The World House – a fun competition
By · Comments
Here’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
By · Comments
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
By · Comments
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
.
.
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).
.
.
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 · Comments
First 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.
.
And another *stunning* piece of art
By · CommentsToday it’s the cover for Ian Whates‘ first fantasy novel, City of Dreams & Nightmare. The cover is by Greg Bridges, the Australian artist who also graced us with the cover for Kaaron’s Walking the Tree.
This time we’re in the land of brass and clockwork, amongst the many towering spires of Thaiburley, City of a Hundred Rows – a setting that is as much of a character in the novel as any of the people. We see a vast metal and glass heart that appears to be running the city through some mysterious alchemical process, while through the great iron-worked windows you can glimpse a brief part of the vast city. To our minds, this is just stunning.
Click this image for a bigger version and check out all that incredible metalwork detailing. Seems almost a shame to shove lettering all over it.
.
Mass debates on cover art
By · Comments(Just don’t read that out loud if you’re in polite company).
There has been a lot of conversations online recently concerning cover art, and the depiction of black characters as part of the overall design. Angry Robot author Maurice Broaddus has written about it on his blog. Not surprising, as his Knights of Breton Court trilogy for Angry Robot features the main cast on the covers, and they’re *gasp* not white! [cue: end of the world music]
Read what he has to say here. Do read the links from his post, too, as they provide excellent background reading. His, is always an interesting blog.
The Bookman continues to attract critical acclaim:
This is a steampunk gem. The settings are marvellously detailed, giving you the feeling that there is a London in which Lizards reign and whales swim up the Thames to sing lullabies to the city dwellers… Bring on a sequel, Tidhar! I’m craving to know what happens after the ending!
Read the rest of the review over at SFF World.
Dan Abnett, meanwhile, continues to dominate Borders’ US blog, Babel Clash and has taken the opportunity to talk about Triumff and his other work for Angry Robot.
It’s energising to find an imprint like Angry Robot that happily wears its awareness of those risks on its sleeve, and is eager to see them being taken. It’s about attitude.
This is the bit where I snap my fingers and say someting street, like “you go, girl”. Honestly – if you were in the office right now, you’d see I can make it work.
Over at the superb Falcata Times, Mike Shevdn’s Sixty-One Nails is given the once-over:
If you’re looking for something in the UF Genre for someone special in your life or if you’re just wanting something that’s pretty unique and mind blowing then you just have to buy this book… The second novel in the series is out next year but take a tip from me. Get this now before the hype hits.
The sequel (The Road to Bedlam) hits the UK this summer.
And finally, UK Steampunk author Adam Christopher listed what he’d like from the Apple iPad, and rather encouragingly he had this to say aout Angry Robot:
If the tablet can deliver an exemplary reading experience, I want to subscribe to publishing houses. For an annual fee, I’ll take everything from Angry Robot Books, thanks very much, delivered to my tablet on release… There’s not a single title from Angry Robot that hasn’t been an excellent read, and I’ll happily take the rest of their output on spec.
It brings a tear to my eye, it truly does…
