot – The World House is starting to get a lot of love around the blogosphere. The first full review we’ve seen is at sciencefictionandfantasy.co.uk. They liked it!
The World House is a utterly original, quite crazy and simply brilliant piece of fiction. 5*****
Over at Free Thinking: A Journal of Popular Culture, Lavie Tidhar’s The Bookman is held under the microscope:
This is Tidhar’s first novel, though he has written much short fiction, and he has set himself quite a standard to live up to. A sequel is in the offing and I can hardly wait. I could write much more but I want you to discover this novel’s delights for yourself. Do I need to add that this is highly recommended? 5*****
Meanwhile, seven months after its UK release, and three months before its US publication, Lauren Beukes’ critically-acclaimed debut, Moxyland continues to delights and impress new readers.
Specusphere.com have this to say:
Her style is distinct, comprising short, almost staccato sentences that mimic the pace of the people and the society itself that seems to spin frenetically like a gerbil on a wheel… Beukes has done a fabulous job of world building, although it’s a world I’m glad I don’t inhabit!
I highly recommend this novel for fans of William Gibson and others who are fascinated by a talented new writer with a distinct style.
Those fine people over at Lateral Books have taken a look at Aliette de Bodard’s Servant of the Underworld:
I am finding it rather difficult to express my opinions of this novel without resorting to gushing like a schoolgirl about it… It is a book which is like a fresh breeze of crisp air.
Thankyou, Angry Robot. They’ve done a great job in unearthing some of the most exciting books of last year, and no doubt will be digging up some more future giants this year. I fully expect Ms De Bodard’s name to be huge.
I just can’t wait. Now, excuse me. I’m off to sacrifice something for Ms De Bodard’s continued success.
You know, I think they rather liked it!
This week’s signing, plus competition reminder
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Remember that this Friday at 6.00pm, there is an opportunity to meet with Angry Robot authors Aliette de Bodard and John Meaney at the Forbidden Planet Megastore in London. You can pick up signed copies of their books (Aliette’s Servant of the Underworld and John’s Edge – written under his alter-ego’s name: Thomas Blackthorne).
While there you can pick up a competition entry form to win one of two great prizes – a stone replica of an Aztec calendar (to tie in with Servant of the Underworld) or the opportunity to have a character named after you, and killed in Point – the sequel to Edge, published later this year!
Also, don’t forget this week’s competition, celebrating the release of Guy Adams’ The World House, alongside Kaaron Warren’s Walking the Tree and Thomas Blackthorne’s Edge.
Write a short story about any subject you like. The only rules are:
- 1) It has to be 13 sentences long
- 2) The first word of the first sentence must begin with T, the first word of the second sentence must begin with H, the first word of the third sentence must begin with E, and so on, so that the first letters of the sentences, printed one under the other, spell out “THE WORLD HOUSE”.
The best entries will be sent to Guy Adams for judging, and the winner gets an Angry Robot USB drive plus a choice of any book Angry Robot published in 2009. No geographical restrictions.
Send your entries (in Word or RTF format) to: theworldhouse [AT] angryrobotbooks.com
Competition ends Sunday 14th February.
Good luck, and have fun!
The World House – a fun competition
By · CommentsHere’s something to get your brain ticking over.
Write a short story about any subject you like. The only rules are:
- 1) It has to be 13 sentences long
- 2) The first word of the first sentence must begin with T, the first word of the second sentence must begin with H, the first word of the third sentence must begin with E, and so on, so that the first letters of the sentences, printed one under the other, spell out “THE WORLD HOUSE”.
The best entries will be sent to Guy Adams for judging, and the winner gets an Angry Robot USB drive plus a choice of any book Angry Robot published in 2009. No geographical restrictions.
Send your entries (in Word or RTF format) to: theworldhouse [AT] angryrobotbooks.com
Competition ends Sunday 14th February.
Good luck, and have fun!
Fantastic reviews in today’s Guardian
By · CommentsWe know how good our books are, of course, but it’s still nice to get confirmation from a national newspaper.
In today’s Guardian, reviewer (and excellent SF author) Eric Brown says this of The Bookman:
The Bookman is a delight, crammed with gorgeous period detail, seat-of-the-pants adventure and fabulous set-pieces.
And of Thomas Blackthorne’s Edge:
Cumberland leaps off the page, a trained killer whose anger and grief at his daughter’s condition is brilliantly portrayed; the depiction of his simmering rage, barely held in check, and how he channels it, provides a masterclass in characterisation.
You can read the full reviews here.
Don’t forget – you can meet Thomas Blackthorne (aka John Meaney) at London’s Forbidden Planet Megastore this coming Friday (Feb 12th) for a signing session, and then retire to a local hostelry afterward for a chat. Also, Aliette de Bodard, author of the wonderful Servant of the Underworld. The signing is from 6.00pm until 7.00pm.
The Father of Steampunk signs with Angry Robot
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Did you read the excellent piece in yesterday’s Guardian about steampunk? It got us very excited! It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the genre, so we’re always looking out for great examples!
Not our cover...
KW Jeter coined the term Steampunk, but unbelievably his classic novels Infernal Devices and Morlock Night have been out of print since the early 1980s. Angry Robot are delighted to announce that we are bringing them back to a new generation of readers in paperback, eBook, audio and steamPod formats.
(nor this)
Infernal Devices tells the story of George – a Victorian watchmaker who has inherited his father’s shop, though not his talent. A tale of time travel, music and sexual intrigue, Infernal Devices is a true classic.
Morlock Night, meanwhile, is a wild sequel to Wells’ The Time Machine – having acquired a device for themselves, the brutish Morlocks return to invade sleepy old England…
So, don your brass goggles, wind your mechanisms and sit back with a couple of true classics from a steam-driven Angry Robot.
Published worldwide by Angry Robot:
UK/Aus: October 2010
US/Canada: December 2010
Want to know more about steampunk?
As well as yesterday’s Guardian article, Angry Robot’s very own Lavie Tidhar wrote a piece for SF Signal last month – What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Steampunk?
Also, the Oxford Museum of the History of Science is still running its excellent steampunk exhibition. It runs until the 21st of this month, so go see it! The video below should serve to whet your appetite:
Some awesome sample chapters from next month’s releases
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What a cracking trio of samples we have for you today!
Here are some sample chapters from our March titles (all out on 4th March in the UK, later in the year for the US and Canada).
We will be offering free sample chapters of all of our titles prior to release, because you’re worth it.
All rights reserved.
However, feel free to share these sample chapters with anyone you wish, or to post them on your own site. And if you like them, buy Ian’s, Tim’s and/or Maurice’s book(s).
Please note that the formatting will vary from that of the final commercial product. Click on the PDF icon to download the sample.
City of Dreams and Nightmare by Ian Whates
King Maker by Maurice Broaddus
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and don’t forget we have three incredible books out today:
Feel free to share these sample chapters with anyone you wish, or to post them on your own site. And if you like them, buy Guy’s, Thomas’ and/or Kaaron’s book(s).
Edge by Thomas Blackthorne (aka John Meaney)
The World House – Chapter One Podcast
By · CommentsMr Guy Adams is a talented fellow. A former actor, he’s now a full-time writer, but his former occupation always through in everything he does. If ever a voice was built for podcasting, it’s his.
Ladies and gentlemen, turn up the bass, take a seat and enjoy Guy Adams reading Chapter One of The World House (published tomorrow in the UK).
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If you’d prefer to download it, the file can be found here. Download and save to your desktop in the usual way, then transfer it to your MP3 player of choice.
Enjoy…
The Daily News
By · CommentsFirst of all, don’t forget that next Friday at 6.00pm, there is a rare opportunity to meet with Angry Robot authors Aliette de Bodard and John Meaney at the Forbidden Planet Megastore in London. You can pick up signed copies of their books (Aliette’s Servant of the Underworld and John’s Edge – written under his alter-ego’s name: Thomas Blackthorne).
While there you can pick up a competition entry form to win one of two great prizes – a stone replica of an Aztec calendar (to tie in with Servant of the Underworld) or the opportunity to have a character named after you, and killed in Point – the sequel to Edge, published later this year!
How cool is that!
Mike Shevdon and Sixty-One Nails are both under the spotlight at SF Site.
That’s the best thing about writing, when your characters take on a life of their own and start writing their own stories for you. It’s a surprising, wonderful and magical moment. Writing seriously gives you so much, even though it also takes it out of you. It’s very emotionally and intellectually challenging but also very rewarding.
Sticking with Sixty-One Nails for the moment, Barbara Martin reviews it at her blog:
Once I started this book I could barely put it down, wanting to know how certain threats would be dealt with and solved. There are no weak spots, and the action kept moving at a good pace. I really enjoyed reading this book. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to delve into a different look at urban fantasy.
Click to enlarge. Don't say we didn't warn you!
Voting is now open at the David Gemmell Awards. Our very own Andy Remic is in the running with his Gemmellesque Kell’s Legend. Voting is open to everyone, and the sequel (the wonderfully blood-soaked Soul Stealers) is out in a couple of months.
And if you don’t vote for Andy? Well, we might just have to send him round dressed as a nurse…
Walking the Tree – now with free novella!
By · CommentsAngry Robot set its stall out from the very start as an imprint that would be trying different approaches to delivering stories. Over the last year we’ve been fortunate to be in a prime position to take advantage of the surge in eBook editions. Now here’s another idea we’d like to run past you.
While writing Walking the Tree, ace AR author Kaaron Warren naturally concentrated on her central character, Lillah. But as she explored that woman’s incredible journey around Botanica’s immense Tree, she became just as fascinated with the story of one of her young companions, Morace.
So fascinated, in fact… that she rewrote the whole book from Morace’s point of view! Well, we couldn’t just hide that away and so, if you buy a physical copy of Walking the Tree you’ll find, amongst our usual swathe of extras and freebies at the end, the first two chapters of his story… and a secret download link and password, that will allow you to download or read the entire novella. And if you get the eBook edition, well, you get the whole thing as an added extra.
Who knows – perhaps this sort of thing could catch on. I’m sure we could all think of secondary characters whose adventures we’d like to read from their POV. And plenty more who we wouldn’t, of course.
And now… more fabulous art
By · CommentsAre you getting bored of this yet? We’re definitely not. It seems like pretty much every day in the Angry Robot office is a “woah, that’s just awesome!” day at the moment, and as long as the weather remains cold and wintery long may that little flash of sheer joy continue to light up our chilly world.
Today’s wonderful specimen is the cover art for Dan Abnett’s September title, Embedded. Our artist is the almost supernaturally talented Larry Rostant, who also provided the cover image for Dan’s most recent book for us, that wild historical fantasy romp extravaganza, Triumff; Her Majesty’s Hero.
Embedded is the first of Dan’s original novels in the vein of his bestselling military SF tie-ins for the Black Library, being set on the battlefield of a future war. In this case, we’re on a desert planet just a few hundred years from now. Rebellious first colonists are fighting back against more recent arrivals, and the war is getting grim. A journalist manages to get himself to the front line by being chipped into the brain of a combat soldier… but when that soldier is killed, he has to take over the body and get himself back home again somehow, broadcasting on an open feed the whole time.
You want hardcore future war? You got it. As per usual, click on this image to get a larger version. Try not to dribble.
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