Archive for December, 2010
4 more titles released in the US and Canada today
Posted by: | CommentsFirst up, the already highly acclaimed Zoo City by Lauren Beukes.
Zoo City is a fabulous outing from an extremely promising writer… [It] has so much fabulous wordplay, imaginative settings and scenarios, and such a dark and cynical heart that I was totally riveted by it.
- Cory Doctorow
Next, Pretty Little Dead Things by Gary McMahon:
“Gary McMahon’s vision is as bleak as a Yorkshire moor, but it glows with a wintry light that illuminates the dark we live in. His prose and his sense of place are precise and evocative, and his characters are as real as you and me. He’s one of the darkest – which is to say brightest – new stars in the firmament of horror fiction.”
- Ramsey Campbell
Amortals by Matt Forbeck:
“Amortals (to paraphrase another sci-fi writer who, in my opinion, has nothing on Matt Forbeck) blew down the walls of my imagination. It then stepped over the smoking rubble, seized me by the throat and kicked my ass. Was this your first novel, you bastard? Holy crap!”
- Billy Campbell, star of The 4400
And Walking the Tree by Kaaron Warren:
“It is the setting that really makes the story and keeps the reader interested. The various communities of Botanica are well thought out and intriguing, and their differing attitudes towards disease, sex and the Tree constantly challenge Lillah’s thoughts and beliefs. It also draws on our own awareness of humanity’s evolution, and adds a sense of reality to the already convincing setting.”
- Total SciFi Online
All these titles are available from all good bookshops, everywhere – both online and in meatspace. Go. Buy. Enjoy. Oh, and have a great New Year break.
Merry Christmas, Meatsuits!
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Angry Robot Podcast #6
Posted by: | CommentsIn this episode we interview Matt Forbeck and Colin Harvey, Angry Robot authors who present dystopian futures.
Theme song courtesy of John Anealio, find more of his awesome science fiction-themed music at SciFi Songs.
Subscribe to the podcast via RSS feed or via iTunes.
Direct download of podcast. [FIXED]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Angry Robot open to unsolicited manuscripts – for one month only!
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Like most mass-market publishers, Angry Robot only accepts novel proposals from literary agents. This is all set to change in 2011, when Angry Robot opens its doors for the first time to unrepresented authors, everywhere.
The month of March 2011 will be Open Door Month at Angry Robot. The publisher has put together a dedicated team of readers, who will diligently work through every submission received. The best of these will be considered for publication by the Angry Robot editorial team.
If this pilot is successful, Angry Robot will consider further Open Door Months for later in the year and beyond.
Angry Robot’s Editor, Lee Harris, said, “We’re delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to unpublished and unrepresented novelists. There are a lot of exciting authors out there, just waiting to be discovered, and we’d like to be able to help them kick-start their careers.”
Open Door Month runs for the entire month of March 2011. Further details can be found on our submissions page.
Advent Calendar Update
Posted by: | CommentsGoodness me! Looking at our last entry, I can see it’s over a week since I posted anything, here. Well, we’ll just have to do something about that. We have – of course – had an Angry Robot calendar treat every day:
Since the 11th, we’ve had an audio play (well, sketch), Christmas reminiscences, a couple of recipes (food and drink), some recommended Christmas reads, an opinion piece on military SF, and one on electronic books, and today – a piece by two different artists, talking about the covers they created for the same book.
Enjoy…
Advent Calendar Days 10 & 11, Plus more love for our latest titles.
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday’s Advent Calendar saw a list of recommended books by Gav Thorpe for the characters in his epic fantasy, The Crown of the Blood. Today it’s my turn, and I list some of my favourite (non-AngryRobot) reads of 2010.
In other news, Kaaron Warren’s Walking The Tree was listed in the Canberra Times as one of 2010′s top reads.
Total SciFi Online has just reviewed Gary McMahon’s Pretty Little Dead Things:
Part private detective story, part very creepy Northern ghost story, Gary McMahon’s first novel featuring Thomas Usher is a powerful, gripping tale…
VERDICT: 8/10 – A story that sticks in the mind long after reading.
The full review is here. There’s also a rather splendid review over at Kamvision:
a strong debut for Usher, and a striking read from McMahon. I have no doubt his is a voice that will be unsettling our perception of reality with dark musings for a good while to come.
Next, Amortals - also at Total SciFi Online:
There’s a lot of clever plotting and writing in this book, with clues to the mystery doled out to reader and protagonist at the same time… And while certain plot twists will be familiar to cinemagoers, it’s how they’re put together that makes the difference.
VERDICT: 8/10 – Highly enjoyable technothriller.
Amortals is also reviewed in The Guardian:
Amortals is Chandler by way of Blade Runner, with the pace of an express train. Great fun.
And finally, for today – a great interview at Kamvision with Lauren Beukes.
Death’s Disciples – free sample
Posted by: | CommentsThis morning I posted a sample from Aliette de Bodard’s superior Aztec fantasy/murder mystery, Harbinger of the Storm. Now it’s the time for another of our favourite writers – J Robert King, and his horror/thriller, Death’s Disciples.
Click for full-screen. You can embed the free sample in your own site – just copy the code (by clicking on the “menu” button in the bottom right corner of the sample, and selecting “Copy embed code”) into your site.
Death’s Disciples will be published in the UK in January 2011, and in the US/Canada the following month.
Advent Days 8 & 9, Harbinger of the Storm Sample
Posted by: | CommentsOur Advent celebration continues apace. If you missed yesterday’s passionate plea to Santa, just click on the number 8 on the grid to the right. Today – Day 9 – we have an audio treat for you.
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On January 6th we publish the first to of our 2011 titles in the UK. Here’s a sample of one of them – Harbinger of the Storm – the fantastic sequel to Aliette de Bodard’s Aztec murder mystery, Servant of the Underworld.
Click for full-screen. You can embed the free sample in your own site – just copy the code (by clicking on the “menu” button in the bottom right corner of the sample, and selecting “Copy embed code”) into your site.
Advent Calendar Day 7 & More Un:Bound Video News
Posted by: | CommentsAdvent Calendar
Today’s Advent Calendar surprise is courtesy of Tim Waggoner (author of Nekropolis and Dead Streets). It may not be the most uplifting Christmas message you’ll read, but it’s certainly one of the most honest!
Un:Bound Video
After a few teething problems, the team at Un:Bound have launched their pilot video magazine, Un:Bound Video Editions. There’s a lot crammed into the half-hour, including a behind-the-scenes at Tor, some author interviews, Alasdair Stuart being kind and mean at the same time, and yours truly, giving the first in a series of publishing tips.
Advent Calendar Day 6, Un:Bound Video Trailer, Nebula Awards
Posted by: | CommentsAdvent Calendar
Today’s Advent Calendar treat has not 1, not 3, not 4, but 2 (count ‘em – two!) pieces of flash fiction from one of our merry band of authors.
Un:Bound Video Trailer
Those crazy folk over at Un:Bound (a great genre book blog) have decided to create a video series call Un:Bound Video Editions (UBVE). The first edition goes live sometime tonight, but check out the trailer, below. (And who is that handsome chap in the glasses? No, not him – the other one…)
Nebula Awards
Awards season is once again upon us – not that it ever really goes away. We’re currently smack-bang in the middle of the nominations round for the Nebulas – the awards voted on by members of the SFWA. For clarity, these are the Angry Robot titles that are currently eligible for consideration:
Moxyland by Lauren Beukes
Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon
The Road to Bedlam by Mike Shevdon
Slights by Kaaron Warren
Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett
Winter Song by Colin Harvey
Damage Time by Colin Harvey
Angel of Death by J Robert King
The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar
The Crown of the Blood by Gav Thorpe
Edge by Thomas Blackthorne (John Meaney)
King Maker by Maurice Broaddus
Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner
Book of Secrets by Chris Roberson
City of Dreams and Nightmare by Ian Whates
Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard
Kell’s Legend by Andy Remic
Soul Stealers by Andy Remic
