Archive for September, 2009
Explore the secret London of Sixty-One Nails
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Out from Angry Robot on October 29th, Sixty-One Nails is first of a splendid urban fantasy series that reveals a fantastical side to present-day Britain. But beyond all of the revelations of ancient races that dwell just beyond the corners of our daily lives, the book is also something of a travelogue through the very real secret history of our island.
In this first volume, much of the action takes places in the forgotten corners of London. So in a series of blog posts starting today and running right up to Sixty-One Nails’ release, author Mike Shevdon will explore in more detail many of those places. In the first, he looks at Strand Station, and finds that despite disappearing from the maps many years ago, traces remain of the abandoned underground stop. Check it out.
Winter Song: the first review
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As well as all the attention that Dan Abnett’s Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero is (deservedly) getting as it hits the shelves across the UK and Australia, there’s another great Angry Robot book out there this month. Winter Song by Colin Harvey takes a familiar hard science fiction theme – a sophisticated space traveller crashes on an apparently backward planet – and brings it to vibrant, affecting life … through the cunning trick of portraying all of its characters as properly rounded individuals.
And the reviewers seem to agree. Here’s Walker of Worlds for starters:
“An entertaining read in an unforgiving environment. Following Karl Allman as he crash lands on a forgotten and primitive colony world where the terraforming looks like it’s going backwards, Winter Song is a novel that has more than a few surprises up its sleeve. I was expecting to walk into this with a more typical human vs. alien world theme where there were many strange and wonderful creatures. What I got was a story focused on human characters who developed and grew with each situation they face. If you enjoy a character-driven, intelligent and thoughtful novel then Winter Song is one you should be picking up. Highly recommended. 8/10″
Our fabulously talented writers, episode 702
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Not content with being the superlative wordsmith behind such upcoming Angry Robot titles as Vegas Knights and Amortals, the deeply talented Matt Forbeck has just revealed that he has another string to his bow. Just going into US toy stores, from Playmates Toys, is this incredible Star Trek utility belt… which has among its many features a whole bunch of electronically-controlled missions for those wearing it. And you can guess which superstar did all the logic design and scripting on it.
Pop over to Matt’s blog to get the full lowdown on just how smart Matt has actually been in helping design this thing, and marvel at just damn better toys are these days, wasted on the little brats, etc etc.
[Pssst, Matt, I… I, um, well... I don't don't suppose they come in Dad sizes too?]
A Triumff, indeed!
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Despite not being officially out until Thursday, and despite no-one in the office having seen a copy, yet, Dan Abnett‘s might fine swashbuckling adventure Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero has been seen out in the wild!
So go buy one – it’s a great, rollicking yarn!
Move over, Spielberg!
Posted by: | CommentsAuthor, lover, bon viveur – Andy Remic is a man of many, many talents!
As well as the author of the violent epic, Kell’s Legend, Rem has turned his hand to film-making.
In this first clip, Rem reads from his latest book:
and in this second, he’s the camera-chap – he’s not a limelight-seeker, you see. It’s a clip from a panel at the recent FantasyCon 2009, during which some of the world’s finest minds discuss the legend of David Gemmell.
While we’re on a Remic post, here’s a snippet from the latest review of Kells Legend from those fine people over at Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review (when I say “fine people”, I do, of course, mean Graeme).
‘Kell’s Legend’ is a roller coaster ride of a book that grabbed me right from the first page and tore off at a rate of knots like I hadn’t seen in a long time. The only chance anyone gets to take a breather is when Kell removes his axe from a corpse that hasn’t had the time to realise that it’s dead! Before you’ve had a chance to take a proper breath, it’s back into the fray again… Here is a man who has become a hero yet knows full well that he has done nothing to deserve such accolades. In fact, he has done entirely the opposite and is ready to commit the worst atrocities to protect what he loves. Life has eaten all the best bits of this man and left nothing but bitterness behind…
Eight out of Ten
An Interview with Andy Remic
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Over at Luke reviews, Andy tells of his influences, his inspirations, and his intentions. Probably a few other things beginning with the letter “i”, too, but my dinner’s about to be served up, so I’m not going to hunt for more…
I started off writing fantasy a long time ago. Then I wrote SF and thrillers, was published in that arena and quickly pigeon-holed; after a few books publishers want you to write for your established fan base – which is fine. But I still always hankered after my first love – fantasy. When Angry Robot hunted me down, that was the pitch I made.
Read the full interview here. It’s a good ‘un!
Free Colin Harvey
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No, Colin’s not got himself arrested.
Next week sees the publication of Colin Harvey‘s Winter Song and Dan Abnett’s Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero. To celebrate the launch of the former, we’ve arranged for copies to be distributed at BristolCon tomorrow – if you’re one of the first 40 people to pop along to see Colin, you can pick up a free copy and get it signed at the same time!
If you’re number 41 or more, or if you’re unable to attend BristolCon, pick up your copy next week from a bookshop near you (or online, of course. Play.com has it for just £5.99 with free delivery!)
Winter Song and Triumff Sample Chapters
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We will be offering free sample chapters of all of our titles prior to release, and to show you just how much we love you. And we do – we really do..
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 Dan’s book and/or Colin’s book.
The following extract is taken from Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett. Please note that the formatting will vary from that of the final commercial product.
The following extract is taken from Winter Song by Colin Harvey. Please note that the formatting will vary from that of the final commercial product.
Mobi and PDF
Click on the appropriate icons, above to download the sample in your choice of format.
ePub users may choose to download the file (your system may change it to a .zip – if so, just rename the extension to .epub). Alternatively, type the sample URL directly into your device of choice:
angryrobotbooks.com/samples/Triumff.epub
angryrobotbooks.com/samples/WinterSong.epub
Dan Abnett on Triumff
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Writer, comic scripter, TV show adapter, audio book dramatiser and all-round all-rounder Dan Abnett has a new book out October 1st. It’s called Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero and it is the very definition of a “crossover” title, a veritable mash-up of alternate history, swashbuckling, satire, alchemical magick, and the most punch-worthy puns known to Mankind. Which all means that over the next few days and weeks, we get to enjoy plenty of words of wisdom from our Dan, as he attempts to explain just what the hell he was thinking…
More Kell Lovin’
Posted by: | CommentsAndy Remic‘s epic fantasy, Kell’s Legend continues to garner great reviews. Take this one, from Fantasy Book Critic:
The novel is extremely fast paced & will keep the readers on their toes with constant action & mini-cliffhanger chapters. The action sequences & chapter endings reminded me a lot of Matthew Reilly & his books so if you are a fan, you are definitely going to enjoy this book as well. The body count is high as Remic often brutalizes his characters, even the primary ones. The action & gore is also very visceral and stakes in this tale are often kept high & bloody [Joe Abercrombie, you have a competitor now & a British one to boot!]…
This is an epic tale with lots of violence & Gemmellian characters… Andy Remic you got me hooked old horse!
Read the rest of the review here.
Over at Bushwacked:
it’s a fine start to a heart-pounding action tale, complete with quests and durance vile. Oh, and a bad guy you can really hate. I like it!
The full review, here.
